Storytown USA, New York
Today's slides were all in a group that was labeled "Fantasy Island" (see my first Fantasy Island post if you dare), and this was originally going to be a "part 2" post. But upon further research, I believe that today's photos are from Storytown U.S.A., in Queensbury, New York.
I don't know how popular the Swan Boats were, but the photographer sure loved them. They were motorized, not swan-powered, and mighty cute.
That poor woman, her feet get all pruny from wading into the water every day. From the look of it, an employee needed to guide the returning boats to the loading dock. I'll bet they don't do it that way any more.
The guests got to see various Mother Goose tableaus throughout Storytown, although I have no clue what which MG story included a little houseboat.
Oh boy, a Sky Ride! I love the "Arabian Nights" station, and the chair-lift style gondolas that let your feet swing free.
No visit to a storybook world would be complete without a ride in a real pumpkin coach. The driver obviously used to be a mouse until the fairy godmother turned him into a human. A beautiful princess in a pink floofy dress helps out, because that's how princesses roll.
Storytown U.S.A. changed its name to The Great Escape in 1983, and is now owned by Six Flags. Not surprisingly, The Great Escape has more thrill rides, as well as a water park.
7 comments:
What a fun-looking little park. "The Great Escape", you say-?
No doubt another ruination of a small park at the hands of Six Flags.
Thanks, Major, for these images.
What a wonderful little place!
Love how colorful it is (rainbow IS my favorite color, after all) and especially the Sky Ride. It is the same one we had at West View Park (sadly it closed in 1977) when I was growing up. So many trees really make places like this so nice to spend the day, too, esp if it gets really hot out.
Thanks for sharing them!
Swan boat configurations where the swan is in the back, looming over the unsuspecting yet tasty passengers always strike me as fundamentally wrong and disturbing, That’s probably just because real swans are vicious, criminally insane bastards that will bite your posterior off as soon as look at you. Turning into princesses and dancing lovely pas de deux with the hunters about to shoot them is right out.
Does that gondola ride even have a seatbelt? Or could you just jump out into the refreshing algae-laden waters below? And what did that kid say to the princess in pink to make her so glum? “Can my Daddy take my picture with you? Because we’re all only on this Earth for a short time filled with pain and misery, while we watch all our loved ones suffer and die, and it all has no meaning in the end so we chase idle pleasures in these cheap amusement parks to distract us from our hollow, hollow existence. Loud music and empty calories numb the pain, and Daddy needs some kind of tangible affirmation that we're less dysfunctional than the neighbors.”
All that is to say, DOUBLE BABUSHKA TUESDAY! WOO-HOO!
Judging from Melissa's commentary, she has answered her own rhetorical question: Yes - the gondolas do NOT have seat belts. All indications are she decided to take a quick dip in the murky waters in search of a lost babushka, the algae spores of which attacked her Brain, causing her to go all philosophical on us.
Or perhaps it was merely the lingering euphoria following her visit to the planet Zardar-!
I used to operate this skyride attraction at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in the 1970s. It is known as the "Sky Glider" and does have a pullover bar to prevent people from falling out. It's also much slower moving that the enclosed 4-persona gondolas you see at bigger theme parks. Amazingly this attraction is still operating at the Boardwalk.
Great Escape New York contains a really cool coaster from the 1940s which was transplanted from Crystal Beach, Canada known as "The Comet". I thinks it's great when old coasters are saved and moved to an active park. Nice update today. Thanks for posting.
Nanook, I would much rather visit cute little Storytown USA, but chances are it would be closed by now anyway… small regional parks have had a tough time over the years.
Nancy, I think they had a sky ride like that at Jungleland for a brief time, I wish I could find photos of it.
Melissa, I thought the same thing about the swan boats, but having a large swan neck/head at the front of your boat would block your view, so maybe it's for the best! And what's worse, swans, or Canadian geese? Those damn things will hiss at you and chase you! The glum princess hates her job, why can't she be something fun, like an evil witch? And you'd think by now I would notice babushkas, but I didn't….
Nanook,… planet Zardar??
K. Martinez, do they still have the Sky Glider at Santa Cruz? I haven't been there for years. Speaking of which, I have one or two nice vintage slides of the boardwalk, I need to scan those!
Oh, sure, geese are depraved savages who'll rip your throat out at the word "honk," but everyone expects it of them. Swans lull you into a false sense of security with their graceful motion and snow-white down, and then - bang, zoom, to the morgue, Alice.
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