What is the first big amusement park you remember going to as a kid?
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HA! Mine was Riverview too! Aladdins Castle was the best!
Joyland, in Wichita. I think it’s gone now, too
Carnoustie swing park. The chute there was half a mile high and three miles long or so it seemed then.
King’s Dominion in Richmond, Virginia, USA. The parents took me when I was a mid-teen. It was then that I discovered that Dad had a chink in his personality…he refused to go on a roller-coaster.
Coney Island Brooklyn, New York.
@Cruiser Oh I remember Aladdin’s Castle!! So much fun!!
Riverview would have been my first, but i was scared to go. I read about the roller coaster going off the track and killing a couple people and had no wish to go.I think my first was Disneyland. Now I have a hard time finding people who want to go on a roller coaster and I love them.
Riverview (in Chicago): Aladin’s Castle (fun-house) comes vividly to mind, with pitch-black passages, long slides, shaking floors, etc. I was pre-school age but accompanied by older siblings. I also remember a ride called the Whip. I was too young for roller coasters.
I went with friends when I was older, but mostly we hung around the midway trying to figure out what the catch was to each game – why there were so few winners among the suckers. In those last few years before closing, Riverview had unfortunately become a very sketchy place.
@josie Kings Island is the one I remember too.
Cedar Point, near Sandusky, Ohio.
@gasman and @Sunny2 I do remember it not being in the best neighborhood. But we always went with my parents who were originally from Chicago. I guess I was too young to think about being scared .. too much fun there.
Canobe Lake Park in New Hampshire.
I’ve gone once a year almost every year of my life – since I was about ten.
They still have an old-fashioned wooden roller coaster – which is great.
Disneyland Paris. It sucked.
Six Flags Over Texas in Dallas, TX. We went almost annually and had loads of fun.
Disneyland in Anaheim California when I was 5 years old. It was magical!
Catskill Game Farm in upatate NY.I loved it as a kid. I went there as an adult. I got attacked from behind by a goat while I was setting on a rock. Little bastard. I have pictures too.
The Red River Exhibition in Winnipeg. It had rides, haunted houses, arcades, giant pretzels and eight dollar Cola.
Paragon Park at Nantasket Beach in Hull, south of Boston. I adored it. “Going to Nantasket” was the best summer treat. We’d splash in the cold, cold surf and then have a picnic lunch on the beach, and afterward we’d get to go on the rides. I was in my mid-teens before I was able to see how cheesy it all was; until then it was simply magical. And even now, in memory, it glows like a fairy-tale palace.
Like some other places mentioned above, it’s long gone now. Too bad.
Valley Fair-
http://www.valleyfair.com/
—I remember crying my eyes out at 5 years old watching everyone go on the big rides and they terrified me…. still do.
We moved to Anaheim, CA when I was 3. Disneyland became a good friend of mine during those pre-school years.
Playland in Rye, NY. Compared to the monster parks of today, it was a sweet and innocent little place. My high school ice hockey team used to practice at their rink. It is either gone or about to go belly-up.
@Jeruba: My former in-laws used to go to Nantasket every summer while they were young and very poor. All the Boston Grossmans hung out together.
Elitch Gardens in Denver.
We would go to Kennywood Park for school picnics and the annual Croatian Day Picnic and barbecue. It was great. We’d ride roller coasters all day and eat barbecued lamb and corn on the cob. They even had free beer for the over 21 crowd. Great summer days.
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