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17 Responses to “Family trips to amusement parks”

1. Rebekaj Says:
   July 18th, 2008 at 4:11 pm

   I remember trips to Disneyland as magical and wonderful, but I also remember being excited to go to Fairmount Park in Riverside to ride on the carousel, the roller coaster or the tilt-a-whirl they had in their amusement park area. It was a fairly small collection of rides, but it seemed like such a luxury to have it right in our own town. We also used to go on the paddle boats, once in a great while. That was always a treat, and seemed very exotic for some reason. Now, of course, the amusement park is gone but the boat rides, which were closed for a long time, have been restored. I think I need to go back soon, and see if I can recapture some of my childhood! (By the way, if anyone else grew up in Riverside and has photos of the Fairmount Park rides I would love to see them!!)

2. touchedelf Says:
   July 18th, 2008 at 4:49 pm

   My family wasn’t really huge on amusement park trips. I went with my mom, dad and sister once when I was very young to Disneyland but I don’t really remember any of it. However, my friend Jenny and I started an annual tradition that lasted for a few years of going to Disneyland around Christmastime with our moms. Also, my sister worked there for a couple of years and that made our trips more frequent seeing as we could get in for free.

   As far as any other amusement parks go, my mom is afraid of heights and my dad isn’t a fan of amusement parks period so I don’t really have much of a history with that. Although my dad did take me to Knotts Berry Farm once or twice.

3. sidorski Says:
   July 19th, 2008 at 10:58 am

   When I was a kid 80 years ago I went to Palisades Park in New Jersey where we lived at the time, I remember the roller coaster and some of the smaller cheaper rides.
   I remember Coney Island where I had a picture taken in the surf holding onto a saftey rope, I remember my father riding the steeple chase where only adults could ride cost $.25 cents.
   Then as I grew up and had children I took them to Howes Cavern in upper New York state, I also took them to Adirondak Game Farm where the saftey officer reprimanded my daughter Cathy for running and scareing a bunch of deer.
   There was also a place in New Jersey called the Magic Castle (or some thing like that).
   When I took Cathy to Howes Cavern, Paul han’t been born yet so I took them both a second time, of course this was with my first wife Veronica.
   I’ll post the pictures whenever I find them.

4. kaforeman Says:
   July 20th, 2008 at 12:08 am

   I look forward to seeing the pictures of Howes Cavern, Ed. I love to see places from across the country, which is more interesting to me than looking at pictures of places I’ve already been myself. And do you still have that picture of you taken at Coney Island?

5. sidorski Says:
   July 21st, 2008 at 3:59 pm

   Dear Kim, I’ll have to look for them so maybe I’ll find them, I don’t think that I took pictures of Howes Cavern because it’s hard to do underground and at one time they turned off all of the lights to show how dark it is in a cave, some children cried but I was proud that Cathy and Paul didn’t they were just fascinated with how dark it was, me I was a little scared but Ronnie wasn’t.
   Ive been in quite a few of the Pennsylvania caves and one in Virginia, They are all different so that’s why I like them.

6. kaforeman Says:
   July 21st, 2008 at 10:12 pm

   I wish my parents had taken more pictures of us at Disneyland. How I would love to see what we looked like on our favorite annual trips, and how cool to see those old rides. I hope people will start posting a lot of old Disneyland pictures on this site so I can see if we’re in any of them. Wouldn’t that be the most amazing thing?

7. tendoublee Says:
   August 17th, 2008 at 4:42 pm

   We certainly didn’t get to go to Disneyland every year even though I also lived only about an hour away. But I have some vivid memories of the times we did get to go. I think it was my first trip to the park and although I had seen a lot of the animated movies, I don’t think that I made the connection that this was magical in the same way those movies were. I remember seeing the big sign as we drove into the parking lot and suddenly I knew I was in for something BIG! Whereas I had been totally blase in the car, I now became excited as only a 5 year old can. I remember walking toward the entrance thinking I was the luckiest kid on the planet. I was so happy. My aunt, who was with us, took my hand and said “Let’s run!” and maybe it was only a couple of yards, but clearly she understood how important it was for me to get to the entrance NOW. I always think how cool it was of my aunt to recognize that need in me. Now that I’m older I also realize Walt knew a thing or two about building excitment into an entrance! The day turned out perfectly but Funny enough, I still remember the excitment I felt that morning before I even got into the park

