I grew up with Carowinds, starting from the 1973 opening season. My parents heard about this new thing from neighbors and ads in the paper, so off we went for the two hour drive down to Charlotte. What a magical moment when the Intamin Sky Tower rose majestically over the horizon! And “racing” the sleek monorail as you drove up to the toll booths. What a first day

Many of the regional parks’ original attractions were named, usually due to sponsorship, after local companies. Six Flags over Mid-America, as it was called at the time, featured a typical auto ride where enthusiastic drivers, young and old alike, could take the wheel and cruise through the countryside. Arrow Development was the primary manufacturer

In November 1973, one year after Kings Island opened, the Brady Bunch filmed an episode on-site in the park. The story was about the frantic search for architectural plans Mr. Brady had developed for the park, and so we got to see the place first-hand from our living rooms as Brady folk raced to and fro. Having re-aired recently, forty-six years later, it’s a rare time capsule

Probably the most infamous theme park failure in modern times occurred in a relatively small seaside town in South Carolina. Hard Rock Park was first of its kind: first major theme park to be built from scratch in the U.S. in decades, first park themed entirely on music (with respects to Fiesta Texas, which came pretty close), first park with major artist collaboration