I always enjoy photos of vintage amusement parks from around the country - hopefully you do too.
First up is this September, 1963 image from Maryland's "Enchanted Forest", with Little Toot (the brave tugboat) cruising along the mirror-smooth waters. Enchanted Forest opened in August of 1955; Wikipedia says... Appealing mostly to families with small children, the park... featured fairy tale buildings and characters, but no mechanical rides originally. Track rides were added later, including the Alice in Wonderland ride with teacup-shaped cars, a Cinderella's castle ride with mice for the cars, the "Little Toot" boat that took children to Mount Vesuvius for giant slides, and the Jungleland Safari which was driven by open Land Rover-type vehicles. Children's birthday parties were often held in the picnic areas among the attractions; many local teenagers worked as ticket-takers at the park. Unlike many other attractions of the time, the Enchanted Forest was integrated from the day it opened.
Enchanted Forest finally closed for good in 1995.
This next slide is from 1970, and I'm not entirely certain of where this is! Each railroad car says "(Something) Mountain Railroad Co." Stone Mountain, maybe? The green and yellow car might say "Hat Creek" on the side as well, but it's hard to be certain. Whatever the case may be, there's nothing more fun that watching simulated killing; the guests look like they're having the best darn time.
And finally, here's a neat photo of a little "diesel" locomotive (steam is for losers, man!) awaiting its next load of passengers at Storyland. There were several parks with that name, but those palm trees makes me assume that this was the version in Pompano Beach, Florida. Postcards that I saw on eBay seemed to back that up, although I could find no photos of that train, or of Jack atop his beanstalk (or is that supposed to be the giant who terrorizes Jack?). Anyway, I love this photo, in spite of not finding a lot of information about the park itself.
The Enchanted Forest 'Little Toot' photo is wonderful. Love the rockwork and reflections in the water. Thanks, Major.
ReplyDeleteMajor-
ReplyDeleteI've found some material which confirms that it IS Jack and the Beanstalk.
Special shout-out to 'Little Toot' (and his freckles)-!
Thanks, Major.
In the first pic, I wonder what those people on shore are looking at?? They appear to be staring and waiting...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Major!
—Lewd & Sued & Booed!
In the first image, that one kid looks like he's either getting ready to puke, or he's looking at his phone-from-the-future, or he's bored out of his mind.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I pasted the train image (2nd picture) into my photo editor and stretched it out horizontally. It kinda sorta maybe looks like it says "Iron Mountain..."
The figure atop the beanstalk is kinda homely (ugly) looking. He is also brandishing what appears to be a club. So I'm guessing that he is indeed, the giant. I wonder if that slanted (pink) connector between two of the roofs is a slide?
Sue, I love your username today. :-)
Thank you, Major.
- Jagged Bones
This is a really charming bunch! Enchanted Forest sounds like a lot of creativity went into it; I would have loved to see it in its prime.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the performers at Mystery Park got to switch off being outlaws and victims?
"Well, shoot, Claude, you an' Leroy got to lie around on the ground all dang mornin'! Time to give me an' Ezra a turn!"
"Dadgummit, Luke, ain't nobody gonna see that fancy coonskin cap o' yourn if'n it's buried in the undergrowth on this here grassy knoll!"
"Keep it down, you sidewinder! The suckers on yonder train ain't payin' to see a couple corpses flappin' their gums about the poor workin' conditions at this here themed entertainment venue, consarn it!"
I really love the detail on the Storyland buildings. I wonder if that's a real thatched roof or one of the plastic or wire simulations we were talking about the other day in New Fantasyland?
It looks like there is a tiny "Jack" clinging to the vine, just above the lowest level of leaves. Although, I suppose it could just be Travelocity's "Roaming Nome."
ReplyDelete- Tokyo Mangler!
P.S. Are Little Toot's eyes blunked/cut out and being used as windows? I'm trying to figure out if that's the back of a man's head we can see through the eye on the left, or if that's Little Toot's pupil.
ReplyDeleteNothing says family fun like a trackside shoot em up. I love these mom and pop parks. So many have come and gone over the years, I just hope all of em don't disappear. It looks like they sunk some real coin into these, I bet those trains cost some serious dough. Love these great scans today, thanks Major.
ReplyDeleteI love the first shot, and would love to see more of the park! Usually I find these little fairyland parks cheesy beyond belief, but this one seems like nore thought went into it.
