Porcellino

This past summer, a good 90% of my time was spent on the road visiting parks that the company that I work for has supplied rides to. One of those parks was The Great Escape up in Queensbury, NY.

I remember my first trip up to the upstate area and absolutely loving it. I was about to go into 8th grade and my best friend Brendan's dad was able to secure a vacation home for a week on lakefront property owned by Wantagh Fire Department.

The drive up there was great, and I remember waking up in the backseat of their Jeep Grand Cherokee to see the bright orange Steamin' Demon roller coaster sitting right there on the roadside. I had never seen anything like it before, and of course I asked if we would go there during the week. "Probably not." Crushing words, but it still was one of the best weeks of my life.

(On a sidenote, I somehow managed to roll down a hill running at full speed with a lit sparkler in hand and not catch fire that week, so bonus points for still being alive.) [Double sitenote: Upon getting up from this roll down the hill with lit sparkler, I kept running and the sparkler was still lit. It's a crazy life sometimes.]

So, after 11 years, I finally was able to make it to The Great Escape (now just called Great Escape) when it was open. I explored almost every nook and cranny of the whole park, and I'm absolutely in love with it.

One of my favorite "unique" things about it though was this random statue of a boar. I of course had to check it out, and it became one of my favorite little things about the park. It's a bronze sculpture and is one of only two replicas in the world.

The plaque reads:

"The original - there are only two other replicas in the world - sits in Florence, Italy, in a spot where most ravelers pass as they leave the city. Legend has it that anyone who drops a coin and rubs Porcellino's nose will have good luck and will be sure to return to Florence. So - drop a coin, rub his nose, have good luck and be sure to return to Storytown: All proceeds donated to the American Cancer Society."

I made a wish and hope to return to that area again soon.

Starting Over

One crazy summer after finishing my undergrad at Villanova University, I took a bunch of classes at Nassau Community College to get myself to the point of feeling "ready" and to learn the skills that I felt I would need to succeed in going after the life, dreams, and career that I wanted to have.

That summer was a wild one. In my second summer session of classes, I took only one class. Of all classes, it was photography, so it left me plenty of free time when I wasn't out and about doing the most difficult homework of my life: taking pictures.

It was one of those wacky introspective summers. I had a horrible time at Villanova University. I can't pinpoint what it was exactly, but it just was never a good fit for me. Nassau felt like a much needed new home. At this point, I was also dangerously close to a much-needed breakup with someone that I should not have been with for over 2 years. With all that said, and a lot of downtime from class, I started digging through the photos and memories of my youth and instantly started uncovering the story of how this (who I am) came to be.

My father is the best person I've ever known. He's the hardest working, smartest, kindest, most generous, and most helpful human being on the planet. I challenge you to find one better, he doesn't exist. Because he owns his own business, vacations were always a rarity. We were always lucky if we could scramble a 3 day weekend somewhere, 5 days somewhere was a miraculous adventure. But, we always made them count. Because one of my Dad's biggest things is "let's do something all together", we always went to amusement parks and theme parks. Always.

So, I started where my memories began: age 3 at Hersheypark. That's as early as I can remember, but I remember a lot of it pretty vividly. Sidenote: My memory is pretty damn good. The previous posts on this blog showed off a lot of memories from those older vacations and trips.

It has been over a year since I've posted here, and I think it's time to start it back up and over again, all at the same time. No longer will it just be pictures from family vacations from long ago, but stories, adventures, thoughts, musings, life goals, life in general, photos of what I've been up to, and more. Also, it won't just be about amusement parks and theme parks anymore, but about the entire entertainment industry as a whole. I'm sure it will gravitate towards the parks.

Stay tuned. I've got some pretty great things up my sleeve that I can't wait to show you.

I'll be talking to you...

-Chris

A Book!

Hello again friends!

Today will be a busy day of excitement and postings, as we have a full year to catch ourselves up on!

It is a very exciting time in my life and I am proud to announce that in 2014, in conjunction with Adventureland Long Island and Arcadia Publishing, we will together be releasing Adventureland Long Island, a pictorial history of the famed Long Island amusement park.

I will be sure to let you know as soon as more details concerning a release date are confirmed.

On a side-note, it will be one of the first books in a new color series by Arcadia Publishing titled "Images of Modern America", a spinoff of their famous and popular "Images of America" series found in bookstores across the country.

See any of your favorites on the front cover? Some extinct and some still running today!

A Return From Regions Beyond

Hello friends!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but our page view count is now over 4500 views! Incredible!

