Dark ride animation

[robert]

www.secretfunspot.com/phantasmagoria.htm This dark ride is also being dismantled as the park was kicked out from the Tulsa fairgrounds after 51 years. I saw a picture on a news site of the front of the dark ride stripped off here kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=118983 That's two dark rides lost this year so far. Dr. Blood's and this one. And both of them Bill Tracy classics. It really sucks. I hope other dark rides like Ocean City. MD's Haunted House and Pirate's Cove and Waldameer's Whacky Shack and Pirate's Cove have long life.

[clnancy50]

Who made the one at Knoebels? That's still going strong, right? Do you think this is an ongoing thing because of the risks? or that the rides are just old or unsafe?

[plokoon]

Wow, can someone say "2007 the year of the darkrides demise" ??

[robert]

Don't forget the Haunted Hotel dark ride at the now closed Myrtle Beach Pavilion, they say it will be saved and sold but anything can happen, they demolished the beachfront arcade/dance hall building already. They want to build condos and shops at the park site. The same thing is happening to the former Miracle Strip Park in Panama City, FL which closed two years ago, it will become condos. At least the 1963 Starliner coaster was saved and is reopening at Cypress Gardens. But, the Haunted Castle dark ride (Bill Tracy) at the park was most likely demolished. Someone from Alabama saved the props, cars, and track, though. Some of the props went to a nearby fire company in Florida for a seasonal haunted house and the guy from Alabama is using the cars and track for a seasonal dark ride. Here are some pics www.flickr.com/photos/kingpowercinema/ At least some dark rides have a happy ending even if the main building is demolished if the props, cars, and track are saved. I guess not even DAFE or Laff in the dark can do anything to stop the demolition of old dark rides.

[plokoon]

Well as long as Trimpers dont get claimed by condos, cause Ocean City Maryland is growing with lots of condos fast. Who cares theres condos north of the city and I always have stayed at the highrise row at Oc MD.

[robert]

I think Trimpers is very safe look at this article www.oceancity.com/articles/article.php/a_id/61 Granville Trimper the owner will turn the park over to the next generation when he retires. They rejected offers to sell the park, so no condos there. I'm pretty sure the Haunted House and Pirate's Cove will still be there in 2010, 2015 I hope. Another great dark ride down that way is the Haunted Mansion at Rehoboth, DE.

[plokoon]

I have no idea why they want to build up. GO Trimper! They need to start wreck havok on Atlantic City, no use of that place anymore.

[hauntfan]

I don't know if you guys have seen this sight, but if you are interested at all about the demise of The Myrtle Beach Pavillion Amusement Park (which had the great Haunted Hotel dark ride) this web sight has loads of articles : www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/business/special_packages/theme_parks/

I went to and extensively photographed Myrtle Beach and its amusements in 2003 and I am happy I did because I would have missed out on a special place if I hadn't gone. The greedy developers have struck again.

[1992]

Nothing on that site about the Haunted Mansion except for one photo which was about a girl and her mom with the ride in the background. From what I can see it looks very much like an Italian dark ride that Essaco Co. in Texas was importing in the early 90s. That one was a ride through and had cars shaped like victorian couches.

The pier... or park as a whole looked to be really high quality! Lots of German rides abound. I spotted a HUSS Enterprise, HUSS Rainbow, HUSS Pirat, HUSS Topspin, Zier Wave Swinger / Wellenflung, Mack Catapiller and other less cool rides. A really nice collection of rides they had... shame.

The picture with the Rainbow and the McDonalds sign in the background was really strange to see for a park. That looked more like a scene out of a parking lot carnival.

I'd like to see the insides of that darkride. Surly there must be a dark ride fan in the area to that park that did a walk throuch picture taking session?

[robert]

There's an article on the Haunted Hotel at Laff in the dark. I still wonder what will happen to it.

[plokoon]

It will end up in the scrap yard where Dr Blood is.

[1992]

Dr. Bloods stuff is owned by two darkride collectors. Unfortunatly neither of these people is me. The real crap from the ride is in a scrap yard.

[robert]

Where did you hear this, 1992 about the two darkride collectors with the Dr. Bloods stuff? Are they in the Wildwood area? Were most of the props salvaged like the hanging ghoul, buzzard, Frankenstein, Dr. Blood, clock, rotating barrel tunnel, sawmill lady sawn in half, mine shaft, organ stunt, and skull with fake rock walls at the back end corner, and the chandelier that hung above the organ? What about the creepy monster head and hands from the top front? It would have been nice if the WW historical society would have gotten them. Ralph managed to save some of the old Hunt's Pier stuff from the dump shown on the site. I wonder if the Whacky Shack props were saved? There were some neat props in there, like the sawmill, whacky clock with bird that popped out of the face, knit wit, and more. I thought DAFE or Laff in the dark would be doing something active to help preserve all these irreplaceable dark rides that are being demolished or threatened with demolition as the old 50 year old family run parks close.

[plokoon]

Im not to sure. I heard from a friend in wildwood that they litery saved the crooked shaft, the monster and hands, sawmill, dr Blood, tunnal, ad some other stuff, and there keeping in for a haunted house in the October seasons. Its what my friend thats a dark ride fan. When he heard that it was going down they went out side and found it.

[mclunatic4evr]

plokoon said:

crooked shaft, the monster and hands, sawmill, dr Blood, tunnal,

For a Million Dollars would any of you march down a busy street screaming "crooked shaft, the monster and hands, sawmill, dr Blood, tunnal" over and over again as you banged on drum. I would, I mean i'd do it for free! We should all do it, dark ride board get together in Wildwood and just march down the streat screaming that phrase as we beat drums. Afterwards we order lots of Macks pizza and ride Dante's Dungeon [lame, shouldn't have changed it]