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One question
that many people have asked is "what happened to all the rides"?
By the time Palisades closed in 1971, many of the rides were owned by
Mickey Hughes. Hughes was a ride importer who used Palisades as a showcase
for new European rides. Amusement park owners from across the country came
to Palisades to get a look at these new and colorful rides.
When Palisades
closed, Mickey sold off many of his rides to parks throughout the country.
Trying to track their whereabouts is nearly impossible. But here is a
partial list of some of the items and their current locations:
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The
Love Bugs - According to Edward2676 on
the Palisades Message Board, he notes the ride "traveled from
Germany to Fun Forest Park, to Cedar Point to Pal Park. The Love Bugs
made one more stop before they ended up at Casino Pier in Seaside
Heights. They have been there since about 1988/89 under the name of
Wizards Cavern. We were down at Casino Pier yesterday 12/21/03 and I
am sad to say that we have lost the Love Bugs again, this time for
good. This past week the entire structure was bulldozed. The building
had deteriorated to the point that it had to come down. It is sad to
lose a ride that was about 50 years old and traveled so far". |
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The
Sky Ride - The Skyride was purchased by Charlie Woods, former owner of The Great Escape (formerly
Storytown, USA) in Lake George, NY.
The ride was dismantled by O.D. Hopkins Associates, Inc., Contoocook, NH and shipped to Lake George where it was put in storage for over 25 years. I'm not sure where it is today.
(Source: Jerry Pendleton; former President & Owner of
O.D. Hopkins
Associates, Inc.) |
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The
Ansco Rocketship - This ride was
"virtual reality" long before the term was ever invented.
You sit in a rocketship and when the doors close, a large movie
screen takes you on a journey into outer space and back. It is now known as the Missile and is in Canobie Lake Park.
(Source: Amusement Today/Canobie
Lake Park)
Update (Sept 2006): Thanks to Dana Sion
for letting us know that the Rocketship is still in Canobie, but has
not been used for many years.The outside has been cleaned and
painted and is now being used as a backdrop for a space-themed photo
spot. |
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Casper
statue (from Casper's Ghostland) - The building, once the
Tunnel of Love and later Casper's Ghostland, was demolished. But the
large statue of Casper The Friendly Ghost, that once stood on top of
the roof of the building, is at Gil's Tavern on Gorge Road in
Cliffside Park, NJ. |
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The
Cyclone Coaster - Although the old wooden coaster was
demolished when they closed the park in 1971, the trains from coaster
are still in operation today at Williams Grove Amusement Park in
Mechanicsburg, PA. Click here to photos of
the Cyclone trains in their new home.
Note: Williams
Grove closed its doors in 2006 and sold off its rides in an auction
in February 2007. The
fate of the Cyclone trains are unknown. |
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The
Carousel (PTC #84) went through quite a journey after the Park
closed. The entire story is on page 121 of my book (Palisades
Amusement Park: A Century of Fond Memories"). Today, it is
located in Canada's Wonderland in Maple, Ontario. It was refurbished
in the early 1990s. |
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Ticket
Booth (Giant Coaster) - The Park's owner, Irving Rosenthal,
gave the ticket booth from the Giant Coaster to Joseph Dunninger, a magician/mentalist
who lived in Cliffside Park. For decades the ticket booth remained on
his property on Knox Avenue. |
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The
Flight To Mars - According to Bret Malone from Tunnel
of Laffs website, this popular dark ride was sold to Gaslight Village
in Lake George, New York. From here, it was sold to a park in Columbia
and then to Fun Forest Park in Seattle. But by this time, much of the
original art and charm that The Flight To Mars had when it was at
Palisades, had been painted over. It is presently for sale through a
ride broker. |
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The
Fun House Sign - The last known
whereabouts of the "FUN HOUSE" sign that once stood
high above the Showboat Fun House was in a tavern in Orangeburg, New York
called "The Saloon."
Special thanks to Reggie E. for this
information.
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The
Roto-Jet - This ride was last
known to be at Whalom Park in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. JBF emailed
me and said that according to a PBS special, the Roto-Jet is now at
Kennywood Park in its historic section. Thanks to Adam Maeroff for
confirming this. |
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Tilt-a-Whirl -
Seven of the vehicles from the Tilt-a-Whirl were relocated to Canobie
Lake Park. (Source: Amusement Today/Canobie Lake Park)
Update (Sept 2006): Thanks to Dana Sion for letting us know that the
Tilt-a-Whirl is still in operation at Canobie, |
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Parking
Lot Lights - The lights that illuminated the parking lot were
sold to Ridgefield Park High School and are currently being used on
their athletic field. |
I will be
adding to this page as I get new information. Please check back in the
future. Of course, if you have any information about rides or attractions
that came from Palisades, please write to me.
Thanks to Bill
Walsky for helping me to acquire some of this information.
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