pianojohn Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 More pics from the past! The first batch were taken in 1983, the last summer the Wildcat ran before the fire in April of 1984. They were taken by Joe Riznar, the regional ACE rep back in the 1980's. The rest of the pics were taken on the last operating day of the park, Labor Day 1984 and during the auction in October of that same year. It was sad that the final day of the season was dark and dreary, while the auction day was bright and sunny. Midway The bumper cars The Old Mill completely burned down, but some boats survived. Trains in the station ready to go, but never given the chance. They actually nailed a 2X4 on the track in front of the train in case it got dispatched. What was left of the Wildcat after the fire The park's sign And the Back Wabbit in 1984 The Jack Rabbit in 1983 A full train of riders Wow. Lemonade was only $.75 The midway leading to the Wildcat on the left The fan curve and final tunnel The station as viewed from the lift hill The fan curve Looking backward down the lift hill Entering the 2nd tunnel The Wildcat The Back Wabbit in action on Labor Day 1984. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted August 4, 2009 Author Share Posted August 4, 2009 Part Two: Auction Day The slide. Notice the dust. I am pretty sure it had been closed for years. OK. I THINK this slide was in the fun house, but it was closed off when the park was open. I discovered it during the auction and snapped a few pics. And strange props Lots of random signs for sale Does this count? : ) The kiddie coaster. I never got this credit. : ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill eynon iii Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Wow those are great. I really miss my home park and wish I could go back. At least my friend has the last car of the yellow Wildcat train that I can sit in whenever I want. I also have taken way too many photos of that round light. [/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastuso Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Great pics!!!!! ANy more of the dark rides or fun house? Good fun house pics are so hard to come by. Everyone took pics of the big coaster, the gem of the park, in the old days. The average person wouldn't take pics of dark rides. Thanks for sharing. RO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Thriller Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 All I can say is your a lucky guy to have been able to visit all these truly classic parks. How would you compare these parks with the ones they have today? --James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Peck Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Fantastic. I think one of biggest killers of this park wasn't the fire, but when they put the kiddieland on the site of the old giant pool... unfortunately, refurbishing the old pool was way out of their budget at the time, too... so it was fate from the start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagleshot Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Those are great pictures. I'm glad you shared them with us. I love the fact that the trains had no restraints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 All I can say is your a lucky guy to have been able to visit all these truly classic parks. How would you compare these parks with the ones they have today? --James Idora was so unique. It had a small park charm but never felt cheap. I don't think there was ever a crowd when I went. I remember Labor Day 1983. We got in for $5 a car load! We ended up riding the Wildcat probably a dozen times that night. It turns out we were probably the last people to ride it. I remember they had decent food inside one of the park's restaurants. The park also was built right in a neighborhood with houses bordering the Jack Rabbit coaster. They even had a baseball field on the infield of the Jack Rabbit. I don't know if this park would have survived today. It was located many miles from the nearest interstate. They had 2 great coasters and a lot of cool flat rides, but they really didn't have the money or land to compete with Cedar Point, Geauga Lake, or Kennywood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillerman1 Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 I have always wanted to see more pics of Idora...awesome! I would love to see Wildcat get recreated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myself Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 If the fire hadn't occured I think the park would have survived into at least the late 90s. And, if it had fallen on hard times, I wouldn't have put it out of the question to see Kennywood Entertainment purchase the park as it had the same goals as most of their parks. It's a shame the fire came and began Idora's demise. It looked like a really great park. If the blueprints have survived to 2009, I would love to see the Wildcat and/or the Jack Rabbit reconstructed somewhere. Also, the picture of Kooky Castle caught my interest, as it bears a great resemblance to my favorite dark ride as a child, Le Cachot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amradiostars Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 great pics Pianojohn...i'm a moderator at the only active website for Idora...and a former employee...as far as the post above me i have 4 of the wildcat blueprints i tracked down after 23 years, finding them about 2 years ago...its hard to believe its been 25 years since the park closed, but those pics are sweet..i also have the last car to the yellow wildcat train...thanks for posting those Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon62 Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Awesome pics, I wore out my right mouse button saving them. Its amazing to see more of the blue train in action. The lead blue car is awaiting some long needed refreshing in my garage. Thanks again!