Chris Mercaldo's Amusement Blog

Hicks Nurseries October 1995 (Part 3 of 3)

2012-10-19T23:11:00.000-04:00

Hello folks and welcome back to The Amusement Blog!

Here, as promised, is Hicks Nurseries Day 3 from 1995.

Today we have two of a Scarecrow character that made an appearance at Hicks in this season. I don't remember seeing this costume in years prior or after but character actors are always welcome, especially during Halloween!

My brother was pretty big into "The Wizard of Oz" at the time so I'm sure this was a thrill to see

The same Scarecrow going for a ride on the Hay Ride

Well folks, that wraps things up for today! I hope that these last few sets of pictures from Hicks have helped to put you in the Fall and Halloween spirit. Be sure to check back soon for a new set from a different location!

Hicks Nurseries October 1995 (Part 2 of 3)

2012-10-18T14:13:00.001-04:00

Hello again and welcome back to another post here at The Amusement Blog!

Today we have another two images for you from Hicks Nurseries, October 1995.

As mentioned in yesterday's post, Hicks Nurseries' Fall Festival is a Long Island classic and a tradition for many Long Island families.

One of the staples at Hicks' Fall Festival is the Hay Ride that crosses into the back areas of the nursery. There are often decorations and character dioramas along both sides of the Hay Ride's path, giving kids and families something to look at along the relaxing trip to there and back again.

Every once in a while you might even catch a ride with the Fall Festival's signature mascot, Otto the Ghost, as he joined this gang of ruffians back in 1995 just as they were preparing for their ride.

"HOLD THAT GHOST!"

Below is an example of an early decorative diorama that ran alongside the Hay Ride. Over the years, these have gotten much grander and much more festive and often include plywood cutout paintings of favorite children's characters from pop culture, ala Spongebob Squarepants.

Not much to see here but the dioramas in more recent years have gotten quite extravagant!

Alright folks! That wraps things up for today here at The Amusement Blog! We have one more days worth of 1995 pictures from Hicks to share with you so be sure to come back tomorrow!

Thanks as always for stopping by, and if you like what you see here, be sure to bookmark us and/or follow us!

Hicks Nurseries October 1995 (Part 1 of 3)

2012-10-17T15:26:00.002-04:00

Welcome back for another post here at The Amusement Blog!

Today we'll be looking at a Long Island favorite for Halloween festivities, Hicks Nurseries, which is actually the oldest nursery and garden center on Long Island.

What's so great about Hicks? FREE ADMISSION.

What does that get you?
-Beautiful atmosphere
-Otto the Ghost's animated story that mostly changes year to year (although there was a period of years that all involved Venus fly traps)

For small fees you can:
-Feed animals
-Go on a hay ride
-Buy pumpkins, squash, roasted corn, kettle corn, and more
-Purchase Halloween and Christmas decorations
AND MORE!

Hicks was always a favorite of mine growing up as a kid and I even tried turning my basement into one of Otto's animated scenes when I was 3. Could you tell this kid loved amusements?

Anyways folks, below are two shots of the Hicks Fall Festival's signature character, Otto the Ghost!

I believe Marshall Eriksen had a sweet pair of 90's pants too on How I Met Your Mother

Again, just loving those 90's outfits

The costume hasn't changed much since '95! Here's a picture of Otto today and the only real difference I can spot is the bow.

Alright folks! That wraps things up for today! If you have young children and want to get in the holiday spirit for fall and Halloween be sure to spend an hour or two over at Hicks.

We have more for you tomorrow so be sure to stop by again soon!

Chef Mickey's May 1997 (Part 2 of 2)

2012-10-15T08:20:00.000-04:00

Some more Chef Mickey's coming to you live from The Amusement Blog!

These pictures are from May 1997 when Walt Disney World could be found in the middle of its 25th Anniversary celebration.

Chef Mickey's, located inside the Contemporary Resort, is a great place to grab a buffet style breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Each meal features Goofy, Chip, Dale, Pluto, Minnie, and of course, Chef Mickey.

Below are some pictures from two different days worth of meals at the restaurant.

Chef Goofy (also from Goofy's Kitchen out in Disneyland)

Chef Dale (The naming on the hats help those unfamiliar distinguish him from Chip)

Chef Mickey

And his dog Pluto, too!

I have many great dining experiences and memories here so if you will be traveling down to Walt Disney World soon I highly recommend it, especially if you have little ones! You're guaranteed to see all of the characters I mentioned before as they make their rounds to every table.

That wraps things up for today folks! Be sure to check back soon for our next location and our next update here on The Amusement Blog!

Chef Mickey's May 1997 (Part 1 of 2)

2012-10-14T01:54:00.002-04:00

One of my family's longtime favorite breakfast restaurants at Walt Disney World, Chef Mickey's, will be the feature of our next two post's here at The Amusement Blog!

What makes this round of pictures special? These pictures, from May 1997, highlight Walt Disney World in the middle of its 25th Anniversary Celebration: no Animal Kingdom open just yet and a crazy cake castle to be found in the middle of the Magic Kingdom!

This anniversary was a very memorable one to me in particular as this was my first visit to Walt Disney World, a trip that would add a lot of fuel to my theme and amusement park interest and passion.

Today we find ourselves at the entrance of the Contemporary Resort where we can see the great 25th Anniversary logo in action. Why Walt Disney World hasn't celebrated its 30th, 35th, and 40th anniversaries is beyond me!

A great logo if you ask me!

