Theme Park Nostalgia

[Brad2912]

Some of my best memories

-first trip to Disneyland in 1991 - I was 6. Clearly remember splash mountain and space mountain from that visit. Also POTC and Haunted Mansion

-the tram tour at USH from the same visit and being blown away by the King Kong & jaws scenes

- eating Mickey Mouse shaped french fries. No idea where I ate them but know I did!

- riding bush beast in the dark. Loved the ride during the day but it was a new experience at night.

- 2hr queues in summer for SRR

- JP ride at USH on my 2nd visit in 2000.

- Stratosphere in Vegas

- taking my son on his first 'big ride' which was Rocky Hollow Log Ride when he was about 18 months. He's 2 & 1/2 now and ticked WWF off his list a couple of months ago.

-Fright nights

[Themeparkfan]

Anyone remember the Avalanche ride at dreamworld it was a Matterhorn /alpine express type ride located where pandamonium is now back when Kung fu panda land was beautifully themed as village green I loved how the show building was a "snow capped" mountain with a waterfall that landed into a pond with the tall pine trees You'd go into this log cabin at the side of the mountain go through the cue get seated in your gondola the internal lights in the mountain dimmed and you would spin quite fast in and out of the mountain from pitch blackness to the open cave area inside the mountain was a large animatronic yeti with red glowing eyes I was terrified of it when I first rode it as a kid in the 80s lol but sadly as time went on and the owners of the park changed and its constant rethemeing it fell into disrepair in it latter years before ultimately being scrapped I miss it!

[liz.wis]

- I have vague memories being 4 or 5 years old, and going to an attraction at Sea World featuring a play ground with a big ball pit. (late 80s)

- The following year I went to Dreamworld, and remember going on Thunder River Rapids and the Log Ride. I made my Dad ride the Thunderbolt (late 80s).

- Riding Splash Mountain at Disneyland (1990). The thing I remember most clearly from that trip though was Kingdom of the Dinosaurs at Knotts Berry Farm. I thought it was absolutely magical.

- Going to Movie World before it was opened to the public (my dad had a media pass). So 1991? Loved the Looney Tunes Ride, and those carrots that had the computer screens in them. High tech back then! lol I was too scared for Gremlins on that visit.

- Going to Sea World again when Bermuda Triangle was fairly new. It was over the summer, and there was a night time laser show with (I think?) a helicopter or similar. Riding on the Pirate Ship 3 times without getting off. I considered it my first 'thrill ride'. (Though in hindsight, not overly thrilling).

- I won tickets to Movie World when I was about 13, and brought along my best friend. It was the first time we were allowed loose in a theme park without adults, and we rode the original Batman ride 6 times in a row. I'm a sucker for theming, again, when the ride attendant pulled out the book to make the wall open - magic! Movie World again in my last year of high school as part of a school excursion - one of my friends looked for all the ride security cameras and gave them the finger. A few ride attendants pulled us up on it throughout the day. Still too scared for Lethan Weapon (but did make it onto Gremlins that time).

- Dreamworld, in my early 20s, with my now husband. First time I did any of the thrill rides, and first time on a roller coaster (it was the small window where Cyclone, Thunderbolt and the Mine Ride were open).

- Movieworld, 2011 - My 3 year old asking to go on all the 'big kid' rides she could get on - she went on Wild West Falls and the Road Runner coaster. Definitely got into rides much younger than me!

[strop]

^ Awesome memories Liz!

The playground and ball pit you recall were inside the castle that now houses the theatre. It used to be open air and you could watch the log flume go around from the inside. From memory it was sort of a courtyard with a multi-level play structure at the back.

There were also water slides off the back of the castle for a period.

[AllegroCrab]

Anyone remember the Avalanche ride at dreamworld it was a Matterhorn /alpine express type ride located where pandamonium is now back when Kung fu panda land was beautifully themed as village green I loved how the show building was a "snow capped" mountain with a waterfall that landed into a pond with the tall pine trees You'd go into this log cabin at the side of the mountain go through the cue get seated in your gondola the internal lights in the mountain dimmed and you would spin quite fast in and out of the mountain from pitch blackness to the open cave area inside the mountain was a large animatronic yeti with red glowing eyes I was terrified of it when I first rode it as a kid in the 80s lol but sadly as time went on and the owners of the park changed and its constant rethemeing it fell into disrepair in it latter years before ultimately being scrapped I miss it!

Never rode it before it was rethemed to the angry beavers. Went on it a year before it closed and safe to say it was in a bit of a sad state.

[AllegroCrab]

Around 1999-2000 - I remember being scared of the animatronics and effects on the Bermuda Triangle until my dad said that they were friendly aliens, after that I was fine and enjoyed the drop/splash at the end.

