Dark Ride Paradise - Wild Bill's Nostalgia Center

As I mentioned briefly a couple of pages back, one of the other dark rides that will be restored is Dante's Inferno from Williams Grove. In 2009 Chuck Burnham purchased the ride and painstakingly removed it and brought it back to Connecticut.

Chuck is currently in the process of writing an exclusive article for laffinthedark.com that will documents the ride's past and future. He plans on restoring the ride to it's original form (pre-1985 changes).

Here are some of the pictures from the dismantling of Dante's Inferno.

Chuck proudly poses with his auction purchase.

The cars sat motionless for years after the park closed and will need some refurbishing.

Before the teardown every inch of the theming needs to be documented. Here the team is chronicling each painting by the famous traveling showpainter Sergei. Each member of Chuck's team was impressed with subtle but noticeable artwork in the quiet atmosphere of the Pretzel dark ride! Left to right; Adam Page, Chris Staron, Nick Adams and Buddy Rabis

Lighting isn't that great in abandanded buildings and here crew member points out an previously unseen item in the corner that had to be removed prior to the destruction of all the interior walls on moving day.

More to come, stay tuned!

Between Williams Grove, DuWo, and Knoebels all in the same day, I unfortunately did not have time to check out this ride at Williams Grove during my visit. Glad to see it living on and hope to experience it one day! Awesome that you're keeping us informed, Larry!

I love this thread so freaking much!! Can't wait to see more updates.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I think this is the most interesting project of the year (and next year). It's good to see these old rides being "reborn" by people with both the passion and the know-how.

I was in a bit of a rush the other night and couldn't post all the Dante's Inferno photos, so let me finish where I left off.

Here is the state of eerily empty loading area of the old Williams Grove Dante's Inferno Pretzel dark ride on the day of the move. The rolling stock was updated in 1985 by removing the former Traver engineering plywood chariot cars and replacing them with 60's tyled Pretzel tubs while retaining the remaining Traver "Laff in the Dark''dark ride stunts.

Some final glimpses of the artwork from inside the building.

and the sad shape of the remaining building

Nick Adams cutting the electrical flange near the "exit" door hallway to remove to the front loading area for hauling

In this photo you will notice the corroded track rail and flat contact stock after years of neglect and elemental fallout. Notice the Pinfari "witch's pot" in the background about to be re-united with its' former occupant! Yes, Pinfari made dark rides props.

Here are the Pretzel cars leaving the building

and being loaded for transport

Thanks for these great updates Larry! I'm really interested on Dante's will turn out at it's new location. By the way, do you know if any of these rides be ready in 2012?

I see a lot of hours of meticulous work ahead of them in the painting re-creation department

Thanks for these great updates Larry! I'm really interested on Dante's will turn out at it's new location. By the way, do you know if any of these rides be ready in 2012?

The plan is to have the walk-through operational some time in 2012. Sorry, but no timetable is set, because you can't rush perfection.

Chuck Burnham and Wild Bill have been working on this project for years under the radar, not seeking publicity for their dark rides. After speaking with Chuck, it is clear that he would not have reached out to TPR and provided me access if he didn't have confidence in the restoration.

Chuck is working with a very small team of experts in the physical construction are re-creation/restorations of the props/scenes. Some aspects of the project, such as sanding and painting ride vehicles, can be assigned a specific time frame, but working outside in the elements can cause delays in on other aspects.

As the Haunted House gets closer to completion, I'll keep everyone in the loop.

Awesome updates. I agree, this is the best project for 2012! Can't wait to some of the final results.

Thanks for the latest update, Larry. I had no idea that Pinfari made dark-ride props.

It's still hard to believe this is all really happening. Incredible. And I, too, had NO IDEA Pinfari made dark ride props!

I think a book about this project needs to be written.

I think a book about this project needs to be written.

Ooooooooooo yes!

A picture book, woo hoo!

(Coffee-table Size )

Well, I can agree and dream, yes?

The ongoing report is great, Larry. This is really a neat, fascinating

(and wonderful!) project they're all working on. Kudos to all of them!

In e-mailing Chuck recently one of the things he wants me to stress is that the Williams Grove ride is being restored to its pre-1985 state, so if you only rode it after 1985 it will be a different (and better) ride experience. There's an article at laffinthedark Playland after Dark which will give you an idea of many of the scenes/stunts Chuck is recreating for this ride. I'm not so sure about the fire spitting dragon. I'll ask Chuck the next chance I get, but that's probably a casuality of modern safety standards.

Also the Williams Grove ride is further along than I originally knew, and I have included some photos below. The ride will be near completion in 6 months. They already have someone that will be constructing the ride building, not sure when the building will be done. I'm awaiting confirmation from Chuck but it sounds like this Traver "Laff in the Dark" ride will still use Pretzel cars that were installed during a 1985 renovation. Otherwise, why would Chuck be repainting the cars.

Williams Grove Pretzel cars being sanded, you can see the Pinfari witch's pot in the background.

And after sanding

At last The old wall mounted Coffin stunt as it lies in wait for its' contents in its' new home

As you will see many props are well under way.

Here Chuck checks out one of the stunts.

(Not really freeked out by them, lol.... I think.)

