10/1/1968 | United States Patent #3,403,633, "Amusement Ride", issued to Anton Schwarzkopf for a ride we know as the Bayern Kurve. |
10/1/1971 | Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom officially opens. |
10/1/1979 | Groundbreaking ceremonies for EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World. |
10/1/1982 | The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, better known as EPCOT, opens at Walt Disney World. |
10/1/1994 | Elitch Gardens original location closes; |
10/2/1989 | Quassy Amusement Park (Middlebury, Connecticut) breaks up and auctions its 1902 E. Joy Morris carousel. |
10/2/1991 | Death of Arnold Gurtler, Chairman of the Board for Elitch Gardens. |
10/2/1999 | California governor Gray Davies signs legislation to require State inspections of California's fixed-site amusement rides. |
10/3/1973 | West View Park Danceland destroyed by fire. |
10/4/1922 | The Pippin Coaster Company signs its first concession agreement with Luna Park Cleveland. The company's first ride was John Miller's Pippin. Within a few years, the company agreed to operate two other rides as well. |
10/4/1935 | Luna Park (Sydney, Australia) opens. |
10/5/1988 | Noble Park Funland, Paducah, Kentucky, is auctioned. The Pinfari Zyklon coaster ended up at Americana Amusement Park in Middletown, Ohio. |
10/5/2000 | After 30 years in operation, Fun City Amusement Park, Sea Isle, New Jersey, is auctioned. |
10/6/1846 | Thousands of people gather near Bristol, Connecticut to witness the failure of a scientific demonstration. The turnout inspires Gad Norton to open the area to the public as a picnic park called Lake Compounce. |
10/7/1991 | Groundbreaking for the MGM Grand Hotel and Theme Park in Las Vegas, Nevada. |
10/8/1992 | The rides at Conneaut Lake Park are auctioned. A group of local investors is able to purchase most of the rides to keep them at the park. |
10/11/1984 | Dispensa's Kiddie Kingdom, Oakbrook Illinois is auctioned. |
10/12/1990 | ACE holds the 1990 Fall Conference at Belmont Park in San Diego, California, and at Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. |
10/14/1945 | Milton Snavely Hershey, founder of Hershey Park, dies at the age of 88. |
10/15/1990 | PTC carousel #18, previously at Roseland Park, reopens in its new home in the Carousel Center Mall, Syracuse, New York. |
10/16/1982 | Olympic Park, Rochester, New York, is auctioned. |
10/17/1983 | One person is killed and two others are injured when a tub breaks free from an Enterprise ride and falls to the ground at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. |
10/17/1986 | Vice-President George Bush visits Boyertown, USA (now Lakemont Park), Altoona, Pennsylvania. |
10/17/1989 | The rides from Crystal Beach Amusement Park are auctioned. The Comet roller coaster eventually ended up at the Great Escape Fun Park, in Lake George, New York. |
10/18/1983 | Paradise Lake Amusement Park, near Middlebourne, Ohio, is auctioned. |
10/19/1991 | Enchanted Forest, Chesterton, Indiana, is auctioned. |
10/20/1984 | A two-day auction begins to sell off Idora Park, Youngstown, Ohio. |
10/21/1979 | Walt Disney World (Lake Buena Vista, Florida) greets its 100-millionth guest. |
10/22/1956 | Death of Herbert Schmeck, credited by The Billboard with designing 210 roller coaster structures. |
10/23/1863 | Birth of Theodore Marshall (T. M.) Harton, early coaster builder and founder of West View Park. |
10/23/1894 | Euclid Beach Park Co. incorporated. |
10/23/1927 | Fred Ingersoll, a former Detroit amusement park operator, dies in an apparent suicide in Omaha, Nebraska. |
10/23/1972 | The Hersheypark bandstand is demolished. |
10/23/1982 | Holiday Beach, Douglas, Georgia is auctioned. |
10/26/1985 | Playland Park (Wasaga Beach, Ontario) is auctioned. |
10/28/1981 | Rides from Rocky Springs Amusement Park (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) are auctioned. |
10/30/1893 | The World's Columbian Exposition officially closes in Chicago, Illinois. |
10/31/1878 | Birth of Fred Church, influential coaster designer particularly noted for his Bobs coasters and his flexible, smooth-tracking trailered cars. |
10/31/1934 | Chicago's Century of Progress exposition closes. |
10/31/2000 | Ramsi (born Ismar) P. Tick dies at age 75. He was instrumental in the (ultimately unsuccessful) effort to revive Crystal Beach Park, Fort Erie, Ontario, in the 1980's. |
The Roller Coaster Rollback is maintained by Dave Althoff, Jr. (a.k.a.,
"RideMan"). Read the "history of the history" on Dave's site.
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