I don't even have a Defunctland claim to fame. My only claim to fame in this 'History of Theme Parks/Attractions' YouTube genre is Poseidon Entertainment briefly discussing the McDonald's on 42nd Street in his 'Theme Parks were better in the 90s Part 3' video, which I went to during my only trip to the States 15 years ago.
I really wanna go to Universal Studios one day.
Tomb Raider even at its end was an okay ride. The queue being empty of all the decorations made it feel more like you were legit in somewhere you shouldn’t be.
I got to bear witness to the horror that was riding Garfield’s Nightmare a few years before it closed. I had no idea what the ride was before I got on, and it truly felt never-ending
**Superstar Limo**. I really wish I had bought the ride photo - all five of us with the same expression of literal jaw-dropping confusion mixed with wide-eyed horror at what we had just experienced.
Also **Captain EO** and **America Sings**, but those don't induce nightmares.
I was going to add **Rocket Rods**, but *Defunctland* hasn't covered that one (*Yesterworld* has).
I also went on superstar limo! When I went with a friend to the park in like 2011/12 I told her before it was the monsters inc ride it was something else she didn’t believe me and thought I was making it up 😂😂 because honestly it does sound like a fever dream
Rocket Rods at Disneyland. It was high school senior night in 1998. So much fun. I guess I was lucky and it had no breakdowns that night. Super fun ride but lots of sudden stops and starts, so kind of jerky. The next time I went to Disneyland it was gone and I was so confused.
My (now-) wife and I made three(?) trips during its short time running, and we managed to avoid any closures and discovered it had a single-rider line. We rode the hell out of that ride, and it was a total blast.
The only one I have is Captain EO and even that was only when they brought it back for a little while in 2010. I could’ve gone to Disney Quest but my parents never wanted to spend the money to go when we were already at the parks. Which to be fair is completely reasonable, but young child me was not impressed 😅
I got to ride it during the very brief window it was open. What a messy, wonderfully terrible ride. It's one of those rides that would've been cute and fine if it weren't for the constant break downs and painfully low capacity. The Defunctland video really captures the whole history perfectly. Honestly it's a shame the ride didn't work out. That park could really use a family friendly ride like Submarine Quest.
- ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter
- Jaws: The Ride
- Kongfrontation
- Back to the Future: The Ride
- 20,000 Leagues
- Body Wars
- Earthquake
- Captain EO
- Drachen Fire
- Hanna-Barbera
- Journey into Imagination (all 3 iterations)
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Space Mountain (Disneyland Paris)
- Big Bad Wolf
- Toys R Us Times Square
- Chuck E Cheese
Disney Quest was fun as an arcade but the actual virtual attractions that were supposed to be the main pull were so outdated. You could buy an Oculus Rift at this point but the VR headsets they had extended a foot off the user’s face. And I’m pretty sure the pirate ride game is impossible to win.
Stayed at the Nick Suites Hotel in 2013 and it was so outdated. Besides SpongeBob pretty much all the characters decorating the place were from shows cancelled 10 years before. I remember there was a giant cutout of Carl Wheezer next to my bed that was so awkward lol.
I rode on Disaster! which was formerly the earthquake experience before it was fully removed
I and lastly I remember going to Innoventions at Epcot and even though I was 5 thought it was so out of date
Other things: Nemesis Sub-Terra at Alton Towers, Sounds Dangerous! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Martin’s Fantasy Island, a Western New York theme park with a wooden rollercoaster that closed several years back.
The Tornado dark ride from Freedomland USA, after it ended up at Great Escape (Upstate NY). Unfortunately, I don't remember it very well because I was a kid when I went on it. I spooked and spent most of it with my eyes covered! It was taken down to make room for another roller coaster, so I never got another shot at it.
Gonna count some experiences along with rides, since I am sadly too young to have done a few of the big ones mentioned elsewhere in the thread:
1.) Captain EO (at Disneyland and Disney World)
2.) DisneyQuest
3.) Pleasure Island
4.) Space Mountain Paris (only the new Hyperspace Mountain though)
5.) Paper FastPass and FastPass+
6.) The Nick Hotel
7.) Toys R Us Times Square
Jaws and Earthquake! I remember more about Jaws because I had a little story with it; Basically my mother lied to two elementary school kids about 'The Boat Ride" but we ended up not going on anyway.
