A Dark Past: A History of the Dark Ride

 

While doing research of the origins of Playland’s Dark rides, I found the history of dark rides to be far more interesting than I imagined. Even after days of research, I found that I was just scratching the surface of this subject. Instead of a narrowing our view to Playland’s dark rides, we’re going to delve into the history of dark rides.  Some of this info is copied from other articles. I give credit to those sources/authors at end of article.

The concept of dark rides came from an odd source…. Roller Coasters!  Well, not really Roller Coasters per se, but some of the earliest coasters; The Scenic Railway type coasters.   

Scenic Railway’s were simple GRAVITY coasters. The description really does describe what they did…. The cars were mechanically pulled up a hill, basic gravity and physics had them COAST over hills and around bends on a railway. Gravity also kept the cars on the track!    
 

Fulton Street Chutes/Scenic Railway (5/1/1902 – 1907)

The father of the modern Roller Coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson (March 8, 1848 – May 8, 1919) was an American inventor and businessman most famous for developing many highly enjoyable gravity rides. Gravity rides (Scenic railways) were the gateway to the Roller Coaster. They looked like Roller Coasters just didn’t have all the thrills, twists and turns of a Roller Coaster. Slow meandering speeds with some deep dips.    

Thompson's Switchback Railway Santa Cruz, 1908-23

Thompson didn’t invent the roller coaster or even the Scenic Railway concept, but he did add the mechanical engineering and coaster technology that defined the modern Coaster. He patented over 30 advances in mechanics for the roller coaster. His breakout achievement was his Thompson's Switchback Railway (1884), which opened at Coney Island. Top speed…. 6 mph!  Passengers climbed to the top of a platform and rode a bench-like car down the 600-foot track up to the top of another tower where the vehicle was switched to a return track and the passengers took the return trip.  

This is all very interesting, you might say, but how does this relate to Dark rides? Well… The concept of the scenic railway was two-fold. Originally, the “scenic” aspect was the view from the tall meandering tracks. But, after Thompson faced new competition with other Scenic railway builders he decided to go one step further…

 

In 1886 Thompson patented his design of a Scenic Railway that included dark tunnels with painted scenery. This began a whole new concept of "Scenic Railways.” We now had a ride with a view of the outlying areas, plus interior views of painted murals in dark tunnels. The birth of the DARK RIDE!   
 

I’ve not been able to find any photos of these tunnel murals, but they were described to of various exotic lands and landscapes. Scenes of New York, Paris, the Orient, Africa or snowy Alpine themes are just a few examples. These tunnels were lit with floodlights that would be triggered as a railway car approached. Stories of colored lights for scenes of Dante Inferno or Blue Lights for Snow scenes were common.    

Scenic Railways quickly evolved  to Roller Coasters.    

Old Mill Rides

 

Kennywood's Old Mill Ride

The Old Mill rides were the next evolution in Dark Rides.  Who first designed the Old Mill ride is unknown, but they started to appear very late in the 19th century. Some still exist today…Kennywood in Pittsburgh, PA has one of the oldest.    

Kennywood 1950's

The Old Mill ride wouldn’t look too unusual today. Think Knott’s Berry Farm’s Calico Log Ride without the big final drop down the chute.  That “Chute” type of ride was invented around the same time in the late 19th century, it was called a “Mill Chute” ride, but we’re not going to discuss the evolution of those rides here.  ;-) Old Mill rides were more like Disney’s ‘Small World’ ride but in the dark…. Maybe more like the Pirates of the Caribbean.  Originally, the scenes were of the interior working of… an Old Mill. Bet you knew that was coming!  Of course, the scenes varied; Mill, Logging, Gold Mine, etc. It was dark and you floated by in small boats in a watery channel.    

At the turn of the 19th century ride owners started to notice that people liked rides where men and women could be in close contact. The fact that the Old Mill rides provided close contact in a little boat with a lengthy journey through the dark made it very popular. It created an environment for couples to cuddle and maybe a little more.  ;-)     

Tunnel Of Love

These Old Mill rides evolved quickly. A variety of themes became popular. One of the more popular themes became know as the “Tunnel of Love.” In its earliest incarnations, two-passenger boats through dark passages took riders. There were two major themes: a relaxing romantic ride encouraging the couple to cuddle, or a spooky horror ride encouraging the couple to cling to one another. The darkness provided a degree of privacy and the frightening scenes offered a socially acceptable "excuse" for the physical contact at a time when public affection or even holding hands was considered inappropriate.    

