Storybook
Land
Cardiff / Egg Harbor Township, NJ Photo courtesy Bob Jagendorf
Looking for a little Mother Goose along the highway? The castle entrance and colorful marquee at Storybook Land are hard to miss along the Black Horse Pike in Cardiff, New Jersey. With its storybook towers and giant Mother Goose nearby, you know this isn't your average roadside stop.
Storybook Land opened in 1955, about three months before Disneyland, with Humpty Dumpty, the Three Bears, and other nursery rhyme favorites greeting visitors. The familiar castle entrance followed in 1958 and has been welcoming kids through its gates ever since.
UPDATE: Storybook Land remains open and family-owned, still offering its old-fashioned storybook fun along the highway. 08-26
KonTiki (Gone) Agawam, MA Photo courtesy Steve Felder
A little tiki action in Massachusetts? KonTiki was one of the more colorful rides at Six Flags New England in Agawam, complete with tropical scenery that brought a bit of the South Pacific to the midway.
The spinning Matterhorn-style ride opened in 1999, back when the park was still known as Riverside Park. It survived the change to Six Flags New England and kept riders spinning for more than 20 years.
UPDATE: KonTiki closed after the 2023 season and was removed from the park in 2024. 08-26
Fast Eddie's Diner Agawam, MA Photo courtesy Steve Felder
Here's something you might not expect to find between the rides at Six Flags New England. Fast Eddie's Diner brings a little 1950s roadside flavor to the Rockville section of the park in Agawam.
With its shiny diner look, retro lettering, and old-fashioned styling, it looks like something that belongs along a two-lane highway rather than inside an amusement park. Burgers, fries, and milkshakes complete the picture.
UPDATE: Fast Eddie's is still serving park visitors today. 08-26
Camden Park
Huntington, WV Photo courtesy Mark Hackett
That big colorful sign along U.S. 60 is reason enough to slow down for another look. Camden Park has been entertaining folks around Huntington, West Virginia since 1903, and the old carnival-style entrance still looks like it's calling passing motorists in for an afternoon on the midway.
The park got its start as a trolley park, built at the end of a streetcar line as a place for families to picnic and spend the day. More than a century later, Camden Park is still here, complete with old rides, midway food, and the kind of slightly worn amusement park atmosphere that's getting harder to find.
Thunderbolt Express
Huntington, WV Photo courtesy John Salvatore
Of course, you can't visit without taking a look at the Big Dipper. The wooden coaster opened in 1958 and still sends riders rattling over the tracks in classic wooden coaster fashion. Just down the midway is the old Haunted House, another throwback that fits right in with the park's vintage surroundings. Grab a Pronto Pup and you've pretty much got the Camden Park experience covered.
Camden Park
Huntington, WV Photo courtesy Bruce R. Cassi / 2005But that roadside sign may still steal the show. With its smiling clown, bright colors, and carnival lettering, it looks like something that should have disappeared from the highway years ago. Sign or roller coaster? That's a tough one. Better pull in and check out both.
UPDATE 01/02 : Rumors now persist that the park will be adding a new
coaster to replace the Thunderbolt
Express... which was called, "The Screamin' Demon" when it was
at Kings Island. Yes, below the Camden Park clown is hidden neon! From top to bottom,
the neon signs say: Rides / Picnic / Fun for All. Many thanks to John Salvatore for Camden Park update. 01-02
Neon at bottom of sign
Camden Park Photo courtesy John Salvatore
UPDATE: The white advertisement sign that had once covered the lower portion of the sign for many years has been removed during the 2005 season to reveal 3 smaller neon signs underneath the clowns feet. 06-07
UPDATE: Camden Park remains open for the 2026 season, and the Big Dipper received extensive track work before reopening this year. 08-26
Storybook
Land
KonTiki (Gone)
Fast Eddie's Diner
Camden Park
Thunderbolt Express
Camden Park
Neon at bottom of sign