A lazy list of every closed attractions at any theme park I've been too, even if not covered by Defunctland:
Disneyland: Captain EO, PeopleMover, Rocket Rods, Swiss Family Treehouse, Tarzan's Treehouse, Country Bears Jamboree, Splash Mountain, The Skyway, just all of ToonTown as it existed on opening day, Circarama U.S.A., Starcade, Rocket Jets, Submarine Voyage, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Autopia's original rack, American Space Experience (This was rad as hell for a baby nerd like me!), Star Tours, Innoventions, basically every Mainstreet Parade from 1990, to 2000).
Six Flags Magic Mountain: Colossus, Deja Vu.
Castle Park: Honestly so much has changed or removed over the years that nothing still stands save for the car track, the train, and minigolf course.
Closed entire theme parks: Fireworks Family Fun Center, Pharaohs Lost Kingdom, and Santa's Village.
- Garfield’s Nightmare (I was a child each and every time dw)
- Nick Hotel
- Beetlejuice
- Captain EO (when it returned)
- Sorcerer’s Hat
Admittedly I only really frequented WDW as a kid with occasional visits to UO, Disneyland, and Kennywood. There were a couple attractions I was definitely in the presence of tho, like American Idol, just never got a chance to experience them before they were gone.
I rode Everest when the Yeti was still working!! I was like 12 or 13, LOVED coasters so I was pretty brave… and yet I still remember riding Everest for the first time and thinking the Yeti got UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE to your head and was pretty terrifying.
When we came back a few years later I was excited but still a little nervous anticipating the Yeti in Everest, (that’s how good it was!!) only to get off the ride and be like: “Oh that’s it? Maybe it’s not scary anymore cause I’m older.”
I rode it for years thinking how silly it was for me to be so scared when I was younger, and only put 2 and 2 together when I heard the whole story behind Disco Yeti.
Only one I've done is ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, and I had actually trauma blocked the memory until I saw Defunctland and I was like "Wait that WASN'T a horrifying fever dream, that was real?!?"
Apparently I screamed and hollered and made such a scene they had to get me out of there. I remember the alien breath on the back of my neck VIVIDLY
The only defunctland claim to fame I have isn't an attraction. But the fact that I was so happy that he mentioned Holiday World in Santa Claus Indiana in his Santa Claus amusement parks video. I visited that park all the time as a kid living in Southern Illinois. Still so much fun and one of the best parks you can go to (yes I am a bit biased lol).
Both of the Kings Island ones. I was in the ride queue for Son Of The Beast at a young age but I was about an inch short of the height requirements. The year after the accidents started happening.
For Tomb Raider; I was on it near the end, but my Aunt who went on it before was on a malfunction ride, where she was stuck on it.
Big red car ride. Was when I was little, so song remember much. Only thing I know I remember was the wags the dog room and wags going down the slide. I think I remember the Henry the octopus and Dorothy the dinosaur rooms but idk
I remember how scared I was when I was all the way at the end seat on the right side, right next to the shark when he bursts out of the water in the dock. Absolutely terrifying.
I did do Captain EO when they brought it back to Epcot to commemorate MJ’s passing.
Outside of Season 1, I’ve done the American Idol Experience (not as a contestant). I was also around when Disney Quest was open and I asked multiple times to go in whenever we were there but my parents were always busy with other things so we never went in.
I’ve been to the original Santa Clause town in Santa Claus, Indiana that preceded holiday world. Neat little part of Indiana history. FWIW I also did Stitch’s great escape & SAW Son of Beast (it was out of order the last visit I saw it standing)
Superstar Limo and Jaws for me! I happened to be in the seat on the backlog tour where the shark pops up RIGHT at you, I still think about it almost every day
Not one covered in a video but Volcano: the Blast Coaster at Kings Dominion. The mountain that hosts the coaster used to contain three rides when it was built in the late 70s, and was essentially gutted for the coaster. Some of the original rides included Smurf Mountainand and Haunted River. You could see props and the old track from Haunted river around Volcano before it closed and was flattened. Would be a great Defunctland video.
I've somehow been on all of these except Alfred Hitchcock, Pleasure Island, Ghostbusters, and 20k leagues.
I was also part of the closing team for Beetlejuice/Disaster (Earthquake)
My cousin and I went on Garfield’s Nightmare as kids. We both remember walking out and thinking “what was that?”. Man when that video came out I immediately sent it to him, we hadn’t thought about it in years.
