Join us as we explore the tourism culture of the past and present! This channel is dedicated to preserving the history and appreciation of roadside attractions, amusement parks, vintage eateries and establishments, old buildings & signs and pretty much any and all remaining examples of travel Americana. Watch our vlogs from our travels around the United States or check out our docuseries Long Gone for the lost history behind these American treasures. Don't forget to subscribe and like each video you enjoy and hit the notification bell so you'll know when the new ones drop! Thanks for watching!
I fondly recall Gas Light Village in Lake George at night time in August. The smell of the food, the bright lights of the amusement rides, and crisp night-time air as summer was inching on the calender making way for fall and back to school. Kids today, no interests other then tech.
Anyone else remember a trip to Storytown USA before it became the Great Escape? Almost every vehicle left the park with a Storytown USA bumper sticker stuck on their bumper lol. Soon after at some point the sicker wasn't stuck on but instead wired on lol. Charles R Wood, what a great guy for the region. Wealthy yes but 💯 % community guy for the people.
Wildwood has two - TWO - haunted houses now. Dante’s Dungeon and Ignus Fatuus. They have a boat ride - The Pirates of Wildwood. In the early 80s, each pier had like two of them!
@@ElleCee62978 Yeah, Wildwood was once THE haven of classic dark rides even up to the late 90s. Pirates of Wildwood was wayy better as Dark River, and Morey's also had Jersey Junkyard, Casa Macabra, that mummy walkthrough, and Chamber of Checkers or w/e it was called and other stuff. Then you also had Castle Dracula and the Dungeon Boat Ride, and the dark rides that were right on the boardwalk such as Den of Lost Thieves and Zombie World even if those were the worst ones 😂 But its crazy to think just how many there once was, and now there are two/three..
@@RoadsideExplorers Den of Lost Thieves was pretty good. Casa Macabra and Jersey Junkyard were meh, so were the others that you mentioned on Wild Wheels (now Adventure Pier). I never did Zombie World. Dante’s Inferno was great (at least the artwork was). The Wacky Shack on Hunt’s was phenomenal as was The Skua, Golden Nugget, Keystone Kops, and even Jungleland. The Lost World on Fun was meh, but my parents raved about the Crazy House. I was too little for them. Sportland had Dr. Blood’s House of Horrors - again, I was only 5 when Sportland shut down, 31 when they finally tore it down. Casino had Mars, which tragically killed 3 kids.
@@ElleCee62978 I got to at least experience Hunt's when it was Dinosaur Beach in '98 and Castle Dracula which was one of the best haunted attractions ever, along with the boat ride. I remember how that section of the boardwalk with Nickel's Pier, the looming castle and Mariner's across from it had a magical unique feeling about it that stuck out in my mind and it was the first thing that comes to mind when I think about the memories of my handful of trips to Wildwood in the 90s. I can only imagine what it was like the 80s and earlier when you had all that and Hunt's Pier and Morey's at it's peak..
@@RoadsideExplorers Hunt’s was by far the better experience then. I was only 10 in ‘88, but Hunt’s had imagination. Castle Dracula and its Dungeon was incredible. I hate that it burned.
I didn't care about Shrek 4D, but Villain Con is such a waste of space. It looks so dang boring and unimersive. It's definitely a ride used to balance out wait times and keep the kids interested in the IP. That's the only reasons it exists.
As a Junior at ASU, 1969, I heard that U-Haul bought Legend City from the Japanese so they could reopen it. I right away went over and signed up for a summer job…and because I was the 1st one, they hired me to write the script for the “River of Legends” ride but also the “Dutchman’s Mine” experience. It seems that during the purchase from the prior owners, all the “live” scripts had vanished! As it turned out, as “Sgt. Abel of the River Scout” I spent the summer taking boatloads of families around and around that river. I’ll never forget it.
@@abelcompany Talk about a cool gig! That must have been quite the experience to work there let alone getting to be one of the skippers for the river ride! Even just the guests who got the chance to visit were lucky..
