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The
year was 1968 and executives of Sea World,
Inc. were looking for a place in Los
Angeles County to build a new theme park.
They knew that there was a large
amount of undeveloped land just north of
Los Angeles in the newly formed town of
Valencia, which was headed by the Newhall
Land and Farming Company.
A county planner contacted Company
President James F. Dickson to see if he
was interested in a partnership of sorts.
After
lengthy negotiations, Sea World and
Newhall Land formed a partnership. Shortly
after, plans were drawn up for the new
park.
This ambitious project had a price
tag of around $25 million.
In January of 1970, ground was
broken and construction began.
The
skyline of Valencia would never be the
same from this day forward.
One of the first attractions to be
erected was the 384-foot Sky
tower. This monumental landmark
offers a spectacular view of the entire
Santa Clarita Valley.
On
May 27th, 1971, a preview day
was held for the locals. Two days later on
May 29th (Memorial Day
weekend), the park officially opened its
gates to the general public.
The park opened with 500 employees,
33 attractions, and a number of shops and
eateries.
The
original attractions included the
following:
-
Bottoms
Up (Later renamed Spin Out)
-
Chevron
Grand Prix
(Later renamed Granny Grand Prix)
-
Children's
World (Renamed Bugs Bunny World in
1985)
-
Clown
Coaster (Renamed Wile E. Coyote
Coaster in 1985)
-
Eagle’s
Flight (Sky Buckets)
-
El
Bumpo (Bumper Boats)
-
Funicular
(Renamed Orient Express in 1988)
-
Galaxy
(Double Ferris Wheel)
-
Gold
Rusher (The park’s first roller coaster)
-
Grand
Carousel (Restored 1912 Carousel)
-
Log
Jammer (Log Flume)
-
Metro
(Monorail)
-
Sandblasters
(Bumper Cars)
-
Sky
Tower
When
the park opened in 1971, the price of
admission was $5 or adults and $3.50 for
kids between 3-12.
During this time, the Looney Tunes
characters were ironically the park’s
mascots.
The
park remained open for only a few months.
After Thanksgiving, the park closed
for a major renovation.
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