Shane's Amusement Attic

[Dr.Pest]

I like it !!! nice pics !

[MillenniumDan]

Hay here's a 2000 article about Millennium Force from Weekly Reader,

[MillenniumDan]

And here's the cover to the 1978 Kings Island booklet,

I'll post the inside pages later.

[montezooma]

Season 4 of Shane's Amusement Attic is premiering with a look back at the little theme park that could. When I first visited Holiday World I thought to myself..."is it worth it to make a drive out to the middle of nowhere for a stupid Santa Clause land?" Wow has this place changed! Look for yourself what the park was like 15 or so years ago and what it is today...Impressive!

 

I always look forward each year for the Holiday World's announcement, their attractions are creative, impressive and always unique. So I am pleased to start season 4 with a look back at such a GREAT park...Holiday World.

Hooray for Season 4

Holiday World park map before Raven.

the park begins its "rapid" accent into the big leagues.

Park admission is $11.95...Wow that is cheaper than Cowabunga Bay

They actually had a ride called the "Banshee" how politically incorrect!

1994 brochure

the "Raven" the ride that puts the park on the map. 1995

[larrygator]

thanks for going back into the Attic for us.

[DenDen]

OMG, season 4?!?!?!?!? Where has the time gone????? Welcome back!!!!

[Big Mike]

Welcome back once again good buddy!

 

Always a pleasure to see the attic back in action

 

Guess it is time to start the Road Show back up too now!

 

 

Peace, Big Mike

[Movieguy]

I love park nostalgia! Thanks so much for putting the time and effort into your impressive collection, Shane.

[wlmoorer]

Shane, as always, thank you for sharing the retro park schwag! Love to see the old park maps and marketing material!

[DBru]

Thanks for posting these!

 

I really miss the Banshee...

[ratdogg68]

Glad to see the attic door open again, and what a greeting. I've been going to Santa Claus Land since I can remember, I am 42 now. I grew up with Santa Claus Land, Beech Bend, and Fontaine Ferry. Always look forward to what you have to offer.

[montezooma]

Hey Guys-

 

Sorry for the slight delay in the updates here at Shane's Amusement Attic, I have been off globetrotting around the world visiting some of my favorite places including the most AWESOME country in the world...Japan!

 

I have dug deep into the attic to bring you this update. Those of you that were in elementary school in the 70's will remember the totally cool magazine "Dynamite". They did a dynamite article on Colossus at Magic Mountain. There is also an article from the American Airlines magazine back in 1984 when Gemini and the American Eagle where the ultimate in coaster. And as a bonus I found an old newspaper contest and the Grand Prize was a trip to Marriott's Great America!

 

Enjoy-

Shane

 

PS- coming soon, my totally awesome IAAPA recap, look for it late November!

You could win a trip to Marriott's Great America...if it was still 1978

[BigDipper 80]

Fascinating article there! I found this quote fairly interesting: "Not that Europeans or Japanese or others have anything against being scared half to death. It's just that most haven't been exposed to anything as wild as an American roller coaster." Now we think of Japan and Europe as having some of the best roller coasters in the world, as they can do things there that would never be allowed in America.

[coaster-crazy]

Great update Shane. I really enjoyed the Marriott's ad since I live very close to that park.

 

Looking forward to much more!

 

~Nicholas

[montezooma]

Great update Shane. I really enjoyed the Marriott's ad since I live very close to that park.

 

Looking forward to much more!

 

~Nicholas

 

Well then you wouldn't need to win the contest..lol Thanks for the comments. So what do you think of what is happening to the park nowadays? I used to love that park and for several years was the creative director for it. I think it is on it's last leg and the plug is almost ready to be pulled. Such a shame, there was so much potential.

[coaster-crazy]

Well then you wouldn't need to win the contest..lol Thanks for the comments. So what do you think of what is happening to the park nowadays? I used to love that park and for several years was the creative director for it. I think it is on it's last leg and the plug is almost ready to be pulled. Such a shame, there was so much potential.

 

You know, I had a season pass for that park every year from 1999 to 2009. However, the park seems to be so ... un-changing that we decided to not get a pass this year. The park is on its last leg for sure and tension from nearby businesses and the stadium project do not help along with the not-so-great economy. I'm sure the land is VERY valuable since it's smack dab in the middle of the Silicon Valley. The park really needs to do some little changes. Almost everything in the park needs some paint or TLC. They are trying hard to move on through this time and events such as Haunt seem to be helping.

 

I still see it closing possibly in the next 5 years. It would be a shame. I really love the park, but my love for it seems to dwindle...

 

~Nicholas

[Columbia]

Great update Shane. I really enjoyed the Marriott's ad since I live very close to that park.

 

Looking forward to much more!

 

~Nicholas

 

Well then you wouldn't need to win the contest..lol Thanks for the comments. So what do you think of what is happening to the park nowadays? I used to love that park and for several years was the creative director for it. I think it is on it's last leg and the plug is almost ready to be pulled. Such a shame, there was so much potential.

 

It's really sad to see the park go from such a high in the 90's to really an Astro World like feeling (Nothing new, maybe closing, maybe not...)

 

Funny, the park seemed to be hitting it's stride when YOU were working there...coincidence?!?

 

Love seeing the archival stuff from my hometown parks, keep it up Shane!

 

Oh, and I still want to see the proof you signed your name at the top of Drop Zone...

[montezooma]

Anyone need an AstroWorld fix? I know I always do. Here is a quick look back at the Houston park through an 8 postcard bonus pack. I still have my fingers crossed that Greezed Lightnin will make it out of storage.

Edited November 13, 2010 by ernierocker

[robbalvey]

Thank you for more attic updates, Shane!

[larrygator]

Shane - Do you have a year on the back of those postcards?

[CoasterFreaks]

Thanks Shane! I have recently started trying to build up my Astroworld collection for one wall in my garage. I was just doing some Astroworld research the other night after hearing about the new carousel Worlds of Fun is getting. And I wholeheartedly agree about Greezed Lightning! Always a thrill, and MUCH better than its brother I rode out at SFOG. Nothing better than the in-station launch and the "hangtime" you got in the front seat coming backwards through the loop

[TheScooterGuy]

How old were you when Astroworld first opened on June 1 1968? I wasn't born in the 1960s but my father was almost 12 years old!

[Movieguy]

Frankly, I'm surprised that Astroworld even closed. Parks like Geauga Lake don't surprise me, because they're in the depressed North, which I hail from, while Astroworld was in Texas, one of the very successful southern states that everyone seems to want to be in now. What exactly happened to cause this, if you don't mind my ignorance of SF history?

[let1gre]

^ Things cited have been the park's performance (which is surprising since it had pretty much a monopoly on the 6th-largest population center in America) and that the land value that it was sitting on was more valuable than the park was.

[Scott45]

Man, I only went twice, once in '76 and the last time was '82 while visiting relatives there. I always thought it was cooler than SFOG or Carolwinds, our "local" amusment parks for Charleston SC. The junk in Myrtle Beach never counted. I do remember thinking Greezed Lighting felt different from the Carolwinds version but that the Texas Cyclone didn't quite beat out SFOG's Great American Scream Machine.