5 Awesome Vintage Amusement Parks to Visit on Memorial Day (that won't break the budget and aren't mega-sized).

You've got lots of options this summer for big fun.  Might I suggest the following?:

Visit a vintage amusement park!  Or two or three!  Heck, make a road trip out of it!!!

Yes, I'm talking to you.  I know you; you're cost-conscious, yet a thrill-seeker.  You want something unique and memorable to do with your family.  But sometimes when you think about amusement parks, what comes to mind are the super-duper megaparks, crawling with just too many people and not enough space to rest, to enjoy a meal, to breathe.  Well, I'm hear to tell you there are other parks out there, really great ones, some family-owned and operated, that are much more manageable in scope, but still packed with everything you could possibly need or want for a great, old-fashioned time.

Behold my top 5 parks from my book, "The Cotton Candy Road Trip" specifically picked for you if  you're fixing to have a great time, without losing the kids in a crowd (or your patience within the first five minutes).  They're all user-friendly in size, full of charm and history, and, for those adrenaline junkies out there, each has a very noteworthy roller coaster:

1.  Knoebels, Elysburg, PA: Plenty of trees to rest under, some of the best park food you'll ever taste, and an impressive parade of vintage rides that will please every age range.  What sets Knoebels apart is the way they keep up and constantly improve the collection of the vintage rides, sometimes rescuing rides from other parks (like the astounding Phoenix roller coaster).  They're actually working on a Flying Turns ride, patterned after an attraction from the fabeled past of Chicago's Riverview park.  Be sure to check out their on-premises carousel museum!

Knoebels' carousel

2.  Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, CA: Right on the Pacific Ocean, the park boasts an amazing arcade, scrumptious boardwalk food (yes, you will want the chocolate-covered bacon), an excellent haunted dark ride, the Big Dipper coaster, and a skyride, which allows you to take in the breathtaking ocean view.

Gargoyles guarding the haunted dark ride

3.  Lakeside Amusement Park, Denver, CO: At night, this park becomes an astounding jewel box of neon signage.  Antique ride signs have been lovingly preserved; you will not find such a collection at any other park.  Thrill as you ride the Vettel rollercoaster, one of only a few which still remain in operation.

Seriously.  It doesn't get better than this.



4.  Arnolds Park, Arnolds Park, IA: Ride the Legend rollercoaster, go for a picturesque boat ride on the lake, blow your wad shopping, visit the Rock and Roll museum, get lost in the mirror maze, go shopping again, take in the park's historical museum, then round out your visit with a Nutty Bar (trust me on this).  And there's a concert series to boot.  If you run out of things to do at Arnolds, you're just hopeless.

The Legend.  And it IS.

5.  Rye Playland, Rye, NY: With three dark rides, the iconic Dragon roller coaster, the historic Derby Racer, and a well-stocked kiddieland, there's more than enough delights for kids of all ages.  What's unique and wonderful about Rye Playland is that it still has the same layout it had on opening day back in 1928, when park planners thoughtfully plotted out green spaces and restful, tree-lined areas.  Rye Playland weathered Hurricane Sandy and is still standing.  This season, it needs your support and patronage so that it doesn't get severely "edited" by the powers that be who wish to wipe out about a third of the rides.  Don't let that happen.  Visit Rye Playland and visit often.

View of a portion of Playland from the park's Ferris wheel

  

Pack the sunscreen and get moving!  Summer hasn't even officially begun but it's already a'wastin'!

 

Listen to My Most Recent Radio Interview on WCNS THIS Saturday morning ONLINE!!!

The jaunty chef guy who oversees the making of the Potato Patch fries at Kennywood

Mike Krcil is a rock star (figuratively speaking), an award-winning broadcaster, and a really great guy.  What makes him a rock star is that he asked to interview me for my book, helping to get the word out about it in the Greater Pittsburgh area (where a chunk of the parks I visited reside) and hopefully getting folks interested in doing their own vintage amusement park road trips.

So make a nice latte, cozy up to your computer, and give the interview a listen THIS SATURDAY (that's tomorrow, May 18) at 9:30 Eastern.  You can do so by clicking on this link at the appropriate time:

http://1480wcns.com/talkblock.htm

It's part of the Saturday Talk Block on 1480 WCNS.  Mike and I chat about Western Pennsylvania parks like Kennywood and Idlewild, and I also give some hints about parks to visit in other regions of the U.S.  And at the very end of the 30-minute interview, I give out a holler about how YOU can help save a vintage park in peril, the awesomely historic Rye Playland.

Take some time and tune in tomorrow!!!  Your soul will smile.

Rye Playland Opening Day for 2013 is May 11! Special rates and a PARADE!!

Rye Playland is one of my favorite vintage parks, period.  If you're in the greater NYC area, DO plan on attending their 2013 season opening day on May 11!  It sure looks to be like a swell time!  There's a parade and entertainment and special rates!!

http://cortlandt.dailyvoice.com/news/rye-playland-opens-may-11-parade-and-entertainment

Here's a snap of yours truly with Ms. Zoltar, taken back in 2011 when Ben and I visited the park (and I fell completely in love with it):

Save Rye Playland!

