Free Republic

Learn the story behind San Jose, CA’s Frontier Village, a Western-themed amusement park that attracted visitors to the great 408 from around the country.It’s about time we talked about one of our city’s most beloved attractions that brought national attention to the great 408. So saddle up, because we’re taking you back in time to San Jose’s long-lost amusement park — Frontier Village. The happiest place in San Jose Following a family trip to Disneyland in 1959, Palo Alto entrepreneur and businessman Joseph Zukin Jr. became inspired to build his own piece of magic in the great 408. After...

Police said they got a call at 12:50 p.m. that a car was stuck in a ride in Tivoli Friheden and several people were stuck. Two people were sitting on the rear seats and were taken by emergency workers, the newspaper reported. Ragborg Olsen told the Ekstra Bladet daily that the two had been seriously injured and were taken to the hospital. The accident occurred on the Cobraen roller-coaster and the park has been shut down... The roller-coaster is 25 meters (82 feet) tall and the wagons have a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour (44 mph)... The roller...

As thousands swarmed Kabul's airport in a bid to escape the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan, videos circulating on social media appear to show armed Taliban soldiers enjoying amusement park rides after their victory last weekend. One video posted by Reuters senior reporter Hamid Shalizi depicts soldiers driving bumper cars while touting their guns. VideoIn another video posted by French news outlet Mediavenir, soldiers are seen riding on a merry-go-round. VideoMore footage put on Twitter by freelance journalist Asaad Hanna shows purported Taliban soldiers bouncing on a trampoline in glee. VideoYet another video reportedly shows Taliban soldiers playing on a trampoline...

One of the rafts on the Raging River ride at Adventureland Park in Altoona, Iowa flipped, resulting in the fatal accident, CBS News affiliate KCCI reports. On Friday, the ride reopened to the public for the first time since 2020 and underwent a full inspection first, park officials said, according to KCCI. Six people were on the raft when it flipped. Because the ride is at a remote distance from the park entrances, it was difficult for fire officials to get to the location, KCCI reported.

A German theme park quickly shut down a new ride -- not due to safety reasons, but because critics said it resembled "flying swastikas." The "Eagle Fly" ride at Tatzmania, an amusement park in Löffingen, a city roughly 60 miles northwest of Zurich, Switzerland, was widely criticized after a video of it in motion reportedly circulated online.

Outpost Discovery is a 300,000 square foot, traveling amusement park packed with experiences from Xbox's pivotal sci-fi series, and it's set to start touring the US this summer. The show will land in Orlando, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston and finally Anaheim between July and September. Outpost Discovery is scheduled to run for a single weekend in each city, where it will feature a real-life Halo Ring and Warthog (sounds like it's not actually drive-able, by the way), a laser tag arena, escape room, VR and simulation stations loaded with Halo experiences, and panels to attend. The Halo Ring attraction is a...

A water park co-owner has been arrested in connection with the 2016 death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas. Jeffrey Henry, the park’s co-owner, was arrested in Cameron County, Texas, according to park spokeswoman Winter Prosapio. Police did not immediately release the indictment for Henry, but the county’s website lists aggravated battery and aggravated endangerment of a child as some of the charges he faces. Caleb was decapitated while riding in one of the park’s water slides. The raft he was in went airborne, killing him and injuring two women. Henry’s arrest follows the...

A family of three was hospitalized Saturday after being attacked by an adult and eight teens at Six Flags Great America after members of the larger group apparently cut in line and were using foul language when the family exchanged words with them, according to Gurnee police. Gurnee police Officer Daniel Ruth, the incident's lead investigator, said the family members — a 51-year-old man, 50-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy — all were transported to an area hospital by a Gurnee Fire Department ambulance with injuries that were not life-threatening. Police arrested Gregory Battle, 18, of Waukegan, who was being...

A ‘terrorist cell’ believed to be linked to Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah and housing weapons intended to attack Israeli and Western targets has been discovered in a compound in northern Nigeria, the country’s security services said on Thursday. Nigeria's security services said Thursday they had discovered a home in the northern city of Kano where Lebanese nationals had stored weapons intended to attack Israeli and Western targets in Nigeria. The Kano state intelligence chief, Bassey Etang, and a separate military statement described the compound as hosting a "terrorist cell" tied to the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah. No evidence was...

