Ocean View Amusement Park facts for kids

Ocean View Amusement Park was a fun amusement park located in Norfolk, Virginia. It opened its doors on April 13, 1957, and was run by Jack L. Greenspoon and Dudley Cooper. The park and its famous wooden roller coaster, called The Rocket, even appeared in the 1977 movie Rollercoaster. Sadly, the park closed on September 4, 1978. The Rocket roller coaster was later taken down in 1979 for a TV show called The Death of Ocean View Park.

Ocean View Amusement Park had five roller coasters, including the Southern Belle, Leap the Dips, Figure Seven, and The Rocket. You can learn more about the park's history at the Ocean View Station Museum in Norfolk, Virginia.

Fun Rides and Attractions

The Skyrocket Roller Coaster

The main attraction at Ocean View Amusement Park was always a large wooden roller coaster. The first one, built around the early 1900s, was named The Southern Belle. Later, after a big redesign, it was called Leap The Dips. The final and fastest version of the coaster was named The Skyrocket. Before the park closed, its name was shortened to The Rocket for its roles in two Hollywood movies.

The Skyrocket was built in 1927 by Edward Vettel. It thrilled people from eastern Virginia and North Carolina for many years. It usually had two heavy trains of cars on the track at the same time. Riders would zoom down the first drop, which was about 60 to 70 feet high, at an amazing speed. The ride would shake and rattle over hills and turns, making riders feel like the cars might fly off the track!

In February 1958, a fire damaged a large part of the park, including The Skyrocket. The coaster was rebuilt by Herbert Schmeck. It remained a favorite ride for many. Riding it without holding on became a brave challenge for many young people in the "Tidewater" area of Virginia.

There were rules for riding The Skyrocket. Children under 6 years old could not ride. Children over 6 needed an adult with them. Pregnant women and people who were not well were also advised not to ride. Hats and wigs were not allowed. There was even a funny tradition: if someone lost their wig on the ride, the operator would hang it on the ride's main lever as a reminder.

The Sky Slide

At the far west end of the park was an outdoor "Sky Slide." It was a tall metal structure, about 40 to 50 feet high. It had several stainless steel slides, each with three bumps. To ride, you climbed a long staircase to the top. Then, you were given a burlap sack to sit on for the ride down. This slide was one of the last new attractions added to the park in the mid to late 1960s.

The Promenade

A long, covered walkway, once called the "Fun Pavilion," ran along the beach next to The Skyrocket roller coaster. Along this walkway were different buildings with other fun attractions.

Dodgem Cars

Near the west end of the Promenade were the Dodgem Cars, also known as bumper cars. These were cars you could drive and bump into other cars for fun.

The Tunnel Of Fun

Near the middle of the Promenade was the Tunnel of Fun. This was a "dark boat ride" where you got into a small wooden boat. A mechanical Red Devil invited you to ride. A large waterwheel pushed the boats slowly through a dark, quiet tunnel. As you passed, the boat would trigger lights and sounds to surprise you. This often made riders shriek and laugh! The Red Devil was in a glass pocket high on the wall. For a while, a "Laffing Sam" character was also there, laughing loudly.

Laff in the Dark

A short distance from the Tunnel of Fun was "Laff in the Dark." This was another "dark ride" where you sat in a car with a safety bar. The car moved fast and unpredictably through a dark room. Bright, surprising "flash frights" would pop up close to you. A mechanical character called "Laffing Sal" stood outside this ride. She was a large, funny-looking woman who just laughed constantly, which delighted most people, except for a few scared children.

The Shooting Gallery

Also in the Promenade was the Shooting Gallery. Here, adults and children could shoot real .22 caliber rifles and pistols at targets to test their aim and win prizes. This gallery was shown in the Rollercoaster movie. In one scene, a character played by Timothy Bottoms wins a stuffed animal here before setting off a bomb on the roller coaster.

The Penny Arcade

Across from "Laff in the Dark" was the Penny Arcade. This area had many coin-operated games and amusements. You could find a Punching Ball, a "Strength Meter," a mechanical "Fortune Teller," and "Skee Ball" games. There were also souvenir photo booths and machines for gum and candy.

Other East End Attractions

Guess Your Weight

Just east of the park's center, outside the Promenade, was a giant scale. An operator would try to guess the weight and age of park visitors.

