Resurrect "Hunt's Pier"

[eden11]

Does this guy sell fake wildwood stuff? Im always looking on ebay for a piece of hunts pier. I would hate to pick up a reproduction

[Rob Ascough]

I can't believe I just noticed this thread. With my limited (but not TOO limited) knowledge of the inner workings of amusement parks, I think I might be able to help. I didn't bother reading every single post so if I mention something that was already mentioned, here are my apologies in advance.

The most expensive rides on the pier would be the water rides. Rapids rides are not cheap, although I am sure they are cheaper than they once were. I'm thinking maybe $5 million or so. A log flume would likely be a little cheaper and if you're not dead-set on rebuilding the actual Hunt's flume as it was, there are probably numerous used flumes on the market for a very low price- considerably less than a million and perhaps as little as $100K. Many parks are removing flumes, not building them.

A new Flyer would likely cost about $2 million, a lot less than the $3 - $6 million that parks pay for new full-size wood coasters. I'm fairly certain that PTC has the construction blueprints for the ride so it's not like a new coaster would have to be engineered. Flat rides and standard stuff like Tilt-a-Whirls, Scramblers and trains can be had for between $500K and $2 million, and probably a lot less if you shop the used ride market where a lot of those rides can be found.

The biggest challenge would be the custom stuff. The Keystone Kops would use a standard Antique Car system (something that, once again, can probably be found on the used ride market) but the building and stunts would have to be designed and engineered and I'm sure a darkride company like Sally would charge a few million for that. The same goes for the Whacky Shack. As for Jungleland, I'm not sure how one would go about doing that since I don't think there is a standard off-the-shelf ride system that could be used for that, although I could be wrong. And the Pirate Ship? That'd be a complete custom job, and good luck finding a company willing to build that, as well as a company willing to insure that. I don't think that walk-through funhouses are very feasible anymore, even though I'd love to see a park try! Jenkinson's did a good job with theirs a few years back but it's clearly a new funhouse, not much like the old ones many of us remember.

So what are we looking at here? Probably $40 million or so in rides and general infrastructure (concession stands, administrative offices, etc.) when you estimate the costs of the custom stuff and restoring the Golden Nugget. Then there is the price to purchase the land for the pier, and I have no idea what that could cost.

Does that help?

[thelastresort]

Very interesting Rob, thanks.

[Robert]

Yes, it would be more difficult to restore what was destroyed, it only took several days to destroy those rides, but it took months to build them. Also the fact that both Pretzel Dark Ride Company and Bill Tracy's/Jim Melonic's company (Amusement Displays/Fantasies and Dreams) both went out of business in 1979. So good luck trying to rebuild the Whacky Shack without the original company or it's creator, although Jim Melonic is still alive but probably retired. Jim built the Haunted Mansion at Rehoboth Beach in the late 70's, redid the Pirate's Cove at Dorney Park (done by Bill Tracy in 1962) into the Bucket O' Blood in 1974, it burned in Sept. 1983. Some of Bill's final projects were the 2-level Whacky Shack at Waldameer Park, Erie, PA in 1970, and the Pirate's Cove walkthrough at Waldameer in 1972 both surviving. As for the Keystone Kops, I'm not sure who built that. I think PTC just builds coaster trains now, not actual coasters or dark rides/walkthroughs. There are companies out there that build and renovate dark rides/haunted houses such as Dark Rider/Halloween Productions. They redid Morey's dark rides. Perhaps some haunted house builder could build a new walkthrough haunted house for Morey's, if they can find a place to put one.

[Rob Ascough]

The original designers/builders are long gone but as long as the ride was documented in pictures, I'm sure a company that operates today could create a convincing replica of any lost darkride. Like I said, it would be a money issue more than anything else.

[nance]

That's what this world's all about now, isn't it? $$$$$$$$ And it would have to be a "safe" issue, too. The older dark rides weren't very much concerned about total safety as they are today. Like I said before, I honestly wouldn't want to be in the amusement business. People can really be nasty.