Do You Wanna Buy A Dark Ride?

© Ital International

A reader alerted me to an interesting used ride posting over on Ital International - what appears to be Escape From Dinosaur Beach from Wildwood's long shuttered Dinosaur Beach amusement park.  The park was built on what was formerly called Hunt's Pier, and only operated from 1996 until 1998.  If you've never heard of the park or want a refresher, check out this story we did years ago with a brochure and map.  It was also the longtime home of the Golden Nugget before Knoebels saved it and reopened it at their park as the Black Diamond.

© Ital International

Dinosaur Beach, as you may have guessed, was an attempt at having a cohesive theme across the entire pier, with dinosaurs invading other attractions such as the log flume and river rapids ride.  The largest addition that the park opened was the dark ride, which cost $1.5 million and resided in a 10,000 square foot building.  Riders rode in safari jeeps though a "dinosaur holding compound" with animated dinosaurs all around.  The ride theming and dinosaurs were created by Sally and the ride mechanics by SBF.  It has sat in storage for many, many years but is now listed for sale for an undisclosed price.

So, if any readers want to pick up a "very good" condition used Sally dark ride, now is your chance!