Post by darkrideartist on Sept 26, 2011 9:21:33 GMT -5
Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum and excited to be here!! I have been fascinated w the older classic/traditional dark rides since the early seventies and on a mission (since) to preserve the ongoing success of the few that remain, encouraging people to read up about and support them by going out to "actually" ride them. After over 23 years of working in Amusement Parks and the like, I had the chance to purchase 2 old Pretzel rides complete w the original stunts(both I discovered to be very rare gems according to many in the know)within the last 5 years and found a place to refurb and assemble them for the use by the public! Working in a very large enclosed (and hidden from distraction) newly constructed building w the help of 2 well-known websites,I will have both rides completed within the next ten months. The location (being PERFECT) is a Nostalgia center/store in Middletown Ct. We are supported by the mayor, city zoning and all municipalities with lot's of excitement shown by passersby, customers and historians. Local amusement parks and many of my clients have offered help in my projects but being a stickler, I am enjoying the process of this dream-come-true alone w the full support of the store owner, Bill Ziegler, alone, in the dark! Along side these two old fashioned dark rides, we are finishing up the construction of a large , park-styled Tracy walk-through called the Haunted House and investing lot's of personal funds into exhibits like the World's Largest Snake, a ten-in-one show,a tasteful ,old fashioned burlesque girl revue(w the help of a dear friend who owns a gentlemans lounge here in Ct)among other attractions such as several permanent classic kiddie rides and very special food shacks. When near completion, we will announce the opening here on your wonderful site. We have asked the Roadside America org to hold off on the full advertisements of our idea to properly promote these rides at a "safe" pace along with our upcoming website! I have made sure all the ducks were lined up, very carefully mind you ,to pull this off and even took a break during this project to go out and restore the Camden Park Haunted House last fall in W.V. A beautiful little park w a lot of history. Looking forwards to seeing you all here on opening!!! Cheers!
It's a great day today!! I've just returned from Beechbend Amusement Park after striking a deal with Dallas Jones and purchasing his dismantled Pretzel spinning car system(from the mid- 1950's) along with 500 ft. of new track and a cluster of old ADC stunts also from the 50's and extra updated animations. Since we're already restoring our old Staten Island Funhouse Pretzel (the only pretzel known to enter through the right side of the loading area with the genuine Pretzel weighted cars)and Williams Grove Dante's Inferno we thought , heck, why not pick this ol' beauty up as well,cut the welds and allow these cars to spin in one of our buildings?! So we have and are very proud of this acquisition and have a special theming planned to work with the "spinning" aspect of this unique ride. This is turning out to be a great little place to visit, yes sirree Christmas came very early for me!