Pretzel Amusement Ride Company

The Pretzel Amusement Ride Company was an amusement ride manufacturer that produced a variety of rides, including an early dark ride known as The Pretzel, the company's namesake. It built over 1400 rides for carnivals and amusement parks.

Pretzel Amusement Ride Company
IndustryAmusement Rides
FateDefunct
Founded1928
FounderLeon Cassidy and Marvin Rempfer
Defunct1979
Headquarters
Bridgeton, New Jersey
,
USA
Key people
Bill Cassidy
ProductsThe Pretzel

Name

The company took us name from its trademark dark ride, The Pretzel, so called because of its track's winding, prezel-like layout.[1] It may also have been influenced by the comment if someone who rode the ride's prototype: "It felt like I was turned and twisted like a pretzel".

History

The company was established in 1928, founders Marvin Rempfer and Leon Cassidy patented a single-rail dark ride[2] which they constructed in Tumbling Dam Park on the banks of Sunset Lake in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The company remained in Bridgeton throughout its existence.

A large heavy pretzel design was originally affixed to the front of each car to prevent the car from flipping backwards. In 1929, a standard Pretzel ride had five cars, 350 feet of track, a riding time of one and a half minutes, and sold for $1,200.

Portable pretzel rides for carnivals weighed about 9 tons. They were transported on huge moving vans. For the first three decades, Pretzel rides were single story. Beginning in the 1950s, two-story "double decker" rides were also made whose cars were hoisted to the second story by a lift chain during the ride. Leon Cassidy was not in favor of the double-decker version. The Mad Giant was 17 tons, 40'x 8' on trailer, and 70'x30' when opened, and took about five hours to set up. Pretzel also made spinning rides, including a famous one for Coney Island.

Leon's son William Cassidy ran the company after his father. He sold the rights to build the rides in 1979.

List of rides

Pretzel rides were usually themed. They included TheThe Caveman, Haunted House, Lost Mine, Gold Nugget, Thunderbird Jr. Ride, Toonerville Trolley, Whirlo, Kiddie Circus, Devil's Cave/Pirate's Cove/Bucket O' Blood (the same ride rethemed), Devils Inn, Winter Wonderland, Orient Express, Mad Giant, Laff in the Dark, Laff in the Dark with spinning cars, Laffland, Pirates Cave, Pirates Den, Paris After Dark, Arabian Nights Tunnel of Love/Casper's Ghostland, Treasure Island, Spook-A-Rama, Le Cachot/Safari/Zoomerang, and 3 Dante's Infernos.

Name Location First year Last year Ref(s)
Haunted Pretzel Historic Bushkill Park
1927
2004
Pretzel Ride Un­known
1930
The Pretzel Bay Shore Park
1931
 Un­known
[3]
The Pretzel Hersheypark
1931
1963
[4][5][6]
Zoomerang Kennywood
1954
1960
[7]
Safari Kennywood
1961
1971
[7]
Le Cachot Kennywood
1972
1998
[8][9]
Devil's Den Conneaut Lake Park Operating
Haunted House Camden Park Operating
Laffland Sylvan Beach Amusement Park Operating
Spook-a-Rama Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park Operating
Spook House Keansburg Amusement Park Operating

References
  1. Coleman, John P. (April 28, 2016). Historic Amusement Parks of Baltimore: An Illustrated History. McFarland. p. 26. [The Pretzel] received its name from the ride's twisted curving layout that guests navigated in the dark.
  2. Luca, Bill. "William Cassidy and The Pretzel Amusement Ride Company". Send 'em Out Laffing. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  3. Coleman, John P. (April 28, 2016). Historic Amusement Parks of Baltimore: An Illustrated History. McFarland. p. 26. For the 1931 season, Bay Shore added the Pretzel dark ride.
  4. "Hershey Park to Open For Season on Sunday". The Evening News. Harrisburg, PA. May 20, 1931. p. 2.
  5. "Boys' Band Will Give Concerts at Hershey Park Memorial Day". The Evening News. Harrisburg, PA. May 29, 1931. p. 2.
  6. "Hershey Park Adds Feature". Harrisburg Telegraph. April 28, 1931. p. 8.
  7. "LaffInTheDark.com: Le Cachot (Page 1)". Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  8. "LaffInTheDark.com: Le Cachot (Page 2)". Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  9. "Pittsburgh: Kennywood's LeCachot ride art". Oni Durant. May 27, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
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