Classic Flat Rides of Idlewild Park

Opened in 1878, Idlewild Park in Ligonier, Pennsylvania is the third oldest amusement park in the country (and when I say "opened," I really mean that they just built this tiny railroad depot and threw in a couple of picnic tables). Although the park lost its classic Caterpillar flat ride in 2013, they still have a nice collection of some fairly standard amusements found at amusement parks all around the country. Let's take a look at them!

 First off is this Eli Bridge Ferris Wheel. Once at nearby Kennywood Park, it provides nice views from the top.

 Right next door is the Spider, a famous "twirl-and-hurl" ride.

One of the oldest buildings at Idlewild is this, the Skooter bumper car structure. I believe that it was built in the 1920s. It's important to note that although the building is old, the cars themselves are not.

The Paratrooper is another standard that's always a fun time.

 Even with this collection of classics, Idlewild is not without its faults. The park recently removed their c. 1940 Whip ride because of it being in a flood plain. While I guess that is an acceptable reason, a complete renovation would've been welcome to let this ride continue providing gentle thrills for years to come. To add to the hurt, it has sadly not replaced by any attraction.

Here's the Whip in its final state in 2017.

 For the same reason, Idlewild also removed their Round-Up in 2018, leaving many fans to wonder if it would ever return. However, Idlewild has now proved that they can bring flat rides back from the dead, as it has reappeared at the tail end of the 2019 season.

An Eli Bridge Scrambler is also on hand. (Note the identical decals to the Ferris Wheel cars.)

These Flying Scooters look old but have actually only been here since 2007. This was also Idlewild's last new ride, so they are majorly due for something fresh.

 I hope you have enjoyed this look at the flat rides of Idlewild. The mid-sized group they have is better than many parks, and hopefully, all of these will stick around for years. However, the Caterpillar is still in storage and needs to come back!

Thanks for reading!

Inside Trimper's Haunted House

The Haunted House at Trimper's Rides in Ocean City, Maryland is a classic darkride, one of the few remaining ride-throughs built by famed darkride designer Bill Tracy. Opened in 1964, its collection of "stunts" has grown and been updated over the years, but a lot of classic gags remain.

Brighter Colors - Note the second-level balcony onto which the cars emerge.

I have shared an exterior pic of this ride before, but I figured that now would be a good a time as any to take a trip inside!

The ride cars, wonderfully designed, look like coffins and are referred to by this man as "coffin carriages."  

Mwahaha!

 One of the first illusions you encounter is this, the "tilted corridor," a standby in many haunted house-type rides.

Right after that is the spinning barrel, which also includes a rotating disk at the end of the hallway designed to look like the back of one of the ride's cars!

 For reference: 

Some of the dioramas have been in the ride since 1964, such as this macabre one, the "Old Mill."

 There are spooks on the lighter side of things, though!

 Like other early works of Bill Tracy, the Trimper's Haunted House certainly specializes in large scenes filled with animated, sculpted figures. 

 This "train tunnel" uses a former rotating barrel from a defunct Bill Tracy darkride that was once in an Ocean City amusement park called Playland. When that park closed, Trimper's acquired many of the stunts from their Ghost Ship darkride and added them to the Haunted House, creating a new and improved two-story ride.

Yes, those bumps on the floor do create the sensation of traveling over railroad ties!

This lunging "rat" also came from Playland's Ghost Ship. 

I don't have a good picture of it, but Trimper's Haunted House also features a "water curtain" waterfall that runs in front of the ride's final set of doors. Luckily, it shuts off before right before you are drenched. Unlike some darkrides, you do get wet from this one!

Stormy Skies...

 I hope you have enjoyed this ride through the Haunted House!

Frontier Town - Ocean City, Maryland

Frontier Town is a cool little park themed to the old west that’s celebrating 60 years in 2019. I guess it’s kind of like Knott’s Berry Farm before they started adding all the rides – as far as rides here go, there's not much more than a train and stagecoach, as was typical of parks like this built in the 1950s and 60s. The main attraction at Frontier Town is the western style shows, and there are all kinds, with everything from gunfights to the can-can playing out at some point during the day. In fact, when one show ends, another one begins shortly, so that’s the real appeal of Frontier Town.

The main entrance is simple and feels like it's been unchanged for years, and that spirit remains true throughout the entire park.

