Abandoned Amusement Parks Discussion Thread

Things like the closed Skyway to Tomorrowland station at Disneyland and the lower Dragon station at SFMM always catch my eye. In a way, it's nice to be able to remember old rides that way, even if it means having an old, delapitated building just sitting there.

Also, I always try to find if a building housing its 2nd ride has any traces of the first ride that occupied it. For example, what's left of Adventure Thru Inner Space in the Star Tours building at Disneyland.

Anyone else?

ADMIN EDIT: I have gone ahead and converted this into a discussion thread for all abandoned amusement parks, water parks, entertainment centers and venues of a similar nature. Please obey all posted (and applicable) laws and rules regarding private properties, especially those that are shuttered.

Rideslover took this nice photo of the lower Dragon station during WCB:

If you get a little closer to the station, you can see that some of the track remains. What can I say, I just think it's cool.

What exactly was the Dragon? I've been looking for information/other photos on it, and I can't find anything.

What exactly was the Dragon? I've been looking for information/other photos on it, and I can't find anything.

The Dragon was a tram up the west side of Samurai Summit (north if you pretend the back side is the north side, as shown on park maps). Unfortunately it didn't serve its purpose well, so it lasted only a few years. It's a shame because walking up the sloped path from next to Gold Rusher is quite tiring for many. The tram up the east side, Orient Express/Funicular is much more functional, and it has lasted since the park's opening. Rideslover took this pic:

It's basically 2 cars that move simultaneously, one goes up while the other goes down, and they pass each other in the middle. As for Dragon, I'm not sure exactly how it worked, but it appears that there were several cars along a single path. For anyone who remembers, did they all just bunch up at the top and bottom, and the first car would have to wait for the last car to arrive? I could see how that would be inefficient.

A couple of Dragon pics:

2

1

First, I don't mean to be nit picky, but the Orient Express takes guests up the east side of the mountain, while the old Dragon served the west side. Just gettin' ya oriented.

Anyway, the Dragon, while convenient, was very slow (and stopped a lot), making it easy for guests to step out and walk alongside the cars---and believe me, many did! Those cars were connected to a chain that moved continously, and the cars themselves were boarded much like the Jet Stream boats as they moved around the turtables at each end.

My guess is that now with Spin Out gone, they could combine that space with that of the old lower Dragon station and place a future attraction there. Same goes for the old Shangri-la station of Eagles Flight (the long-empty building just under Tatsu's "egg turn").

Eric

^Fixed. So it had turntables at each end, connected to a single, straight track. If the loading speed was the same as the regular speed, I can see how it would have been painfully slow.

^ And not very comfortable when you're traveling that slow facing downhill on a steep track. You could definitely get out and walk faster.

Eric

I glad y'all known about the old dragon station, two eagle's flight in one station and funicular.

Well as old platform was from the Crazy Barrels as the Intamin Drunken Barrels which ride is closed in 1989 and barrels are removed and platform is still there becames rust like abandoned as like the Power Kegs (Hannibarrels) at Six Flags St Louis the ride is still SBNO and wait for removed.

I picked up some stuff and browsed around for quite a while, and no one noticed me! Very cool...

Word of advice, people who trespass behind restricted areas aren't really looked upon positively in the enthusiast community.

Anyway, I'm kind of an enthusiast of abandoned infrastructures. Busch Gardens Africa turned an old flat ride area in the Congo section (the Monstrous Mamba area) into a sitting area for the Vivi Storehouse restaurant. The queue for the ride is still intact and not blocked off, although some growth from nearby planters have obscured this area. Today, this piece of infrastructure has been torn up for Jungala though.

At SFGAm, they turned one of the Sky Ride stations into a Funnel Cake place. The queue is also there. We also have TrailBlazer's remains in Southwest Territory. That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure be plenty of remains in County Fair this year with the departure of Splashwater Falls and Deja Vu.

Down in WildWood,NJ the Golden Nugget is still standing but no longer runs. It was an awesome dark ride/rollercoaster. From the time it opened until 1996 it had a miners theme, then from 1996 to 1998 a dinosaur theme was incorporated into the ride. There is talk about restoring it and opening it back up but that is a rumor that has been floating around now for awhile. When I am down at my shore home and I go up on the boardwalk, I always take a walk back on Hunt's Pier to visit the Golden Nugget and remember how much I loved going on that ride. If you are ever in WildWood, be sure to stop and visit the Golden Nugget, it is fenced off but you can still get close enough to view the boarding area and other features of the ride. People who are from this neck of the woods will know about this ride and how unique it was.