And now, we move upstairs a bit, and find ourselves at the gateway to a delicious breakfast buffet at Chef Mickey's. This area has changed a little bit over time but for the most part can still be enjoyed in mostly the same way that it was back in 1997.

90's Outfits man, so crazy!

It's crazy that think that at this time Walt Disney World was only 25 years old. This past October (October 2011) the entire resort turned 40!

Be sure to check back tomorrow, I've got four great pictures of the Disney characters dressed in chef and kitchen garb straight from Chef Mickey's 1997, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Strausburg Rail Road 1997 (Part 1 of 1)

2012-10-07T23:58:00.001-04:00

Well folks, as much as I would like to hold myself to a strict one post a day diet it seems like school and work will be keeping me busy!

What this means is slightly less frequent posts but I will still do my best to get as many posts up as often as I can!

We also now feature ads here on The Amusement Blog. These just help keep the bills paid and will be mostly targeted towards things you will read about on the blog. The other day I posted about Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Google provided ads for the park itself and hotels/motels in the surrounding areas. If you see an ad that interests you or pertains to you feel free to click on it.

Now, onto today's business!

Today we find ourselves at the Strausburg Rail Road in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Lancaster is home to all sorts of good things, including many Dutch bakeries, the National Christmas Center, and Dutch Wonderland.

The Strausburg Rail Road (spelt Rail Road and not Railroad in this instance) is the oldest operating railroad in the United States!

Below is a shot of one of the excursion cars carried by the one of the SRC's (the reporting mark of the Strausburg Rail Road) several live steam engine trains.

The Strausburg Rail Road is still rolling on today in Lancaster, PA

That's it for today folks, but be sure to bookmark us and check back soon for newer posts and updates!

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg August 1998 (Part 10 of 10)

2012-10-06T10:15:00.002-04:00

Finally! Our last day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, August 1998!

I hope you have been enjoying each entry from this visit so far as I have definitely had a blast going back and looking at the pictures from this trip!

These two were leftovers that didn't really fit in with any of the others in the bunch, but we bring them to you today!

Up first, are the Li'l Clydes kids' carousel located in the Heatherdowns, Scotland section of the park.

What a good big brother right?

The Li'l Clydes match the colors of the Budweiser Clydesdales whose stable was located nearby. The Li'l Clydes can still be found at the park, the Budweiser Clydesdales cannot.

The first ever Howl-O-Scream!

Now this one I had no idea about at first because it seemed pretty misplaced at the park. With every theme park and amusement park chain jumping on an end of the season Halloween celebration/festival, Busch Gardens did too, and it started in 1998! Above is an early advertisement for the first ever Howl-O-Scream event at Busch Gardens!

Howl-O-Scream will be celebrating its 14th season of frights and fun this month!

Alright folks, that wraps things up for Busch Gardens Williamsburg, August 1998!

I'm not sure just yet where we'll be headed tomorrow but be sure to stop by tomorrow to come see what we have for you here at The Amusement Blog!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg August 1998 (Part 9 of 10)

2012-10-05T12:59:00.001-04:00

We are back for Day 9 of 10 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, August 1998!

Today we find ourselves back in Land of the Dragons, what used to be the only children's section of the park before the opening of Sesame Street Forest of Fun.

Up above is the Bug-a-Dug attraction, still operating today. In the background you can see the Flutter Sputter flying spinner flat ride and behind that the Arrow Dynamics classic, the Loch Ness Monster. Today the Loch Ness Monster is the only surviving coaster to have interlocking loops.

One can hear the Loch Ness Monster rattling away throughout Land of the Dragons every time one of the coaster's trains goes by or climbs one of its lift hills.

Above is one of the many cargo net climbing areas found throughout Land of the Dragons that surrounds the large dragon-themed treehouse found in the center of this area of the park. This looks very familiar to one of the attractions found at Sesame Place, a sister park to Busch Gardens.

Again one can see one of the lift hills of the Loch Ness Monster in the background.

Alright folks, that wraps things up for Day 9 of our 10 part look at Busch Gardens Williamsburg from August of 1998! Be sure to stop back by The Amusement Blog tomorrow for our last day at the park!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg August 1998 (Part 8 of 10)

2012-10-04T14:48:00.001-04:00

Hello all and welcome back!

We are back for another day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg!

Today and tomorrow we will be continuing our look inside the Land of the Dragons section of the park as it appeared in August, 1998. If you missed our first day looking at this section of the park be sure to check it out here!

Up first is the water play area of Land of the Dragons. This area contains a ton of small fountains, water falls, geysers, and sprinklers that help children stay cool during the very hot and humid Virginia summers.

For anyone that follows Theme Park Review somewhat religiously, I am clearly signifying above that this was an unacceptable amount of wetness!

And our sendoff for today...

My little brother Steven hanging out in front of some photo opportunity dragon eggs! Kids (and parents) could climb inside the eggs to look as though they were hatching out of them.

The eggs above reminded me of this great PlayStation One game from the 90's. Here's another clip of one of those pesky egg thieves here!

To the best of my knowledge these eggs and much of what you will see from me covering Land of the Dragons still exists today. The only attraction removed from Land of the Dragons was Riffle Rapids, which was relocated to the Sesame Street Forest of Fun and rethemed and renamed Bert and Ernie's Loch Adventure.

Alright folks! That's it for today! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for our last day looking at Land of the Dragons and our second to last day looking at Busch Gardens Williamsburg!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg August 1998 (Part 7 of 10)

2012-10-03T23:57:00.002-04:00

Welcome back folks!

