Research Help

[wilecoyote]

Hello,
I'm new to this forum, and thought someone might have an idea to help me out.
I'm sorry if this is the wrong place for this question, but here it is....
I am going for my Masters Degree in History. I am writing a paper on how the construction of the interstate highway system, gang violence, vandalism and the development of theme parks helped change the recreational habits of people and help lead to the downfall of local amusement parks.
I am in search of primary sources to help me in my paper...such as newspaper articles etc., any help in finding some of these sources online would be great. I have already done a ton of research on Old Muskego Beach Park in Wisconsin, but am looking for more information on other parks whether it's a theme park or amusement park history.
Thanks for your time.

[FRD714]

Welcome. I know we have one or two members that can provide some info on this topic.

[wilecoyote]

Thanks for the kind words.
I'm more than happy to share my research and or paper with anyone that wants it.

[Dmrbug]

Here is a link to a site for Old Chicago. It was an amusement park in Bolingbrook, IL. You may find some interesting stuff there. Hope it helps.

http://www.negative-g.com/Old-Chicago/O ... -Index.htm

[wilecoyote]

Thank you so much! Some cool information.

[FParker185]

I don't have the knowledge or at least not the sources for anything history related, however this thread went a lot better than a similar question asked on RRC.

>> Hi, I'm a student in Massachusetts doing a project on roller coaster's
>> for school. I was wondering if anyone could help me answer any of the
>> questions below:
> >

> >
>> What are the differences between steel roller coasters and wooden
>>roller coasters?
> >

Steel coasters are made in Albania. They feature greater than 180-
degree drops and reach speeds of nearly 400 miles per hour.

Wood coasters have long been traditionally handcrafted by carnival
folk ("carnies") and usually top out at 35 feet tall or less. They
tend to feature loops, corkscrews, and other wild shapes.

> > How are roller coasters engineered?
> >

Roller coasters are generally engineered by high school and college-
age engineering students, who create their ideas in software suites
such as No Limits and Rollercoaster Tycoon.

> > What are the physics to roller coasters?
> >

Rollercoasters actually defy physics! It's a strange anomaly, but the
normal laws of inertia and gravitational forces simply stop working
when they get within 5 feet of a roller coaster. That's why you don't
fall out when you go upside down!

Here's an example from Albania television:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvyupNXK-4A

> > > How has roller coasters progressed over time?

Very slowly.

Hope this helps!!

Let us know what grade you got!

[UWW-10]

Here is a link to a site for Old Chicago. It was an amusement park in Bolingbrook, IL. You may find some interesting stuff there. Hope it helps.

http://www.negative-g.com/Old-Chicago/O ... -Index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is a good website, but I don't think it qualifies as a Primary Source Document....that might be more difficult to find as I am having a hard time finding good ones that are primary

[Viper 88]

Hello,
I'm new to this forum, and thought someone might have an idea to help me out.
I'm sorry if this is the wrong place for this question, but here it is....
I am going for my Masters Degree in History. I am writing a paper on how the construction of the interstate highway system, gang violence, vandalism and the development of theme parks helped change the recreational habits of people and help lead to the downfall of local amusement parks.
I am in search of primary sources to help me in my paper...such as newspaper articles etc., any help in finding some of these sources online would be great. I have already done a ton of research on Old Muskego Beach Park in Wisconsin, but am looking for more information on other parks whether it's a theme park or amusement park history.
Thanks for your time.

Try poking around for information why they closed down Pleasure Islands Dance Clubs By Walt Disney World Orlando FL. They say it was because of new developmental ideas but someone i know who went there said it was actually because of a heavy gang problem. For local amusement parks try Santas Village in dundee illinois

[wilecoyote]

Thanks once again for all of your time. For the class I am going to focus on Old Muskego Park and Marriots Great America as examples of the shift in American recreational habits. With your help I have been able to obtain some leads for maybe my dissertation, if I choose to go this route and expand my paper next year. I'll keep you updated with things I find.

[w00dland]

I like your idea for a dissertation, but the fact is you're going to have to do some real digging to get the amount of info your would need to truly write the thing. You'll find a small amount of previous research on the topic, but newspapers and scholarly articles will be hard to come by. I'd suggest lining up about as many interviews with people who have worked at those two parks in the past. It'll be tough to find them, but they are going to be the people who truly know the information you're looking for...

[FParker185]

Actually, I visited the Gurnee Library a few years ago and scanned their entire SFGAm file which includes stuff back to before opening day in 1976. I sent it to a few people around here. It's mostly newspaper articles, if you think it may help you send me a pm and I can send you all the stuff. Even if it ends up not being a big help for your paper, it's still pretty cool to look through.

