The Changing Idora Park
There were many things that I really liked about working at Idora Park. One of the things was that it changed every year that I work there. It seemed like, when you walked into the park, which I usually did about a month before they opened to make sure I had a job there, it was a different Idora Park every time. Plus most years that I work there I helped set up the park before it opened.
How many places can you work where you can say that you get excited about the changes that are going to happen the following year? Pat Duffy Jr. always try to do something different because of the competition of other parks such as Cedar Point, Geauga Lake, Conneaut Lake Park, and Kennywood.
To get ready for the 1971 season Idora Park spent $150,000 on improvements. It seemed like every year they were adding new rides to Idora Park. In the summer of 1971 they added the Turbo and the Scrambler, and the Auto Scooter bumper car ride was remodeled and renamed the Helter Skelter. The difference was that on the Helter Skelter, the cars could go in any direction. Sometimes it was as if we couldn't wait for a slow day so that we could ride on the new rides. And I myself have always been a big fan of bumper cars.
In 1972 they added the Monster and the Kooky Castle which was located right next to the funhouse. Anyone who reads this blog knows my last story was about the Kooky Castle.
In 1973 they added more attractions instead of adding more rides, but that was okay because the attractions that they added. We were treated to appearances by Roy Clark and Billy “Crash” Craddock and of course polka festivals that we all loved and of course WHOT Days. But even though they didn't add any rides, the following year they would spend a quarter of a million dollars on the park.
In 1974 they added the Cheyenne Shootout to the Midway, which was across from the park office. Also they added the Yo-Yo and the Spider. This was the first time that they put rides behind the Putt-Putt golf course. Before that, it had been the employee's parking lot.
In 1975 they didn't add a ride, but they did restore one: the famous Idora Park Carousel. One of the reasons for that was because on February 6, 1975, the U.S. Department of the Interior placed the Idora Park Carousel on the National Register of Historical Places. This was an honor that very few parks had ever received.
So those were the changes I got to see while I worked at Idora Park. Although I started in the summer of 1970, I hadn't started till midsummer, so I wouldn't have known what changes to look forward to. Between amusement rides and new attractions that they added on, I always look forward to coming to work at Idora Park. Throughout the years there were was so many changes made to Idora Park, and I would bet right now that the people reading this blog who worked at Idora Park are thinking about the changes they got to see when they work there.
Idora Park was a good family park where every day was a good time, a good time for everyone. And every year you rediscovered new attractions that were really fun for everyone. See you on the Midway!