Aug03FrontRowNews

Historic Parks Mix a Little Nostalgia and Some Modernization to Keep Going Strong

By Kevin Moffett

Grant’s Farm
St. Louis, Mo.
Opened 1907

If riding on an open-air tram through a deer and bison park located on 281 acres of wildlife preserve appeals to you, then you might want to consider a trip to St. Louis’s Grant’s Farm. The acres of green, owned and operated by Anheuser Busch, is home to hundreds of animals from around the world, including a flock of pygmy goats which children can bottle feed. There are parrot, mammal, and reptile shows in the Tier Garten, or “Animal Garden,” and handlers bring out snakes, kangaroos, tortoises, and elephants to amuse and instruct visitors.
Andy Elmore, general manager, calls this blend of education and entertainment “edutainment,” adding that the park doesn’t close until the last visitor is ready to leave. “Our gates close, but guests can stay as long as they want.”
Grant’s Farm takes its name from the U.S.’s eighteenth president, Ulysses S. Grant, who farmed a portion of the property and built a cabin which still stands today. Purchased by Adolphus Busch in 1907, the farm hosts the breeding operations of Budweiser’s famous Clydesdale horses, and
is the repository of the Busch carriage
collection. The farm also holds Civil War reenactments twice a year. What’s best, Grant’s Farm is free to the public.

Knight’s Action Park and
Caribbean Water Adventure
Springfield, Ill.
Opened 1931

More than 70 years ago, George Knight Sr. opened his driving range in Springfield, Ill. A generation later, George Knight Jr. and his wife, Audrey, added an archery range . . . and a miniature golf course . . . and an in-ground trampoline. Go-karts, batting cages, bumper cars, and pony rides soon followed. The complex was split into two parts in the 1950s, but soon reunited around even more
additions: paddle boats, picnic shelters, and kiddie rides.
Then, in 1979, the first waterslide went in.
Doug Knight, the first vice president, doesn’t remember all the additions, but he was part of the business from an early age. “The advent of waterslides and, later, water technology, was big for us,” says Knight. “We have an 18,000-square-foot action river with a pirate ship that shoots cannons, and a 20,000-square-foot wavepool. For the kids, we have Seal Bay, which has seven slides, a lighthouse, and shipwrecked
lobster boat.”
George and Audrey are still very involved in the park’s
operation. Knight’s Action Park is truly a family affair, and Doug Knight attributes the facility’s longevity and success to the
family’s hands-on, personable style.

Dutch Wonderland
Lancaster, Pa.
Opened 1963

Dutch Wonderland opened thanks to the vision of Earl Clark, who noted that the pastoral countryside and local Amish communities were becoming something of a tourist destination, and was determined to create something in
the area specifically for children. He began with 14 acres, a castle, four rides, and 18 employees. Now, 40 years later, Dutch Wonderland is situated on 48 acres and has 32 rides, more than 400 employees, and a princess and knight to go along with that castle.
The 2003 season has been especially productive for the park, according to assistant general manager Chris Barrett. Scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend, the Duke’s Lagoon, an 8,000-square-foot interactive water play area, includes a Rain Tree, arching water spouts in the shape of coconuts, a flow lab, and a tipping bucket.
A 5,000-square-foot dry deck will surround the wet deck, and changing rooms and a retail outlet will be available. Dutch Wonderland is also premiering Duke’s Dozers, eight miniature bulldozers, and the Wonder Whip, an eight-car kiddie whip ride.
Although the ride technology has advanced since 1963’s original attractions—including Wonderland Special Train, a miniature choo-choo, and the Lady Day riverboat, which winds down a mill creek and around an island and botanical gardens—the spirit of the park has remained the same.
The new ownership (Hershey Entertainment and Resorts purchased the park in 2001) has not affected the generous, family-oriented feel of the place. Barrett attributes the park’s
success to its emphasis on children. “We really try to make it the best
kids park around,” he says. “And the park is beautiful, geographically. I have
parents come up to me and say that they came to Dutch Wonderland when they were children. It brings back great memories.” For more information about Dutch Wonderland, visit www.dutchwonderland.com.

Storybook Land
Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
Opened 1965

Three generations of Fricanos run Storybook Land: John and Esther Fricano, the founders; JoAnne and John, Jr.; and Jessica and John, the grandchildren. In operation for 48 years, Storybook Land relies on an old-fashioned, innocent ethos, displays of scenes from popular children’s books, lush landscaping, and a bevy of family rides to remain in business.
“Although the park’s updated and renovated, people still come for old-fashioned family fun,” says JoAnne Fricano, manager. Over the course of Storybook Land’s growth from three to 20 acres, and from four to 70 employees, the Fricanos have added 12 rides, such as the Turtle Twirl, a
bubbling roller coaster, a carousel, and rigged two of their displays up with audio and animatronic features. The Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood now talk and gesture. Plans are in the works to make the rest of the displays
interactive, too.