The old Smurf Mountain/Land of the Doz station on the mountain at Kings Dominion is still there. Before Volcano, from 1994-1997, the whole course of the ride was still there as well, as well as the train. Now the old station is slowly rotting away. Part of the entrance to Volcano is in fact the entrance to that old ride.

Also, Haunted River's splashdown track is still there as well, they make a good joke of it too as a boat is on the track with skeletons in it.

If you look closely at the mini-mountain on the right of Volcano, that's where Time Shaft, a rotor, used to be encased. Now I believe that's where some mechanical stuff for Volcano is put.

The other mini-mountain by Flight of Fear used to partially enclose a Bayern Curve. Never seen any pics of that ride at KD though.

Check out this site, Gone but not forgotten but you have to know what you're looking for. Some cool pics of old stuff like Dogpatch Amusement Park in Arkansas.

Some finds:

Chippewa Lake

Surf Cincinnati

Dogpatch

Bushkill Park

I'm kind of an enthusiast of abandoned infrastructures. Busch Gardens Africa turned an old flat ride area in the Congo section (the Monstrous Mamba area) into a sitting area for the Vivi Storehouse restaurant. The queue for the ride is still intact and not blocked off, although some growth from nearby planters have obscured this area. Today, this piece of infrastructure has been torn up for Jungala though.

Over at the Negative-G website, there are some really cool pictures of defunct parks and former attractions. I think it's really cool!

I worked at Disneyland during the short reign of the Rocket Rods, and now every time I'm in the Buzz Lightyear gift shop, I see that locked door and really want to go down and check out that underground tunnel connecting to the load station tower. I wonder if the (sparse) theming is still in there...

^ I went through that tunnel the one time I rode Rocket Rods. Unfortunately, I can't remember much about it.

Eric

^Yeah, it was quite clear it wasn't originally for guests.

Sometimes these abandoned areas have a second life. Submarine Voyage would be a good example. It definately seemed for a while there was no way it would return. After Rocket Rods closed, I believe Circle Vision 360 did reopen for a short time after 9/11, showing America The Beautiful. The Carousel Theater returning as Innoventions HARDLY counts. And of course, what could be Disneyland's most prominent abandoned structure currently, the station for the Skyway to Tomorrowland, in Fantasyland:

The Magic Kingdom has one as well:

While Disneyland's Skyway to Fantasyland station is completely gone save for a stairway to nowhere, Magic Kingdom's remains:

BobaFett, I wonder what Morey's plans to do with Golden Nugget. I know a few years ago they had a big thing on the website asking people if they should re-vamp and re-open the ride, from what I saw the vote was hugely popular. My husband and I used to live out in EHT so we went to Wildwood all the time. I wish they would re-open it, I'd love to ride it at least once!

I've got a soft spot for closed parks, there is just something about them that's fascinating and sad at the same time.

At SFOT, most of the abandoned rides are already replaced, I.e The Sky Ride station is replaced with Texas Giants photo booth.

I have always been fascinated with this. My homepark used to be Kings Dominion , and at the time they used to have the old rotor ride "Time Shaft" and the old dark water ride named"Haunted River" and "Smurf Mountain". I know Volcano now occupies that mountain where all three rides used to be housed. I haven't been to KD since 1990 so I have looked at a bunch of pics of the mountain to see if I see any remnants of any of the rides or tunnels into mountain. To no avail I haven't really found any. I would love to though. Those three rides pack a bunch of memories for me!!

^Part of the trough for the Haunted River ride is still there (just to the left as you face Volcano). The old Smurf train station is still there, too (you can get a good look at it from Avalanche's lifthill).

I still remember when I was really young driving from my grandma's house in Anderson, Indiana to Indianapolis when i would stay there during the summer we would pass by an amusement park that closed after someone died on a coaster there (as told by my uncle not sure if its true) but there was still a portion of a loop from a roller coaster. (I believe that is why I was afraid to ride coasters for the longest time!)

^ I don't know Indiana, having never been there, but you may be passing Old Indiana, a park that closed after a woman was killed and her granddaughter injured after the park's train derailed.

Read about that here.

Eric

^Sounds very close that I'm sure it's it. Thanks for the article. The year seems close enough that it could have been only a year or two after that I saw the dilpaidated park. I vaguely remember portion of track from a roller coaster but I could be wrong.