# Amusement park rides that don't SEEM to be there anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2020, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337 "2020-11-24T06:54:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/21 "2020-11-25T01:33:28Z")
Harold Lloyd’s Speedy has a lot of Coney Island footage, as well as scenes from old New York. It’s pretty good, imho. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BhY_x8zOlI8/hqdefault.jpg "Harold Lloyd speedy 1928") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhY_x8zOlI8) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/22 "2020-11-30T18:13:26Z")
> [@urbanredneck2](#): > > #2. Worlds of Fun in Kansas City closed that one about 3 years ago. The company that made it had gone under and they simply could not find replacement or repair parts. Damn, that’s too bad. I can feel the course carpet-like texture of the walls of that right if I think about it. Had a friend deposit a VERY large amount of vomit into the trashcan outside of that ride one time. It was such a simple, fun ride. ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/23 "2020-12-01T14:54:00Z")
Totally agree. Wish I was running a machine shop. I would so love to go into the business of building and selling those. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/24 "2020-12-01T15:29:54Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Maybe they still are and I don’t see them anymore, but I’m pretty sure the first one isn’t around anymore > > 1. Giant metal slide that sits out in the sun all day. Has a couple of dips, so it isn’t just one straight angle down. And finally what do you slide down on? Potato sack bags. Yeah, I’d say onl;y 75% of kids actually got to the bottom still attached to those bags. I’m surprised that you picked a common ride that is seen all over the country as your #1 example. I love to go to fairs and often see them… in the summer (with kids 100% staying on their sacks), and off-season (sometimes covered in snow). They’ve weathered winters and the changing times just fine. > [@Hampshire](#): > > Both the Minnesota State Fair grounds and the Wisconsin State Fair grounds have the giant metal potato sack slides as permanent fixtures. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/25 "2020-12-01T15:37:41Z")
> [@urbanredneck2](#): > > Wish I was running a machine shop… I bet you could buy old carnival rides for next to nothing and then get someone to machine any broken parts (OR… 3D PRINT THEM, USING METAL!) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/26 "2020-12-01T15:48:24Z")
There may be some state laws at play here. The burlap sack slides were everywhere here in California when I was a kid but I haven’t seen one in at least 30 years. Or maybe they were all just replaced by water slides in places like Southern California with more warm days than somewhere like the Midwest. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/27 "2020-12-01T17:52:41Z")
I’m the first to agree that 3D printing is really cool, but for strong metal parts, you’re almost always better off with machining. Or if you’re going to make more than a handful, casting or stamping (though those might involve 3D printing to make the mold masters). ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/28 "2020-12-01T18:07:43Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Here’s a pic of the slide i was referring to I was going to post a pic of a similar slide that was at Lakeside Amusement Park in Roanoke, VA. But it had been renovated and was brand new. This is how I remember it, in the mid seventies, with the same steps on the right, and those heavy pieces of itchy, scratchy carpet you had to haul up yourself. Just horrible on a hot summer day. What, some genius couldn’t have devised a pulley system to get 'em up to the top? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/29 "2020-12-01T18:08:01Z")
Molds are expensive though, never a good choice for a small run. 3D printing strong metals parts is getting cheaper but you need to find a maker space that can do it. You can’t really afford a 3D metal printer most likely, they’re still very expensive. A machine shop though could make parts using their advance milling machines. These are the same shops you would probably go to for the molds. ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/30 "2020-12-01T18:50:46Z")
Well I’m thinking I would basically go into the business of first, finding some old blueprints and buying the rights. Then manufacture and sell them. I think many amusement parks that had to take them out would gladly put one back in because they take up so little space. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/31 "2020-12-01T19:48:14Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Here’s a pic of the slide i was referring to > [https://www.pinterest.com/pin/453596993707359419/](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/453596993707359419/) Bit of a sidetrack here, but the mention of Bell’s Amusement Park caught my attention. Not because I ever went there, but because of a strip of 35mm negative film I came across somewhere on a road trip last year. I scanned it when I got home and it turned out the images were taken at Bell’s, which closed in 2006 (the clue that gave it away was one image had the _Phantasmagoria_ attraction in the background) I still wonder how it is that I came across those images of a place that closed down almost 15 years ago. And on the Scenic Railway front, the Great Scenic Railway in Melbourne’s Luna Park – built in 1912 – is still running. (I was greatly disappointed that it was down for maintenance when I visited) ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/32 "2020-12-02T04:39:37Z")
