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Post by notlmpresed on Sept 27, 2007 12:13:01 GMT -5
Hi all, It is not yet complete, but my website dedicated entirely to Trimper’s Haunted House in Ocean City, Maryland is now live. I have been long-time friends with the management and family, and worked there as well. I have been a huge fan for years, and decided to create a website for Trimper, Haunted House, and Bill Tracy fans to use as a resource. Check back often as I will be adding old and new content as well as have news updates as the Trimpers are planning an overhaul of the façade this year. trimpershauntedhouse.com. If you have content that you would like to contribute in the form of pics, articles, memories, videos, etc, please contact me and I will add to our site and give you credit. Thanks, and enjoy!
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Post by robert on Sept 28, 2007 0:31:17 GMT -5
It says the website is temporarily unavailable. Are you a big fan of the old Bill Tracy rides? Do you know the situation with the park, will it open next year? What about the Pirate's Cove, is that safe from the wrecking ball? Someone said that the boardwalk block with the carousel and haunted house is safe from demolition. What are they doing to the facade? Are they keeping it the way it is with the crooked roofs, bat, etc? Do you remember other Bill Tracy rides like the Whacky Shack on Hunt's Pier, Wildwood? I know that one wasn't saved, in the spring of 96 during renovations the new owners who leased the pier the year before pushed it into a dumpster. Supposedly the props were saved and are in storage in WW somewhere. That's what Anthony told me from MrBoardwalk Wildwood site. The Dr. Blood's House of Horror on Sportland Pier which was abandoned since 1983 was suddenly razed Jan 07. It was a Bill Tracy knockoff. It was supposedly built in the later seventies after Bill's death by his successor Jim Melonic who started his own company from the assets of Bill Tracy but closed it in 1979, the same year the Pretzel Ride Company closed. Some of the props from the inside were saved by someone in the area, probably for some Halloween thing. The monster head from the front top is still on the pier, face up on the back end of the pier. The cars were saved because they were lined up in a row on the pier during demolition. No idea where they went. Another Bill Tracy ride was dismantled this year, the Phantasmagoria at the former Bell's Amusement Park, Tulsa, OK which will return as a new dark ride when the park rebuilds in a new location. They were evicted from the fairgrounds after 50 years and forced to tear everything down and take it with them. Here is a site about the ride and the demolishing of the building and the valuable stuff being put in storage for future use. secretfunspot.blogspot.com/2007/08/phantasmagoria-revelations.html
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Post by notlmpresed on Sept 28, 2007 7:59:11 GMT -5
Yeah- HUGE Bill Tracy Fan here... www.trimpershauntedhouse.com -- Just tried it and it worked for me. For whatever reason, wont work within this forum. I think Trimper's HH is one of Tracy's best -- I was up in Wildwood this past summer and stopped by the Wildwood Museum and was able to get my hands on old photos of Wacky, Nugget, Skua, Jungle Land Etc. Totally Awesome! I love to compare the different attractions' style and design. One of my favorite stunts is the knitwit, for whatever reason..and trimpers has it! I have an up-to-date news section of my site which will update you on Trimper's tax situation. If you have contributions that you would like to make for the site, contact me.
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Post by robert on Sept 28, 2007 17:06:56 GMT -5
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Post by plokoon on Oct 4, 2007 19:20:53 GMT -5
HOLY! You worked on it? AND you even got a layout, and sound bytres!?!?!? Hey I play rct3 and make darkrides in the game, is it possible you could pm thoses sounds so I can recreate the haunted house? I rode that ride for many years, so many memorys.
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Post by plokoon on Oct 5, 2007 13:43:28 GMT -5
Oh yeah why was the bartender, crab, and other stunts removed? And make sure you get some more sounds.
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Post by notlmpresed on Oct 11, 2007 12:50:06 GMT -5
Hey thanks for your comment plokoon. I saw the teaser for your HH ride, and it looks good so far! I noticed you used my House Sound Byte for the inside. You have done a nice job recreating the facade and interior. I will be updating the site regularly, so please check back. The crab, bartender and others were removed because they were falling apart (from ride vandals) and they were not worth fixing. The birthday party (as you recreated in your ride) that is after the upside down room was originally at the downhill where the hanging man is now--They were going to ditch that too, but luckily they didn't--It's a classic! I created a new URL for Trimper's Haunted House Fansite at ochh.net/ It is a bit shorter, and I wanted to have a backup. I also just got done creating some graphics for the banner and menu with Photoshop, so the site is coming along well. I have more sounds I will upload when I get a chance. Please keep me up-to-date with your version of the HH, and when your done, I will add a link to my site. If you have questions about the ride, I will happy to assist you. Happy Haunting!
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Post by plokoon on Oct 11, 2007 14:30:27 GMT -5
Just updated it, and have you spoken with the Trimpers before, do they want to keep the haunted house? And where did the stunts that were removed go anyways?