Awesome!! I went to Roosevelt Elementary in Mesa and remember going to the wax museum in either (this impresses me) Mr Stewart's 5th grade class or Mr Berman's 6th grade class. I have soo many awesome memories of Legend City as a little kid and a young teenager. Those were good times...
Recently got to go on Earthquake: The Ride for the first time and it was so much more fun than I expected! Love a good (or so bad it's good) solo dark ride.
@@RoadsideExplorers Have you had a chance to get out to Monterey, CA to check out Treasure Hunt: The Ride? It's a new dark ride that only opened last year and I'd say it's entirely worth a trip to the west coast to do it! I was fortunate enough to get there recently and had a blast...literally!
🤩 Kooky Kastle was my favorite ride as a kid. It was a great ride! They also had a walk through haunted house. I think the Congo Cruise/Bermuda Triangle chute the chutes was also a Bill Tracy creation. It was mostly a narrow dark tunnel with the occasional show scene, except for the lift and drop at the end.
Loving the videos. I gotta check out Showmen's Museum.. Looks amazing! Ever been to the PT Barnum museum yet in CT? I wanted to go when I was in CT a couple years ago but it was closed for refurbishment... looks like it's still closed today.
I just went to Clarks yesterday, walked by the building and was like "OH MY GOD THIS IS WHERE IT IS!!!" ... I rode it when I was like 5 and have remembered it my entire life, but had no clue where it was. Was so amazing to actually find it again hahah
Every few years I like to go to Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg for vacation. The last time I was there I went into that three bears shop & I think there was 2 bears in that habitat. I haven't been on a mountain coaster yet, but next time I want to try it. Cool video!
Playland is gorgeous ! I’ve been going there since I was 5 years old . The buildings are from the Art-Deco period in the early 1920’s . Because of those buildings Playland was established as an Historical Landmark . I haven’t been to Playland since I moved to the west coast but I’m planning to get back there in 2024 ! This park has seen a lot of changes over the years . Some good some bad . They removed a lot of the classic rides that made Playland great . I keep mentioning this in my posts hoping that management will take notice and Listen to my feedback . Here are some Rides that Playland should consider bringing back … The Roc-o-Planes , Over the Top, The Spider , the Flying Scooters , The Turtle Chase . They also had an in-ground pool with dolphins . The original Monster Mouse . Should also bring back the original Trains on the Dragon Coaster !
There used to be 4 other mini golf courses. The fort had one there used to be one behind the one restaurant that serves pasta and spaghetti they had one in their parking lot and behind and then at the corner of Ontario Canada Street across from the arcade that used to be minigolf on the roof of the building and then down the street a little ways there used to be an indoor mini
And I forgot putts and prizes also at the corner of Ontario and Canada street, that used to be the home of the oldest mini golf in the USA. Is what the advertised not there’s a small merry-go-round and indoor arcade used to be the home of Putin prizes, mini golf
There was never a train going thru the tunnel to the ghost town. You are mistaken. A lot of the little houses came from the land of makebelieve. And not every little house is not a school house. And not all the houses have been these since the 40’s the park was open in the late 50’s and there was no ghost town then.
Legend City, the zoo and the wax museum, were all right there close together and they were fun places to visit. Phoenix was a great place to grow up in the 60's thru the early 80's. I moved to northern Arizona in the mid-80's and I really hate the valley now. It was bad enough when all the Yellow Fronts closed down, but once Metro Center was phased out it is like the place will never be the same.
It was Gatlinburg in mid July, And I'd just hit town and my throat was dry, and I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew! Where my J.C. fans at? Ain't talkin Jesus Christ!
Wow I remember going there in the ‘50s as a little kid when we visited my grandparents. It took forever to drive to Florida from northern NY. I think it’s the same sign! It doesn’t seem like it’s changed at all. Except the walkways were gravel. Thanks for sharing!!
@@RoadsideExplorers I can’t believe the place is still there. Too bad you won’t be able to stop at Pedros on the way north and buy real fireworks like back in the day m80s cherry bombs ash cans. 72 in a box for like 4$ 😂😂. That was the best part of the trip for me!!