Back in 2011, while sweeping through the East Coast for my book, "The Cotton Candy Road Trip", I fell in love with Rye.  I hadn't known much about it prior to my visit, except that:

1.  It's government-owned.
2.  It had a "Mad Men" connection: Don Draper's ex, Betty, and her new husband, move the family to Rye.  They tell their daughter that she'll be near Rye Playland.

But when I toured the park, took in the incredibly rare rides, kicked back at the tiki bar, and tackled their classic spook houses with my eyes open (a first for me!), I became a Rye Playland fan for life.

So it greatly pains me to report that the park is in peril.  And, from what I'm reading and learning, it's all about money and land and politics. Nasty politics.  Add to that the fact that Hurricane Sandy ripped up its boardwalk (and the aforementioned tiki bar), and you've got a gorgeous vintage park whose future is a huge question mark.

I follow the news about this drama on the Facebook page, Save Rye Playland.  Plans are to open the park as usual in the Spring.  But, if you're a fan of Rye Playland, or are a champion of vintage parks and nostalgia in any sense, it's worth your while to visit the Facebook page and learn more, perhaps sign a petition to help keep the park a treasure (https://www.change.org/petitions/save-playland-amusment-park), or if you live in the region, get involved in-person:

Save Rye Playland Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtDecoPLAYLAND/

Rye Playland Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/ryeplayland?ref=ts&fref=ts

The day I became a Rye Playland fan for life.

  (You can read more about my adventure and eurekas in my book, of course: https://www.createspace.com/3840248)

My 2013 goals for "The Cotton Candy Road Trip"

I consider myself the luckiest kid on the coaster, having published “The Cotton Candy Road Trip”, having sold a number of copies (not a huge number – yet.  But not just a dozen or so to friends and family, either), and having gotten the word out about vintage parks.  But frankly, I know I’ve only scratched the surface of what can be done for the parks, the people who love them, and the ways I can market, promote, and build excitement for the book.  2012 gave me a good toe-hold into what can be done, but I also got sidetracked by theatre and life and, well, just being overwhelmed by the ebbs and flows of 2012, a year that rocked each and every person I know without exception.

So, without anymore ado, behold my goals for the book in 2013:

1.      Get “Cotton Candy” connected with every single form of social media imaginable.  A few weeks ago, I had a meeting with my social media guru.  Yes, I have one of those, a woman who knows her way around Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, HootSuite, Pinterest and God only knows what else with a facility of a teen-ager who knows all the ins and outs around arcade games, going home with seventeen extra-large stuffed toy hound dogs.  She is awesome, she is smart and creative.  And, the biggest plus, she believes in my project and it excited by the prospect of creating a huge social network footprint for it. #soexcitedicouldplotz.

2.      Contact more Chicago media outlets.  I’ve been interviewed by local papers, a local radio station, and was featured as part of an article in the Chicago Tribune.  That’s good.  But that’s not as far as I can go with this.  More popular radio shows and TV shows will be harder nuts to crack, but they aren’t insurmountable.

3.      More swag!  I’ll be posting more swag for people to buy on Zazzle – and an item I’ve been toying with will be sold on Etsy.  I’ve had the “ingredients” for the Etsy items for about a year; it’s time.

4.      Re-visit at least three parks.  Travel is not cheap, but it’s imperative that I re-visit at least a few of the parks to keep excitement about the book building – plus, I just miss them.  I’m looking at my calendar for 2013, going, “But when do I visit the Eastern Pennsylvania parks again?  When do I get to go to the Enchanted Forest in Oregon again?”  I miss them, I miss the people and the energy and the rides and the fried dough.  So I plan to visit at least a few parks – and the ones at the top of my list are the ones affected by Hurricane Sandy: Keansburg and Coney Island and Rye Playland.

5.      Explore avenues that will “get” and celebrate the spiritual side of my book.  Those folks who’ve really, really enjoyed my book have all mentioned that they were moved and inspired by the sense of the quest, the embracing of the spiritual side of my travels.  I need to share the book with more folks who have similar sensibilities, who believe in “the spirit of place” the way I do.

2013 feels like a celebration just waiting to happen, much like that moment before you enter an amusement park.  I aim to make this New Year the time that “The Cotton Candy Road Trip” becomes the catalyst for thousands of celebrations around the country, when people plan for park visits, schedule park road trips, and commit to making every visit to a vintage park a personal quest for that moment of joy frozen in time. Yeah, tall order, I know., but NOT insurmountable.  Just a steep hill for the coaster cars to tackle, that’s all.  And I happen to know something about that…

 

Rye Playland: playing a "Big" game!

Getting my wish from Ms. Zoltar (apparently Mr. Zoltar was out fishing - you can do that off the pier at Rye)

My hubby is always on the lookout for movies that have amusement parks as a backdrop; he knows I like them and it gives me things to blog about.  One of his most favorite films is "Big" and, when we visited Rye Playland in 2011, I learned that the beautiful park was used in the iconic Tom Hanks film.

