“So what do you do in the off-season?”

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Do you get laid-off till spring?

Right.

We really do get asked that.

A lot.

It’s sort of annoying…

Like we mothball the place and go sleep by the fire for six months.

Not hardly.

Within days of the park closing for the season, the dismantling begins.

It goes on all over the park and takes place quickly.

The trains are lifted from the track and taken to maintenance, for all sorts of off-season TLC.

Gets a bit cluttered for a while.

…but eventually everything gets put away for the winter months.

Signs come down.

And I don’t know what this is all about.

Too bad my budget is shot for the season. Otherwise we could rent a helicopter for an aerial shot, just in case the trash cans spell out a hint for, oh … 2009 or something.

Going, going, gone!

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The directive from Will was to “clean house.”

And we did.

So now we’re hosting an auction.

Wonder who had this rattling around in the back of his closet…

Here’s what’s caught my eye so far:

  • Popcorn cart
  • Assortment of arcade games
  • Disco ball
  • Corn roaster
  • 300 lounge chairs
  • Small children’?s ball crawl and crawl-through train
  • Snow-making machine
  • Spinning wheel, steam whistles and other antiques
  • Construction supplies (roll-up doors, vinyl siding, shutters, etc.)
  • Ditch Witch trencher
  • 40′ x 60′ tent top/canopy
  • 19 wall-mounted porcelain urinals

    Here’s the corn roaster in all its glory:

Okay, so if the amount of emails I’ve received is any indication, those 19 porcelain urinals are going to be the hot item on Saturday.

It’ll be such a relief to see them go.

(Sorry. After those puns, I’m flushed with shame.)

Rachel and Joe put their heads together and assembled the requested list of items, as it now stands. (Many thanks to them both.)

Here is the list of auction items, in no particular order.

  • Popcorn Wagon
  • Plush Animals
  • Wacky Wire games (3)
  • Dead Man’s Curve games (2)
  • Tic Tac Toe arcade games (3)
  • Bowler Roller games (5)
  • Coin Changers (4)
  • Assortment of Roll-up Doors with Track
  • Steam whistles and other antiques
  • Disco ball
  • Spinning Wheel

  • Large Brass Horn (like a megaphone with no mouth piece, nearly five feet tall)
  • Assortment of 3’x5′ American Flags (from the Avenue of Flags)
  • Gas-Fired Caramel Corn Kettle
  • Gas-Fired Candy Apple Stove, no kettle
  • Miniature Woodworking Shop (collector’s piece)
  • Large Indiana flag (all wool; at least 10’x12′)
  • Large amount of poly garland (some new, some used)
  • Large Copper Kettle (at least 100 years old)

  • Holstein Corn Roaster, trailor-mounted ($3,000 reserve)
  • Ditch Witch Trencher
  • Exhaust System
  • Electric motor 100 h.p. (from The Raven)
  • Children’s crawl-through train
  • 2 Roller Racers, new used
  • Miscellaneous vinyl siding
  • Assortment of Food Service Equipment
  • Tiller
  • Assortment of electrical supplies including some fixtures
  • Large amount of primitive tools (over 100 years old)

  • Wooden shoes and patterns
  • Oil painting by Wylie Rigsby
  • Assortment of track lighting
  • Ceiling Fans
  • Lark Motor Scooters, battery-operated with chargers (5)
  • 80 lounge chairs
  • Headless Horseman costume
  • Snow-making machine
  • Toddler ball crawl
  • 220 sand chairs
  • Broasters (2)
  • Flav-R-Savor Cabinet
  • Taylor Softech Ice Cream Machines (2)
  • Wooden Desks (2)
  • 40’x60′ Tent with poles ($6,000 Reserve)
  • Miscellaneous roofing
  • Porcelain urinals (19)
  • Hand sinks (4)
  • Turnstiles (2)
  • Washing Machines (2)
  • Singer Industrial Sewing Machine (may be used for embroidery and on leather and upholstery; used only 2 or 3 hours)

  • Tascan 4 Track Reel to Reel Recorder
  • Pioneer 4 Track Reel to Reel Recorder
  • 2 DC Power supplies
  • Light Sculpture (2)
  • Base for Lava Lamp
  • Solar System Mobile
  • Rotating Police Light, red
  • Teal 2 well cassette deck
  • Approximately 200 light bulb bases, plastic/ceramic
  • Teatronics Tech Director Light Board (Channels 1- 12 work, others unknown)
  • Tapco 6 channel Audio Mixer
  • 6 Channel Teatronics Lighting Dimmer, needs work
  • Indoor Ceiling Light Fixture (in box)
  • 3 DC Car Effects Lights
  • 2 Channel Bolen Audio Amp, operational unknown
  • 7 Channel Teatronics Control Board
  • Lighting Controller, Superstar
  • 2 Yamaho 1602 16 channel sound boards
  • Colortran Encore 24/48 Digital Light Board
  • Saluin Moon Beam Lighting Effect Unit/Controller
  • 3 Color R-40 Boarder Lights (5)

    The auction is this Saturday, October 21, at the Lakeside Picnic Shelter (use the Raven parking lot) at 10:30 am CDT.

 

Rest or No Rest?

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We're closed for the season, right?

And just when you think you can come up for air, Hollywood calls again.

Here's a news release we just sent out:

HOLLYWOOD RETURNS TO SPENCER COUNTY

SANTA CLAUS, IN—–Just a few weeks after the departure of the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" television production crew from Spencer County, the producers of the popular NBC primetime game show "Deal or No Deal" are planning to visit the town of Santa Claus this weekend.

"We just got the call this morning and are working with businesses and attractions throughout Santa Claus to get ready," says Melissa Miller, the director of the Spencer County Visitors Bureau. "It's a little bit crazy, but we're all frantically trying to decorate for Christmas before the TV crew arrives Saturday morning."

Santa Claus resident Skip Allen received word this week that he was selected to be a contestant on "Deal or No Deal," which is hosted by Howie Mandel. Allen, who is the general manager of Santa's Lodge, auditioned twice for the show, first in Evansville and then in Metropolis. He and his family will be flown to Hollywood later this month for the taping of the show, which will air on Christmas Day.

"We're encouraging everyone in Santa Claus to go over the top with their Christmas spirit this weekend," says Miller. "Since this show will air on Christmas, it will feature a 'day in the life' of the town, so just about anyone might end up on TV!"

By the way, the Extreme Makeover show that was shot in Spencer County will air on November 12.

In case you lost count

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Surely, you've all memorized the stats for The Voyage by now, so you know about it being the world's top air-time wooden coaster.

A reporter just emailed to ask how many "moments" of negative-g riders experienced with each lap this season. (He admitted to losing count after 21.)

Checked in with Korey Kiepert of The Gravity Group and here is his response:

When looking through the airtime numbers for The Voyage, we had previously used a criteria that anything less than 0.25 Gs would be considered airtime. Using that same criteria, there are 24 locations of airtime no matter whether you sit (the front, middle, or back of the train).

Time to check the turkey

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The folks at Sellner are still working on those birds.

They’re located in Minnesota.

Gives a new meaning to cold turkey, eh?

Please excuse the view, but if you’d like to take a gander at the tail feathers, here they are:

That slogan shows a lot of pluck: “Whirling since 1926.”

Wow. Eighty years of dizziness.

Finally, here’s how the still-in-the-design-phase bird looks.