Pretzel Amusement Ride Company

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Name

The company took its name from its trademark dark ride, The Pretzel, so called because of its track's winding, pretzel-like layout.[1] It may also have been influenced by the comment of someone who rode the ride's prototype: "It felt like I was turned and twisted like a pretzel".

History

The company was established in 1928 when founders Marvin Rempfer and Leon Cassidy patented a single-rail dark ride[2] they built in Tumbling Dam Park on the banks of Sunset Lake in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The company remained in Bridgeton throughout its existence.

A large heavy pretzel design was originally affixed to the front of each car to prevent it from flipping backwards. In 1929, a standard Pretzel ride had five cars, 350 feet of track, a riding time of one and a half minutes, and sold for $1,200.

Portable pretzel rides for carnivals weighed about 9 tons. They were transported on huge moving vans. For the first three decades, Pretzel rides were single story. Beginning in the 1950s, two-story "double decker" rides were also made whose cars were hoisted to the second story by a lift chain during the ride. Leon Cassidy was not in favor of the double-decker version. The Mad Giant was 17 tons, 40'x 8' on trailer, and 70'x30' when opened, and took about five hours to set up. Pretzel also made spinning rides, including a famous one for Coney Island.

Leon's son William Cassidy ran the company after his father. He sold the rights to build the rides in 1979.

List of rides

Pretzel rides were usually themed. They included The Caveman, Haunted House, Lost Mine, Gold Nugget, Thunderbird Jr. Ride, Toonerville Trolley, Whirlo, Kiddie Circus, Devil's Cave/Pirate's Cove/Bucket O' Blood (the same ride rethemed), Devils Inn, Winter Wonderland, Orient Express, Mad Giant, Laff in the Dark, Laff in the Dark with spinning cars, Laffland, Pirates Cave, Pirates Den, Paris After Dark, Arabian Nights Tunnel of Love/Casper's Ghostland, Treasure Island, Spook-A-Rama, Le Cachot/Safari/Zoomerang, and three versions of Dante's Inferno.

Name Location First year Last year Ref(s)
Haunted Mansion Knoebels Amusement Resort
1973
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[3]
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Haunted Pretzel Bushkill Park
1927
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
2004
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Pretzel Ride Blackpool Pleasure Beach
1930
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Operating
The Pretzel Bay Shore Park
1931
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Unknown
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[4]
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The Pretzel Hersheypark
1931
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1963
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[5][6][7]
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Zoomerang Kennywood
1954
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1960
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
[8]
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Safari Kennywood
1961
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1971
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
[9]
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Le Cachot Kennywood
1972
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1998
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
[10][11]
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
The Pretzel Conneaut Lake Park Unknown
1966
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Devil's Den Conneaut Lake Park
1968
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Operating
Haunted House Camden Park Operating
Laffland Sylvan Beach Amusement Park Operating
Laff in the Dark Kiddieland Amusement Park (Birmingham, AL)
1948
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1979
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Spook-a-Rama Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park
1955
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Operating
Keansburg Mystery House Keansburg Amusement Park
1931
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1952
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
[12]
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Spook House Keansburg Amusement Park
1953
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
2012
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
[13]
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Ghost Train Lagoon Amusement Park
1947
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1953
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
SpooksHouse Eldridge Park
1940s
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1989
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Ghost Train Luna Park Melbourne
1934
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Operating
[14]
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References

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External links

Template:Amusement rides

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