Cedar Point amusement park, Sandusky, Ohio from 1977. Another gem from my collection of 8mm home movies I've picked up at antique malls, junk shops and flea markets.
Late teens and skipped school in the spring from Toledo. Was great. the place was almost empty and could just get on every ride without waiting. lol, good luck now, great times!
This takes me back. My dad would take us every year to Cedar Point. My mom would fill up a cooler full with cold fried chicken from KFC. We'd get a picnic table and spend the day. I was about 12 in 77. Oh, the clothing styles. Cut off jeans for shorts and tube socks. That was it back then. There wasn't a lot of options for summer wear back then. That shot of the double ferris wheel at night reminded me of when my dad rode that with me at night when I was a little kid. A good memory of my dad who's been gone for almost 30 years. A fun watch. .
I just watched another video from 1961 and the difference just 16 years makes is mind blowing. 1961 I barely recognized anything but here, the place I know and love is really taking shape. And look at that SHINY new Corkscrew!
My heart aches watching this. Our family went in the summer of 77 as well. I had forgotten so many rides; the log ride, the double ferris wheel, those cars that went too slow, the Calypso, the sky crossing. Thank you so much for posting this. It was such a nice time to be alive.
I love the fact someone shows the original Shoot The Rapids, much better than the redo they had. I am not sure but I think it was replaced by the underrated White Water Landing (which is now Maverick). Unclear as to where exactly but was in "frontier town"
I am going to sound like a cranky old guy, but Cedar Point was much better then. More open, more inviting for everyone. Smaller rides that anyone could ride. Now it is overblown with mega coasters and all of the classic rides have been pushed out of the way. Thank you for sharing this!
OMG, I worked that season on Mill Race water ride at 8:22 mark and recognised my co-workers, but wasn't in video. still a laff... too much inside stuff to tell here... we sometimes called C.P. "Six Flags over Sandusky"...
I worked at the Point '75 and '76, so I missed the tornado. You must have had a great view of it, if you were at work. A friend of mine worked the Pirate Ride, so she watched it all unfold. I'm glad it didn't happen in '76. I worked at the Blacksmith Shop, just yards away from the tornado's path. No, thank you! Did you hear about the end-of-season prank in '76 that shut down the Mill Race for an entire morning?
@@haplessasshole9615 Yah mean when a leaving mill race worker poured several gallons of soap in the giant water pumps that circulated the water that moved the "logs" through the flumes {channels}. I was working on that ride at that moment. All the guests asked that day if that was how we clean the ride at the end of the year. Of course we told them yes, that's how we did it... 6-8 foot balls of soap billowing down the midway.
@@haplessasshole9615 on the tornado, I worked near the lake near the Blue Streak and saw two storm fronts come together like over the marina. We had a real close, like in the picnic area, lightning strike and we closed the ride, calling the "office" telling them of the lightning and "they agreed" to the shut down. Didn't see the funnel, but helped evacuate people from the old Camper Village, afterwards.
@@wiggion That's the one! I was on the Merchandising warehouse loading dock with a bunch of other girls waiting for our lift to the Trail when some guy came running in off the Midway, and tore into the warehouse. A few seconds later, there were wild whoops, and every guy in there came boiling out, leaping off the dock. The first guy came out, told us what was going on, and off we went. I've told people there were blobs of foam taller than I bouncing down the Midway, and they think I'm exaggerating. I'm not. It was a spectacle I wouldn't have missed for the world. I was so punchy by that time in the season, I was almost crying laughing over that image all day. Warehouse Denny hinted that there were at least two people involved. He swore he'd never say who did it, but I figured one had to be a Mill Race op, and another had to be in the Food Service warehouse, where the ultra-concentrated dish soap came from. Did you know Capt. Steve-O from the Western Cruise?
What a great home video. i would have been 14 summer of '77 and i was there that year and have been every year since, raising my own family of CP fans. The park was so clean then, 20-minute waits for rides, you could go to see the shows, the imax, and hit all the rides easily in one day. I used to buy the park map every year in the candle shop for a buck. Still got 'em tucked away somewhere!
I was born in 2002 so this is way before I was alive but I am a big CP fan and I love the history of the place so thank you for showing the younger generations what it was like in your time I fully appreciate it 😊
I have very fond childhood memories at CP in the 70s. I would love to be able to share with my sons sometime soon. Love this video! My favorites were the Corkscrew and the horse derby ride.
Hi Karen! I bought the films from a second hand store in White Pigeon, Michigan, and yes, there were others. Let me see if I can locate them. I have bought so many films like these over the years, it might take me a little while but I'll see what I can come up with. I might not have the actual films any longer but I have video transfers of them. I just have to figure out where they are.
I ( Mark) was only 6 years old that year. Sadly too young ( and to short) to ride The Jumbo Jet or The Blue Streak. But I do remember a lot of the other rides and attractions. I remember my dad taking me on the Satellite Jets ( or Super Jets as I think they were renamed around that time) and the Turnpike Cars. Some of those earlier years were the best. I would eventually ride the Blue Streak 3 years later in 1980. I was 9 when I first rode it. And I do miss the Manual Operation Years. Those were the Best Years of The Blue Streak.
That was actually a whole lot that, just a lot less roller coasters. All the basics of a fantastic and well balanced park were in play I one might argue it was a better experience.