ReplyDeleteI thought the railroad car said 'Elk Mountain Railroad" but a quick (as in extremely quick) Googling (my new word of the day) uncovered no such train.
I think every self respecting "old west" railroad got held up for the guests pleasure. The bandits at 6 Flags Over Texas would put on quite the production. Of course, they also had a huge shoot out on the western streets (usually climaxing with an incredibly loud blast from the 12 guage shotgun) that was funny and terrifying at the same time.
Also, I always thought that bean stalk was taller...
Good stuff today!
If this is 1970, the photo of the Iron Mountain Railroad Co. train was taken at an amusement park called Goldrush Junction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The park and the train have had several names and owners through the years (super-villain Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell owned it from 1970-76), but it operates today on its original location as the Dollywood Express. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to locate the current name of the park.
ReplyDelete- The Guy Who Picked Out Way Too Long a Halloween Name to Type It Out Every Single Comment But Stubbornly Refuses To Use the Obvious Shorthand Because He Has Never Really Liked Being Called “Chucky,” Stemming From An Incident In the First Grade When His Mom Gave a Stern Talking To To a Classmate Who Called Him “Chucky” Because “We Already Gave Him a Nickname, Thank You Very Much,” Although He Really Does Think Just Buried’s Suggestion Was Creative, Inspired, and Funny, Particularly the “Bride of Chucky” Thing
You can still see Little Toot at Clark's Elioak Farm, which rescued pretty much everything from the Enchanted Forest after it had been closed for years. Although there aren't rides anymore, the farm is open to the public.
ReplyDeleteSue, those people are looking at the slide on the side of "Mt. Vesuvius!"
Thanks for identifying the train ride as being from Goldrush Junction, Chuck. I'll be retreating to the archives to find the current name of the park.
The train in the Storyland picture is a Century Flyer made by the National Amusement Device Company (NAD) of Dayton, OH. I'm intrigued by these miniature trains because their passenger cars are practically identical to the NAD coaster trains also called Century Flyers, right down to the streamline decorations on the sides.
Small, old-time amusement park photos are some of my favs. We get so used to the upscale Disneyland images. These small, often low budget parks are so quaint, certainly more organic feeling attractions.
ReplyDeleteI always love when you post 'em Major. Thanks!
Q: Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?
A: Me
Major, you know your audience pretty well. Not only are we enjoying these photos of the small parks, the GDB Collective Research Engine is already under way identifying them.
ReplyDeleteThe first photo is cute, I’d like to see more of that little park. Concerns over copyrights weren’t the big thing back then,
Nice job on the train ID everyone. Forged pigeons are the best pigeons.
I agree, the giant is at the top of the vine waving to jack, he wants to go clubbing with him.
Jay Ghoul
K. Martinez, I agree, The Enchanted Forest looks like it was a special park. I wish it was still around.
ReplyDeleteNanook, I was pretty sure it was Jack and the Beanstalk, and somehow it is very obvious to me know that the character atop the beanstalk is the giant. I also only just noticed that a sign, above the blue station wagon, says “Storyland - Florida”.
Lou and Sue, it looks like there is a big slide, and the parents are waiting at the bottom. Pretty cool, and well designed!
JB, if that kid is getting seasick on that glassy pond, then there is no hope for him. “Iron Mountain”, I think I might have looked that one up. Believe me, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what it said. I agree that the figure on the beanstalk is the giant, he kind of reminds me of Alice the Goon from the old Popeye comics. And yes,, I’m sure that the slanted area is a slide - it must be part of a funhouse.
Melissa, yes, I think that many little local parks look kind of the same, but The Enchanted Forest seems to take after some of the ideas that Walt Disney espoused… make the place beautiful, for instance. It’s kind of icky to see those men “scalping” the “bloodthirsty Indians”, but that’s the way it was back then. From the way that thatch seems to be turning rather gray, I’m guessing it’s the real deal.
TokyoMagic!, good eye, I couldn’t tell what that was at the bottom of the beanstalk.
TokyoMagic!, I was wondering if Little Toot required an actual human driver, instead of being automated somehow. Maybe we’re seeing the driver peeking out the eye socket? Gruesome!
Jonathan, you’d think that people with kids would still want places to go on weekends or for birthday parties. I went to Griffith Park to see “Walt’s Barn” a while ago, and could not believe how many people showed up - almost all of them with small children in tow.