Blackpool's

The scarier versions of the Tunnel of Love created the most physical contact and were wildly popular. Due to the popularity, every park wanted a Scary Horror Tunnel of Love! But, due to the huge cost in building long water filled channels with boats floating with large themed dark buildings or caves, many amusement parks couldn’t afford one Until two men came up with a solution…. Leon Cassidy and Marvin Rempfer.    

Pretzel Dark Rides

Pretzel ride in 1930 at Joyland Park in Lexington, Kentucky

1928: The birth of the single-rail dark ride Entrepreneur Leon Cassidy, in partnership with Marvin Rempfer, took over Tumbling Dam Amusement Park, a traction company park (or trolley park) on the east side of Tumbling Dam Pond, now known as Sunset Lake in Bridgeton, New Jersey.  

 

Marvin Rempfer and Leon Cassidy

The partners made many additions to the park and one of the attractions that they felt the park needed was an Old Mill type ride. Since an installation of an Old Mill wasn’t economically feasible for their park, Cassidy and Rempfer began looking for a cheaper alternative and started tinkering with a spare Dodgem car. Soon they had a “dry” version of the mill that took riders through a darkened pavilion in small cars that followed a single electrified track. It premiered in 1928.    

Cassidy and Rempfer vigorously promoted the new and as yet unnamed ride, and decided to hold a contest to allow the public to choose what the ride would be called. They proclaimed that on Memorial Day the new name would be chosen from entries submitted by park patrons. A $5 gold piece would be awarded to the winner, provided he or she was present in the park at the time the name was announced.    

Pretzel Original Car Patent

A young Miriam Dawson took the golden prize for her name, “The Firefly”, inspired by the characteristic sparking of the electric pickup at the rail. The name didn’t stick, though. Cassidy and Rempfer were uncomfortable with the association of sparks with wooden buildings, and soon assigned the name “Pretzel” to the attraction after a rider exclaimed that he felt like he’d been bent into a pretzel by the twisting path followed by the car.       

With the success of their new ride and the interest shown by other park owners, Cassidy and Rempfer quickly established a company to manufacture and market the Pretzel ride. Initially built to resemble Model A Fords, the cars were redesigned with the familiar pretzel-shaped decorations.    

Each 40-pound iron pretzel casting also served to add weight to the nose of the car to help keep the front wheel from jumping the track. The new 20-gauge sheet metal cars had a tapered shape similar to the touring pushcarts that were popular on the Coney Island and Atlantic City boardwalks. This car would remain the company’s single standard rolling stock almost until World War II.    

    The Pretzel Ride took the amusement business by storm. Routinely out grossing all other rides on the midway, Pretzels were rapidly being installed in nearly every fun park in the nation, and foreign countries were also asking for them. Leon Cassidy purchased an abandoned trolley barn on South Avenue in Bridgeton to use as the main factory. A standard Pretzel ride in 1929 had five cars, 350 feet of track and gave a ride of one and a half minutes in duration. Purchase price was $1,200.    

From the beginning, right up through the late forties, Pretzel was using ‘car-powered’ stunts; hinged cast-iron bars set into the floor and positioned so that the car wheels would roll over them, throwing a linkage to cause a devil’s head to pop up, or the emergence of “Al E. Gator” from his barrel just ahead of the passengers. No motors, no relays, no air cylinders… low-tech.  

They would use similar means to trip the noisemakers; gadgets that would set up such a racket that riders would think the car had knocked over a trash barrel.    

 Playland at the Beach - Dark Mystery (Pretzel)

 

Original Dark Mystery - back Lot (1940-1950)

Dark Mystery did a little traveling and expanding at Playland. Exact opening dates are unknown, but sometime between 1938-1945. Originally residing on the La Playa/Fulton/Cabrillo/48th lot (Safeway lot).  It sat next to the original Diving Bell.  This was originally a small Pretzel built ride. The ride utilized the classic PRETZEL cars. The theme was of the dark mysteries of Africa. Sticking with the classic Pretzel formula, the ride consisted of car activated noisemakers and plywood props that would illuminate when triggered by the cars. Possibly some painted black light effects… but likely NOT. These original Pretzel rides were all about DARKNESS and surprise. Black light didn’t come into play for a while…  

Dark Mystery 2 0 CHutes Block - 1950's

At some point in the 50’s the original Dark Mystery building was abandoned for a larger Dark Mystery on the North block (Chutes block). This ride utilized the Classic PRETZEL cars too.  The theme changed to a more cryptic Tiki/Salvador Dali façade. The internal size of the ride was expanded…    

Apparently, some of the original ride stunts and gags came along for the ride, but most of the ride gags were new. The slightly newer version had more advanced stunts – Pop up props, themed scenes, noisemakers, black light effects, and motorized props.  

