Great Old Amusement Parks (1999 TV Movie) User Reviews (3)

Deep? Perhaps not. But highly nostalgic and fun...

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 18 September 2011]

Rick Sebak directed, produced and narrated this highly enjoyable film. It visits many old amusement parks that still exist today and talks about how they have changed over the years--complete with lots of interviews, film clips and the like. It's all great, great fun--mostly due to Sebak's nice delivery and deliberate pace.

I strongly believe this film frequently shown on PBS would appeal to an older audience. I am 47 and enjoyed it a lot, but even older folks than me would be a great audience for "Great Old Amusement Parks". I remember many great old defunct parks and watching the documentary is great nostalgia. But what about younger folks--people who never heard of places like Marshall Hall, Kennywood or Wildwood? To them, amusement parks are Six Flags, Disney or Kings Island--all giant corporate parks that just don't have the same memories or old-style entertainment.

Great Old Amusement Parks is a great doc about park rides that were popular before Disneyland

[tavm · 10/10 · 11 June 2007]

A fascinating look at many of the longest-running amusement parks in the United States of America, some in operation since the late nineteenth century. As expected, many Coney Island parks in Brooklyn are covered as well as some in the Midwest like the Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind. (This is the town that millions of "Dear Santa" letters go to every Christmas season). That park also has 4th of July and Halloween sections besides the Christmas section. Two of the most fascinating segments concerned the Playland park in Rye, N.Y. which has a real rough merry-go-round ride called The Derby Rider which is so fast that many employees who jump on while it's moving have to really rush on quickly and then just lean a certain way so they don't fall down! Then there's a coaster in San Diego that had a contest one year in which several people literally stayed on (excepting breaks, of course) for several days (maybe months) with the last one to still be on to get the $50,000 from radio station Star 100.7. Many interviewed told the narrator what dreams they had for the money. Many-in fact, five-of them were still there when the station called off the contest by Labor Day as they each got $12,500 and a trip for two to Hawaii. To sum up, if you love learning about vintage amusement parks that are still running to the present day, Great Old Amusement Parks is for you.

1999 is very archaic now. This is way funnier than you would think.

[stoic-eye · 10/10 · 5 July 2021]

This is my first review after years of IMDB use. I am writing this because my girlfriend found this gem sifting through the trash of cable television, and it surprised us. It perfectly encapsulates the optimism and unconsciousness of pre 9/11 America, while catching some very funny behaviors and characters. All while giving you an inside glimpse of some of the coolest older theme parks in America. We might have just been pretty high, but this was gold.