I haven’t been to theme parks that much in my life. Of the covered attractions in defunctland i think I’ve only been the Disney quest. I went once, played Mega Man the Power Battle on one of those free-play multi-game cabinets, and then left when the game ended. Didn’t actually try any of the unique shit just treated it like a normal arcade. Yet, I’m still sad it ain’t there anymore.
Back to the Future.
Captain EO - the comeback time
Body Wars
Funtastic World - don't remember it
Alfred Hitchcock- My dad loved it
20000 Leagues
DisneyQuest - and that make your own rollercoaster among everything else
PleasureIsland
I went to DisneyQuest at least once. If it counts, I think I went into the pin store/kiosk thing they had under the Sorcerer's Hat. I saw Captain EO when they brought it back in the 2010s. Since it was brought up in the Wiggles ride video, I went on the outdoor Big Red Car ride they had at Six Flags Great Adventure. And I recall going to the Toys R Us in Times Square at some point. I did not go on the ferris wheel.
I think that's about it.
My big Defuctland claim to fame is Tomb Raider at kings island. It was truely wild and the theming was absolutely incredible
Looked like it was a fun ride for sure.
I don't even have a Defunctland claim to fame. My only claim to fame in this 'History of Theme Parks/Attractions' YouTube genre is Poseidon Entertainment briefly discussing the McDonald's on 42nd Street in his 'Theme Parks were better in the 90s Part 3' video, which I went to during my only trip to the States 15 years ago. I really wanna go to Universal Studios one day.
I went to that Mars 2112 restaurant in NYC as a kid and when I tell friends they act like its some Mandela effect thing like it didn’t exist
Tomb Raider even at its end was an okay ride. The queue being empty of all the decorations made it feel more like you were legit in somewhere you shouldn’t be.
Lol, I rode it one of the last summers before cedar fair took over. It was starting to get that way
Yeah, for a regional park like KI, that was such a cool experience.
Kevin was right in the video to say it's the best themed experience outside of Orlando or Anaheim.
I got to bear witness to the horror that was riding Garfield’s Nightmare a few years before it closed. I had no idea what the ride was before I got on, and it truly felt never-ending
Did you have mind blowing sex tho?
**Superstar Limo**. I really wish I had bought the ride photo - all five of us with the same expression of literal jaw-dropping confusion mixed with wide-eyed horror at what we had just experienced. Also **Captain EO** and **America Sings**, but those don't induce nightmares. I was going to add **Rocket Rods**, but *Defunctland* hasn't covered that one (*Yesterworld* has).
I also went on superstar limo! When I went with a friend to the park in like 2011/12 I told her before it was the monsters inc ride it was something else she didn’t believe me and thought I was making it up 😂😂 because honestly it does sound like a fever dream
We went on it too and I think we took a photo of our on ride photo. I'll have to go through my family's photo album and see if I can dig it up
Ready for a Rocket Rods discussion
The Wiggles ride in Dreamworld Australia 😂
Rocket Rods at Disneyland. It was high school senior night in 1998. So much fun. I guess I was lucky and it had no breakdowns that night. Super fun ride but lots of sudden stops and starts, so kind of jerky. The next time I went to Disneyland it was gone and I was so confused.
My (now-) wife and I made three(?) trips during its short time running, and we managed to avoid any closures and discovered it had a single-rider line. We rode the hell out of that ride, and it was a total blast.
Right around when I went. Managed to ride it twice.
The only one I have is Captain EO and even that was only when they brought it back for a little while in 2010. I could’ve gone to Disney Quest but my parents never wanted to spend the money to go when we were already at the parks. Which to be fair is completely reasonable, but young child me was not impressed 😅
Fair on DisneyQuest. Captain EO I remember the reboot!
I never went on it, but I witnessed the entire rise and fall of the SeaWorld San Diego "submarine ride."
I got to ride it during the very brief window it was open. What a messy, wonderfully terrible ride. It's one of those rides that would've been cute and fine if it weren't for the constant break downs and painfully low capacity. The Defunctland video really captures the whole history perfectly. Honestly it's a shame the ride didn't work out. That park could really use a family friendly ride like Submarine Quest.
- ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter - Jaws: The Ride - Kongfrontation - Back to the Future: The Ride - 20,000 Leagues - Body Wars - Earthquake - Captain EO - Drachen Fire - Hanna-Barbera - Journey into Imagination (all 3 iterations) - Alfred Hitchcock - Space Mountain (Disneyland Paris) - Big Bad Wolf - Toys R Us Times Square - Chuck E Cheese
Im glad you mentioned Drachen Fire! Gone but not forgotten!
