People are fascinated by abandoned amusement parks. It must be the juxtaposition of a normally happy place looking sad, abandoned and creepy. One of the most recently abandoned parks in the country was the backdrop of recent episode of NBC’s Revolution. The show is based on an apocalypse caused by the end of electricity and in turn all electronic devices.
Last week, our heroes found themselves in an abandoned amusement park that looked pretty familiar. Anytime I see a theme park or roller coaster on television, I’m quickly trying to figure out what park the show was filmed at. One glimpse of that white B&M coaster track (Time Machine) and it was obvious that they filmed at the former Hard Rock/Freestyle Music Park.
The park was introduced with a creepy shot at dusk. You can see what may be Round About / Maximum RPM in the foreground, but the orange dusk sky and that silhouette of what looks like a hyper coaster must have been added in during post production.
I visited this park during both of its incarnations (in 2008 and 2009). So, it was weird to see a familiar place getting national attention and in such a decayed state. The overgrown vegetation at the park made it a perfect backdrop for a post-apocalyptic TV show.
The characters ran from some attack dogs and found shelter inside a diner that my family and I ate at during our last visit. We even spotted the table that we ate at! From the roof of the diner, the camera panned the skyline and caught a nice view of Soak’d / Slippery When Wet and the park’s signature guitar landmark.
The show ended with another interior shot of a place that could be the maintenance area below the Vekoma mine train Eagles Life in the Fast Lane/Iron Horse.
Thankfully, Did you happen to catch Freestyle Music Park on Revolution last week?
Read my reviews of Freestyle Music Park and Hard Rock Park. Also read about some of the roller coasters: The Time Machine/Led Zeppelin – The Ride, Soak’d / Slippery When Wet, & Round About / Maximum RPM
October 20, 2012 at 09:34
I’ve been watching this show and I saw the park, but I had no idea which park it was. Thanks for the background info!
October 20, 2012 at 11:08
Its a shame this park didnt stay open but from what I read it was overpriced for what it was, im suprised that none of the rides (as far as im aware) have been sold off to other parks, is this because no one wants them or because they are still hoping that it can reopen in the future?
October 21, 2012 at 05:05
I've heard both in the past. There have been a number of attempts to re-open the park and I thought I'd seen rumors of a theme park chain touring the park, but nothing ever came of it. I've also heard that the rides could be sold off, but I've never seen them on one of those rides for sale sites.
It's basically stuck in limbo. ScreamScape's got a good rundown of the saga here: http://www.screamscape.com/html/freestyle_music_p…
October 20, 2012 at 22:14
I'm a fan of filming in abandoned amusement parks. I should say professional filming but there's plenty of good amateur stuff too. In the end though, i get mad and I'd rather see the rides come alive.
October 29, 2012 at 18:58
I wish Gaugea Lake was still around. I know this is entirely random, but what is your favorite GCI?