So recently, "Big" was on TV again and Ben DVR'd a little for me, only the section when the little boy, who's denied access to a ride because he's too small, walks over to the Zoltar fortune teller (a really scary one - and I've seen plenty of those mechanical fortune tellers.  The way his eyes light up red and his mouth does that peculiar yawning open and shutting close = nightmares!) and makes his wish, "to be big".  If you're familiar with the film, you know he gets his wish, gets to be a 30-something Tom Hanks, with a grown-up girlfriend to boot, but is still a  kid on the inside.

It's pretty clear why Ben and I love this film: in some ways, we've never grown up, nor do we have any plans to do so in the foreseeable future.  Yes, we're met with grown-up challenges every single day, but when the dust settles, we look forward to playing board games, planning our next trip to Disneyland, or reflecting on our collections (Barbies for me, comic books for my boy).

Original car from the Dragon Coaster

The entrance to Rye, towering trees greeting you and providing a pleasant respite from the sun.

Here's a little photo tribute to the wonderful Rye Playland.  I ranked it in the Top 5 Parks in my book, and I recommend everyone in the greater NYC area take a day to visit this national treasure.  Due to the economy, there's talk that the park may "change" - and part of the change may have to do with rethinking it, and tearing out the rides.  If that were to happen, I may have to lead the charge, head up there, and chain myself to the Derby Racer so they'd have to bodily remove me before taking it out.

The amazing vintage carousel at Rye, my favorite of the entire Road Trip.

Back end of the Dragon (coaster)

One of the park's three, count 'em, THREE dark rides.  Did I mention I got rid of my fear of dark rides here?  Yes, I did!

Background history sign for the Derby Racer, a very rare and exciting ride, that recreates the experience of an actual horse race!

Vintage Amusement Park Haunted House Attractions

Can you feel it?  The veil between worlds is getting thinner.  It's finally October, one of my most favorite months of the year, due to its Spooky Quotient.  I'm in the throes of putting up my vast collection of Halloween decorations, including my witch dolls, a collection which has grown by leaps and bounds in the recent past.  The downstairs bathroom, which has a Disneyland theme, is now decked out with a sinister Mickey Mouse (well, as sinister as he egts) as Dracula and a mini Doombuggy.

Looking back on my Roadtrip, a variety of haunted house attractions totally spookified me.  Some were the blood-running-down-the-walls variety, while others were rather charming.  Here's a mere sampling:

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk Haunted Mansion has one of THE best special effects I've seen in any haunted attraction.  It involves a menacing presence in a scary swamp.  Go there -- you need to see it for yourself.

The dreaded Gum Wall is an attraction like no other.  Catch it at Conneaut Lake Park's Devil's Den.  Well, don't actually catch it, cuz you might catch something.  Just let your ride vehicle go by it...

Deno's on Coney Island has a wicked-cool dark ride, the Spook-a-rama, wherein you'll... no.  It would be a tragedy if I told you.  just go see it.  

And finally, there's Rye Playland with three dark rides, each a true treasure.  Here's the one that features zombies, as the name might suggest.  But I simply CAN'T give any details; you gotta see it in person:

Been sufficiently spookified?  No?  Then how about Grandma Fortune Teller at Deno's?

Yep - thought so.  That should hold you for this blog post...

Vintage Fortune Teller Machines: Face Time with Zoltar.

My hubby is 43 years old. Going on about 11. And he's the absolute best partner to have with me on my Roadtrips.

Whenever we come across the mechanical fortune tellers at vintage parks, I always have my picture taken with them, plunking in my quarter to receive my reading for the day. A few times the machine greedily eats up my coin and I never receive the fortune, even after shaking the aforementioned fortune teller, which probably doesn't set up the very best vintage amusement park karma. I picture a secret society of mechanical fortune tellers, with an annual fortune teller ball where they all meet up and swap stories. A throng of Estrellas, Esmereldas and Grandma Fortune Tellers converge on some seaside amusement park, settling into tight little groups, and chat about which tarot cards show up in their never-changing displays, how their mechanical parts need oiling and maintenance (but seldom get it), and compare notes on that peculiar woman with the cat eyeglasses and vintage sweaters who is at once thoroughly respectful of their history and supremely irritable when she doesn't receive her fortune card, shaking the whole fortune teller booth before walking away with a scowl.

Santa Monica's Pacific Park has an actual Zoltar machine.Although it was a slickery cold day, I made sure Ben had some alone time with the mystical seer, much like Tom Hanks' character in "Big" - a film which is not only one of Ben's favorites, but one Ben can often relate to, being a Very Tall Boy. For those of you who are curious, the amusement aprk used for the film is New York's Rye Playland, a park which will be visited later on for my Cotton Candy Roadtrip.

Oh -- I'm fortysomething going on 12 or so. A Very Tall Girl.