Idorapark 's WildCat Coaster Cars Found after 22 years

[verticalzero]

Check this out:

 

http://www.idorapark.org/gallery/catcars?page=1

 

If the Wildcat was so good, why not rebuild a new version of it...?

 

Anyone ride it before it got "razed"..?

[FlyingScooter]

Nice site there. Many good photos. Thanks for posting this.

 

I didn't know the cars were lost.

Maybe this is why the park closed.

(jk) not one of the good photos.

[MrMorgan]

What is it about Idora park that gets me so obsessed? There are so many defunct parks, but something about Idora interests me sooooo much! I wanna buy one of the old Wildcat cars, but what am I gonna do with it?

[snuggles]

Make it look better. Seriously, they look like pieces of crap right now.

[pianojohn]

Well, I bought one of the blue cars at the auction back in 1984. I kept it in my parent's garage for about a year and then sold it to a collector. I will have to get the pics of it the next time I am home.

 

As for the ride, it was GREAT. I rode it a lot in 1982 and 1983. In fact, I probably got one of the last rides on it on Labor Day in 1983. It was the last day of the season, and the crowds were non-existent. I probably rode it about 20 times that day.

 

It was an intense ride, and you had to know HOW to ride it to avoid getting banged around too much. The fan curve after the first drop was pretty brutal, and I used to position my hip against the side of the car so it would take the blunt of the slam when we dropped.

 

There was a permanent lap bar that you squeezed under and held onto throughout the ride. That's right: no locking lap bar or even a seat belt. Nowadays, it would probably have new cars with seat dividers, head rests, lap bars, seat belts, and trim brakes everywhere.

 

It was a great ride. Anyone else get to experience it?

Here is the car in my parent's garage circa 1984. I tried to restore it but gave up after a few months and sold it.

[MrMorgan]

I'm so jealous! Thanks for posting the play by play. Like I said, I'm obsessed with this ride.

[bill eynon iii]

I never got to ride it but I did however get to ride The Jackrabbit at that park. I live about 10 min from the park. I miss it so much. I am one of the senior members of Idorapark.org and am happy to report that one 2 of our members have purchased cars for their private collections. Also about 2 years ago one of our members purchased the front car from the orange train of the Jackrabbit also. It was in much worse condition than these cars are. It is currently in the slow process of being restored. Several of our members also have some very interresting memorabilia from Idora. It is nice to see that people here have an interrest in Idora. I for one still love the park that closed over 20 years ago. In fact my License plate reads "1 Idora". There will never be another park quite like Idora Park.