More Cedar Point Paddlewheel Memories

I've been thinking about the announced end of the Paddlewheel Excursions ride at Cedar Point, so I dug out my old 1966 brochure. What I found kind of surprised me.

Above is an illustration from the brochure, showing the lagoon that the boat (then called the Western Cruise ride) traveled through. As you can see, the waterway winds around several islands.

Compare that with this the recent off-season Bing aerial view. (Click on either image for a super-sized view.)

Seeing how much smaller the waterway is now reminded me that the boat ride used to be much more elaborate and longer. In the old days, a few minutes into the trip you really felt that you had left Cedar Point far behind and were in that Western wilderness – unlike the later version of the ride, when you could never escape both the looming view and the intrusive noise of the amusement rides (which had been expanded into the western and jungle theme areas).

The last few times I had taken the cruise, it had become a parody of itself. The boat's captain recited groan-inducing corny jokes and putrid puns, and basically lampooned the whole ride, wrecking the whole pioneer fantasy world for the small fry. The elaborate paddlewheel boat had also been replaced by a smaller, cheesier version.

It's too bad that the popular Western theme was jettisoned as well.

Anyway, although the ride is no more, I still have my happy childhood memories of it.

For old time's sake, here's a few more looks at this ride in its heyday. (Some images courtesy of Ebay.)

Photo from the 1966 brochure

I still can't remember why the fort was firing on the ship!