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Rare
interior photos of this celebrated ride take readers time-traveling
back to the days when riders came face-to-face with a
giant dragon and watched a skeleton rise from its coffin. Oh,
did I mention the tipping seat? Playland's Laff In the
Dark had that Harry Traver patented gimmick installed
in its rolling stock, as depicted in a photo in the book
Playland. And there's an intriguing shot
going back to when dancing skeletons adorned the façade
before they were replaced by dancing clowns. On a side
note, you can see how the Laff In The Dark façade changed
over the years by viewing our feature stories on the rides
at these links: Zombie
Castle and Return
To Zombie Castle
Getting
back to the book: Playland author, Westchester
County native Kathryn Burke, did a meticulous job researching
the park and procuring images. She includes exterior photos
of Playland's former Noah's Ark funhouse which opened
with the park in 1928. There's a great shot of the former
Bluebeard's Palace walk-through, another 1928 original.
According to Burke, Bluebeard's interior "held the secrets
of the terrible pirate's lair." Funhouse fans will find
some intriguing shots of the park's former Magic Carpet
fun house (lost in a 1966 fire) and its wild obstacles
that would make today's insurance companies cringe.
But the hits keep coming.
Burke reveals that Playland had several other walkthrough
attractions including Niagara Falls, The Witches Forest,
the Hill Billy Farm, Bamboo Fun and Jungles. See them
all in Playland. Hey, does anybody out there
remember when Playland's circa 1929 Old Mill didn't have
an evil troll/friendly gnome theme? I can't, but according
to Burke, the Mill once had scenes of the Grand Canyon,
a desert and Noah's Ark among others.
Burke's photo essay in
Playland extends beyond dark rides and
walkthroughs. She chronicles the park's construction,
the entertainers who performed there, the pool, the Casino,
the bathhouse and much more, including Playland's classic,
still-operating rides: the Derby Racer (wait until see
the photo of the crowd lined up for that ride decades
ago) the Dragon Coaster and the Whip.
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