Yesterday we reached 800 views! Please keep them coming and be sure to bookmark us or follow us and stop by The Amusement Blog daily for new posts of pictures, souvenirs, park maps and more!

If you enjoy visiting amusement parks and theme parks and like learning a little bit of history then this is the place for you! Here at The Amusement Blog we document the changes seen at parks over time and look at how different amusement parks have looked and evolved throughout their lifetimes.

Today we will be continuing our look at Busch Gardens Williamsburg as it appeared in August 1998.

Our pictures today come from what used to be the only true dedicated kids section of the park, Land of the Dragons. In 1994 Land of the Dragons replaced the park's former children section Grimm's Hollow.

The Land of the Dragons was an awesome fit for Busch Gardens Williamsburg because it fit the medieval and old world theme of the park so well.

While looking back at these pictures so much of The Land of the Dragons reminds me of two things, Sesame Place's old cargo nets and play areas and Figment from EPCOT Center's original (and incredible) Journey Into Imagination.

Up above is the entrance to Land of the Dragons. We can see the cargo nets and some of the other fun things to do in this area behind us.

And now that we're inside, we're aboard the park's second "Dumbo" spinner style attraction. The other is the Red Baron/Roto Baron we looked at earlier on The Amusement Blog.

Now you can probably see what I was talking about when I said that some of these dragons remind me of Disney's Figment. They also resemble the CTW/Sesame Workshop's Dragon Tales' dragons.

In 2009 the Sesame Street Forest of Fun opened at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and quickly became the more popular kiddie section of the park when it opened. It's hard to compete with the recognition factor that the Sesame Street muppets command with the little ones.

That wraps things up for today folks! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for even more Busch Gardens Williamsburg from August, 1998!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg August 1998 (Part 6 of 10)

2012-10-02T22:06:00.001-04:00

Welcome back!

We are back in action here at The Amusement Blog and will be sharing another two images with you today from Busch Gardens Williamsburg as it appeared in August of 1998.

Today we have two more German inspired things to share with you from the park!

Up first is another attraction that has been relocated within the park since the time of the photo. Below is what used to be known as Der Katapult, which pretty easily translates from German to English as The Catapult.

Der Katapult was removed from its original location (which can be seen in this 1997 park map) to make way for one of the park's newest attractions, the Mach Tower, and the overall reimagining/resprucing up of Oktoberfest that took place in 2011.

Der Katapult was moved to New France (think Canadian frontier and wilderness) and was renamed Le Catapult to fit its new French speaking territory. Le Catapult took the place of the former Canadian Palladium. During the transformation from Der Katapult to Le Catapult this scrambler style flat ride also received a new red paint scheme and wilderness inspired logo to match its new surroundings.

The ironwork fencing surrounding the ride was beautiful! Today the majority of rides in Oktoberfest still have that great and unique ironwork fencing surrounding them.

And our sendoff for today...

One of Busch Gardens Williamsburg's three unique steam engine trains. Each of the three trains at BGW resembles the look of a period steam engine from a different country. At the time steam engines were being built every country around the world building them built them differently and thus a German, American, and British train from the same time period all look very different!

Most theme parks (such as Disneyland and Walt Disney World) use American inspired recreations or real repurposed American steam engines. Busch Gardens Williamsburg's trains are unique in that they really do look different than any steam engine trains that most people have seen.

The train seen in the image above is train #238 Der Hochbeinige and was made for Busch Gardens in the German style of steam engines. Busch Gardens Williamsburg's other two trains are #661 the Balmoral Castle done in the British style of steam engine trains and #17 the Alpine Express done in the American style of steam engine trains.

For a lot more on the steam engine trains and railroad of Busch Gardens Williamsburg be sure to check out the amazing www.AmusementPics.com website. A direct link to the BGW Railroad page from Amusement Pics can be accessed here.

Alright folks, that wraps things up for today! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for even more from Busch Gardens Williamsburg, August 1998.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg August 1998 (Part 5 of 10)

2012-10-01T23:22:00.001-04:00

Finally! I'm back and ready to make up for the last few days worth of posts!

Now that I'm back in school for graphic design a few days breaks may happen here or there but I will always go back and make sure that those days get updated with pictures so that every day has a post.

Ironically enough, my first day back really does makes me feel like I'm back in action as the attraction we will be looking at today at Busch Gardens Williamsburg is one that I operated during my 2011 internship with the park!

The ride you will see below is a Red Baron airplane spinner style flat ride manufactured by Zamperla. These kinds of "Dumbo" rides have been popular for ages and allow children to have the experience of flight all at their own control by means of a pull lever in both the front and back seats of the cockpit.

From firsthand experience, it is no easy feat instructing the little ones (3-4 year olds) to pull up on the stick to go up and to push down on the stick to go down! More often than not it takes them two tries, one without leaving the ground and one stuck sky high with the lever pulled all the way back, before they figure out that their entire range of up and down motion is controlled by the pull of that stick. When they do figure it out, however, their reactions are priceless and the fun you can see them having shines right through their faces. For a child there are few feelings better than achieving flight.

Up first is my little brother Steven at the controls of his own Red Baron plane! Who's the Red Baron you say! The Red Baron was a legendary World War I fighter pilot who fought for Germany during that war (hence its location in the Oktoberfest, Germany section of the park). For more on the Red Baron click here. You can see the pull lever sticks in both the front and rear seats of the plane in the image below. They are connected so that when one gets pulled up (or down) the other goes right up (or down) in sync with it.