8. Johnny U Says:
   August 19th, 2008 at 1:52 am

   In the 1960’s we would go to Edgewater Amusement Park in Detroit, MI. It was close to home, not very expensive, and my Dad’s work (fleetwood) would have their yearly picnic there. It wasn’t very big but it was our Disneyland. The Roller Coaster was rickety to say the least but we rode it. What I remember most was the music being played on the load speakers, scratchy at best, of Solder Boy, Leader of the Pack, Da-Do-Ron-Ron, and all the hits of the day. And over in the picnic area some guys were always on stage doing their best Sam and Dave impersonation. Some were pretty good. But the smells of the park were just overwhelming, on the good side. The smells of all the Bar-B-Q’s in the picnic with Chicken, Kielbasa, and Ribs with sauce of course. In the vendors area and all over the park the sweet smells of childhood. Popcorn, Carmelcorn, Cotton Candy, Candied Apples, Turkish Taffy, and all the oders of a child’s life. The city. Let’s not forget the older folks with the Beer and a couple dozen or so big thick cigar’s. The White Owls and the Stroh’s. Sure does take me back to a simpler and wonderfuly warm summer Motown day. How about you?

9. Rebekaj Says:
   August 19th, 2008 at 12:46 pm

   You make me wish I was there right now, Johnny!

10. Johnny U Says:
    August 22nd, 2008 at 2:16 am

    More happenings from Edgewater, for Rebekaj. The park, as I remember, was kinda dirty. But we really didn’t notice or care a lot. It was summertime and it was warm and school was out and we were having an adventure at our land of oz, in the city. the ride operators were something to behold. A couple four or five missing front teeth, dirt from the year before all over their hands, three or four tatoos, and a pack of camels rolled up in their sleeve. Oh yea, the gallon of vitalis hair oil on their head. I wanted to grow up to be so independent. Luckily I joined the USAF for 20 years. And, oh the rides. The spook house was a cart on tracks that went around the spook house in the dark with some piped in screams. Not too scary so we’d jump out of the cart and wait for our buddies to come by (girls when we got older) and jumped in with them. Always got caught by the geek operator. The dodge’em cars were fun if you were trying to get hit and crash into someone else. Or line up at one end of the track and floor it to the other end and boom. We always got caught by the geek operator. The worse thing that happened was on my birthday at the park with two friends, Herbie and Earl, we rode the Octupus which went around and around and around. A half hour earlier my Granny fed us all a spagetti dinner. Well, let’s just say Herbie got a second helping of spagetti as he was sitting right behind me. Nuff for now. Tomorrow, Bob-Lo Boat and Island.

11. Johnny U Says:
    August 23rd, 2008 at 2:27 am

    Bob-Lo Island was an amusement park on an Island located in the middle of the Detroit River and had to get there via a boat ride of about 1 hour. Same rides mostly as that of Edgewater Park but a smaller Roller Coaster as I recollect. I was maybe four or six years old but it was sometime in the very late 50’s or very early 60’s. The boat to me was the Titanic. You could play hide and seek or eat in their fine dining room (hamburger stand). But my Father would take me to one side of the boat and show me downtown Detroit and then over on the other side he would show me a whole different country, Canada. It looked so close that I thought that when I got big I could swim from Detroit to Canada, if I ever ran away from home. Of course, I never did. It just reminded me of a river gambler boat on the Mississippi River.
    At the Island the rides had the same kinda geek ride operators. Same tatoos, same dirty features, same ripped T-Shirt, and same missing teeth with a Camel cigarette hanging out. This was before height requirements were observed for boarding the rides so I would get on the Tilt-A-Whril with my Dad and older sister and bury my face into my Dad’s side and arm as my older sister would try and spin it so fast that I would shoot out like an expended gun shell. It was a great family outing and we still had a wonderful river boat to take us back to our station wagon car where I would nap like the little guy that I was. Great Days!

12. Rebekaj Says:
    August 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 am

    Johnny, you should write a book. The way you describe your childhood and teenage experiences makes me nostalgic and I wasn’t even there! The Tilt-A-Whirl! Boy oh boy, that was my favorite ride at our little amusement area in our city park. I can’t even begin to imagine what would happen if I tried to ride on it today. These old bones would probably just spontaneously pulverize (or if they didn’t, I know the contents of my stomach would)!

