chetCO

I have never felt unsafe on any ride myself however my parents on the other hand had a very horrible experience on a scrambler. Long story short back in the summer of 1974 they were at a county fair in Virginia. Dad wanted to ride the scrambler but my mom had a bad vibe about riding it but my dad talked her into it. While they were riding the scrambler according to my mom the ride got stuck running full blast. If that wasn't bad enough just before the carnival folks had managed to stop the ride one of the empty cars flew off from the ride and crashed into a nearby tree. My mom had told me over the years that when they finally got off the entire fair was totally quiet as everyone was in shock and the only thing they heard was the then Billy Swan hit song "I Can Help" coming from somebody's AM radio. That song gives her the creeps to this day.

I live in Denver and I pretty much agree with you however to be a theme park/coaster enthusiast and living in Colorado, at least along the Front Range area anyway doesn't really have to suck as we do have a very large airport and unlike so many other airports that are losing service Denver is actually gaining flights plus with having United, Frontier and Southwest calling DIA their hub/focus city one can get some very good deals too. One big plus also is considering how so many cities are only an hour or two away by plane from Denver one can easily leave town in the morning, do the local theme park during the day and fly back to Denver at night. My boss recently did this with Lagoon in Utah. He left Denver in the morning and not only was he able to visit Lagoon he had more than enough time to check out Salt Lake City as well and he was back in Denver by sunset. ..of course it would be nice if Denver had a decent park of its own but having access to so many cheap non-stop flights from DIA can make up for it.

The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival carnival in Winchester, Virginia. While the food and ride selection was pretty good but OMG... THE POLITICS !! Back in 2012 I actually saw a few folks who were turned down from riding the Ferris Wheel because they weren't supporters of Rick Santorum who was at the time running for president. I wish I was joking about this but unfortunately I'm not and it is a shame too because it was such a nice large carnival. The Arapahoe County Fair just outside of Denver, Colorado is a "runner-up" for me. Again as it was with the Apple Blossom carnival the food and rides were great but in this case it was the rather aggressive vendors that killed it for me. Last year some guy was selling those e-cigarettes at the fair. He approached me asking if I smoke. I told him that other than maybe a cigar once in a full moon the answer is NO and that NO I was NOT interested in e-cigarettes. Apparently he couldn't accept my answer as he kept following me around the fair BEGGING me to at least try an e-smoke. It was so embarrassing that it had got to the point where I had to get security involved. Won't be going back to that county fair.

In my collection I have on VHS video tape two television commercials from the 1950's that was shot on location at an amusement park. *A mid 1950's ad for 7-UP that was shot at the original Elitch Gardens in Denver. The Wildcat and most of the rides were shown as well as that famous big Elitch Gardens sign that was on the corner of West 38th Avenue and Tennyson Street. *A late 1950's ( perhaps early 60's ) ad for Winston Filter Cigarettes that was shot I believe at the now defunct Rockaways' Playland in New York. A couple rides the wooden roller coaster and other rides then they decide to light up their Winstons. A close up of the pack of Winstons is shown in the coaster's loading station with the voice guy saying "Winston taste good..Like a cigarette should". A few other clips I have however unfortunately they are on VHS..... *The 1978 Dick Clark special "Good Ole Days" with Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello was shot on location at Knotts Berry Farm. Singer Freddy Cannon is singing his old hit "Palisades Park" right in front of the corkscrew coaster. *Elvis Presley's 1963 film "It Happened at the World's Fair" was shot in Seattle during their World's Fair. Don't remember if any roller coasters were shown but many rides were..and the then-brand new Space Needle. *The 1970's Jack Webb show "Emergency" at least two episodes were shot at amusement parks including one where a man was almost killed on a double Ferris Wheel. Not sure if the parks were real or did Jack Webb borrow some rides to make it seem like an amusement park though. *The 10/27/1967 episode "And A Child Shall Lead Them" of Gomer Pyle USMC had many scenes that were shot at the long defunct Glen Echo Amusement Park outside of Washington DC. Yes one does see the Coaster Dips roller coaster and some of the other rides Glen Echo had at the time as well such as the Trabant, Ferris Wheel and the Whip.

http://www.wvec.com/news/local/Giant-Ferris-wheel-could-become-oceanfronts-newest-attraction--249350631.html Why is it that I get the feeling that within 10 years every large city will have their own giant wheel ??