From the above image I was able to figure out that the Red Baron seen above is not in its current location at the park today. The Red Baron today sits to the front left of the Bumper Car building.

A little bit of research showed me that on these 1983 and 1987 park maps of Busch Gardens Williamsburg that the Red Baron used to sit in the location that is currently occupied by The Curse of DarKastle and has had the different names of Der Roto Baron, Red Barons, and Red Baron throughout its lifetime.

From this 1997 park map I was able to discern that the Red Baron was relocated to the site of the former Remote-O-Cars where it still resides today.

Our send off picture for today...

...this stud! Cue The Danger Zone and send me off!

Alright folks! That wraps things up for today but be sure to come back tomorrow for some more great photos from Busch Gardens Williamsburg, 1998!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg August 1998 (Part 4 of 10)

2012-09-30T17:25:00.006-04:00

Welcome back for Day 4 of our 10 day special looking back at Busch Gardens Williamsburg the way it appeared in August, 1998.

Today we will be featuring two retired attractions from Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW), one famous and the other infamous!

Up first, the sign for Busch Gardens' legendary Arrow suspended coaster, The Big Bad Wolf.

The Big Bad Wolf, started by Anton Schwarzkopff and completed by Arrow Dynamics in 1984, thrilled guests for 25 seasons before closing in 2009. An on-ride POV of the attraction can be seen here. In 2012 the attraction was replaced with Verbolten which follows a similar path and takes the same dive to the Rhine River below as did The Big Bad Wolf. The Big Bad Wolf was unique in that it was a suspended coaster, meaning the cars of the train were allowed to swing freely. A picture of one of the cars can be seen here.

Below is an image of the front car of one of the trains of the then Standing But Not Operating (SBNO) Arrow custom looping coaster, Drachen Fire.

The attraction was notoriously rough and had an interesting backstory as well as it was originally to be designed and built by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M). Rumor has it that because B&M, who was getting ready for a busy 1992 season that would see the debut of their new inverted coaster design, told Busch that they could not complete two coaster projects for them for the 1992 season but could complete one for them in early 1993. The coaster that was designed and built by B&M for Busch went to the other Busch Gardens, Busch Gardens Tampa, while Arrow Development had to step in to do the project for Busch Gardens Williamsburg for the 1992 season. Some say that Arrow used B&M's plans for Drachen Fire in designing what would end up being the real Drachen Fire but I do not believe that this has ever been fully verified. What is interesting though is that Arrow definitely seems to have been heavily inspired by B&M in the design of Drachen Fire and I say that because of its unique inversions and the B&M style supports used throughout.

Drachen Fire closed for the last time to guests only days before this trip in July of 1998!

Well folks, that wraps things up for today! I hope you enjoyed today's two retired attractions from Busch Gardens Williamsburg and hope that you stop back by The Amusement Blog tomorrow for another day at BGW!

Also, if you are curious to see B&M's 1993 addition to Busch Gardens Tampa you can here. It is still operating today!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg August 1998 (Part 3 of 10)

2012-09-29T22:48:00.004-04:00

Hello all! We're back at Busch Gardens Williamsburg for Day 3 of our 10 day series!

Today we'll be looking at one of the now lost icons of the park, the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Clydesdales.

When Busch Entertainment was sold to the Blackstone Group by the newly formed AB InBev company in 2009 one of the first things to go from Busch Gardens Williamsburg was the legendary Budweiser Clydesdales.

These beautiful horses have represented the company's flagship Budweiser brand of beer for over a century. The horses even carried the first batch of post-prohibition beer to the White House.

Below is one of Busch Gardens Williamsburg's former Budweiser Clydesdale horses.

Clydesdales are BIG horses!

Up above is one of the park's lost photo opportunities, an Anheuser-Busch horse drawn beer cart. This cart is similar to the one seen in many of Busch's television ads including Busch's legendary 9/11 television commercial tribute. The commercial is one of my favorites of all time and can be seen here in its original 2002 format and in an updated 2011 HD version here which has had the under construction Freedom Tower digitally added in. It really is a beautifully done tribute to 9/11 by what was then and now once one of the most American of companies before the Busch family, board, and shareholders decided to sell ~~their souls~~ it to Brazilian-Belgian giant InBev. (Can you tell I frown upon that decision?)

Today the old Budweiser Stables in the Scotland/Heatherdowns section of the park have been rethemed to Highland Stables. The original Budweiser bay (reddish brown) colored Clydesdales were removed from the park because they remained a core asset property of AB InBev and were replaced with black, non-AB Clydesdale horses. Something is better than nothing I guess right? These are beautiful animals all the same, it is just a shame that such legendary and historic horses can no longer be seen at the park.

Tomorrow we're moving onto part 4 of our 10 part series to be sure to stop back by The Amusement Blog tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg August 1998 (Part 2 of 10)

2012-09-28T15:41:00.003-04:00

Hello and welcome back to The Amusement Blog!

Today is Day 2 of our 10 part series looking back at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW) as it appeared in 1998!

Today we'll look at two park mascots before moving onto two park icons tomorrow!

The first is long since retired and appears to be some sort of giant stuffed, costumed bear! This picture was taken outside of one of the unique German shops in Rhinefeld. Up until the late 1990's and early 2000's these store spaces were rented out by actual German craftsmen specializing in all kinds of special and unique handcrafted gifts from Cuckoo Clocks, Steins, Hummel figurines, and glass blown Christmas ornaments. Unfortunately, similar to how both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom have replaced the majority of their unique craft and gift shops with generic park merchandise shops, Busch Gardens has done mostly the same. The shop below in particular I believe has been replaced.

