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Bob's Photos of Defunct Coasters
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The featured coaster changes, but this is how many people have visited this page since it was first published:
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This is how many people visited since 9/8/03 when the page was updated to feature the coaster (Part 2) at Rocky Glen Park in Moosic, Pa.
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Rocky Glen Coaster
Page 1 of 3*
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This is Part 2 of a 2-part series.
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The roller coaster pictured below was built at Rocky Glen Park in the late 1950's. I was very young at the time; I don't remember anything about the ride's announcements or construction. I do recall going to the park and that it was there, and brand new. I was too young for my parents to leave me off while they rode, and too little for them to take me on it without their having experienced the ride. There seems to be some confusion about this ride's name. When it opened, it was called the Jet Coaster (jet planes were the "new thing" at the time, I suppose). Later, I hear it was known at the Comet, or even Mighty Lightning. It's probably due to the confusion of the park's name! The park was Rocky Glen, Ghost Town in the Glen, Ghost Town Park, and the New Rocky Glen. How could a coaster keep its name straight?!!!
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I took the color photos on this page on July 17, 1984. For those of you who do not know, the coaster was essentially duplicated at Stricker's Groves in Ohio (outside of Cincinnati). So while the Jet Coaster at Rocky Glen is gone, at least a copy of sorts can still be ridden. Of course, every coaster rides differently, even if from the same general plans. And setting plays a role in how a coaster feels. Rocky Glen was a unique park, in that it was on varying land heights, with a large number of trees and a large lake. Of course, that lake was home to the park's former and most famous coaster, the Million Dollar Coaster. Rocky Glen seems to have had an interesting history of roller coasters with unusual names! In addition to the Million Dollar Coaster, there was the Jazz Railway, and the Giant Pippin.
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In the mid-80's, the park was trying to come back from difficult times. Of course, we know now that this comeback failed. Traditional parks had a rough time in the 70's and 80's, what with competition from theme parks, lack of new rides, insurance woes, and even locations. Rocky Glen had a wonderful location, but probably couldn't face the competition from the expanding offerings Hersheypark, Dorney Park, and Knoebels were providing. While the conversion of Rocky Glen into a "theme" park - Ghost Town in the Glen - might have been a good idea, its realization was far from wonderful. It was a drab and colorless park (all dark green). The themed entertainment was ok, but it was really just the old park painted with dreary colors, with entertainment and theming added. By the 80's, the theming was gone, and the new owners were adding flat/spinning rides to try to recover.
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The coaster itself was a double figure-8, about 55 feet in height. It was placed in a rather unusual way; the station end and lift hill were out in the open, but the both the turnaround after the 1st drop and the last turn were in a small grove of trees (another fact that sets it apart from the coaster at Stricker's).
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*See Page 2 for more Rocky Glen photos!
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Be sure to visit my Defunct Parks Brochure Page
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Return to Bobcoaster's Coaster Pages Index Page
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copyright 2000-2003 by Bob Hooley
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