Pretzel spinning car ride

[Robert K]

I like the new tracked ride in the spooky pack. It is a 1950's spinning pretzel car. Pretzel was a dark ride manufacturer in Bridgeton, NJ started by Leon Cassidy and continued to the end by his son William Cassidy who passed away in 2008. Pretzel ended business in 1979. There are several sets of the spinning Pretzel car still surviving in the US, some owned by private persons, but will possibly be used in future public attractions. Like in York, PA, Middletown, CT (Wild Bill's Nostalgia Center) for example. Spook-A-Rama at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park in Coney Island has formerly spinning Pretzel cars. In my opinion Coney was run down and seedy looking but they had two decent amusement parks, Deno's and Astroland (now Luna Park) and three dark rides, Dante's Inferno at Astroland (in storage), Spook-A-Rama, and Ghost Hole. There were once many more years ago. Also there was a third amusement park several blocks away called Nellie Bly's, and they had a short walk through haunted house, and a fun house, but they might have closed or changed names and owners. I think they have a ride through dark ride now, and the walk through and fun house might be gone. I visited all those places in 1999, as well as Rye Playland and Long Island Adventureland. Playland has 2 electric rail dark rides and an old mill, and Adventureland had a one level haunted house ride 1313 Cemetery Way from 1986-2009, but from 2010-2017 a European ride called Ghost House in its place and next year a suspended car dark ride from a company in Italy replacing Ghost House. No idea where Ghost House will go. 1313 Cemetery Way was demolished.

 

[Citytrader]

There are a number of others that you missed. Williams Grove in PA had a great pretzel ride. The park is closed and I have no idea where the ride went. Knoebels, also in PA, has one of the most famous haunted houses on the east coast. Thinking it's not a pretzel though.

I think walk through attractions have gone the way of the Dodo. Way too much liability there. Little Jonny gets a splinter and somebody sues for a million bucks. Sad, really. I was watching a very old film about Coney Island just after the turn of the last century, and they had attendants chasing patrons around with cattle prods!!!

 

[Robert K]

Knoebel's does have red forward facing Pretzel cars, and William's Grove's one which also had forward facing red Pretzel cars the cars and track, etc. were bought by someone making his own dark ride, but not sure if it is Chris Giffen of York, PA or Chuck Burnham in CT formerly of the Wild Bill's dark ride projects. A website says Chuck got several William's Grove Pretzel cars. Wild Bill just passed away earlier this year and the future of his dark ride projects is in doubt. A walk through Haunted Fun House and a Laff in the Dark dark ride themed to a circus were already built but never opened. The cars, track and some other stuff for Laff came from the closed Staten Island Fun House dark ride. There are some walk throughs left in tourist towns, like Lake George, NY, Niagara Falls, ON, Gatlinburg, TN, Wisconsin Dells, Myrtle Beach, SC, Virginia Beach, and newer ones in Wildwood, NJ and Ocean City, MD. And Cedar Fair, Six Flags parks, and some independents have walk through haunted houses in the fall. My local park, Dorney Park owned by Cedar Fair since July, 1992, has a Haunt event with several indoor and a few outdoor haunt mazes. They change them, remove some, and add some every so often. These modern walk through haunts in parks are up to fire codes, have fire exits and extinguishers, and Dorney Park has an armed security force which keeps the troublemakers at bay. Most parks have security.

 

[Citytrader]

Oh yes, many parks have seasonal attractions. Tons of security and strict rules for the actors to follow. But imagine 100 years ago being chased and prodded with a cattle prod!

Kennywood also has one of the only Noah's Arks rides left in the world, A wonderful walk through.