Up above, our sendoff for the day, the Beer Meister master of ceremonies of the Oktoberfest Festhaus in 1998! Inside the beautiful Festhaus is some great food and a lunch/dinner show featuring traditional German singing and dancing to the music of a real live German Oompah Band.

I know for a fact that the shows continue on today along with a newer Maypole dance outside of the Festhaus but I am unsure if the Beer Meister continues to make appearances. My guess is that it is a role that has long since been retired.

EDIT: I knew for a fact that the show continued on throughout 2011 since I worked at the park that year and had to sit through "This Is Oktoberfest!" several times. This newer version of the original park's Oktoberfest show retired after only one season and was replaced this past season with a newer kids' show.

Germany happens to be one of the larger (if not the largest) section of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and the Anheuser-Busch German heritage has a lot to do with it! For a long time free beer samplings were available in the Festhaus to all those age 21 and over, however, this practice ended in 2009 before the sale of the parks by AB InBev to the Blackstone Group.

Well folks, that wraps things up for today! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for a look at an icon from Yester-Busch Gardens! Thanks for stopping by!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg August 1998 (Part 1 of 10)

2012-09-27T23:54:00.002-04:00

Hello all and welcome back for a special 10 part series we are about to embark on here at The Amusement Blog covering Busch Gardens Williamsburg from August 1998!

There will be a few nice surprises of past and relocated attractions so be sure to check back daily for new posts!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, formerly Busch Gardens: The Old Country until 1993 and then briefly Busch Gardens Europe from 2006-2008, opened on May 16, 1975. The park is located right next door to Busch's Williamsburg brewery in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The park was developed, owned, and operated by Anheuser-Busch (AB) from opening day until the Fall of 2009 when AB, fresh off of a buyout by Brazilian-Belgian alcoholic beverage giant InBev, sold off its "non-core assets" that made up Busch Entertainment. Busch Gardens Williamsburg was one of several parks, including the SeaWorld parks and Sesame Place, that also comprised Busch Entertainment.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, affectionately referred to on theme park enthusiast sites as BGW, has won the National Amusement Park Historical Association's Most Beautiful Park in the World award for 22 straight years, from 1990 to 2012, and Amusement Today's 2012 Golden Ticket Award for Best Landscaping. The park is gorgeous!

So, how is BGW arranged? The park is laid out in the shape of a giant circle with different European countries (and one random North American one...) scattered around the circle. Think Epcot's World Showcase on a grander scale and with full size rides, restaurants, shows, and attractions throughout.

The park map for 2012 can be found here and from that map we can see that the sections of the park today:
-Oktoberfest (Germany)
-Germany (formerly Rhinefeld)
-France (formerly Aquitaine)
-Ireland (formerly Killarney and before that the awesome Hastings extension of England)
-Italy (formerly San Marco)
-Festa Italia
-Scotland
-England (formerly Banbury Cross)
-Jack Hannah's Wild Preserve
-Sesame Street Forest of Fun
-Land of the Dragons (formerly Grimm's Hollow)

Today's two pictures come from the San Marco, Italy section of the park.

First, a grape stomping photo opportunity!

No real grapes were injured in the marking of this picture.

NOTE: The old Busch Gardens logo in use on the barrel! Here is a link to the new logo for comparison. Not a big difference, more of a nice evolution over time for the 21st century. Today the barrels still exist but the barrels have been updated with the park's current logo.

And up above, our sendoff picture for the day, is a picture of The Little Balloons ride. This attraction has been at the park since the 1980 addition of Italy to the park

and is still thrilling the little ones to this day.

One set down, nine more to go from the World's Most Beautiful Theme Park so be sure to stop back by the blog tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by!

Online References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busch_Gardens_Williamsburg

http://bgwfans.com/the-history-of-busch-gardens-williamsburg/

Go Karts Plus August 1998 (Part 3 of 3)

2012-09-26T00:06:00.000-04:00

Welcome back folks!

Today will be our last day at Go Karts Plus, August 1998!

Our focus today will be the Bumper Boats attraction at Go Karts Plus.

Like many Family Entertainment Centers across the United States, the Bumper Boats here at Go Karts Plus are a staple still operating today!

To start you first get unchained from the dock! There is definitely a learning curve in the steering too...

then you go out a little ways from the dock and perfect your navigating skills...

and then once you have everything down just right, go in for the bump!

A good bump, as seen above, can really throw some water around!

The bumper boats shown above have been replaced in favor of newer ones that feature a water jet connected to the boat to allow you to soak your opponent in an entirely new ay. The newer boats can be seen here and are now called the Blaster Bumper Boats. These newer boats also feature a striped pattern on the inflatable tubes surrounding the boat, differing from the solid color tubes of the originals.

That wraps things up for Go Karts Plus 1998! Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part 1 of many to come on Busch Gardens Williamsburg from August 1998!

Go Karts Plus August 1998 (Part 2 of 3)

2012-09-25T01:38:00.003-04:00

Today we're back at Go Karts Plus!

Yesterday we started off with a quick overview of the park and began talking about the park's signature attraction, the Super Stockart Raceway.

Today we have two more images for you both highlighting the great Stockart Go Karts featured in this attraction.

