posted on October 5, 2002 04:38:46 AM new
An article on the AP this morning was about a small group of old amusement park ride enthusiasts who are working to restore/preserve some of the Darkrides and Funhouse scary rides from long ago.
posted on October 5, 2002 05:27:55 AM new
My husband, a Californian, remembers Knott's Berry Farm. And he talked about Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland. By the time we rode it together, it was tame.
I remember feeling that I was going to pop out of my seat on the rollercoaster at Marshall Hall Amusement Park here in the DC 'burbs. You had to take the Wilson Line Ferry to it. Another noted amusement park in DC was Glen Echo. I took ceramic classes there in the seventies - some of the shooting galleries were still there and the merry-go-round. I think both parks closed because of racial tensions and fights.
When I was a kid just about any amusement park that had a funhouse or rollercoaster was great. Now that I'm a geezerette, most of the rides at King's Dominion scare the hell out of me.
(I've had a funhouse mirror in my entryway for the last few years. Only one guest hasn't stood in front of it and played around. She was a real priss and ran passed it as quickly as possible.)
posted on October 5, 2002 08:39:15 AM new
I always liked the Mad Mouse. That was a roller coaster ride that had sharp corners--it would look/feel as if you were going to hurtle over the edge but then the car would snap into the next angle.
There was a long period, though, when I wasn't allowed to go on rides like that. When I was in the 5th grade we went to visit my grandparents in Colorado & they took us to the Colorado State Fair. My sister & I went on a ride that had seats arranged on a circular platform that would spin, and as it went faster the platform rose up on its edge until it was at a right angle to the ground. I was skinny back then, , and slipped out from under the safety bar. I caught the bar in the crook of my elbow & my sister, who'd removed her glasses & couldn't really see grabbed the seat of my pants. We went around a couple of time like that before the ride operator could stop the thing. I was in high school before my mother would allow me anywhere near another ride...
, and slipped out from under the safety bar. I caught the bar in the crook of my elbow & my sister, who'd removed her glasses & couldn't really see grabbed the seat of my pants. We went around a couple of time like that before the ride operator could stop the thing. I was in high school before my mother would allow me anywhere near another ride...