Old amusement park rides

At the end of July, I heard from a number of friends who were bummed that Ohio's Cedar Point was shutting down its longtime ride "Disaster Transport" to make room for new rides. Here's a first-person video of the classic ride:

This inspired me to look up some more videos of classic rides – and think about the memories they inspired. In 1987, when I was seven years old, my grandparents took the family on a trip to Disney World in Orlando! I vividly remember Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, having just read The Wind in the Willows…and the two crazy endings, one ending in the Underworld. I can't believe that one's gone.

Or then there was Captain Nemo's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" ride, where you got to go in the amazing submarine the Nautilus. I'd just read a young-readers version of the novel and it was just thrilling to get to be in that super-sub.

One that's still around is Pirates of the Caribbean – but while I enjoyed the first Johnny Depp movie, I prefer the original ride that inspired it, complete with the little scenes that showed up in the movie (I always loved the pirates in the cell begging the dog to give them the key in its mouth.

We stayed at Disney's Contemporary Resort, which I remember had a monorail that went through the actual hotel, and an arcade in the lobby! At night, the Electrical Water Pageant would go by on the harbor, and I still remember some of the music and sights, like the octopus shaking its tentacles.

The Disney vacation overlapped with my grandma's birthday, and was just one of many great trips we took with her and Grandpa. She passed away last year at age 81 – here's a story Whitney ran about an artistic tribute I got for her from cartoonist Emma Capps. I'm always torn about old rides getting shut down. On the one hand, I know many are difficult to maintain, and it's important to let a new generation have their own experiences and memories of things that appeal to them. But many of these rides also remind me of not only my childhood experiences, but times with family and friends that are no longer with us. I asked some of my friends on Facebook about their own favorite rides they'd like to experience again – and here's some YouTube footage.

Here's the Big Bad Wolf rollercoaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg – I remember an ad for this where someone went on this ride and turned into a cartoon wolf afterward. I would imitate that going, "I'm a wolf, a big bad wolf!" while playing with my parents, which they have no memory of whatsoever.

And another Busch Gardens one – my dad hated having to go on it – the Drachen Fire. I remember it was raining when we went there, so we just got some ponchos and enjoyed the short lines!

And another from Cedar Point – the Cedar Creek Mine Ride!

Any amusement park rides you remember as a kid? Share your memories in the comments below – and if the rides are gone, feel free to include links to YouTube videos to share the experience!