Kennywood is an amusement park located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just southeast of Pittsburgh. The park opened on May 30, 1899, as a trolley park attraction at the end of the Mellon family's Monongahela Street Railway. It was purchased in 1906 by F. W. Henninger and Andrew McSwigan, both of whom later formed the family-owned Kennywood Entertainment Company. The company later sold Kennywood, along with four other parks, in 2007 to Parques Reunidos, an international entertainment operator based in Spain. The amusement park features various structures and rides dating back to the early 1900s. Along with Rye Playland Park, it is one of two amusement parks in the United States designated as a National Historic Landmark. Kennywood is also one of thirteen trolley parks in the United States that remain in operation.
Hersheypark is a family theme park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about 15 miles (24 km) east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles (153 km) west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906 by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company. It is wholly and privately owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. Hersheypark has won several awards, including the Applause Award.
In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. Trolley parks were often created by the streetcar companies to give people a reason to use their services on weekends.
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The company manufactured carousels, wooden roller coasters, toboggans and later, roller coaster trains.
Conneaut Lake Park is a summer resort and event venue located in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, United States. It has long served as a regional tourist destination, and was noted by roller coaster enthusiasts for its classic Blue Streak coaster, which was classified as "historic" by the American Coaster Enthusiasts group in 2010. Conneaut Lake is Pennsylvania's largest natural (glacier) lake, and is a popular summer destination for recreational boaters due to there being no horsepower limit on the lake.
The Pretzel Amusement Ride Company was an amusement ride manufacturer that produced a variety of rides, including an early dark ride known as The Pretzel, the company's namesake. It built over 1400 rides for carnivals and amusement parks.
The National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) is an international organization dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of the amusement and theme park industry – past, present and future.
The Rotor is an amusement ride designed and patented by German engineer Ernst Hoffmeister in 1948. The ride was first demonstrated at Oktoberfest 1949, and was exhibited at fairs and events throughout Europe, during the 1950s and 1960s. The ride still appears in numerous amusement parks, although travelling variants have been surpassed by the Gravitron.
Fascination is a game commonly found in North American amusement parks, boardwalks and arcades. The game would be considered in the same family as skee ball, in that prizes are often won for playing the game. The game dates to 1918, with the first location opening at Coney Island, NY. It became popular during the 1920s and spread quickly from coast to coast, as evidenced in pictures of Chutes at the Beach in San Francisco, a park that operated from 1903 - 1928. Over a century later, there are still a handful of locations that are in operation, mostly in the Northeastern US.
The Monster is an amusement ride manufactured by Eyerly Aircraft Company. The ride spins while moving up and down at a slow pace. Each car spins while giant arms move up and down in a circular motion. Riders may experience the feeling of weightlessness when going in the air and coming back down to ground level.
Chippewa Lake Park is an abandoned theme park once located in Chippewa Lake, Ohio, Medina County. It operated from 1878 through 1978, after the final owner, Continental Business Enterprises closed it due to a lack of attendance. After the park's closure, its rides and structures were left largely untouched and unmaintained for over 40 years.
The Whip was a ride originally designed and built by W.F. Mangels Company of Coney Island, New York, United States. William F. Mangels patented the ride in 1914 and it soon became extremely popular.
Great Old Amusement Parks is a 1999 PBS television documentary VHS DVD produced by Rick Sebak of WQED Pittsburgh. It aired on PBS on July 21, 1999.
Stricker's Grove is a family owned amusement park located in Ross, Ohio, USA. Unlike other amusement parks, Stricker's Grove is closed to the public for most of the year. Instead, it is rented out for private functions, such as weddings. The park is open to the public for 8 days of every year, on July 4, 4 days in mid July for the Hamilton County 4-H Community Fair, the second Sunday in August, Labor Day, and a Sunday in October called "Customer Appreciation Day".
The Caterpillar ride is a vintage flat ride engineered by the inventor Hyla F. Maynes of North Tonawanda, New York, who dubbed it the Caterpillar when it debuted in Coney Island, New York in 1925. It generates a significant amount of centrifugal force, causing the riders on the inside of the seats to crush the riders on the outside of the seats. It was once found at nearly every amusement park around the United States, but is now so rare that an original Caterpillar ride can only be found operating in two parks today. Though only two Caterpillars are known to be operating, there have been reports claiming there are additional Caterpillars in storage or standing at a few other parks.
West View Park was an American amusement park, located in West View, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. It was owned by T.M. Harton Company of Pittsburgh through its subsidiary company West View Park Company, which was founded in December 1905. The park opened on May 23, 1906. The dance hall that was constructed in the park, Danceland, became a landmark for various bands and artists that performed there. Notably, the park featured The Rolling Stones at Danceland in 1964. The park operated for 71 seasons, closing in 1977 due to declining revenues, higher operating costs, and a lack of investment. The park was in an abandoned state for several years and subjected to several fires started by arsonists before being torn down in 1980 and replaced by a shopping center and residential facility in 1981.
The history of Hersheypark begins with the founding of the town of Hershey in 1903. Milton Hershey, The owner of the Hershey Chocolate Company surveyed a nearby area of land, which was to become a leisure park for the employees of his chocolate company. People began visiting the grounds of the future park in 1904 and 1905, while the park's first pavilion was built in the fall of 1905. The park was formally opened on May 30, 1906, when it opened as Hershey Park. The park slowly added rides until 1923, when the first roller coaster, the Wild Cat, was built. From then on, rides were regularly added, except during World War II. The park was redeveloped into Hersheypark in 1970, through a multi-phase project. Since then, it has added ten roller coasters, expanded to over 110 acres, and features many other attractions including shows with sea lions, well-known acts including Weird Al Yankovic and Duff Goldman from Charm City Cakes in the Hersheypark Amphitheater, and a short-lived laser light show.
Red Baron is an amusement ride that is primarily intended for small children. It's a common kiddie ride at many amusement parks, carnivals, and fairs. The rider can move the gondola up and down manually. Many ride manufacturers make this type of ride; the Zamperla's "Mini Jet" is a common model of this ride. The "Mini Jet" ride comes in various themes such as bees, dragons, elephants, airplanes, helicopters, spaceships, etc. Some of the Red Baron kiddie rides are restricted to only children under 54 inches tall, such as the ones in Cedar Point Amusement Park and in Kings Island Amusement Park, or the one in Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. In quite a few other "Red Baron" type kiddie rides, adults and parents are allowed to ride on the rides, such as "The Busy Bees" and "Amazing Flying Elephants" at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, or at the Red Baron Ride at Funderland in Sacramento, California. Another place where adults can ride on a Red Baron type ride is at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, where Dumbo the Flying Elephant has been a perennial favorite of not only toddlers, preschoolers and young children, but teenagers, adults and seniors as well, for many years.