Late yesterday afternoon I stopped by Wild Bill's on the way back from New Hampshire. Chuck and Wild Bill wish all of TPR a Happy New Year. They do follow the thread and are happy to see people excited about the project and progress.

As luck would have it, I missed meeting Bobby Moynihan by two minutes. Bobby currently appears as a fetaured player on Saturday Night Live.

I spent a good 30 minutes talking to Chuck Burnham learning a little more about him personally and much more about the project/construction.

Chuck comes from a farming family so the long hours and hard work don't deter him. As a child he thought up and dreamed of dark rides. In his career, he is currently doing everything he wanted to as a child.

There are tricks he has been thinking of for years that he is going to implement into some of these attractions. Some of the tricks will play upon old stunts and some will be revamped due to current safety regulations. The attractions will include the use of forced perspective. Tunnels and vortexes will be incorporated. Chuck has developed a new way to feature moving stairs. The walk-through will also included a "shake" room that will trigger as weight (people) shifts from one side of the room to the other. Plus there are other surprises in the rides that I am not allowed to reveal.

With the walkthrough, 3 or 4 people will enter at a time for their adventure. All attractions will include a closely monitored infra-red security camera system inside the buildings. Anyone messing with the stunts will be prosecuted, as the owners will not allow a few trouble makers to ruin the experience for everybody.

Chuck has supreme confidence that once the buildings are done he could have each tracked ride installed and operational in 4-5 months. There is a theme that will run through each tracked ride, but I'm waiting for the ok to reveal this info.

I didn't plan on taking a lot of pictures of my camera battery was dying and I couldn't find the extra battery, but do have a few pictures to share.

A little more work his been done around the second Empire turret. Chuck told me a story about a real house that was the inspiration for this part of the building.

Here is a view of the back of the walk-through that won't been seen once the building is complete.

We found the turnstile that will be used by the ticket taker. Certain parts of the walk-through will be only 18 inches wide. But not to fear, Chuck got a 350 pound friend who has been able to squeeze his way through these walkways turning sideways.

Upon entering the walk-through 3-4 customers will encounter this Swamp Ghost in the first waiting room area.

This visual will appear somewhere in the Haunted House.

These ladies will not appear in the Haunted House; they are solely to provide Chuck inspiration in the workshop.

Chuck is also a turtle enthusiast. He keeps two Dragon Turtles in his workshop and has plenty more turtles/tortoise also. Here Chuck helps demonstrate forced persepective with the calendar on the wall.

Although I was distracted by the calendar, I did see this Pretzel Ride Parts "Bible" on the wall. Many of the parts are extremely rare and Chuck sometimes needs to have a mold made of a original part and have the replacements fabricated at a local machine shop.

Since the last trip I was able to get a much closer look at the Pretzel cars from the Staten Island Pretzel. These original oak floors on these cars are still in great shape. Pictured are a few of the 8 Pretzel ride vehicles still need to be sanded and repainted.

To the far right hand side of this picture is the existing building which you really can't see. Those sunken 8x8 posts show how far back the building will extend. Remember the Haunted House is a 15-17 minute walkthrough.

I don't really care much for dark rides, but I just find it fascinating and uplifting to see people that care about a project and are working hard to see it through. It's very inspiring!

Fifteen to seventeen minutes to walk through the haunted house? That's great! I had no idea that this old attraction was that big.

...I just find it fascinating and uplifting to see people that care about a project and are working hard to see it through. It's very inspiring!

Couldn't agree more.

Fifteen to seventeen minutes to walk through the haunted house? That's great! I had no idea that this old attraction was that big.

Me neither. I was more excited about the rides, but this is sounding equally cool now.

Here are a couple of pictures taken 30 minutes before I arrived on Saturday, while Bobby Moynihan was checking out the place.

This is the holding area where the action starts with the Swamp Ghost after entering the ride. In the upper right hand corner (on the King trailer) behind the cage is one of those 18 inch walkways you will have to navigate through.

Chuck, Wild Bill and Bobby Moynihan in front of what will be the attraction's entrance.

The "Swamp Ghost" looks pretty freaking cool, from what we can see in that shot.

Through some pretty frigid days in Connecticut, Check and the crew have been hard at work. I'll be posting more shortly about the use of the former Beech Bend spinning Pretzel cars along with another more risque attraction that will be on site. However, first I want to give you an update on the old Staten Island Pretzel.

Thursday the crew laid out the track in the workshop and placed the cars on the track. Friday morning they fired up the track and cars for a test run. Here are some of the photos from Thursday's set-up.

One final night shot of the exterior of the Haunted House walk through. It looks damn awesome to me.

^SICK!

Damn, this whole project is looking better and better. If this doesn't win some Golden Ticket award or something this year, I'll take a hostage.

Also, ten extra points for the ONJ "Grease" poster.

Very, very cool. That's all I have to say. This continues to be one of the most interesting projects of 2012.

Those Pretzel cars look so

nice.

Those Pretzel cars look so

 

nice.

And those ones aren't even refurbished yet. Chuck has a furniture upholsterer who is going to help with the seats and Chuck is a whiz with the painting. He isn't known as the "Dark Ride Artist" for nothing. The upholsterer is an old-timer who Chuck says will retire after assisting on the cars.