While you are for the most part right actually with the exception of the state of Montana the law in America is that employment is "at will" meaning that a business can fire someone at anytime and for any reason unless it's a protective class such as skin color for example. Read your company's handbook and/or the contract between an employer and employee and chances are they usually bring up "employment at will". However with that being said since most businesses have their own set of rules as to who gets fired or not plus add in workplace politics as a result many of times "questionable" employees unfortunately do keep their jobs while those who do work hard are usually the ones who are shown the door. I have seen this sort of thing many of times when I had spent almost 20 years working in the radio biz.

I am curious about that one myself. Will Elitch Gardens, Lakeside and Waterworld restrict smoking to just cigarettes and e-smokes only ?? When I had lived in West Virginia several years ago the bars that were located in my county had a similar policy in place between them however the reason behind it wasn't due to marijuana but rather it was due to cigars. Apparently there were too many fights between customers because someone had dared to light up a cigar even though the bars themselves still had allowed smoking inside the establishment.

Even though I somehow have my doubts but then again since I have never been there I guess it "could" be true but over the years I have been told by many that Alaska is the only state in the US that has never seen a roller coaster, not even a kiddy coaster on the carnival circuit.

I'm from West Virginia and yes I agree it would be nice to see a park in the mountain state. Don't know about the rest of West Virginia but unfortunately in the Eastern Panhandle ( Martinsburg & Charles Town ) there is still a lot of that "..oh hell no..not in MY backyard" attitude there. 30 years ago there was talk about building a small family amusement park not far from the Berkeley Plaza Shopping Center. The locals killed the idea before the town of Martinsburg even had a chance to discuss the idea. Today nobody even remembers it. My parents can remember back in the sixties somebody had expressed interest in building a small park similar to Gettysburg, PA's long defunct Fantasyland near the Charles Town Races today's Hollywood Casino..that too died a quick death. Though not West Virginia the city of Winchester, Virginia is only 9 miles or so from the WV boarder. About ten years ago the city was looking at turning the public swimming pool in their city park into a small scale waterpark. Winchester as I can recall even had the money for it too. Again unfortunately the old timers there fought tooth and nail to fight it only to succeed. Today that pool is well just that..a pool. Today if Winchester would look as much as having anything close to an amusement park no doubt too many of the locals would scream "remember MAGIC VALLEY FOOD N" FUN ??....we can't support one". Magic Valley was a small Jeepers like indoor family funplex and they had a small coaster. Even though Magic Valley is long defunct it was a number of reasons including landlord issues that sealed it fate. It wasn't due to lack of business which it received from not only Northern Virginia but the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia too...of course the foes would say otherwise. **sigh** http://rcdb.com/3405.htm

Back in the 80's I can remember when Richmond's WRVA-AM 1140 had a studio at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Funny that of all the times I had visited KD back in those days I never once saw anyone in that studio. I had always felt that was odd since that studio would had been great PR for Kings Dominion considering that WRVA was and still is Virginia's most powerful radio station since one can still pick up WRVA as far away as Chicago even well into Canada. Come to think of it I seem to remember the old Piedmont Airlines having a ticket office not far from the Eiffel Tower. I do know that Piedmont was KD's official airline back in those days.

This past summer visiting Lakeside in Denver I had noticed a few guys walking around the park...smoking joints. OK I know marijuana is legal in Colorado but still it was odd to see people smoking pot at an amusement park.

