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Post by Robert on Sept 4, 2006 21:47:51 GMT -5
You know what? Parks today slap together a new steel coaster and call it a "custom" ride! But, the real custom rides are the themed family rides, such as dark rides. And they're getting thinner and thinner with each passing year/decade, mostly the older ones. There are new dark rides being built in parks like the Scooby Doo Haunted Mansions/Castle in Paramount Parks (now Cedar Fair), and the Dens of Lost Thieves' and Ghost Blasters. Those might be the best hope for a revival of dark rides other than the portable ones like carnivals and fairs use. I don't know of any company in the US who makes the traditional blacklight type dark ride anymore. Well, there's Dark Rider/Halloween Productions. Pretzel company of Bridgeton, NJ quit after 1979, the former owner William Cassidy is still alive, and Bill Tracy's company also quit in 1979 several years after his death, his company Amusement Displays was located in Cape May County somewhere. Pretzel and Bill Tracy made some great dark rides, with Pretzel supplying the carts and track, and sometimes the building, and Bill supplying the props. There are several Bill Tracy classics surviving, but one or two are in danger right now if the parks they are located in close and the ride's fate goes up in the air.
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Post by michael on Sept 5, 2006 0:14:58 GMT -5
I love the old Pretzel and Tracy rides, Robert -- and though I haven't been on the Dens of Lost Thieves, I somehow doubt it's going to measure up.
What Morey's and assorted "theme parks" forget is that Disneyland/Disney World are better loved for their Dark Rides (Pirates of Carribean, Haunted House, etc.) than for any "thrill" rides they might have.
The "magic" of going to an amusement park lies in its ability to transport you to another world: when stepped into the cavernous mouth of the skull that served as an entranceway to The Skua, I was stepping into a world of swashbuckling pirates and buried treasures and was happily singing along with "Mitch Miller and the Gang" to the piratical drinking song I'd learned from Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island."
The same holds true for each of Hunt's Dark Rides. They were grand adventures in an imaginative sense that a "thrill" ride could never come close to matching.
FlyinGN, I gave Wildwood a try three summers ago. It was ... ok. Nothing more. A far cry from the Wildwood I'll always remember and love. I grew up in South Jersey, but have since relocated to upstate New York. And since Seashide Heights and Point Pleasant are closer (and at least as good as Wildwood today), that's where I'll be taking my family. I'll drive the extra two hours for The Golden Nugget -- but nothing short of that will bring me back.
Huntspier4ever, I once met your grandfather. My father was working on his hotel at the time, and he met with us there one night. My brother and sister and I were little kids at the time, but he shook each of our hands and gave us each a book of tickets for his rides! I'd loved Hunt's Pier all my life and meeting the man who'd created it was a memory I'll always cherish.
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Post by cutietnj on Sept 5, 2006 17:52:06 GMT -5
Just my 2 cents here but Seaside Heights and Pt. Pleasant are NO where near Wildwood in any way - boardwalk or the towns themselves.
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Post by watchthetramcar on Sept 5, 2006 18:04:51 GMT -5
Now just My 2 cents too.... I am Jersey Shore Born & Raised, and all I can say to this Discussion is..... I am glad that we all have the Diversity in our Seashore Towns, they all hold different Charms, and things to do. I work for a Airline & stay all over the Country at Towns & Cities that don't even come close in having what the Jersey Shore has to offer, so instead of comparing Jersey Shore Towns, lets just enjoy what we have at the Coast, that is some very cool resort places to play & have alot of fun!
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Post by huntspier4ever on Sept 5, 2006 19:39:08 GMT -5
Huntspier4ever, I once met your grandfather. My father was working on his hotel at the time, and he met with us there one night. My brother and sister and I were little kids at the time, but he shook each of our hands and gave us each a book of tickets for his rides! I'd loved Hunt's Pier all my life and meeting the man who'd created it was a memory I'll always cherish. Michael- What hotel are you talking about? As far as I know, Bud did not own any hotels but I could be wrong. I'm glad that you met him... so many people I have met and talked to said how he'd hand over a bunch of tickets for the rides. Just thinking of him now makes me realize how much I miss him...
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Post by CondorAlex on Sept 5, 2006 22:45:10 GMT -5
It seems to me Kristen, that your grandfather had a very kind heart. It wasn't about the business... but making people happy. As the way it should be.
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Post by Robert on Sept 5, 2006 23:26:18 GMT -5
And another thing, Hunt's seemed so professionally run. I enjoyed every bit of it. I loved the Pirate Ship and the Golden Nugget, as well as the Keystone Kops, train ride, Jungleland, and Whacky Shack. I was between 6-9 years old at the time between 1980-1983. I bet I walked by Bud Hunt or Vince Kostek and didn't even realize it. I just won a Hunt's Pier brochure from 1982 on Ebay. I already have one, but heck, why not another one? Also, Bud and Vince probably took pride in their work during the time they ran the pier. Because during the Hunt ownership (1957-1985) nothing major was removed or destroyed from the pier. It was the, excuse me, jerks after Hunt who were responsible for laying the pier to ruin for the sake of higher profit rides. (Like the Kamikaze).
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Post by nance on Sept 6, 2006 2:19:24 GMT -5
You've hit the nail on the head, Robert; people took pride in what they had and what they did. Now, what do you think people think about more? Wouldn't you say making money? Sure the older owners wanted to make money, too, but it was so different then.
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Post by thelastresort on Sept 6, 2006 10:34:20 GMT -5
I think the difference now is that it is all about the money, as opposed to in the past, where money did matter, but providing a valuable service and customer satisfaction mattered more. Just the sign of the times, alot of business owners today have the attitude that they are somehow "doing you a favor" and don't really care about their customers.
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Post by michael on Sept 6, 2006 15:23:55 GMT -5
Hi Kristen. I'm afraid I don't remember which hotel it was. I am 99% positive that it was a hotel though. Of course this is going back 35 years or so, and I couldn't have been any more than ten, so it's possible that I could be mixing up two separate sets of memories. I think the hotel was just off of the pier (no more than a block) and either on the North side of the Hunt's parking lot or a couple of streets North of it.
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Post by Cindy on Sept 6, 2006 17:22:04 GMT -5
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Post by hulk007 on Sept 6, 2006 21:56:27 GMT -5
Is this the same guy?
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Post by Crippled_Visions on Sept 6, 2006 22:18:20 GMT -5
That is the same guy. The photo of the pirate ship adds a nice touch to his ad. I'm sure he'll find a sucker to buy it.
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Post by Cindy on Sept 7, 2006 18:23:23 GMT -5
Yes, this is the same guy. He sells items from "Dracula's Castle" too. I know there have been complaints against him, but apparently, nothing was done about it.
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Post by hulk007 on Sept 7, 2006 19:10:02 GMT -5
Hopefully Kristen will pick up on this guy's bogus stuff.
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