The shot above is a great close up of one of the #24 DuPont Stockarts wearing Jeff Gordon's classic rainbow paint scheme. As mentioned in yesterday's post, you can clearly see the second #24 DuPont car sitting in the next lane of the pit. To the best of my knowledge these cars were marked car #24-A and car #24-B respectively. Many of the most popular cars, drivers, and paint schemes had two identical vehicles.

To board the Stockarts one has to lift up the shell from the windshield and enter. That unique and distinguishing feature in addition to the replica decals and paint schemes of the real/former NASCAR stars helps make this attraction fun, different, and popular to this day.

What were some of the other famous 90's paint schemes featured on this attraction?

#3 Dale Earnhardt GM Goodwrench Service

#4 Sterling Marlin - Kodak Film

#5 Terry LaBonte - Kellogg's Corn Flakes

#6 Mark Martin - Valvoline

#10 Ricky Rudd - Tide Detergent

#11 Brett Bodine - Lowe's Home Improvements

#17 Darrell Waltrip - Western Auto

#18 Bobby LaBonte - Interstate Batteries

#19 Loy Allen - Hooters

#24 Jeff Gordon - DuPont Automotive Finishes

#25 Kenny Schrader - Budweiser

#31 Mike Skinner - Lowe's Home Improvements

#43 Richard Petty/Bobby Hamilton - STP

#94 - Bill Elliott - McDonald's

Many of those listed above can be seen in Stockart form at GoKarts Plus here and here.

Over time several of the older paint schemes and doubles have been replaced with their more modern NASCAR counterparts, such as a #17 DeWalt instead of Darrel Waltrip's classic #17 Western Auto scheme from the 90's and a #29 Goodwrench to match the one driven by Kevin Harvick after the untimely passing of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. I'm sure by now one of the two Lowe's vehicles have been updated to reflect the paint scheme of now 5 time Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson.

That wraps things up for today folks! We have one more day left at Go Karts Plus 1998!

I hope you have been enjoying what you have seen so far and be sure to stop back by tomorrow!

Go Karts Plus August 1998 (Part 1 of 3)

2012-09-24T22:31:00.002-04:00

Hello all and welcome back!

We hit a milestone over the weekend: 600 views! I would love to see that number keep rising so be sure to bookmark us and check back with us daily for new sets of pictures every day!

Today we are fast forwarding a few years and headed several hundred miles south of Long Island to historic and beautiful Williamsburg, Virginia.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg pictures will of course be coming but first we're making a quick stop at an exciting extra attraction in Williamsburg, Go Karts Plus!

Go Karts Plus is still operating today! This picture set is from the summer of 1998 and a lot of changes have occurred at this small park between then and now!

Today we're going to give you a quick preview of the layout of the park and an image of two retired attractions.

Up first, here's an overview shot of the Super Stockart Raceway and its Stockart Go Karts by Amusement Products.

Up above is a nice shot of the Super Stockart Raceway. Outside of the speedway you can see two big checkered flag umbrellas which provided great shade from the hot, sun-filled Virginia summer. Behind us are the Stockarts themselves wearing their NASCAR livery. Included are some very famous paint schemes including Jeff Gordon's rainbow #24 DuPont Chevrolet and Dale Earnhardt's black #3 Goodwrench Service Chevrolet.

1998 was one of the last NASCAR seasons before paint schemes and drivers really seemed to shift all around all the time. The paint schemes used on the Stockarts at Go Karts Plus reflected many of the most famous and popular drivers and schemes from the 1994-1996 seasons. Back in 1998, there was almost 2 of every paint scheme (a #24 A and a #24 B, a # 3 A and a #3 B). Over the years several cars have received new paint schemes and some doubles have been split to reflect new schemes and sponsorships. For example, a #9 Dodge was introduced over the years and one of the Dale Earnhardt #3's was repainted to reflect the paint scheme his replacement Kevin Harvick was driving at the time.

One last note on the picture above is of the Intimidator himself, featured on the Coca Cola machine during the popular NASCAR Coca Cola campaign that ran in the mid-to-late 90's.

Our sendoff for today is an image of two retired attractions! I believe them to be retired because they are no longer featured on the current park map found on the Go Karts Plus website.

These are your basic Kowasaki Power Wheels ATVs that you could purchase at your local Toys "R" Us at the time but Go Karts Plus had lots of them and a nice big and smooth track for you to cruise around them on.

The play area on the left is also no longer at the park. My best guess is that both of these sections were removed to make room for either the park's miniature golf course, the Disk 'O', or the Python Pit Kiddie Coaster. The Roller Coaster Data Base says that the Python Pit Kiddie Coaster debuted at Go Karts Plus in April of 2007 but for some reason I just don't remember it being at the park at that time. If you know where exactly the playground and Power Wheels track were located feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me!

Well folks, that wraps things up for today! Be sure to stop back tomorrow for two more from Go Karts Plus!

Splish Splash July 1994 (Part 4 of 4)

2012-09-23T15:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday and welcome back to Chris Mercaldo's Amusement Blog!

I hope you all are having great weekends as we get ready to dive in to our last and final day of pictures from this 1994 visit to Splish Splash Long Island.

Our first picture helps us round out our view of Kiddie Cove as it appeared in 1994.

As mentioned in our first post in this set of pictures, Kiddie Cove has changed very little with the exception of one attraction, the short lived (but great) Kiddie Car Wash.

As a kid that grew up with a Matchbox Super Spin Car Wash playset and many Hot Wheels cars I can attest to the fact that the Kiddie Car Wash was a blast because it literally was a car wash-like water park attraction. Inside were spinning bristles, scrubbers, water jets, and even a mitter curtain.

