bgwfreak Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Ok so Ted's (coasterfanatic) threads (hey that rhymes) Ted's threads, Ted's threads, Ted's threads *slaps self* anyway his retro threads reminded me that I never had bothered to scan some of my mom's photos from our various trips in the 80's. I will tell you that Mom didn't take a whole lot of pictures back then, so you'll only get a few pics per park. lol Anyway, here's the first batch. Enjoy! This one features: Santa's Land (1975) NC State Fair (1978?) Opryland (1982) (which also includes the 82 World's Fair at Knoxville, TN) and Epcot (1985) and also includes Gatorland (small zoo with nothing but Crocs and Gators). Does anyone know if this place still exists? Where's PETA when you need them. Seriously though as hot as Florida is, you know these animals must have been hot. Give me some candy! I almost feel sorry for these guys. (almost) Arrrrggh! I'm the huge Gatorland entrance. Gimme some candy! (See Ted wasn't lieing about the socks!) More of us standing around in Epcot. Here we are at it again this time at Epcot. Love that hairstyle. Here we are at the World's Fair. This was the biggest rip-off in history! Overpriced & overcrowded. Check out my uber cool PacMan shirt. Opryland had a lot of shows from what I remember. Also Steven Curtis Chapman (Christian singer) used to work at OL back then, this could be him! (blonde hair) The Opryland carousel taken from the sky ride. Here's my dad about to be eaten by a bear. Sadly we never heard from him again. p.s. I'm the short one. Ahh the classic non-Dan friendly water ride. See the logo of Opryland on the side! A random pic mom took of me at the NC State Fair. No date, but I'd guess around 1978. Note the Paratrooper in the background. Frontier Land? Ok mom writes this on the back of this photo. Is this Disney World? I couldn't find a Frontier Land park online (in the States). Another one I'm not sure on. Seems I have the same shirt on as in the Santa's Land pics. Anyone know if they had 1 of these? Why does this remind me of that scene in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves? Woo hoo! My 1st flat ride! Or certainly one of the 1st. That's me at the top and my brother (crying) at the bottom. LOL! Santa's Land ( I think ). Although I don't know what Native Americans have to do with Santa??? Ok here is where things get fuzzy. I think this train was at Santa's Land, but it's impossible to make out the name on the side of the train. Somewhere near Cherokee, NC I think is a small park called Santa's Land. Here I am around age 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFanatic Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Nice Wes. I am VERY jealous that you got to go to any kind of World's Fair. Overpriced or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefitness Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 cool pics and yes i think Gatorland is still open Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I will have to dig up some of my old 80's theme park pics, of which there are thousands!! And yes, lots of famous singers worked at Opryland in the mid 80's. Also, did you know that Carmen Electra worked at King's Island in 1990? She was in a show called "It's Magic" which I have on video. However, I am not sure she was in that day, and this was before her MAJOR plastic surgery "enhancements." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I miss Opryland, great TR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electerik Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Yes, indeed, "Orlando's Best Half Day Attraction" still exists, and is doing just fine as far as I know. http://www.gatorland.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgwfreak Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 I added some more pics to the original post. Ted you didn't miss too much. lol From what I remember it was stinking hot in Knoxville that day, every exhibit was like a hour wait and my parents forever complained about how expensive it was. The only exhibit I remember was the technology exhibit and I was amazed that they said we would have phones in the bathroom in the near future. Hmmmm... I wonder why that never happened. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgwfreak Posted August 2, 2006 Author Share Posted August 2, 2006 I've got lots of "vintage Disney World" pics. I'll post them in a new thread and update this one whenever I get time this weekend to scan them. It's stinking hot, so I'll be inside in the A/C. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Great pics Wes! Retro stuff rocks...and a big thank you to Ted for starting a nice trend here. In case anyone misses the toungue and cheek sarcasm, I wouldn't feel too sorry for those gators. Although I'm an animal lover myself, this is one species that isn't exactly warm and cuddly enough to have deep sympathies for. When you golf in south florida, you come in contact with them many times, and trust me, they lead just as good a life at Gatorland as they do anywhere else...if not better. Oh yeah, and one more thing.....they're Gators . A look at the avatar, and 'nuff said. I'm really gonna have to raid mom's collection of old pics when I visit in October. I know I can match you and Ted on the socks. Oh, and Ted...I went to the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans. Be jealous, be very jealous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtbiker99 Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 I also went to the Worlds Fair in Knoxville. The only thing I remember was getting free milk that comes in a box, and can be stored at room temperature. I also remember the gold and blue Sunsphere. I was driving by Knoxville this past April, and the Sunsphere is still there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 ^ I think it's filled with wigs now. Scott "hope someone gets that reference" B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgwfreak Posted August 2, 2006 Author Share Posted August 2, 2006 I remember seeing a robot or something at one of the exhibits, I've got a pic of it somewhere. I was only 10, so I don't remember much about the World's Fair except our junkie hotel room my parents paid $100 a night for. I think there was supposed to be a restaurant in the dome or something. Wes "who drives by Knoxville and keeps going every time" C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 ^ I think it's filled with wigs now. Scott "hope someone gets that reference" B. Yeah well, my rental car got smashed with it. Boy, that car has been through everything, including wandering off into a field... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 ^ Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Regarding Frontierland, there actually was once a small park in NC called Frontierland: http://www.defunctparks.com/parks/NC/indexNC.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgwfreak Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 ^ Thanks! We also went to that Land of Oz I think as well. Somehow they never took us to Ghost Town though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamikazekurve Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 A few of those pics are from FrontierLand. That was an annual pilgrimage for our family. Also the only place that I became sick on a ride...12 times on the Tilt-A-Whirl will do it. I believe that when it closed, Ghost Town took the rides. They did have this thing where you stood in a cage and rocked back and forth until you went over the top. It was huge to me back then and I have never seen one since. Unfortunately, I have no pics to add, but I do have some of the park on 8MM film. Talk about retro... Alan PS - Sunsphere is green and gold now and just takes up a lot of space Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMorgan Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 They did have this thing where you stood in a cage and rocked back and forth until you went over the top. It was huge to me back then and I have never seen one since. They have those at the German fairs here in ...well, Germany. I've never done it, and to tell you the truth, now that I think of it I don't know why I've never done it. I'm a "push and swing until you make it over the top cage ride" virgin! Maybe I'll go do it today and post a PTR.... Anyhoo. I was just home visiting my mom last week and now I wish I would have raided our old picture collection for some fun old pics of our vacations to Valleyfair, WDW, Circus World, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 What great pictures - they really took me back. I remember that World's Fair - that was where I rode my first Enterprise. It's funny, I also remember that wierd little park in the Cherokee Reservation. Wow - what a blast from the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennywood!007 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Those are some really cool photos. Seing parks from back then is awesome! So do you still tease your brother about crying on the ferris wheel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgwfreak Posted August 18, 2006 Author Share Posted August 18, 2006 ^ No, not in a long time. Plus he's like almost 40 now so it kind of loses it's affect. lol I can't say much, I was scared of Scooby Doo when I was a kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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