Sidetrack: You can see some cool videos of abandoned amusement parks. Just google it. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/33 "2020-12-02T06:57:21Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > And on the Scenic Railway front, the Great Scenic Railway in Melbourne’s Luna Park – built in 1912 – is still running. (I was greatly disappointed that it was down for maintenance when I visited) When I was young, my parents wouldn’t let me go on that – they were old enough to remember the safety issues and disasters of early rides like that. And it is “an early ride like that” it’s all cross-braced wood, carefully painted and maintained. Note the brakeman standing in the middle. Now that I’m old, I won’t go on that, because the seating is too small for a tall guy, and the bumps and rattles on that thing are /hard/, particularly when you aren’t settled in contact with the bench. It’s not “scenic” in the sense of having “scenes”. It’s scenic like a railway is scenic – having a view, and traveling up and down “mountains”. [The Great Scenic Railway - Luna Park Melbourne](https://lunapark.com.au/attractions/the-great-scenic-railway/) ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/34 "2020-12-02T13:07:46Z")
In French, roller coasters are called “montagnes russes” - i.e. “Russian mountains”. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/35 "2020-12-02T13:29:50Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > And on the Scenic Railway front, the Great Scenic Railway in Melbourne’s Luna Park – built in 1912 – is still running. (I was greatly disappointed that it was down for maintenance when I visited) From the linked pictures, it looks much closer to a modern roller coaster than one of LaMarcus A. Thompson’s original Scenic Railways. But even during his lifetime, people were stealing the name “Scenic Railway” and applying it to different rides. Thompson’s were characterized by gentle, almost sinusoidal up-and-down undulations and no sudden drops or turns: > **[Boardwalk’s Scenic Railway, Not So Scenic After All - Santa Cruz Beach...](https://blog.beachboardwalk.com/nadm-scenic-railway-roller-coaster/)** > > Boardwalk entrepreneur Fred Swanton always dreamed big. In June 1906, after an early morning fire consumed his 1904 Moorish-styled Casino complex at Santa Cruz Beach, he immediately organized the design, financing, and construction of a more... > **[Curiosities: Roller Coasters at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk](https://www.santacruztrains.com/2017/01/curiosities-roller-coasters-at-santa.html)** > > There have been many narrow-gauge, broad-gauge, and miniature railroads, as well as numerous horsecars, streetcars, and cable-hoisted car s... ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/36 "2020-12-02T14:06:23Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Both the Minnesota State Fair grounds and the Wisconsin State Fair grounds have the giant metal potato sack slides as permanent fixtures. I came in here to post that. Prior to waterparks taking over slides were all over the Wisconsin Dells. It was the a major draw and there were at least a dozen of them in that town. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/37 "2020-12-02T17:25:50Z")
I haven’t seen a rock o plane in a long time. All the traveling carnivals used to have one. There were 2 person cages that would rock up and down. There was a bar inside that controlled the movement. You could make the cage flip if you held the bar long enough. People were strapped tightly to the seat. Flipping the cage used to scare me. I was always worried it would break off and fall. 😲 It was unusual because the rider controlled the rocking. I took my young daughter on the ride. I made sure it gentlty rocked. I found it on Wikipedia. > **[Rock-O-Plane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock-O-Plane)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The Rock-O-Plane is an amusement park ride designed by Lee Eyerly in 1948 and manufactured by the Eyerly Aircraft Company of Salem, Oregon. > It is sometimes nicknamed "the cages" or "the eggs". Its shape is similar to that of a Ferris wheel, but with seats that are enclosed and rock and roll as the ride turns. If the rocking builds sufficient momentum the seats will flip upside-down and end-over-end. There is usually a wheel inside that partic... ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337/38 "2020-12-03T15:02:11Z")
We used to call that ride the squirrel cages. We loved getting them spinning. I almost throw up just thinking back to it. 🤢 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusement-park-rides-that-dont-seem-to-be-there-anymore/926337.md?page=1)