Mad Mine - Overlay the old Dark Mystery

The early 60’s saw the rise of Fun-Tier town on the back lot. Dark Mystery became the Mad Mine. The Façade was dramatically changed to a Mine theme and the ride was expanded again. This time the ride was expanded outward towards the midway to allow for more dramatic façade space. We have to remember, we’re past the opening of Disneyland and now visual presentation was becoming the mainstream. ;-)     

The Mad Mine utilized newer Pretzel cars that were in theme with Mine Cars. This version of Playland’s Pretzel survived till the park was demolished.

 

 

1930: Harry G. Traver takes a ride on the Dark Side

Laff in the Dark - Savin Rock, West Haven, Connecticut

Traver's LITD Patent

 The Traver Engineering Company of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, headed by legendary coaster designer Harry Traver, wanted a piece of the dark ride action and began marketing its own dark ride under the name “Laff In The Dark.” Traver’s dark ride was a lower-cost version with wooden cars, targeted at budget-minded parks. This ride employed dual track wheels and positioned the hot rail on the floor aside the main steering track in an attempt to skirt the Pretzel patent. Leon Cassidy initially considered suing Traver for infringement, but ultimately decided, rightly, that the competition would be too insignificant to warrant the expense of litigation.  

 

Traver's dual track Patent

Traver apparently entered a contractual agreement with comic strip syndicates, as many of his stunts were plywood cutouts of comic strip characters including Popeye and Maggie and Jigs. A Traver installation would also include a plywood cutout mule that would kick at passing riders as well as two alley cats that would engage in a face-off.    

The Famous Kicking Mule!

Traver’s offered many different STUNTS/GAG scenes. If anything, Traver’s introduced more mechanical and imaginative stunts than his Pretzel competitor.  Many of Traver’s stunts were motor driven vs. Pretzels simple props that just moved when bumped by the ride car.  


   

Here’s a list of Stunts offered:

Stunt list courtesy of laffinthedark.com

 

(It’s interesting to note the back of seats moved backward/tilted.)  
   

It’s interesting to note that neither Traver or Chambers obtained a trademark on the Laff In The Dark name as a number of Pretzel dark rides were either installed with that name or renamed Laff In the Dark over the years.  

Traver's Lighting props.

By 1932, Traver was broke and his chief engineer Ralph Chambers purchased the Beaver Falls firm. Traver and Chambers failed to surpass the sales of Pretzel dark ride installations. But they still made quite a legacy for themselves.   

In 1934, Traver, with Chambers now heading up the PA company, advertised Laff at a cost of around $18,000.00 which included a building, 12 cars, stunts made of plywood, steel track, and a front and building that measured 93 feet wide, 40 feet high and 60 feet deep The earliest known façade at Playland's Laff in the Dark hosted animated elephant and alligator heads as well as a few plywood clowns. Inside the ride lurked the Traver/Chamber two-dimensional plywood stunts common in all the Laffs they created.    

Early animatronic prrop

Many of the former Laff In The Dark rides are fondly remembered including a larger than usual model installed at Crystal Beach Amusement Park on the shores of Lake Eerie, Canada. That park closed in 1989. The only remnant of a Chambers Laff In The Dark is the Zombie Castle dark ride at Playland Park in Rye, New York. Originally a 1930s Chambers Laff In The Dark installation, it received a complete overhaul in 2001 although the ride’s newer cars still use undercarriage hardware salvaged from the original Chambers cars.    

Chambers ran the Traver’s Engineering co till about 1962.    

Playland at the Beach - Laff in the Dark (Traver/Chambers)

Playland’s Laff in the Dark

Although the opening and purchase date of Playland’s Laff in the Dark is unknown to me, we can make a quick visual survey of the ride and confirm in was an Original Traver/Chambers Laff in the Dark. Built before 1938. Closing date is unknown, but can estimate the mid 50’s?  

 

LAff in the DArk 1938

We find a true classic Traver/Chambers Laff in the Dark at Playland! I true gem of a ride! It took up quite a bit of real estate on the Corner of La Playa/Cabrillo on the later Fun-tier lot. While not built within a single large building, the ride track followed an enclosed wooden tunnel. Within the history of Traver/Chambers Laff in the Dark, we find that this style was more prevalent in the earlier versions of the ride, but still an oddity. Not a RARE design, but not common either. 