In the time since my last post, I was hired as the first ever Marketing Intern at my home park of Adventureland Long Island. This lead to me being hired full time as a Marketing Coordinator and Creative Director of sorts for the park. If any question was asked that they didn't have the answer to, signage was needed, logos were needed, creative input was needed, plans for the future had to be developed, etc. I became their go-to guy. I had an amazing experience working at this small family-owned park.

Then, in August, I began the Disney College Program down in Orlando at the Walt Disney World Resort. What better place to learn operations in than the Walt Disney World Resort; an entertainment, safety, and efficiency machine! I began my time there as a Shallow Water Lifeguard at their Blizzard Beach Water Park and am now finishing my College Program as a Butler at the Haunted Mansion, the world-renowned and classic dark ride located in the Liberty Square section of the Magic Kingdom park. 

Those are the two main bullet points of my life over the course of this past year. There are many more things to talk about, fill you in with, and share with you, so please stay posted!

And as always, enjoy!!!

It's amazing how often things come full circle.

Above is a photo of me on my first trip to Walt Disney World in 1997.

Below is a photo of me on a day off from working at Blizzard Beach in 2013.

Button seems to have changed sexes from male to female, but this great snow family is still there.

Hicks Nurseries October 1995 (Part 3 of 3)

Hello folks and welcome back to The Amusement Blog!

Here, as promised, is Hicks Nurseries Day 3 from 1995.

Today we have two of a Scarecrow character that made an appearance at Hicks in this season. I don't remember seeing this costume in years prior or after but character actors are always welcome, especially during Halloween!

My brother was pretty big into "The Wizard of Oz" at the time so I'm sure this was a thrill to see

The same Scarecrow going for a ride on the Hay Ride

Well folks, that wraps things up for today! I hope that these last few sets of pictures from Hicks have helped to put you in the Fall and Halloween spirit. Be sure to check back soon for a new set from a different location!

Hicks Nurseries October 1995 (Part 2 of 3)

Hello again and welcome back to another post here at The Amusement Blog!

Today we have another two images for you from Hicks Nurseries, October 1995. 

As mentioned in yesterday's post, Hicks Nurseries' Fall Festival is a Long Island classic and a tradition for many Long Island families.

One of the staples at Hicks' Fall Festival is the Hay Ride that crosses into the back areas of the nursery. There are often decorations and character dioramas along both sides of the Hay Ride's path, giving kids and families something to look at along the relaxing trip to there and back again.

Every once in a while you might even catch a ride with the Fall Festival's signature mascot, Otto the Ghost, as he joined this gang of ruffians back in 1995 just as they were preparing for their ride.

"HOLD THAT GHOST!"

Below is an example of an early decorative diorama that ran alongside the Hay Ride. Over the years, these have gotten much grander and much more festive and often include plywood cutout paintings of favorite children's characters from pop culture, ala Spongebob Squarepants.

Not much to see here but the dioramas in more recent years have gotten quite extravagant!

Alright folks! That wraps things up for today here at The Amusement Blog! We have one more days worth of 1995 pictures from Hicks to share with you so be sure to come back tomorrow!

Thanks as always for stopping by, and if you like what you see here, be sure to bookmark us and/or follow us!

Hicks Nurseries October 1995 (Part 1 of 3)

Welcome back for another post here at The Amusement Blog!

Today we'll be looking at a Long Island favorite for Halloween festivities, Hicks Nurseries, which is actually the oldest nursery and garden center on Long Island.

What's so great about Hicks? FREE ADMISSION.

What does that get you?
-Beautiful atmosphere
-Otto the Ghost's animated story that mostly changes year to year (although there was a period of years that all involved Venus fly traps)

For small fees you can:
-Feed animals
-Go on a hay ride
-Buy pumpkins, squash, roasted corn, kettle corn, and more
-Purchase Halloween and Christmas decorations
AND MORE!

Hicks was always a favorite of mine growing up as a kid and I even tried turning my basement into one of Otto's animated scenes when I was 3. Could you tell this kid loved amusements?

Anyways folks, below are two shots of the Hicks Fall Festival's signature character, Otto the Ghost!

I believe Marshall Eriksen had a sweet pair of 90's pants too on How I Met Your Mother

Again, just loving those 90's outfits

The costume hasn't changed much since '95! Here's a picture of Otto today and the only real difference I can spot is the bow.

Alright folks! That wraps things up for today! If you have young children and want to get in the holiday spirit for fall and Halloween be sure to spend an hour or two over at Hicks. 

We have more for you tomorrow so be sure to stop by again soon!