This is exactly what many do when they decide to visit Kings Dominion and BGW. Fly into either the two DC area airports, Baltimore, Raleigh, Charlotte or even PHILADELPHIA..rent a car and drive the many of miles even though nearby Richmond and Hampton Roads have their own airports, actually Hampton Roads have TWO ( Newport News/Williamsburg International and Norfolk International ). Charlottesville and Roanoke also have airports but of course neither is near any theme/amusement park, well Roanoke did have Lakeside but they have been gone for over 25 years years now. Over the years I have heard many of stories as to why people tend to avoid Virginia's airports other than Dulles and National near DC such as "too expensive", "hard to get to" ( that one I do not buy at all ) and the ever important "..lack of non-stop flights". Of course its easy to fly non-stop to say Richmond or Norfolk from Charlotte, Atlanta and Baltimore and most other big cities up and down the east but just try to find a a non-stop flight say from LA or Phoenix to Norfolk..not gonna happen. Considering that region not only has BGW but Virginia Beach, Norfolk Naval Base, water parks such as Water Country USA and many other attractions plus being a metro area with close to 2 million people one would think Hampton Roads would have a major airport with lots of non-stop flights nationwide..but they don't. Oh well the lack of non-stop flights is a gain for the many of hotels/motels on the way. Both Hagerstown, Maryland and Winchester, Virginia their hotels and restaurants do get a LOT of business from travelers from Ohio, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Kentucky who make those areas a "stop over" on their way to the various Virginia attractions in other parts of the state.

Gotta factor in those "metro" numbers... Denver.....2,645,209 Indianapolis...1,928,982 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas

Valley Worlds of Fun in Fairmont, West Virginia south of Morgantown. Been there..it IS bad !! The day I went my camera had issues so I didn't get any pics but i did find this...the reviews pretty much says it all. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g59052-d896989-Reviews-Valley_Worlds_of_Fun-Fairmont_West_Virginia.html#REVIEWS

Forgot one... Over the years I have heard from a number of Colorado old timers about the young man who back in the mid to late 1950's was decapitated on the Wild Chipmunk Coaster during a company picnic at Denver's Lakeside Park. Actually last year I had met a 94 year old man who swears not only did it happen but he was there when it happened too. According to him it was a King Soopers Supermarket picnic ( the chain had rented out the park for employees and their families only ). That part I have my doubts. In the 50's King Soopers was a very very small and struggling grocery chain. At one back then according to my dad Kings had filed bankruptcy It wasn't until 1972 or so when Kroger took over when King Soopers became what they are today..a big chain, at least in Colorado anyway. Back in the 1950's King Soopers couldn't afford to rent out Lakeside much less Elitch Gardens. Now did someone actually get the head cut off on the Wild Chipmunk ?? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

About ten years ago a group of us were at the "Lucy Days" a Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz event in Jamestown, NY. While there we had heard the rumor about TV Land ( the cable net ) and CBS will be teaming up to build a theme park based on classic TV shows and game shows. I remember the woman at the Lucy gift shop telling us that a wooden coaster will be built and it is to be called ....JEOPARDY !! I know "WT..?????" I Another ride she had mentioned though non-coaster was a ride based on "I Love Lucy" and that Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. had already gave the OK ( yeah right !! ) Anyway the Lucy ride was to be a Calypso'-like ride with the cars looking like restaurant booths ( Tropicana Night Club I guess )..spinning around while the sound system is blaring Desi Arnaz "Babalu". Even back then I knew this was a myth. Received the vibe when I had asked the woman in the gift shop where will be the location for this "park"? Her response was Syracuse, NY !! Quite a few of others bought it though. Wouldn't surprise me at all if there are a few hardcore Lucille Ball, perhaps maybe even a few Alex Trebek fans out there who are still waiting for this park to be built so they can ride the spinning Babalu and JEOPARDY..the coaster.

I do a lot of business in Denver...enough so that I might as well live there. Haven't been to Elitches for a while though however yesterday at work my co-worker had on MIX 100 KIMN only to hear one of their djs say on the air that "Elitches SUCK" ..this was in the mid morning so I would imagine it was Dom & Jane but not sure...I try to avoid Denver radio when I can

Really about the best place in West Virginia to build any kind of themepark would be in the Eastern Panhandle town of Martinsburg, for two key reasons. They can attract the Baltimore and DC crowd and Berkeley County ( Martinsburg ) does NOT have any zoning whatsoever. The way it is right now one can build any size park anywhere they want in that county...and the county can NOT touch you with a ten foot pole.