For a ride that boasted a cheaper price tag, the construction cost would have been extensive. That being said, I would bet the Whitney’s built the enclosure to LITD’s specks to save money.  ;-)  

Laff's Mural (james R Smith)

A description of the actual ride experience is always been high on my request list. To date, sketchy info has come foreword. Memories of hanging rope, twine and other objects buffeting the heads of riders in the dark are most remembered. Strange sounds were a frequent memory too… The sound of dishes breaking and other abrupt shocking noises in the dark. Some talk of wind blowing through the tunnels... ? The ride was mostly completely in the dark! The stunts were few, usually found after the car made a turn. The stunts were usually light triggered scenes and animated at times. A classic version of a Traver’s Laff in the Dark was his motorized animated props and scenes. Many say they preferred LITD to Dark Mystery.    

Traver/Chambers type stunt

While reading of the evolution of Traver’s LITD I noted the need for larger spaces for prop motors, compared to some of simpler stream lined props from Pretzel, This may explain the reason for large space utilized for the ride. Each stunt needed lots of room for its mechanics and motors.  

 

It has never been mentioned whether the seats moved or dipped backwards, but I can guarantee they did.     

 Zombie Castle - The last Traver/Chambers Laff in the Dark

Playland Park in Rye, NY

Nick Trahanas and his family, the current owners of Zombie Castle have embraced the historical significance of their ride and have kept it operating in peak form. From all accounts, Ralph E. Chambers built this ride at Playland in the mid to late 1930's. The building, once home to another attraction, was extended to accommodate the Laff in the Dark track and stunts. While Chambers was the person responsible for the mechanical components, cars and controls for the Laff In The Dark series, the legendary Harry Traver marketed them as part of his ride offerings out of his Beaver Falls, PA. Manufacturing facility. While a few Laff In The Dark rides were in fact built, a potential lawsuit by the Pretzel Ride Company over copyright infringements possibly ended further production.    

The Trahanas family purchased the ride in 1963. Nick Trahanas's father was no stranger to the amusement park business, having operated a candy confection business in Asbury Park, NJ.

                         

Shortly after the elder Mr. Trahanas purchased Rye's Laff in the Dark, the stunt sequence was as follows: Original plywood Popeye, then the Man in a Coffin, Where the Monster Tree now stands was a classic Spider and Web. Towards the back wall was a stunt that is remembered fondly by enthusiasts, the Running Rats Along a Beam stunt! The ride had a now removed turn inward that led to an old African Native Man with Spear scene. Next up, was yet another fondly remembered prop, the Classic Traver/Chambers Fighting Cats. The Devil, still present in the current day rendition, was next, followed by a Coffin That Rocked Open. A Man in Jail scene followed, and then came an old Dragon's Head. Towards the front right-hand turn, now the home of the current Mad Scientist Laboratory was a Skeleton that flew out at you. Next were a Gorilla and then a Witch, withoutstretched hands. Onward you would go through the Spinning Barrel.   

One of Traver/Chambers stunts was the creation of a Bunny Hop Track

 

 Pretzel's New Beginnings: 1946

Battered but durable old Pretzel cars still plug away on it's track!

Refurbished Pretzel Spinner

After a hiatus during the years of World War II, the Pretzel Amusement Ride Company reopened under the leadership of Leon’s son William Cassidy. The company soon expanded its operation to include different types of kiddy rides, although the dark ride was Pretzel’s signature ride. In 1953, Pretzel introduced its spinning dark ride car. The car was fashioned in an oval shape with a high, heart-shaped upholstered seat back. Riders sat facing outward toward the side rather than forward. Once inside the ride, a floor trip unlocked the passenger unit, which was mounted on a spindle, independent of the chassis. The riders were then rotated alternately clockwise and counterclockwise as the car traced the usual labyrinthine path. 

Pretzel Spinners on the track

The longest dark ride employing a fleet of Pretzel spinners was Coney Island’s Spook-A-Rama in Brooklyn, New York. This encompassed two buildings and sections of outdoor track.

Spook-A-Rama is still in operation although the ride has been downsized to the larger of the two buildings, and the Pretzel cars have been dead-bolted to keep them from spinning. But Spook-A-Rama remains to this day, a great example of the golden era of dark rides.

 

Pretzel's Two Levels of Hell?!

 

 

Newer Pretzel Stunts

In the late 1950s Pretzel developed the “Double Decker”, a two-level ride in which the cars were hoisted to the second story by a lift chain.     Pretzel's Stunts and Gags became more complex and animated. There off the shelf offerings included many different props, lighting, effects and animated scenes.     

 

Pretzel's Gravity Dark Ride

Very few were built. The concept was to chain drive the cars up to a second story of Dark ride building and allow the car to gravity feed down a dark ride track.    

