Great Old Amusement Parks is a 1999 PBS television documentary produced for VHS and DVD produced by Rick Sebak of WQED Pittsburgh which aired on PBS, on July 21, 1999.
[1] Traditional amusement parks are presented by discussing their origins.
Subjects include Connecticut's Lake Compounce, California's Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Whalom Park in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania's Idlewild Park and StoryBook Forest, Kennywood's Thunderbolt, Deno's Wonder Wheel at Coney Island and San Diego's Giant Dipper, where a local radio station held a Roller Coaster Riding Contest.
Not covered here are vintage "traditional" amusement parks no longer with us.
Rick Sebak is known for producing local interest documentaries for the Pittsburgh area with a heavy emphasis on food.