Recently a group of us had visited the town of Cheyenne, Wyoming just in time for their annual Frontier Days. Considering this is the biggest event in Wyoming, I assume that the carnival they had is the biggest in that state too. Besides the typical rides, food stands and games, the event also featured concerts by Kid Rock, Toby Keith and Motley Crue. Not bad of a line-up considering that despite being the largest city in the state Cheyenne only has about 60,000 living there. Oh..and they had a rodeo too. Didn't get a pic of it but one of those most ironic and bizarre things that I had EVER seen at a fair I saw here. The local police and the local Cheyenne CBS TV station channel 5 KGWN ( Not KWGN that is Denver ) anyway they had on display a car was that totally destroyed by its owner...who was driving drunk and of course was killed as a result. One could even see blood stains on the seat and what was left of the trunk was a small poster reminding viewers to watch CBS !! And if that wasn't strange enough right next door to all of this was a booth offering cheap long necks of Bud Light !! Of course more were hanging around the Bud Light booth than looking at the car. This is my first trip report...hope you like. Wyoming's State Capital building. Welcome to Frontier Days !!!! The first thing one sees inside after getting off the shuttle bus..which was actually a school bus used by the local Cheyenne school district. Wyoming's largest lemon !!! Chances to win your very own cowboy hat.... ..while next door is a place to meet some "rowdy cowgirls". My aunt and myself standing outside the arena. Kid Rock hadn't arrived yet LOL The south midway ..wanna take a bet that this is the largest slide in Wyoming? ..an European style fun house at a cowboy themed event in Cheyenne, Wyoming. ...The bears are large in Wyoming and QUIET. Unlike the "bears" down in Denver who tend to yell "wolf" and "grrrrr" way too often. Bumper cars...the only ones in Wyoming. BTW..if you look real close the road in the background is Interstate 25. Paratroopers !! The local Air Force base is nearby. Actually so VERY nearby that it is possible to see the pilots in the cockpit on the top of the wheel. ..one of the more smaller versions I have seen. ..not just a Round-Up but an AMERICAN Round-Up. ..the closest one can get to a Wyoming credit is the Ring of Fire..plus as an extra bonus the Tilt-A-Whril. ..Wyoming's Zipper. ....the Cowboys/girls really do love their Spider. ...for those who can't make it to New Orleans... ..the Cliffhanger. ..right next to the Yo Yo you can see just how low the planes are flying here. ..I spot a TORNADO !! ..the other ( and smaller ) Ferris Wheel at Frontier Days. ...believe it or not this seemed to be the busiest ride while we were there even though not-so-much when I had snapped this pic. ..some of the games along the midway...can we say "rip off"? Sadly many of them were. ..the Scrambler..OK..the Sizzler !! Reminds me of steak for some reason !! ..and finally a shot of me and the Dragons !! ..time for me to leave Wyoming !! Hope you had enjoyed this.

Not really an accident per-say ( those there was an "accident story" that goes with this..stand by ) anyway on July 11, 1990 a massive storm complete with baseball size hail and very heavy rain slammed into both Elitch Gardens & Lakeside Amusement Parks. 47 people were injured at Elitches alone when many of those were stranded on the rides only to have the power fail during the storm. Despite the big storm most if not all the injuries were cuts, bumps and BRUISES. Nobody died as a result of the storm. ....now part two.... Later on that year ( 1990 ) a local Denver woman in need of quick cash decided to tell here story to the National Enquirer. Yes THAT National Enquirer. In the article she claimed that while she was "almost killed" on the ferris wheel at Elitches, she not only saw the train jump the track on the Mr. Twister coaster but that she saw four bodies being thrown to their deaths from the coaster. She also added that Denver's KMGH Television channel 7 had footage of the accident ( and the dead bodies ) and that both the Denver police and employees of Eltich Gardens were going around the park making guests sign some kind of a waiver telling them to "say nothing" in exchange for free season passes to Elitches and other Denver area attractions. Ah didn't take very long after the National Enquirer published the story the woman had told was a made up just to earn to some cash. I don't recall just how much money the Enquire paid this woman but whatever it was she didn't keep it as she was forced to settle out of court with Elitches and KMGH-TV due to her lying about then in a public arena...and I am sure the Enquirer had received a share too. Here is a link about the storm in question.... http://www.crh.noaa.gov/bou/include/his.php?month=JUL&dayOfMonth=11

I knew that from day one. To this day I still laugh at how anyone would had believed that Disney would even consider about West Virginia. But then again back in those days the local airwaves around Charles Town, WV had the infamous local radio talk show host Tom Tucker on WRNR-AM 740. Tucker was more/less famous or infamous about saying stuff over the air without checking out the facts first such as in this case with Disney or more recently non-stop flights to Denver & Phoenix from Martinsburg, West Virginia's airport...that has yet to happen and chances are never will.