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hothitz2000 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Is there anything left of the park today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conneaut1892 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 A friend of mine just bought the orange Turtle off of a guy in Pittsburgh. It is in great shape and still has all of the feet and the tail. The sign that says "2 Tickets" came with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon62 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Sadly not much is left to show that idora was there, only the over grown paths that were once the midway and the perimeter fence and a stone stairway that led to a picnic area are still there. Bounce over to Idorapark.org for current pics of the grounds. 10 years ago idora was ideal Urbex territory but time finally caught up with it and the owners of the land bulldozed every last structure. Idora was amazing to snoop through back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milst1 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Thanks for the great pictures and comments. I always wanted to shoot up there from Pittsburgh when Wildcat was SBNO, but never got the chance. -Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.gumbo Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Always sad to see a defunct park. For anyone who has ridden it, what was Idora Wildcat like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 Well, I guess I'll answer the question since I rode it so many times! A ride on the Wildcat started off with a left handed turn into a long, dark tunnel. Basically an S shape in the dark. As you emerged the tunnel, you connected to the chain lift. Looking backward, you could see the whole layout of the ride. A quick turn to the right was followed by the first drop. Nothing too great but a decent start. Next was the most intense part of the ride: the fan curve. You entered it and made a swooping left turn and drop. As the car dropped, you got whipped to the right side. I remember always bracing my hip against the car so I wouldn't get a bruise! It really was that intense. Another hill in the middle led to a right hand turn. As you exited the turn, the track stayed banked to the right. You dropped out of this and into the tunnel under the fan curve and then into the brake run. When I rode it in 1983 at night, you could see sparks flying off the coaster at various parts of the ride. Also, the trains had fixed lap bars. This meant you had to slide into your seat and HANG ON! I often rode it alone, and you would be tossed side to side throughout the ride. I imagine if the ride were still around today, they would have had to change the cars and add locking lap bars, head rests, and seat dividers. It was an amazing ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon62 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Take a virtual ride, The aforementioned fan turn was supposedly nicknamed "the rib cracker" due to the way it threw you into the side of the car. The wildcat was old school, no dividers and fixed lap bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woogle Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I almost enjoyed checking the clothes and hairstyles out more than the rides! Can't believe we used to dress like that. Nice update John! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyingcoasterfreak Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Do we know why the Ride burned? Was it arson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 The Old Mill and 1/3 of the Wilcat (and some other buildings including the park's offices) burned in a fire caused by accident. A worker was doing welding on the Old Mill and sparks from that set off a fire which quickly spread to the other rides. From Wikipedia: "A devastating fire on April 26, 1984 destroyed the Wild Cat coaster, the Lost River ride, eleven concession stands, and the park office. Employees scrambled to save park records, but only some of the most current files were pulled to safety, while older files and historical records were lost. Investigation later determined that a welding torch's heat or sparks may have ignited leaves or roofing material on the Lost River, which stood next to the Wild Cat. Employees tried to extinguish the growing flames with hand extinguishers, but soon realized that the fire was out of control. Twelve fire companies responded to the fire, which spread quickly as winds carried it across concession stands and on to the midway. Many off-duty firefighters also responded to the call to help contain flames that spread along the Wild Cat's wooden tracks and threatened the merry-go-round, which was scorched but ultimately saved from destruction. Firefighters found themselves at a disadvantage with a lack of in-park hydrants, poor water pressure, and aged wooden rides and buildings. They finally tamed the blaze by running lines to hydrants outside the park. Final damage was estimated in millions of dollars; the replacement of the Wild Cat was estimated at $1.5 million. Intense heat melted paint in various areas of the gazebo. The south horseshoe of the Wild Cat was destroyed, but repair cost was prohibitive. Park owners acknowledged that the loss of the Wild Cat was disastrous. The Wild Cat was Idora's biggest attraction. The park operated through the summer of 1984, but with the premier ride gone, a decision was made to close permanently. Idora Park welcomed its last visitors on September 16, 1984." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon62 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 IIRC, The carousel was saved due to the firefighters continually dousing the ride with water. If you look up the carousel now called "jane's carousel" in Brooklyn, Ny, the lady who restored it and now displays it left some of the heat seared paint unrestored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dailey Enterprizes Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Great stuff man. I loved the pictures and how the ride seemed to just fit into that small space. I wish someone had pictures and video of West View Park, but I doubt it since they closed in 1977. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorkscrewFoley Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Thanks for posting these pics John. I have to say though, from your pics and description of Wildcat, its layout sound/looks similar to the Swamp Fox. This by no means is a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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