MY WORD
Gena Romano, president and co-owner,
Nellie Bly Park, Brooklyn, N.Y.,
and past president of IAAPA

I say every single day, “You think you’ve seen it all,” but you never have. This absolutely takes the cake. One time, a customer came in and was complaining about an elephant in a small cage. We have a petting zoo, by the way. So the customer called an animal welfare agency, and an officer came out. The officer said that he’d received a complaint about an elephant, and we said “What elephant?” Then we realized what had happened. “Officer,” we said, “we’ll take you to see the elephant.” So we took him to one of our displays for children, which is made out of fiberglass. It was a fiberglass elephant.
Another time, we had an overweight customer get stuck in one of the lanes of the Superslide, a dry slide. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but the customer really started creating a scene, carrying on. He was up high, and we had to send people up to him, and there were
people at the bottom, looking on.
I was 12 years old when my father got in this business. Initially, he ran five rides and a concession stand in the parking lot of a driving range. That was in 1967. Then, New York City re-zoned the land for parks and recreation. We’re just under three acres, which doesn’t sound like much, but in New York City that’s a lot of space.
The park gets its name from a boat that used to sit in the marina. My father just liked the name. Then he found out Nellie Bly was a woman investigative journalist who wrote about poor working conditions in factories, etc., and he liked that.
Our fun house is themed after an assignment Nellie Bly got from her editor—who thought her stories were too serious—to travel around the world in less than 80 days, which she did.
One last story, which I think park operators will appreciate: We were having a heat wave here last year, and the park had just opened. It was still early, and not many customers had arrived. One of our employees, naked except for a towel wrapped around his waist, ran out to the middle of the park, ripped the towel off, and jumped into the kiddie boat tank. I had to fire him, of course.

Western Playland
El Paso, Texas
Opened in 1960

When Leo Hines and Wally Thomson opened Western Playland back in 1960, they might not have predicted that in 2003 their grandson and son, respectively, would still be running the park. Patrick Thomson, Western Playland president, says that although the public’s standards for amusement parks have changed dramatically and have come to include thrills and coasters, people keep coming to the El Paso, Texas, park for family fun.
“We cater to local people,” Thomson says. “The tourists may go to the big attractions, but we provide affordable entertainment for families in the area. We keep our prices reasonable.
A family could come a couple times a year.”
Western Playland, which has grown from six kiddie rides, a concession stand, and 10 employees to 26 rides, 140 employees, and a plethora of dining options, adheres to a southwestern theme, with Spanish-style stucco and western-style wooden buildings. Thomson says that while most of the rides are designed for children and families, the park has added some thrill rides and water rides, which are very popular in the blazing Texas heat.

Coney Island
Cincinnati, Ohio
Opened 1886

In 1867, James Parker turned his apple orchard, located along the banks of the Ohio River, into a picnic grove. In 1886, that picnic grove was purchased by the Ohio Grove Corporation and expanded into a destination where families could go boating and dancing and amuse themselves with rides such as a Giant Circle Swing and a Shoot-the-Chutes. Dubbed “Ohio Grove, the Coney Island of the West” to try to capitalize on an association with New York’s famous park, the facility was also home to one of the region’s first movie theaters, and its Moonlite Gardens dance hall remains popular today.
Now in its one-hundred and eighteenth season, Coney Island Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, has expanded to more than 50 rides and attractions, according to Jennifer Silz, marketing assistant. “We’re a family park, and we have family rides: Pepsi Python, a steel roller coaster, a Frog Hopper, a carousel, and Sunlite Pool, a huge recirculating swimming pool, the largest in the world,” Silz says. She explains that the pool, which is 400 feet by 200 feet and holds more than 3 million gallons of water, uses water from underground wells, constantly filtering and circulating it.
Silz says Coney Island Park is known for “the highest standards of customer care,” and that Walt Disney once visited the park to pick up some tips, paying a modest consulting fee.

Happy Hollow Park and Zoo
San Jose, Calif.
Opened in 1961

According to Vanessa Rogier, Happy Hollow Park and Zoo’s marketing coordinator, the park used to mix the rides right in with the animals. “Obviously, that had to change,” she says. Now, the 12.5 acres holds a family-oriented amusement park, picnic area, and puppet theater away from a well-kept menagerie of animals.
The land that became Happy Hollow was donated to the city of San Jose by Mary Kelly, a local woman, in 1961. She stipulated that the gift be used to build something to entertain children. A few of the original rides remain: Danny the Dragon, a trackless train, mini-cars shaped like police cars and fire engines, and a child-sized merry-go-round. The zoo was added in the late 1960s.
“We haven’t become a high-tech place,” says Rogier. “I think that’s one of the things the community likes.”