Above is the exit of the Kiddie Car Wash and you can see the mitter curtain behind me. I tried looking for a side view of the whole Kiddie Car Wash and even looked for images of the identical one that Dorney Park used to have but could not find one. If you have a picture of the Kiddie Car Wash please e-mail it to me so that we can see it!

This attraction slowly broke down season after season to have missing pieces, torn parts of the mitter curtain, and pieces that no longer moved or functioned. In the late 90's the attraction was removed and the area sat vacant for a few seasons before being replaced by this Frog Slide. Today, change has again occurred in this section of the park as the Frog Slide has also gone the way of Yester Splish Splash and is today the Kiddie Area Cabanas.

Our send off for today is a quick shot of my Mom and I going for a nice relaxing ride on the Lazy River. I must have just gotten hit by one of the many obstacles or water jets located all around this Lazy River as I seem to be wiping my eyes of some chlorine!

To the best of my knowledge, these blue tubes (dark blue for single rider and light blue for double tubes) were those that opened with the park. Later in the 90's through the 2000's yellow tubes were the norm throughout Splish Splash before being mostly replaced by these clear tubes today. The WBAB sponsorship on the tubes has been pretty consistent since '94!

Well folks, as that concludes this set of pictures I truly hope that you have enjoyed our visit to Splish Splash, 1994.

Check back tomorrow as we dive into another era and another park!

Splish Splash July 1994 (Part 3 of 4)

2012-09-22T09:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome back! I hope you all are enjoying your weekends!

Today we are back in Kiddie Cove of Long Island's Splish Splash water park and seeing how it appeared in 1994!

Below are three pictures of the Kiddie Slides located in this area of the park. Yesterday we took a quick look at the wide center slide and today we will be looking at the curvy narrow slides that flank both slides of the center slide.

As mentioned in yesterday's post, the only change to these slides is that they have been painted over in brighter, more vibrant colors than their original stock bone color. The end slides are now a very bright green, as seen here.

These slides are great for little ones as adults can slide with them on their laps before landing in the approximately one foot deep splash pool. They're also great for toddlers who aren't quite tall enough yet to ride the park's bigger body flumes. I remember spending all day riding slide to slide seeing which one was fastest!

The picture above is a great look at how all three slides and the splash pool they exit into looked in 1994. This image from 2005 shows the updated colors the slides are wearing today.

Well folks, that wraps things up for today!

Be sure to come back tomorrow as we conclude our look at Splish Splash on this 1994 visit.

Splish Splash July 1994 (Part 2 of 4)

2012-09-21T09:51:00.000-04:00

Welcome back and Happy Friday to everyone here visiting the blog!

We will be continuing our look at a few old pictures of Long Island's Splish Splash water park through the weekend. Be sure to check out our two previous posts which included a look at the park's 1994 Souvenir Map and a look at the Octopus Kiddie Pool in the Kiddie Cove section of the park.

Up first is a shot of the Elephant Pool that still exists in a mostly unchanged state today!

The only change that I could see was that during a repaint (these attractions see a lot of color fading between the summer sun and somewhat harsh Northeast winters!) the tassels of the carpet on the back of the elephant were painted purple instead of their original yellow color. The newer purple color of the tassels can be seen in this image here.

This pool features several water shooting palm trees and an elephant slide. The slide is accessed by stairs located underneath the mouth of the elephant and the slide goes down his back. An image of this apparatus can be seen here.

Our sendoff picture for today is of the big middle slide that is part of the three slide cluster that makes up the Kiddie Slides in Kiddie Cove.

Unlike our friend the Elephant, the Kiddie Cove slides received a new paint job from their basic bone fiberglass color. Here is a shot of how all three of the Kiddie Slides appeared in 2008. As you can see in that image, the center slide now sports a bright yellow paint scheme. The new colors definitely help bring a great deal of color and vibrance to the Kiddie Slides of Kiddie Cove.

Stop back tomorrow for three more pictures of Splish Splash in 1994!

Splish Splash July 1994 (Part 1 of 4)

2012-09-20T23:52:00.001-04:00

Welcome back to the Amusement Blog!

I hope you enjoyed the 1994 map of Splish Splash yesterday and today through Sunday we'll be looking at pictures from that trip to the 3 year old park.

With my brother being less than a year old (10 months old!) and me being 4 years old at the time of this trip, much of my family's time was spent in the park's Kiddie Cove section, the only section of Splish Splash dedicated solely for family's with small children.

A quick zoom in on the 1994 park map from yesterday shows the attractions featured in this section of the park:

-Kiddie Slides

-Octopus Kiddie Pool (spelt incorrectly as Octapus on the map!)

-Kiddie Car Wash

-Elephant Pool

With the exception of the Kiddie Car Wash, all of the other attractions still exist today! Sometime in the later 90's or early 2000's the Kiddie Car Wash was removed for a single Frog Slide and, as seen on the 2012 park map, that has now been removed as well and replaced with the Kiddie Area Cabanas. You can also see on the 2012 park map how the park has expanded significantly past the Elephant Pool in recent years with the addition of Dr. Von Dark's Tunnel of Terror in 2009 and Kahuna Bay, the park's second wave pool in 2011.

Today's pictures feature the Octopus Kiddie Pool which has changed little since 1994!

So what has changed in the Octopus Kiddie Pool since 1994?

