Post #337485 by StorytownFan on Tue, Oct 9, 2007 6:33 PM

Sorry for reactivating a very old thread but there were some things in this thread, I just couldn't let go. :D

What the original picture shows is entrance to Jungleland which was part of Storytown USA. (Sort of like TommorowLand is part of Disney World.) Jungleland was a walkthrough attraction that was supposed to show the African jungle complete with animals, warriors, cheifs and temples. (All statue type things.) As the years went by other attractions were added to it. There was a large swing bridge and a huge Polynesian fertility god statue added. Then parts started to get old and the owners at the time (Premier Parks who bought out Six Flags and took over the name) didn't really want to pay for upkeep not to mention there were something in it that were considered politically incorrect. Last time I was at the park (called Great Escape since the early 80's)Jungleland was still open. The entrance looks pretty much the same but the moving & talking (audioanimitronics) animals & people were gone. The fertility god was in a section that was cordoned off and the only thing that was really there was the swing bridge.

But the biggest thing I needed to touch on with this post was the comment that this was a roadside attraction that was hoping to be like Disneyland. That is incorrect. News stories attribute Storytown's owner (Charles Wood) as being an inspiration for Walt Disney and Storytown opened a few years before Disneyland.

Also FrontierTown was in North Hudson, NY about an hour north of Lake George and closed in 1999 finally. (Bits and pieces of it closed down years before.) The two parks were not related. But Charley Wood did own another little amusement park in the village of Lake George (Gaslight Village) and someone bought FrontierTown's sign and put it up at a store a few miles up the road from Storytown/Great Escape.

[ Edited by: StorytownFan 2007-10-09 18:54 ]

[ Edited by: StorytownFan 2007-10-09 18:59 ]