13. Johnny U Says:
    August 23rd, 2008 at 9:40 pm

    Hi Rebekaj, and thanks for the kind words but I was just a “C+” student in English. And that was a Public High School. What inspires me to write is from someplace inside that is mostly activated by sights, sounds (music) or smell. I also have always had the ability to identify a sense of history. In other words when it was time to tell myself that these or this day were “the good ol days”. And not growing up in a wealthy or poor family I was free to explore my own adventures. What better place than a city amusement park. The State Fair was nice but I just couldn’t get into looking at cows, pigs and sheep next to a bldg that was manufacturing
    mustangs, impalas, and cadillacs. But the amusement park was just that, amusing. Taking a break from the rides I would get a small box of juicy fruits or good-n-plenty and a cherry snow cone and sit and watch the people walking by. The older kids mostly, jr high school or even high school, they were the most amusing. The girls with their bushy-bushy-bon hairdos, and the guys looking like either James Dean or Elvis then really long hair when The Beatles finally arrived. All the girls were named Becky or Sally and all the guys seemed to be named Joe or Nick. But the girls always had one girl that wasn’t very pretty, to make themselves look better, named Barbra. And the guys always had a guy named Moose to make them look tougher. He never looked like Elvis cause he had a flatop butch haircut and kinda looked like a Moose. Then there would be the one guy, by himself, that was the front runner of Toucan Sam. But you know what? Everybody was laughing, smiling, and just having a damn good time. Just what they were suppose to do. What a concept, huh? Next time you see laughter, you hear an oldie, or smell the scent of a old piece of wood remember where were you? Email: johnelmer07@yahoo.com

14. kaforeman Says:
    September 5th, 2008 at 10:21 pm

    I’m getting so much enjoyment from reading the memories of sidorski, tendoublee, and johnny u. All three experiences so different from each other but so much the same in how sharply they were remembered and how much impact they had. Tendoublee, I remember that same feeling of nearly bursting with excitement as I approached the entrance to Disneyland, and I think we kids probably broke out in a run just like you and your aunt did (though it would have been so much more fun if an adult had run with us!). Johnny U, I can almost smell that amusement park and see the guys in the torn T-shirts and the tattoos. In fact, I think those same guys still work the midway rides at the local county fairs. By the way, the Tilt-A-Whirl is my all-time favorite ride, as a child or as an adult. When I ride it, I shriek with laughter everytime we spin, usually embarrassing whatever child is with me. But where’s the fun if you can’t shriek as the breath is being squeezed out of your lungs by the G-force?

15. Johnny U Says:
    September 6th, 2008 at 2:18 am

    Hi folks, Johnny U here. Thanks for all the kind words kaforeman but to me the easiest things to remember are the one’s that are ignited by smell or music or a taste of something that you had long ago. Maybe that certain style of pancake, grilled cheese or egg gravy made from turkey juices at Thanksgiving. The fresh smell of pine needles on the Cristmas tree when you had to get so close to decorate it. Or a lot of things blended together. Coppertone suntan lotion with the surf and sand together inside the beach house changing room where they were preparing hot dogs and popcorn so the parents didn’t have to go back to the tent and make PB&J. Ah, the tent. Not the new nylon ones but the old heavy canvas musky smelling tent out under a cool breeze and billions of stars. And we all do it, if maybe just momentarily, but it’s like our very own time machine. And the amusement park had all that and more, The sights were pleasing to the eye, the smells overwhelmed your nostrils, and everyone was singing, humming, or tapping to the beat of the latest tunes. Whether they knew it or not. One more thing, did you think there would ever be anything scarier than climbing up the first peak on the roller coaster? That chain underneath the middle of the seat you were taking to your untimely death? cling-cling-cling. I’m glad I never heard a clank. Then you reach the summit of the roller coaster, which took about an hour to climb it seemed and you’ve apologized to your sister twice for hating her. The front goes over and now your next… AHHHHHHH. A whip here, a jerk there, and you pray the carnival geek pulled the right levers. Then you pull into the end where you almost pass the dime that the carney graduate is suppose to stop. And he does, of course, cuz now you’ve got a good case of whiplash. Dad said we’d go see the lawyers Shyster, Shyster and Shyster. I’d look up at my sister and say “Wanna go again?” “No, I’m not going anyplace else with you.” “I hate you.”

16. kaforeman Says:
    September 7th, 2008 at 12:48 am

    There was a discussion a while back about “Smells and childhood memories” where people talked about this very subject–how smells bring back those old memories so clearly and sharply. That blog thread is in the archives list.

17. tendoublee Says:
    September 10th, 2008 at 8:59 am

    God, the Tilt a Whirl! I LOVED that ride. The first time I went on it I was with a friend who you used to lean the direction the cart was falling so it would feel like you were going to fall (or be pushed) out of the car. So much better than just swinging around. They should put tilt a Whirls in Movie theatres whenever there’s an “end of the world” film playing. That way you could watch the world being blown to bits while feeling the pandimonium of the moment.

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