A woman trying out a golf club at a newly opened amusement park in Pyongyang, while a man with a parasol looking on. The picture was taken on Sept. 8

Abortion centers are not nice places. How many more horror stories need to be uncovered before America wakes up to this harsh truth? Philadelphia and federal authorities who raided a doctor’s office after allegations a woman died during an abortion made a shocking discovery: more than two dozen frozen fetuses. For the second time in four days, Philadelphia Police, along with State Licensing officials and DEA agents, searched the West Philadelphia office of Dr. Kermit Gosnell on Monday. Sources tell Eyewitness News that the search came after a patient reportedly died during an abortion on November 20. Sources say the...

Given that consumers have been so reluctant to spend lately, the family-run amusement park would seem especially vulnerable. But amusement park owners around the country say the weather, not the housing downturn or job losses, played a bigger role in their fortunes this past summer. “We had a lousy, wet June and a couple of hurricane threats this summer, so that was bad,” said Jack Morey, who with his brother Will, owns and runs three amusement piers along the Wildwood boardwalk. “Then the weather got better in August, and suddenly everyone was there.” If they have sunshine and moderate temperatures,Mr....

Iraqi Police officers and their families from Kirkuk province, and 1st Cavalry Division Soldiers ride the rollercoaster together at the Iraqi Police Kids Night at the Kirkuk Amusement Park, Aug. 18. Photo by Pfc. Justin Naylor, 1st Cavalry Division. FOB WARRIOR — The high-pitched sound of children laughing and a rollercoaster's rumble were heard at the Kirkuk Amusement Park on the outskirts of Kirkuk City, Aug. 18. Iraqi Police (IP), their children, and U.S. Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, traveled in groups, wandering the park looking for the best rides.Weeks...

Casinos, media join autos on way to bankruptcy Bonds selling for dimes on the dollar show investors are expecting the worst By Deborah Levine, MarketWatch Last update: 5:43 p.m. EST March 2, 2009 NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The bond market is doing the equivalent of a death watch on several well-known companies, signaling the U.S. economy could be in for more pain as struggling firms renege on loan payments and possibly file for bankruptcy. Bonds of General Motors Corp. (GM) and auto supplier Visteon Corp. (VC) ; retailer Michaels Stores and theme-park operator Six Flags Inc. (SIX) ; media firm...

On Wednesday, word broke that the first rock-and-roll theme park had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and is closing its doors for the rest of the year. (Guess that means no Rocktoberfest parties there, damn!) Since it opened in April, the 55-acre, seven-years-in-the-planning, $400 million park apparently performed way below expectations, despite the undeniable attraction of that Eagles “Life in the Fast Lane” ride. Projections of 30,000 visitors a day and 3 million for the year didn’t pan out, and the park cut its operating hours in August. But operators still hope to reopen next year, despite the fact that...

YORK — A couple having sex on a “Super Spiral” ride at York’s Wild Animal Kingdom “horrified” a mother with young children who witnessed the act at “Maine’s largest zoo and amusement park,” say police. As a result, Adrian Levy, 26 — a native of Jamaica and amusement park employee — is charged with one count of indecent conduct, said York Police Sgt. Tom Baran. Wild Kingdom general manager Amy Wheeler said Levy, a ride operator, was simply “dirty dancing with a girl” and was not charged by police on amusement park grounds. He was however, fired immediately and sent...

OSHKOSH, Wisconsin (AP) -- Police and federal investigators tried Sunday to determine why a teen fell from a festival ride and died. Lifefest attendees gather near the site of the woman's death to write messages and leave condolences. Elizabeth K. Mohl, 16, of Neenah, was killed Saturday after falling 40 to 50 feet from a ride called Air Glory.

(CBS/AP) Six Flags and another company shut down eight more thrill rides Friday around the country, including a ride at a North Carolina amusement park, after a teenage girl had her feet chopped off at the ankle on a Superman Tower of Power. State inspectors, meanwhile, returned to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, where the accident happened, to examine the ride, which lifts passengers 177 feet straight up, then drops them nearly the same distance at speeds reaching 54 mph. It was unclear at what point during the ride the 13-year-old was injured Thursday, said Wendy Goldberg, a Six Flags spokeswoman....

13-Year-Old Girl Had Feet Chopped Off On Superman Ride; 8 More Rides Shut Down Six Flags and another company shut down eight more thrill rides Friday around the country, including a ride at a North Carolina amusement park, after a teenage girl had her feet chopped off at the ankle on a Superman Tower of Power. State inspectors, meanwhile, returned to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, where the accident happened, to examine the ride, which lifts passengers 177 feet straight up, then drops them nearly the same distance at speeds reaching 54 mph. It was unclear at what point during the...