Stu29573, I don’t believe I have any other slides of The Enchanted Forest, sadly. I bought this one from a seller on eBay and he did have more, but I just chose the one I liked best (because they weren’t that cheap). Who ever heard of an Elk operating a railroad? Come on, Stu, that’s just silly! Wow, the pistols with blanks are loud enough, I can’t imagine what a 12-gauge would sound like.
Chuck, thanks for the great research (as always). I have shared photos of the “Rebel Railroad”, which became “Goldrush Junction”. Take a look at those HERE. I also have photos of a “Silver Dollar City”, but I think that might be the one in Branson and not Pigeon Forge. How do you fill out forms with a name like that?
Andrew, thanks! I’m glad that Little Toot was saved; think of all the love and creativity that went into creating that park, it seems like such a terrible loss if everything just rotted away. “Mt. Vesuvius”, awesome. Looks like fun, except for the part where the kids would have to walk up a long flight of stairs to get to the top of the slide. Thanks also for the info about the Storyland train, you really know your stuff!
Grant, I agree, and in a way, I have a love for funky little, low-budget parks. There’s just something so honest about them, if you know what I mean. No pretensions. I have more random amusement park slides, so stay tuned!
JG, ha ha, it’s pretty sweet for me, I just leave all the work to everybody else, while I go watch episodes of “Dragnet”! I wonder if they paid to use “Little Toot”, which was a popular children’s book before it was a Disney cartoon? I hope a forged pigeon never poops on me, Or a regular pigeon either, for that matter.
A forged pigeon would have to have a lot of brass to poop on you, Major.
ReplyDeleteOh, look - there’s the door. I’ll try not to let it hit me on my way out.
Little Toot is awesome...so is the little mountainside behind him. The eyes look like that's how the pilot steered him. I would love to have a Little Toot in my backyard, but it might give off too much of a Michael Jackson vibe. How nice to know that Dolly Parton has taken over the death and murder express. That photo actually looks like a real murder without too much "olde timey"- ness to it. "Eeek!" These mom and pop amusement parks have their charm...like Santa's Village near Big Bear CA...long ago closed...the other one I remember as a kid was an "amusement park" but without mechanical rides: Atlantis Park in Garden Grove CA. We were taken there by a neighbor...it was quite the magical spot...$1 back then $2 now...yes...it's still open. I remember a long snake slide that went through bushes and dropped you into a sand box. Worth the googling...Major I'm sure you remember or have slides of that place! It was super cool as is the Enchanted Forest. All that is missing there is Hippity Hop the Frog, a tree with Ricky Sr. in it, and Lucy on wires floating above Little Toot....and the ubiquitous Fairy Princess.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad The Bride of Chucky's Cat's Owner's Wife's husband identified the picture of Goldrush Junction, because I was going to have to make up a backstory for it, and I only got as far as "Miscellaneous Park was located in the small town of Allegations, New York, where Ron's Mountain Railroad whisked guests and their guests to a hidden roundhouse where anyone with a quarter and the password of the day could bet on unlicensed armadillo fights," and I just didn't know where to go from there.
ReplyDeleteI can't afford to be buried in a tomb unless I apply for a Grant.
Madlissa
I’m guessing that “Allegations, NY” would be the home of the Allegators, not the Armadillos, but armadillo fights sound pretty exotic too.
ReplyDeleteJG
Oops, I forgot-
ReplyDeleteRaplacsnt 573 79
Chuck, I never imagined pigeon forgery could be such a problem.
ReplyDeleteJG
Chuck, I guess now we'll never know the name of that Mystery Park where the Dollywood Express operates. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI thought about copying and pasting your paragraph-long username here, but I don't want to use up all of the Major's white ink. (It's more expensive than yer black ink.) So, now you've been stripped of your rank and are now just Chucky again; until you come up with something else.
- Jagged Bones
‘TGWPOWTLaHNtTIOESCBSRTUtOSBHHNRLBCCSFAIItFGWHMGaSTTTaCWCHCBWAGHaNTYVMAHRDTJBSECIaFPtBoTC’
ReplyDeleteHey JB, I shortened Chuck’s name - is that better?
Lou & Sue & Boo!, Man, it musta took ages to get all those initials correct! How are we s'posed to remember all that? A valiant effort Sue, but to no avail. It's still Chucky. (Until we hear otherwise.) ;-)
ReplyDelete- Jagged Bones
Holy cow, Sue. You win today’s Internet.
ReplyDelete- Chunky (I overate today)