I always appreciate comments. This is the final update before I will start work on the park again.
Post #4: September 13th, 1998
Two weeks already? Wow time is going by. (Why I'm posting this in the middle of the night is anyone's guess.) I mentioned at the start of this season there would be a surprise and that is a report from a guest! I have been and still am trying to get a hold of people that took trips back to the park over 30 years ago. This one was my first one. (Who even let me scan his photos.) So enjoy this post, interview style.
C: I'm here with Mike Johnson who visited the park the year after it opened back in 1961. So I see you have some photos of the park actually which is great. How about this one?
M: Well this was actually taken outside the park coming in. We decided to take the bus rather then drive after hearing about the parking problems. Not a big deal for us, but for other it was. The place this was taken is on the bridge crossing the creek. I believe you have a picture of it in your very first post.
C: Indeed I do, and it is a very tall bridge. How about you walk us through the rest of the day.
M: Sure. You may have saw a pretty empty bus because we arrived mid to late afternoon hoping to avoid the crowds. In this one you can see the entrance area with the Ferris Wheel behind it. It's a pretty impressive site, or at least it was.
M: Though it does dominate, the first ride we encounter was the Paratrooper ride.
C: Now you said we, who else were you with?
M: Believe it or not I was a kid at one time and I was 13 on this trip. I was with my mom and pop and my little sister who was 10. Of course me and my dad were the thrill seekers. However we were all able to come to agreement that we all rode.
C: At the time that used to be a state of the art ride because it automatically came down after the ride was done. Many others at that time would stay in the up position. So you saved a lot of time here.
M: I don't think any of us really cared at the time because all we wanted to do was ride. But yes, good fact there. Speaking of family rides, what brought us here was that new expansion. Being the people we were, we didn't bother getting a map and decided to take the Ferris Wheel to find it.
C: Sure enough you can see it right there next to Hurricane.
M: Exactly, and the views were amazing. But being 13 I didn't really care. It actually took another spin for us to find the entrance.
C: It was small back then, that is for sure.
M: You bet. Well luckily we were able to keep focused and actually got there. The first thing you see or at least the line for is the Hill Slide. I wanted the camera to take a picture at the top but mom said no. So all I got was this at the bottom.
M: You can see that it is densely covered which helps during the heat.
C: We all know how hot and humid it can get out here.
M: Actually I forgot, it did rain a bit when we arrived. It is in that picture of the Paratrooper, some dark skies for sure.
C: Did you do the Scrambler?
M: Actually no, not even my dad or me for that matter wanted to get sick. We also took a pass on the Rotor at the bottom as well. We did decide to hike it out to the top again for my sister so she could to the merry-go-round. I actually was able to get the camera on this one.
C: It was funny to see Marriott would go on to install a double decker version of these.
M: Especially when this one was so small! Our next adventure was this ride called the Whip. Intense as the name may sound, it really isn't bad at all. My mom was able to coax my sister into it as well.
M: We could not convince her on the Pacific Crawler though. Mom and dad took turns waiting with her while we rode.
M: The themeing was nice with the palm trees and fountains. It is a great ride for those looking to step up in the thrill world.
C: Well at least you didn't get sick.
M: Thank goodness we didn't because there were bigger thing to come.
C: Things that are blue?
M: You bet, that mean roller coaster in the back, the Hurricane.
C: I must say that is a great shot even if it is black and white. The park did one similar but I think you have them beat.
M: Thank you very much. You can already guess who sit this one out I'm sure. I was able to get one more picture before riding while waiting in the station.
M: Although new, it still had shake to it and I'm pretty sure I would have lost it. The ride being as short as it is packs a heck of a punch. My favorite part is when you feel like you are going to fly out of your seat. I think you kids today are calling it air time? Either way, what a great ride. The guy that designed it, John Allen, went on to much success I believe.
C: Yes he did. This ride might not be his greatest, but it felt right for the park and still delivered. So you had to be hungry be then?
M: Well we ate right before coming as to avoid eating at the park. Here you can see the Creekside Grille. There were rumors already floating around that the building might be replaced as this one was built in a rush.
M: We were allowed to buy some ice cream though from a vendor outside the exit of Loop-O-Plane. (Another vomit inducing ride.)
C: Sounded like you were having a good time.
M: Absolutely, and sadly it was starting to get dark out. We decided to ride some of the other rides again that were deemed favorites. The one we almost missed out on though was Road Ralleye. It was way at the backside of the park and we only noticed it on our third ride on Hurricane.
M: This is a fun ride because the kids can drive thanks to the guides. I choose to be a passenger though so I could take pictures but I could only get one that looked any good.
C: Wow, it really is dark, even with headlights.
M: Sure was and it was time for us to get going. I took one more as we were leaving. We can see there were still many people there. The park was still open for another hour after we left.
C: Well thanks so much for this interview. Is there anything about the park you would like to add?
M: The park was lacking rides, that was for sure. But it really wasn't to bad for the space they were in. If that expansion they built didn't exist we would have not come back. The themeing was not extreme like Disneyland but still a nice touch. I must say though foliage was to the max! It was really amazing and I have to give them credit.
C: I'm sure we'll here more from you in later seasons. Thanks you again for the interview and pictures, it will really help.
A: Not a problem, hope to see you again soon.