Years passed where I thought he just made up the friendly aliens story to calm me down, but when I went back on the ride in 2008, I was surprised to see that they were actually friendly aliens helping us get out of the volcano. The feels were quite strong that day.

I also rode Vikings revenge at that time but the memory isn't as clear. I remember being intrigued by the flowing water flumes in the station, and for some reason I remember rounding one of the corners in the castle more than I remember the actual drop.

I also remember riding the Wild Mouse at Luna Park pretty soon after the place reopened in 2004. My first roller coaster and safe to say I still regard it as the scariest one I've been on.

Not so much nostalgic compared to some of the posts on here, but when I visited the Gold Coast in 2008, that's when I made most of the memories of parks that I will cherish.

- Riding the Corkscrew with white track and red cars.
- Seeing the Dolphin show at SW
- The batman ride at MW
- The Cyclone at DW
- The Claw

My best and most favourite memory is riding Wild West Falls. Being caught unaware by the reverse drop. Plunging out into that beautiful environment, it's just a completely different world on the other side of that drop, a. Riding WWF made me realise that there is more to parks than just having the fastest/tallest rides, and that message has really stuck with me since then.

Superman Escape also gets an honourable mention. I already knew all the statistics, I knew exactly what to expect and when everything was going to happen, but there was one thing I didn't know, and that was whether I would like the ride or not. I knew there was nothing to be scared of, that the ride was completely safe, but I would have been lying if I wasn't anxious about it. What if I didn't like the ride? That would be the worst thing that could possibly happen. All those hours I spent watching roller coasters on the internet just to ride one in real life and hate it? I wouldn't know who I was as a person. I wasn't scared of the ride at all, I was just scared of myself. Because of this, I didn't ride it in 2008. I went home, kicking myself that I didn't ride it (I was only 11 to be fair, but still hated myself).

I went back two years later in 2010 with a friend who had been on it before. There was nothing stopping me this time. Got into the park and first thing we did was line up for Superman. I was thinking to myself, "what will the launch feel like?" I knew there was going to be force, but I also knew it wasn't going to hurt at all, this led to me seriously underestimating how powerful the launch would be.

My friend was adamant that we ride in the front row. Anxiously, I obliged, I mean, he had ridden it before so he must have known best. So we get the first door, and I hear the train roll into the station. The door opens and there it is, the train that I could recognise from 100 metres away, up close and personal. We went and sat down, him on the left me on the right.

Once the harnesses were down and locked, he confessed all. He told me in a panicked state that he actually hadn't ridden it before, and he suddenly decided that sitting in the front row probably wasn't the best idea. Suddenly I was the more confident person in the row, but that hardly mattered now because we were both going to ride it either way.

So we get to that part where you round the corner and the light at the end of the tunnel is visible (as well as that glaringly obvious piece of track above the tunnel but we'll ignore that and carry on worrying about the launch.) My friend says to me, "Believe in Superman, he will protect us." We had a laugh in the moment, and from then on I knew it was all in the mind, I knew I was going to enjoy it because I told myself I was going to enjoy it. Then the ride launched.

Was it forceful? Holy Guacamole was it forceful. I was amazed that there could be so much force with absolutely no pain, truly an incredible experience. The way my vision seemed to widen as my eyeballs were pushed back into my head. Seconds later we were 40 metres up in the air, and without any time to ponder we were at the bottom again in the first bend. The airtime hills were great, something I also wasn't expecting to be so forceful, complete ejection from your seat and up into your harness.

Safe to say that ever since that launch I have never looked back.

[XxMrYoshixX]

Anyone remember the Avalanche ride at dreamworld it was a Matterhorn /alpine express type ride located where pandamonium is now back when Kung fu panda land was beautifully themed as village green I loved how the show building was a "snow capped" mountain with a waterfall that landed into a pond with the tall pine trees You'd go into this log cabin at the side of the mountain go through the cue get seated in your gondola the internal lights in the mountain dimmed and you would spin quite fast in and out of the mountain from pitch blackness to the open cave area inside the mountain was a large animatronic yeti with red glowing eyes I was terrified of it when I first rode it as a kid in the 80s lol but sadly as time went on and the owners of the park changed and its constant rethemeing it fell into disrepair in it latter years before ultimately being scrapped I miss it!

That was rethemed to Angry Beavers and was only shut a few years ago.

I also remember riding the Wild Mouse at Luna Park pretty soon after the place reopened in 2004. My first roller coaster and safe to say I still regard it as the scariest one I've been on.

Wild Mouse was also my first coaster back in '05.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Richard
Removed excessive quotes.