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Post by notlmpresed on Oct 11, 2007 14:56:05 GMT -5
I primarily speak with Chris Trimper, who is currently the Quality Control Coordinator of the park. They are definitely keeping the Haunted House. The Haunted House is their flagship attraction, and their “pet peeve” if you will. All members of the family baby it and make sure it is at its best at all times. The stunts removed in 06 were thrown in a dumpster. The head slinger is in still in storage I believe. Other stunts, although moved, can still be found here and there throughout the HH. As of now, there are no future plans to remove any more stunts—that I am aware of, anyway.
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Post by plokoon on Oct 11, 2007 16:16:38 GMT -5
Wow, the dumpsters harsh. Well its not harsh, other harsh ways was how the whacky Shack got tipped off its pier into a dumpster. Another question how big is the whole exterior shell building in the back that hosues the ride? Been curious, it has to be pretty big counting all of the hallways, and the long ride. And is it possible to get a behind the scenes look if I ever went to trimpers, im only 15 but would love to check it out.
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Post by notlmpresed on Oct 11, 2007 16:29:46 GMT -5
The building the ride sits in is huge. Of course, it grew tremendously in 1988 when the Trimper’s added the second story. If you look on my site in the location section, there is a bird’s-eye view of the building. The line is pointing to the exact building. You could also get a better view from google earth. I will try to post more specs of the building soon on the site. Although the building is two stories, only half of the top story is used for the ride, while the other half is used for offices. Being that your only 15, I doubt you would be able to get a behind the scenes tour because of insurance reasons. I will try to post as many behind the scenes pictures on my site as possible.
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Post by plokoon on Oct 11, 2007 16:47:08 GMT -5
Intresting, isn't Pirates cove its neibor? Any stunts from there put in from Haunted house?
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Post by notlmpresed on Oct 11, 2007 17:42:46 GMT -5
Yeah! Pirates Cove is behind and to the right. Bill Tracy built pirates cove in the early 70's I believe, and all the stunts in Pirates Cove are original and have never been in the HH. All the "nautical" or "sea-like" stunts in the Haunted House came from Ghost Ship, another Bill Tracy attraction that used to reside on 66th street bayside before they closed the park. When they closed the park, which was called Ocean Playland, the Trimper's purchased the ride, added the second floor to the HH, and added the effects and transformed former Ghost Ship cars to the Haunted House coffin cars. Before adding the second floor, the HH was less than 2 minutes long. Now, the ride can take over 5 minutes.
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Post by plokoon on Oct 11, 2007 18:00:00 GMT -5
Update your website lol. Oh yeah so what are the new proposals going on at Ocean city maryland, what tall condos are going up that I hear about, commercial office towers too? How tall, are they bigger then the condo row?
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Post by robert on Oct 11, 2007 18:36:18 GMT -5
If you had any experience with other Bill Tracy rides, like the Hunt's Whacky Shack, how did it compare with the Haunted House? You said the Haunted House originally was 2 minutes long when it was one level. Back then, was it comparable with the Hunt's Whacky Shack since the Shack was also one level? I have a scan of a floor plan of the WS from Bud Hunt's granddaughter Kristen. The WS had the body in the cellar, graveyard with bumper tombstone panels, clock with bird popping out of the face, cat, knit wit, crooked mine, and a hallway of doors with skeleton hands reaching out. There are pictures on laff, funchase, Anthony's WW boardwalk site. It's too bad that the Whacky Shack was ultimately trashed in early 1996. What happened is the Catanoso brothers Anthony, Charles, William, Joseph won the lottery in 1993 and in 1995 leased the former Hunt's Pier operating kiddie rides at the front with the remaining Hunt's rides closed and behind a wall (Whacky Shack (Hunt's Horror since 1989) Golden Nugget, Log Flume, and Rapids). They did a survey and decided to do a dinosaur themed park for 1996, Dinosaur Beach preserving the Nugget, Flume, and Rapids reworked with dinosaur theming but got rid of the Whacky Shack-Hunt's Horror probably because it wouldn't fit with a dinosaur theme unlike the other rides. I heard Eric Princz bought it but sold it back when he couldn't move it. I heard the props were saved and are in storage in WW somewhere. Dino Beach closed after 1998 due to bankruptcy. There's also 2 other Whacky Shack's, both 2 level at Joyland Wichita the first one built but park closed this year, and at Waldameer, Erie, PA built in 1970 and a Pirate's Cove built in 1972. The Phantasmagoria at Bell's Tulsa, OK was dismantled and in storage for rebuilding at new location next year. The Fright Zone in Ohio was sold to a guy in western PA and the props and cars were removed from the building for reuse at Conneaut Lake Park, but that hasn't happened yet. Check out the videos of these rides except for the 2 other Whacky Shacks there are no videos.
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