The Hammer and Bell

Across from the giant scale was a hammer and bell game. Men would test their strength by using a sledgehammer to hit a lever, trying to send a small weight up a wire to ring a bell at the top. Winners often received a cigar or other prize.

The Swinger

This ride looked like a smaller version of the Flying Aeroplane/Rocket tower. It had 24 individual wooden seats, hanging in pairs from cables. It spun at a moderate speed around a central steel tower. It was located in front of the east end snack bar but was later removed for other attractions.

The Skyliner

The Skyliner was a newer ride, added in the mid-1960s. It was like a ski lift, carrying passengers in double seats with a safety bar. It moved slowly along a straight path, giving riders an aerial view of the park and the beach.

Ferris Wheels

Throughout its history, the park had several different Ferris wheels, some that could be moved and some that were fixed in place.

The Roll-O-Plane

This popular ride was often called "The Salt & Pepper Shaker." This was because riders sometimes reported losing loose change or other items from their pockets during the ride!

Round Up

The Round Up was a circular platform ride. Riders stood against the wall and were spun around very fast. The force would press them against the wall so hard they couldn't move or fall forward. Then, the ride would tilt to almost a half-vertical position before leveling out and slowing down.

The Paratrooper

The Paratrooper was a smaller, portable "Umbrella Ride." It was added in the mid to late 1960s as the park's popularity started to decline.

The Trabant

The Trabant was an older version of the Wipeout ride. You can see it in the Rollercoaster movie in a wide shot where the park's rides are slowing down after The Rocket's crash.

The "Snakes Alive!" Reptile House

In the 1950s and 60s, the spot where the old Bath House once stood became the "Snakes Alive!" reptile house. It featured live snakes and, for a time, a full-grown alligator.

The Snack Bar

A good-sized snack bar was located on the east side of the area with the mechanical rides. It served hot dogs, hamburgers, cold drinks, candy, and other yummy treats.

Tickets and Passes

In the park's early days, each ride had its own ticket booth. Later, you could buy tickets for most attractions at any of these booths.

In the park's final years, you could buy general admission passes for the whole park at a single booth near the main entrance, close to The Skyrocket. These passes were colored strings tied around your wrist with a small metal clasp. At one point, they cost only a dollar! Initially, these passes let you go on all rides except The Skyrocket. But near the very end, riding The Skyrocket was also included.

The End of Ocean View Park

In the mid-1970s, there were plans to tear down the park. However, it was saved for a short time because its roller coaster was featured in two Hollywood disaster movies. One was the 1977 film "Rollercoaster", starring George Segal, Henry Fonda, and Timothy Bottoms. In the movie, Ocean View Amusement Park was one of many parks being targeted by a terrorist bomber.

The old wooden roller coaster was so strong that people still remember its demolition. For the movie's big ending scene, explosives were placed on the coaster's main supports. A wooden train, filled with mannequins, was sent on its "last" ride. The explosives went off, blowing up the wooden posts, and huge fiery gasoline explosions were set off for a visual effect. But the coaster refused to move! The crowd watching from across the street started laughing and cheering for their beloved, defiant coaster.

New explosives were set on the secondary supports, and the scenes were filmed again. The charges went off, but the coaster still stood, and the crowd cheered even louder.

The movie company didn't want to spend more time or money on explosives. So, they finally found a way to bring The Rocket down. A bulldozer, off-camera, was fitted with cables tied to important parts of the track. It slowly dragged the coaster to the ground, doing what the dynamite couldn't. Amidst the smoke and fire of one last gasoline bomb, and with cheers and tears from the crowd, The Rocket finally fell.

What's There Now

After Ocean View Amusement Park was torn down, the area became a residential condominium, a housing development, and a public park and beach.

The coordinates given for the park show the approximate spot where riders would get on and off The Skyrocket. Many other attractions seen in the Hollywood films, like the famous Salt & Pepper Shaker Ferris wheel and the older Rocket Plane Tower, were located where a three-winged high-rise condominium now stands. The Shooting Gallery, the Penny Arcade, the Tunnel Of Fun boat ride, and Laff in the Dark were in the green areas to the north, next to the boardwalk along the public beach.