I would LOVE to see an old TV ad for Oceanview. My dad swears he can remember seeing such an add on WAVY 10 back in the 60's..back when local Hampton Roads TV viewers saw this "...the following program is brought to you in living WAVY color...on Tidewater 10 !!" Heck anything local TV related from those days would be cool to see now. Gee I can see the late Terry Zahn right now !!!!

Totally forgotten now but Disney's America despite the fact that the project didn't happen actually had played a MAJOR role in bringing legal casino gambling to nearby Charles Town, West Virginia. A few months before Disney pulled out of the project, the voters of Jefferson County, WV ( Charles Town ) voted against the idea of slots at the local Charles Town Racetrack even though they were warned that the track was in deep trouble and would close if the slots were voted down. The reason many voted no was that the voters had this idea that if Disney would dump their project in Virginia...then Disney would head to WEST VIRGINIA !! Now why would people believe such stuff is ..well who knows !! But anyway the day after it was announced that Disney would NOT build in Virginia, Jefferson County did approach Disney about giving them the land of Charles Town Races for their park. Ah it didn't take very long for Disney to tell Jefferson County..NO to their idea. With Disney saying they weren't interested in the Charles Town Racetrack a few years later the vote to allow slots came up once again to the local voters but then time they voted YES !!! Today The Charles Town Races is now called The Hollywood Casino at the Charles Town Races. Local gamblers can thank Disney's decision to pull out of Virginia for this. http://www.hollywoodcasinocharlestown.com/

I don't remember which one it was but when both Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye had their bios published many years ago, one of them I can recall had mentioned that in the late 1970's during the heyday of the Bakker's Heritage USA, Jim & Tammy had planned on taking over Carowinds and make that park a part of the Jim Bakker empire since Carowinds was located just down the road from Heritage USA. No doubt that back in the 70's the Bakkers had enough of cash to buy Carowinds but I believe this a dream of the Bakkers...but then again who knows only that "Jim & Tammy presents Carowinds" never did become a reality.

"chetCO" - welcome to TPR and thanks for the comment! Very cool your first post would be in this topic. Z104... years and years of hearing their promo spots leave the jingle permanently imbedded in my brain. The Tides Hotel... do you remember ever seeing the "Viking" hotel in VA Beach... the one with the observation window for the pool at street level? We used to park near there all the time when visiting the beach and it was fun watching swimmers become "marine park attractions". The plans may not have gone down exactly as expected by the hotel staff's account... but rides, a rollercoaster, mini-golf, waterpark, and go-carts all currently exist on property grounds. Buckroe... if you ever visited there, we should correspond a moment. I recently posted a reply in another thread that mentioned Buckroe Beach AP... check the response by clicking here (last part of the post). As for the change you noticed... at that time... good question and maybe knowledgeable Ocean Breeze staff or history buffs, potentially reading this thread, could drop some knowledge with an answer, if appropriate? Hey thanks for the kind words !!! "HOT HITS.... Z ONE OH FOURRRRR"..yeah thats imbedded into my brain too and "97 Star W G H". Here is something you and perhaps others may be interested in..its a 1968 WGH radio broadcast that was done UNDER the Rocket roller coaster at Oceanview. Its under the name Bob Calvert. http://www.alohanews.com/A-C.htm Never been to Buckroe when it was open but I was there in the summer of 1987 just in time to see the destruction of the coaster. Richmond's WTVR channel 6 on their website as part of a celebration of their 60th anniversary had a news report they had aired on the last day of Buckroe Beach but I am not sure if its still there or not. Remembering the news report Buckroe sadly wasn't very much. The Viking Motel..YES YES I remember that place. Still there? Tides was torn down for a Holiday Inn many years ago. I need to head back to VA Beach one of these days.