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Dark Ride Paradise - Wild Bill's Nostalgia Center


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^ OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

this is looking so AWESOME, that front facade is, Larry!

 

tell the guys they are rawking an amazing looking show building!

 

 

(EDIT to add... HI EON!)

Edited by Nrthwnd
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  • 2 weeks later...

I got a text from Chuck Burnham a few days ago.

 

Ground has been broken for the first dark ride building. This is the old Staten Island Pretzel that will have a circus theme.

 

I'm going to try to make it up there on January 6th, as I plan to be in New Haven that night for a basketball game.

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I got a text from Chuck Burnham a few days ago.

 

Ground has been broken for the first dark ride building. This is the old Staten Island Pretzel that will have a circus theme.

 

I'm going to try to make it up there on January 6th, as I plan to be in New Haven that night for a basketball game.

 

Good to hear that this project is still chugging along.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I stopped by Wild Bill's yesterday afternoon since I was going to be in New Haven for a basketball game. Unfortunately I can not share any more information about any rides Wild Bill and Chuck are working to acquire but I did get more pictures.

 

Ground was broken for the first pretzel dark ride, the one previously from Staten Island that will be brought back to life with a circus theme. However, the weather has not allowed for any vertical construction of the building.

 

The full exterior of the Haunted Fun House appears to be in place, but detailing continues. One tiresome project has been creating the far right room of the building and cutting and painting handmade shingles for adornment.

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It might not look like much now, but this is the future site of the world's "newest" Pretzel dark ride.

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and from another angle.

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Full view of the Haunted Fun House.

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Current work is being done in this area.

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Each of those shingles was hand cut and painted by Chuck and crew.

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and still plenty more shingles to be hung

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Looks like they will go here

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Green slime appears to be falling from the roof

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This view better shows the bats appendages than any pictures I previously posted. Where's Waldo?

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A little work is still needed on the left side of the structure.

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The recently installed vulture stares down the future midway of this fun grove.

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Behind the scenes I see wiring.

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Chuck changed one of the sign the Wild Bill's store to announce the Pretzel ride.

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A rodent for Elissa.

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As I've mentioned in previous posts, there are quite a few prominent stops for foodies in the area so I went to Sally's Apizza in New Haven after Wild Bill's and the basketball game.

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Traditional New Haven style pizza "apizza" is not made with mozzarella and you have to ask for it as a topping (like pepperoni). This pizza was huge, not very round and awesome.

Edited by larrygator
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^^I look at so many pictures of the place that it is hard to recall what has recently changed and been added.

 

So here are some pictures from the front of the attraction in chronological order. Enjoy.

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November 25, 2011

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December 14th, 2011

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December 31st, 2011

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April, 2012

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May 23rd, 2012

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June 21st, 2012

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August 29th, 2012

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October 28th, 2012

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October 28th, 2012

IMG_20130106_142852.jpg.cfcff6fb140b165dd70c2a45d7a63f22.jpg

January 6th, 2013

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I stopped by Wild Bill's yesterday afternoon since I was going to be in New Haven for a basketball game.

 

Mmm, that pizza's making me hungry. I've never made it to Sally's since they aren't open for lunch, but there's nothing like Wooster St. pizza.

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Thank you again for the update; seeing the construction on the house all together really put in perspective the amount of work that has gone into it the facade. It's just incredible to me how much these people care about perfection.

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Seeing the progression photos is awesome; can't wait to see the finished documentary!

 

Is a documentary still happening, about the project?

 

I remember that for support pledging purposes,

there was a cut-off date, some time ago, last year.

 

Still interested, and curious.

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Seeing the progression photos is awesome; can't wait to see the finished documentary!

 

Is a documentary still happening, about the project?

 

Yes, it is still being made. Joe McCarthy usually updates the darkrideparadise.com website once a month, so he might be posting another update soon. He was supposed to be at Wild Bill's filming last Sunday, but I did not run into him.

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So this is "on" again? Forgive me Larry, I think the last time I asked you about this, the principals involved had had a falling out. I take it that it's now water under the bridge? Sorry for not following the thread closely enough. I was not a good online participant this last year.

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Correct Martin. I had heard disturbing news about the partners being at odds right before we headed out to China and the project did seem like it might be unraveling. Wild Bill and Chuck are both very passionate about the project and both can be stubborn at times, but they worked through the issues.

 

At one time a TV producer was pitching Wild Bill on the idea of creating a reality series around the business. Although it sounded like a good money making and publicity idea Wild Bill felt that it would cause too much tension. Conflict sells on reality TV, but there is already enough tension and conflict on site. More conflict is not going to help the project get completed quicker.

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As far as I'm concerned, an amusement park isn't complete unless it has some sort of dark ride, either a walk through, or a car ride, like a ghost train. My favorite of all time was the Laff in the Dark at Crystal Beach. Sadly, the ride was dismantled when the park closed in 1989. My favorite dark ride that is still running is the Haunted House at Knoebles Groves. I just love all of the surprises that pop out at you on these types of rides. Please, Darien Lake, put some kind of dark ride in the park, people will love it!

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"We keep spending most our lives living in a dark ride paradise..."

 

The attention to detail here is astounding. I wish them the best of luck with both current projects and their highly intriguing future endeavors. Time will tell, but comparisons to Knoebels are definitely starting to seem apt. Add me to the list of those who will be sure to at least visit the place once it's reached its full glory, if not sooner.

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