A quick look at a more recent photo from 2009 shows a few things:

-The Octopus himself received a serious coating of pink paint and his face was touched up with a lot of paint to really make his features such as his eyes and mouth stand out. Unfortunately in the more recent photo he looks a little too much like this.

-The original yellow Little Tikes swings have been replaced with Step 2 Dolphin Swings. A nice themed upgrade if you ask me!

These kiddie swings at Splish Splash have always seemed to be a big hit with the little ones! Amazing how sometimes the simplest concepts can be the best ideas!

That wraps things up for today folks! Thank you as always for dropping by as we approach our 500th view! Be sure to come back tomorrow through Sunday as we finish our look through these 1994 pictures from Splish Splash!

Do you have vintage amusement park or water park pictures somewhere in the house that you would like to share with us here on the blog? Scan them and e-mail them to me! We'd love to see them!

Splish Splash Long Island 1994 Park Map

2012-09-19T23:56:00.003-04:00

For all of you Long Islanders out there, we've got something really special for you today at the blog, a 1994 souvenir park map from Splish Splash Long Island!

If you call yourself a true Long Islander, you have visited Splish Splash on at least more than one occasion!

Splish Splash Long Island opened in 1991 as Long Island's first and only water park in Calverton, New York. The park was built by the same family that owns Adventureland, Long Island's only true remaining amusement park. This ownership by Adventureland is something that we will see later on this Splish Splash map.

For many years there were advertisements near the main entrance of Splish Splash for Adventureland that featured the old helicopters ride present at that park. Likewise, there used to be Splish Splash advertisements near the Merry Go Round and outside the rope ladders skill game at Adventureland. How cool it must have been to be the owner of both of Long Island's only true amusement destinations!

This map was printed before Splish Splash's signature script logo was introduced. One of the older park logos used to be featured (and maybe still is...) on the wall concealing the wave machine for the Lazy River and can be seen here. A little on the boring side compared to the script logo that has now become instantly recognizable to Long Islanders and a classic! It captures the fun and adventure of the water park well.

Weldon Middlebrooks' Cheep Thrills Tropical Bird Show is still entertaining guests today. His shows vary year to year with different themes, and a quick snippet of one of Weldon's excellent shows can be seen here. Bird favorites such as Quickdraw Macaw have been at the park since the year this map was created!

This is one of the attributes that helps date this map so well. Adventureland still has its awesome Treasure Island Mini Golf course (you can still see the elephant from the train ride today!) which was removed for the addition of the Adventure Falls log flume in 2001. It's also interesting to note that Adventureland had been around for 33 years at the time of the printing of this map. Adventureland just celebrated it's 50th anniversary this 2012 season.

Some helpful hints...

...and of course, the map!

For comparisons sake, the 2012 Splish Splash park map can be found here. It is amazing how many attractions have been added and how much the park has grown since 1994 and throughout its 21 year lifespan. The park and parking lot today account for a total of 88 acres and the park ranked #15 in the USA for water park attendance. That's quite an impressive number considering that the park is up against water parks in other states with weather that permits year round operations!

It's amazing to note that Shotgun Falls, one of Splish Splash's signature attractions, is making it's debut at the park in this season as shown on the map. Shotgun Falls has been a fan favorite for almost 20 years!

It's also important to note that the Surf City Wave Pool and Cliff Diver high speed body flume had yet to be constructed! It's hard to imagine visiting the park without either of these signature attractions, one of which you can see from the Long Island Expressway!

In 1999 the Gentiles, owners of Adventureland, sold Splish Splash to Palace Entertainment, an amusement park and water park chain that focuses on smaller regional family parks.

Tomorrow we'll be sharing some pictures taken from this 1994 visit to Splish Splash so be sure to stop back again!

Book Source:
Amusement Parks of New York, Jim Futrell, Stackpole Books 2006

Hersheypark July 1997 (Part 5 of 5)

2012-09-18T00:53:00.002-04:00

Welcome back!

Today concludes our look at Hersheypark from July 1997.

My brother and I have always played the role of Batman and the Joker since he was born. I'm more serious and uptight, my brother always laid back and hysterical. We've complemented each other perfectly for 19 years now, and here are two shots of him at age 3 and I at age 7.

Today's two pictures sum up the relationship I just described perfectly...

Let me tell you folks, much hasn't changed today! Billboard signs like these with cutouts for picture opportunities have existed for ages but definitely have waned in popularity in recent times. I guess with iPhones and iPod Touches (anyone else hate it when people call an iPod Touch an iTouch?) and a million apps galore to stretch, skew, and do this for you there really is no need for them anymore but still...these are awesome! I'm a strong believer that most parks should bring at least one of these back!

Plus, it's a great advertising opportunity for Coppertone in this instance to boot!

Note: The train featured in the picture is currently being restored to go on display at Hersheypark! Pretty cool considering that it's quite the relic from the past!

That wraps things up for Hershey '97 folks!

If you have any vintage Hersheypark pictures you would like to share please scan them and e-mail them to me at christopher dot mercaldo @ gmail dot com (trying to ward off the spambots here, no spaces between the words and the dots!). If you would like to share them I would be happy to restore them and make a post for them here on the blog! Amusement park history deserves to be shared with the masses and in today's age of the Internet we can really help fill in the gaps of the past and get to enjoy seeing them too!

Tomorrow I'm going digging in the vault for something special but I'll have to keep it a surprise for now! Be sure to check back tomorrow to see what it is, especially you Long Islanders that love water parks!