[wilecoyote]

Hello once again,
I agree woodland about the problem with the research for the dissertation, as for the smaller scale, the purpose of this paper, I know a ton of people who remember Muskego Beach, and I currently have about 70 newspaper articles some mention Marriotts. I have searched the library of congress, local archives on line; the Wisconsin Historical Society and almost anything I could think of and woodland you are correct there isn't much out there which really surprises me. The secondary sources I have don't even give much of a bibliography, thus I thought I would ask you guys if you had any ideas. I have been reading this board for a few years now, one I love Six Flags, and two this board is one of the best I have seen and I have leaned a lot from this board.

FParker, that would be fantastic! I will pm you with my information, and I'd be more than happy to share the paper with you if your interested. Thank you thank you thank you
Have a great day everyone.

[monsterfan99]

^A problem you will find with almost parks pre-1980ish is the entire history is via local news papers, postcards and oral history. It's more of a statement about theme/amusement parks in the US when there are less then 25 non-Disney books on the subject even worth picking up.

[FParker185]

I cant seem to email a file this large, I'm going to see if Brian Plencner can host it again, or if he still has it.

[Ilovthevu']

"gang violence, vandalism and the development of theme parks helped change the recreational habits of people and help lead to the downfall of local amusement parks."

Kiddieland closed just now because of people bickering about money. Santa's Village closed because they owed a lot of money, and it has to do with low attendance which has to do with a very poor roller coaster called Typhoon, and because some people felt the place wasn't kept up. This wasn't because of vandalism, or gang influences.

Gaugea Lake ride side to me closed down because it's a small park (that lake was a big hassle), a bunch of the roller coasters were rough (Boomerang, Villian, Thunderhawk, Raging Wolf Bobs), and it was off the beaten path. It didn't pass an interstate. You had to find your way there. Some might have felt that Double Loop was too short, and X-Flight was too long in line if it ever had a line, or broke. I felt that Big Dipper was nothing special. You also had Cedar Point, and Kings Island as competition which are much bigger parks with not so rough rides. Sure, Cedar Point has some rough rides, but to me not as much disappointing ones as GL did.

Cypress Gardens closed to me because it wasn't unique enough as Disney is, they stopped advertising from hotels, they didn't mention a lot about the rides on the billboards (rather the gardens), it's a little further than Disney World is, some rides were great in my opinion and others werent, and it was expensive if you didn't care a hout about the gardens, or the ski show. It was like $40 a day or something. It seems nothing for Florida, but there aren't that many rides. Many of the rides were carnival rides in which you get a $20 wristband for at the carnival.

Wild West World closed in Kansas because the guy ran out of money. It rained for a lot of days, and this guy just didn't have the money to keep it open. To me, this park could have flourished if only the rain wouldn't have kept on continuing, and this guy had more money into the park. You can't expect an amusement park to be even in the first year, or even the 2nd year. That's a lot of money you put into it, and for the money to come from the sky is nonsense.

To me, you are saying gang violence, and vandalism, but these parks didn't have that, that led to their downfall.

To me, amusement parks come and go (at least nowadays) because of the money they cost (They are too high priced), the rides not operating, not having enough rides, poor advertising, the park not being kept up, putting in too many rides that are expensive (You get enough people, but the rides you are putting in are just too expensive, and the people don't make the difference.), or just like half the owners of Kiddieland saying we had enough of this (We are going to retire with our wealth.)

I didn't go Kiddieland last year, and the reason is because the Polyp wasn't working until the very last weekend. I know you are talking about amusement parks but I'm not going Key Lime Cove waterpark again (First time it was free because of season pass booklet) because they don't have a day pass, and to me it's not worth some $200. I don't care about staying a night. If they did offer reasonable price day passes, I would go again.

Another park that closed down, but than re-opened was Hard Rock Park. To me, the reason that closed down was because the tone of the theme park was geared more to adults than pre-teens, and teens, it was priced high, and people have said there just isn't that much to do. I also heard the rides were nothing outstanding (at least the roller coasters).

[monsterfan99]

^Wild West World failed due to the owner being a crook (trial is going on now.) Hard Rock Park/Free Style Music Park has failed due to location not being an area that can support a park. It will forever live as a case study of having a ton of people in a tourist location does not equal success.

I do agree with the statement that parks come and go. This is even more true with the post 1960's society. With the sheer amount of entertainment options and cheap transportation, the world is at your finger tips. In 20 minutes, I can book an entire trip to lets say Japan that would have took months and help of many.