Pretzels Gravity Car

William Cassidy sold the rights to build the rides in 1979.  
   

Animated Display Creators (ADC)

Animated Display Creators (ADC). A company founded in 1938 by Van Olkon, was best known for its lifelike point of purchase displays in stores and trade venues. Entering the 1950′s, advertising budgets were being directed away from window displays and toward the new promotional medium of television. So, ADC turned to creating ghoulish stunts and displays for dark rides.  

While it did not design or install dark rides, ADC played in an important role in the dark ride legacy by virtue of the variety of pieces it created. Its figures could be purchased to redecorate facades or be used to supplement the stunt line-up in a dark ride. One of the best examples of this was the 1954 installation of the Pretzel dark ride Laffland at Sylvan Beach Amusement Park in central New York State. The ride came with standard-issue Pretzel stunts such as Al-E-Gator and the Jersey Devil, but the park’s owner also bought and installed four ADC-designed stunts. With ADC’s products, park owners could either re-theme or spice up their dark rides, hence keeping them running for years to come.  

 

Playland at the Beach - Limbo

Installed after the demise of he Big Dipper, 1958. Limbo's ride system was built by Arrow. George Whitney oversaw the internal design, which became his Swan Song, as he passed away before the opening. By the time Limbo came into being there were other Dark Ride manufactures. Arrow has worked closely with Disneyland. Creating the ride system for the Matterhorn the next year in 1959.
 

The Skeleton facade was create by a group of local Italian artisans. It sure was creepy and cool looking.  ;-)  By the mid 50’s ADC was very popular for creating scenes for dark rides. After reviewing many ADC designs and props, I could easily state that ADC built some of Limbo’s stunts and props.

As for the ride experience…. You can read my Limbo experience in the previous article.

  

Bill Tracy’s Visions of Terror 1960's

Bill Tracy, who by most accounts began his career as a window display art director and designer, entered the dark ride game later in life. But he breathed new life into the industry with his gruesome and sometimes politically incorrect displays.    

Tracy had at least three different offices and work complexes though his career but the most famous and most productive was in Cape May, New Jersey where he operated the Outdoor Dimensional Display Company. Tracy’s team was responsible for not only designing new dark rides and fun houses in the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, but rethemed existing Pretzel dark rides and other venues such as Old Mills and Mill Chute rides. For his ride cars, Tracy supplied a model known as Hush Puppies although he also subbed out rolling stock work to the Alan Herschell Company.

Tracy's graphic SAW scene!

Tracy’s stunts were shocking even by today’s standards a woman getting sliced in half by a table saw and a man getting flushed down a toilet. One of Tracy’s best surviving works is the Haunted House at Trimper’s Rides & Amusements, Ocean City, Maryland.

 

 

 

 

 Morbid Modern Makeovers

 Many Dark rides were lost to time, economy or just plain lack of interest, but in recetn years we're starting to see new interest in the old dark rides. The trend has been to refurbish these old gems with new technology and modern scares. Some have become over the top rapid fire scares. So much so, that it has become humerous enough to call the new age of Laffing in the Dark.

Companies like the Sally Corporation, Halloween Productions and others are putting new faces on our old friends. 

 

Disney blazes new DARK trails

Disneyland’s original Fantasyland dark rides are basic Amusement Park dark rides in construction with similar stunts and gags. No new ground was gained with the introduction of these rides.  

A Playland tie-in must be noted with Disneyland’s original Dark rides. George Whitney Jr. advised, directed and became manager of Disneyland’s Dark rides. George Whitney Jr. was Disneyland employee number 7 and was originally hired as an advisor by Walt Disney himself. He was the only person on the Disneyland construction and development staff to have experience running an amusement park.  George stayed with Disney until the death of his father George Whitney Sr. After which he returned to run Playland in 1958.  George Jr. tried to maintain and improve Playland, but other obstacles stunned his efforts. Once again, this is another story…   ;-)  

Disney took the lead in Dark Ride technology with the opening of rides such as the Submarine ride, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and Journey through Inner space. With the advent of Audio Animatronics, dark rides rose to new dimensions.  

The rest, as we say, is history…    

References, Photos, excerpts and info provided by  

www.Laffinthedark.com

Wikipedia

Bill Tracy Project : http://www.billtracy.net/

Early history - http://www.ridemad.com/early-dark-ride-history-in-a-nutshell

Google.com DARE: http://www.dafe.org/

James R Smith:  http://www.historysmith.com/

Dennis O'Rorke