''Great Old Amusement Parks'' is a 1999
PBS television documentary VHS DVD produced by
Rick Sebak of
WQED Pittsburgh. It aired on PBS on July 21, 1999.
Vintage surviving "Traditional" amusement parks are presented here with historic references to their origins. Unique old rides for each park are profiled such as the oldest surviving roller coaster, the only surviving Noah's Ark walk-through attraction. Most parks are family owned and their families are interviewed along with each park's attendees. Subjects include Connecticut's
Lake Compounce, California's Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Whalom Park in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania's Idlewild Park and StoryBook Forest, Kennywood's Thunderbolt, Deno's Wonder Wheel at
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
, and San Diego's Giant Dipper where a local radio station held a Roller Coaster Riding Contest.
Not covered here are vintage "traditional" amusement parks no longer with us. Being produced in 1999, this has not been updated to indicate if these are still around (most are).
Rick Sebak usually produced wholesome local interest documentaries for the Pittsburgh area with a heavy focus on food. This is one of 4 documentaries he produced of that has been shown throughout the PBS network.
List of amusement parks:
*
Idlewild and Soak Zone
Idlewild and Soak Zone, commonly known as Idlewild Park or simply Idlewild, is a children's amusement park in the Laurel Highlands near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States, about east of Pittsburgh, along US Route 30. Founded in 1878 as ...
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Ligonier, Pennsylvania
Ligonier is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,513 at the 2020 census. Ligonier was settled in the 1760s. The borough is well known for nearby Idlewild Park, one of the oldest amusement parks in t ...
.
*
Cedar Point
Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Opened in 1870, it is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point is owned and op ...
–
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( wes ...
.
* Astroland– New York (state), New York, New York.
* Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, New York.
* Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk– Santa Cruz, California.
*
Lake Compounce– Bristol, Connecticut.
* Kennywood– West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
* Playland (New York), Rye's Playland- Rye (city), New York, Rye, New York.
* Oaks Amusement Park– Portland, Oregon.
* Mission Beach Roller Coaster– San Diego, California.
* Lake Winnepesaukah– Lakeview, Georgia.
* Whalom Park– Lunenburg, Massachusetts.
* Holiday World & Splashin' Safari– Santa Claus, Indiana.
* Lakeside Amusement Park– Lakeside, Colorado.
* Lakemont Park– Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Not covered here are defunct parks.
* West View Park, Olympia Park, Rainbow Gardens, Luna Park, Playground By The Sea.
American documentary television films
Amusement parks in the United States
Films set in amusement parks
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