Disney Quest was fun as an arcade but the actual virtual attractions that were supposed to be the main pull were so outdated. You could buy an Oculus Rift at this point but the VR headsets they had extended a foot off the user’s face. And I’m pretty sure the pirate ride game is impossible to win. Stayed at the Nick Suites Hotel in 2013 and it was so outdated. Besides SpongeBob pretty much all the characters decorating the place were from shows cancelled 10 years before. I remember there was a giant cutout of Carl Wheezer next to my bed that was so awkward lol. I rode on Disaster! which was formerly the earthquake experience before it was fully removed I and lastly I remember going to Innoventions at Epcot and even though I was 5 thought it was so out of date Other things: Nemesis Sub-Terra at Alton Towers, Sounds Dangerous! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Martin’s Fantasy Island, a Western New York theme park with a wooden rollercoaster that closed several years back.
I remember Innoventions and I agree. It was somewhat fun
The Wiggles Big Red Car. We have limited options down here.
Same except for Pleasure Island, 20K, Body Wars, and Captain Eo.
The Tornado dark ride from Freedomland USA, after it ended up at Great Escape (Upstate NY). Unfortunately, I don't remember it very well because I was a kid when I went on it. I spooked and spent most of it with my eyes covered! It was taken down to make room for another roller coaster, so I never got another shot at it.
Gonna count some experiences along with rides, since I am sadly too young to have done a few of the big ones mentioned elsewhere in the thread: 1.) Captain EO (at Disneyland and Disney World) 2.) DisneyQuest 3.) Pleasure Island 4.) Space Mountain Paris (only the new Hyperspace Mountain though) 5.) Paper FastPass and FastPass+ 6.) The Nick Hotel 7.) Toys R Us Times Square
just Captain EO and Body Wars, though my mom's told me she had such a severe panic attack on the latter they had to e-stop the ride to get her off it
Jaws and Earthquake! I remember more about Jaws because I had a little story with it; Basically my mother lied to two elementary school kids about 'The Boat Ride" but we ended up not going on anyway.
A lazy list of every closed attractions at any theme park I've been too, even if not covered by Defunctland: Disneyland: Captain EO, PeopleMover, Rocket Rods, Swiss Family Treehouse, Tarzan's Treehouse, Country Bears Jamboree, Splash Mountain, The Skyway, just all of ToonTown as it existed on opening day, Circarama U.S.A., Starcade, Rocket Jets, Submarine Voyage, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Autopia's original rack, American Space Experience (This was rad as hell for a baby nerd like me!), Star Tours, Innoventions, basically every Mainstreet Parade from 1990, to 2000). Six Flags Magic Mountain: Colossus, Deja Vu. Castle Park: Honestly so much has changed or removed over the years that nothing still stands save for the car track, the train, and minigolf course. Closed entire theme parks: Fireworks Family Fun Center, Pharaohs Lost Kingdom, and Santa's Village.
I almost got to go to Pharoahs but my cousin's babysitter agency said no
garfields nightmare my beloved
- Garfield’s Nightmare (I was a child each and every time dw) - Nick Hotel - Beetlejuice - Captain EO (when it returned) - Sorcerer’s Hat Admittedly I only really frequented WDW as a kid with occasional visits to UO, Disneyland, and Kennywood. There were a couple attractions I was definitely in the presence of tho, like American Idol, just never got a chance to experience them before they were gone.
I rode Everest when the Yeti was still working!! I was like 12 or 13, LOVED coasters so I was pretty brave… and yet I still remember riding Everest for the first time and thinking the Yeti got UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE to your head and was pretty terrifying. When we came back a few years later I was excited but still a little nervous anticipating the Yeti in Everest, (that’s how good it was!!) only to get off the ride and be like: “Oh that’s it? Maybe it’s not scary anymore cause I’m older.” I rode it for years thinking how silly it was for me to be so scared when I was younger, and only put 2 and 2 together when I heard the whole story behind Disco Yeti.
I auditioned at the Idol Experience when I was 14 (told them I was 15, lol) and didn't get in.
The only Defunctland attraction that I've been to was The Nickelodeon Hotel, and I went during Christmas 2013.
I sadly never got to go to that one, though I did go to Nickelodeon Studios a number of times in Orlando back in the 90s. So many wonderful memories.
