The Phantasmagoria is a defunct dark ride that spooked its way into my psyche when I was a boy, and consequently, it's been the subject of
many posts on this ol' blog. My latest excuse to write about it is a beautiful image that I stumbled upon on ebay, a rare photo of the Phantaz as it appeared in its heyday. Every fixture on the facade is intact and the paint shows no signs of weathering which leads me to believe the ride was freshly constructed. It's the largest, full color picture of the attraction that I've seen online. We are also treated to a glimpse of the giant slide and the arcade that sandwiched the spook house, creating an irresistible trio of fun.
The image is one of many prints that seller
chutes5632
offers which are produced from vintage slides. Bidding starts at $6,
and he relists his items once the auction is complete. (When the auction is active you can easily find it by
searching: Phantasmagoria, Tulsa.) He is serving
mankind very well.
So: patience with a newbie here, but - to the extent you have the patience to answer - how did these rides develop? This one, for example, looks remarkably like "The Wacky Shack" that graced the amusement park near my childhood home. Was there a single itinerant/group who wandered the country, creating these? Was it a sort of kit that got sent out?
ReplyDeleteAll I know is that your posts on The Phantasmagoria are bringing back some marvelous memories that took place very far from Tulsa, OK - for which many thanks.
Muscato- You are correct! The Wacky Shack, the Phantasmagoria and a bunch of others were designed and built by a man named Bill Tracy. You can find loads of information on him here...
ReplyDeletehttp://billtracy.net/
and there's more about him on laffinthedark.com and dafe.org.
Glad the post spurred some memories for you!
Bee-yoo-tee-ful!
ReplyDeleteThere's a close duplicate in Amarillo Tx named The Fantastic Journey still in
ReplyDeleteoperation I believe. Also there is a great book by Doug Higley titled Scary Dark Rides and goes into a little history about these kinds of rides.
Great stuff!!
If you liked that, you may enjoy this.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150345298726593&set=vb.134176932630&type=2&theater
John- I didn't know about that one, I'll have to keep it in mind next time I go through there. I'm going to visit another lookalike up in Pennsylvania soon.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous- Cool! I hope Bell's gets another great dark ride someday.
This ride is currently up and running at Waldameer Park in Erie, PA under the name "Wacky Shack." I rode it as a kid and recently just last summer with my neice. Other than the name, I believe it's the same ride! You can see a video here: http://youtu.be/zU4JWQ7OwUI
ReplyDelete