 Here's the town square, the main location where the park's shows happen during the day.

Shortly after the opening flag raising, the cattle came parading up the dusty trail! They played the theme from "Rawhide" during this bit, and I swear that I heard the "rolling, rolling, rolling" soundtrack at least five times during our visit. 



Also part of the opening ceremonies is this stagecoach, which gives rides through the backwoods of the park. Leaning out the window you can see "Desert Dan," who provided comedic relief (saying that my dad looked like his lost mule, for instance). 

 Here's one of those gun shows I was referring to. Even though they're all obviously fake, the actors were very upfront in extolling the dangers of their firearms.

 This train is the main ride here, and it runs off of real steam power. I've seen many pictures of this type of miniature locomotive being run at amusement parks, but they've been slowly eliminated over time. I guess most parks don't think that it's worth the effort to keep a complex machine like this running.

In the foreground is the body of water in which Frontier Town once had a riverboat ride, and although it is not operating anymore, the boat is still sitting out in the open. Predictably, the train ride also involves a robbery! I'm terrified.

 Much less complicated than the iron horse is this horse-powered merry-go-round.

There are some old "peek-in" dioramas around the park, like this Chinese laundry.

I was considering getting my cavity filled by "Dr. Yank'em," but now that I see this, I'm having second thoughts.

Through the blinding dust, you can see the saloon. Let's go there...

On the porch of the building, we see this old miner taking a look at a very strange-faced lady. The miner has been a Frontier Town icon for decades.

 Inside is the perfect venue for can-can shows.

At showtime, this place was packed!

 This stadium is the location for the "Great Western Stampede," a variety show. In this picture, you can see the buckboards that sped around the ring. There was also an eleven-year-old performer here, riding two horses at once while standing up!

On the way to the Indian Village is the "Mysterious Mine," a small tilt house with wacky, slanted floors.

 The Indian Village is the home of Native American dances, which are all presented very well with lots of historical "fact vs. fiction" background info.

 I love the humorous graves of the "Boot Hill" cemetery!

Frontier Town was a wonderful trip back into time when small, roadside attractions like this existed. Sure, they've added a waterpark and campground since then, but I'm glad that management sees value in keeping the western town around. It's all fueled by extremely corny humor,  but if you can get yourself to enjoy that (and we all really can if we try...) you'll like Frontier Town. Thanks for reading!

Trimper's Rides - The Historic Carousel Building

This post is a bit of a longer one; I hope you like the change!

At the south end of the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, there's a building that has been a fixture of the amusement park it is part of, Trimper's, for over 100 years. At the heart of both the building and the park is a historic, turn-of-the-century (I find conflicting dates everywhere.) carousel. It was manufactured by the Herschell-Spillman Company and is kept in very good shape. 

Here's the machine's "lead horse," or the animal that is most ornately designed. However, this carousel is of the menagerie variety, which means that there's everything from the rooster in the background of this picture to a frog wearing a tuxedo. 

A look around shows that there is more in this structure than just the carousel.

 The antique kiddie rides here represent one of the best collection of rides made by the W.F. Mangels company anywhere. The majority of them, like this Ferris Wheel, date from as far back as the 1920s.

Mangels is most famous for its invention of the Whip, and Trimper's has perhaps the most ornately painted version anywhere - and a kiddie one, at that!

 All around the carousel building is a prevailing sense of artistry, with pretty much every available surface beautified in some way.

Adjacent to the large version is a kiddie Merry-Go-Round that is also kept up with nicely.

Just look at those tiny murals on the back of this bench. Immaculate.

This Snoopy-themed Sky Fighter ride has most likely been the exact same from the 1960s, and it's been personalized in a way truly unique to the park. Take this, for example:

"If my brakes fail me, I'll be stuck on that Merry-Go-Round!"

Unsurprisingly, the Merry-Go-Round is right there!

These "wet" boats (real water) are very cool and quite large.

These clown faces are pretty prevalent among classic amusement parks, and Trimper's has two of them.

These buildings are real old-school amusement park experiences, trips back in time. They seem to be found pretty commonly on coastlines, with their collection of older kiddie rides, but the Trimper's collection is among the best remaining. But although it's my favorite place in the park, there's more to Trimper's than just this inside portion, and we'll be taking a look at in the future. There'll be more to come from the old rides in this building, as well.

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