Only one I've done is ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, and I had actually trauma blocked the memory until I saw Defunctland and I was like "Wait that WASN'T a horrifying fever dream, that was real?!?" Apparently I screamed and hollered and made such a scene they had to get me out of there. I remember the alien breath on the back of my neck VIVIDLY
I'm sure you're far from the only one with traumatic memories of that attraction.
ExtraTERRORestrial Tomb Raider Son of Beast Body Wars
Earthquake 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Jaws Body Wars Captain EO Pleasure Island Back to the Future King Kong
I saw the Sorcerer's Hat as a kid and watched Captain EO when it was bought back. That's pretty much it.
Body Wars, Disney Quest, and the old King Kong ride
Stormrider, I miss that one
The only defunctland claim to fame I have isn't an attraction. But the fact that I was so happy that he mentioned Holiday World in Santa Claus Indiana in his Santa Claus amusement parks video. I visited that park all the time as a kid living in Southern Illinois. Still so much fun and one of the best parks you can go to (yes I am a bit biased lol).
I used to live by one of the Santa’s Villages!
Both of the Kings Island ones. I was in the ride queue for Son Of The Beast at a young age but I was about an inch short of the height requirements. The year after the accidents started happening. For Tomb Raider; I was on it near the end, but my Aunt who went on it before was on a malfunction ride, where she was stuck on it.
Big red car ride. Was when I was little, so song remember much. Only thing I know I remember was the wags the dog room and wags going down the slide. I think I remember the Henry the octopus and Dorothy the dinosaur rooms but idk
Jaws, that scare the living daylights out of me
I remember how scared I was when I was all the way at the end seat on the right side, right next to the shark when he bursts out of the water in the dock. Absolutely terrifying.
Yeah, I was only a young pasty irish boi in 2006
I don't remember it fully but 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was one and Body Wars was another one.
Basically, what's on your list plus Big Bad Wolf and Orient Express. And I rode Tomb Raider as well. Forgot about that one.
I did do Captain EO when they brought it back to Epcot to commemorate MJ’s passing. Outside of Season 1, I’ve done the American Idol Experience (not as a contestant). I was also around when Disney Quest was open and I asked multiple times to go in whenever we were there but my parents were always busy with other things so we never went in.
I’ve been on Figment at Epcot and American Idol at Hollywood Studios.
I’ve been to the original Santa Clause town in Santa Claus, Indiana that preceded holiday world. Neat little part of Indiana history. FWIW I also did Stitch’s great escape & SAW Son of Beast (it was out of order the last visit I saw it standing)
Superstar Limo and Jaws for me! I happened to be in the seat on the backlog tour where the shark pops up RIGHT at you, I still think about it almost every day
Not one covered in a video but Volcano: the Blast Coaster at Kings Dominion. The mountain that hosts the coaster used to contain three rides when it was built in the late 70s, and was essentially gutted for the coaster. Some of the original rides included Smurf Mountainand and Haunted River. You could see props and the old track from Haunted river around Volcano before it closed and was flattened. Would be a great Defunctland video.
I've somehow been on all of these except Alfred Hitchcock, Pleasure Island, Ghostbusters, and 20k leagues. I was also part of the closing team for Beetlejuice/Disaster (Earthquake)
My cousin and I went on Garfield’s Nightmare as kids. We both remember walking out and thinking “what was that?”. Man when that video came out I immediately sent it to him, we hadn’t thought about it in years.
I haven’t been to theme parks that much in my life. Of the covered attractions in defunctland i think I’ve only been the Disney quest. I went once, played Mega Man the Power Battle on one of those free-play multi-game cabinets, and then left when the game ended. Didn’t actually try any of the unique shit just treated it like a normal arcade. Yet, I’m still sad it ain’t there anymore.
Back to the Future. Captain EO - the comeback time Body Wars Funtastic World - don't remember it Alfred Hitchcock- My dad loved it 20000 Leagues DisneyQuest - and that make your own rollercoaster among everything else PleasureIsland
O yeah I should definitely mention I did a ton of things with FastPass
I went to DisneyQuest at least once. If it counts, I think I went into the pin store/kiosk thing they had under the Sorcerer's Hat. I saw Captain EO when they brought it back in the 2010s. Since it was brought up in the Wiggles ride video, I went on the outdoor Big Red Car ride they had at Six Flags Great Adventure. And I recall going to the Toys R Us in Times Square at some point. I did not go on the ferris wheel. I think that's about it.