the fact that someone got a really shitty cut of their robbery money, so they turned in themselves and their friends out of spite is actually the funniest thing to come of this

To be fair, forcibly moving the Indian section and blaming the Irish for the Chicago Fire is the most authentic American experience you could possibly hope to emulate.

I like the juxtaposition of a themepark based on American exceptionalism where half the attractions are based on disasters.

3:02 wait... Walt Disney had partners working with him named Woody, a cowboy from texas and Buzz, a veteran mechanics engineer. I wonder why this sounds so familiar

That guy who turned himself in out of spite because his partners cheated him out of his take is great.

Walt Disney’s anger outbursts being put on construction wall signs as quotes is my favourite defunctland running gag

"Freedomland was the bedroom where Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty made Yankee Doodle Dandy." Is my favorite line from this one. I love your writing and presentation style.

This feels like something made in the pre-war fallout universe, but like, real.

"The cow, who died oblivious at an unreported date" is another out of context Defunctland quote for the books, I think

“God damn you, this is my circus!” is probably the best thing Walt Disney has ever said.

I'm glad someone had the guts to include the underrated, misunderstood, and ultimately forgotten founding father of our country, Danny the dragon.

"Ok, hear me out here...911...it was horrible but could be entertaining." "....the hell is wrong with you?..." "...haha...I...uhh...I guess you don't wanna hear my Hitler Death Car Bumper cars?"

"Freedomland was the bedroom where Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty made yankee doodle dandy." Only Kevin can say that with a straight face.

Soviet agent infiltrating america: My name is Johnny Freedom.

"God damn you! This is my circus!" Is something I thought I would never hear walt disney say also being my favorite and funniest quote from him it made me laugh so much I cried tears of joy

I still can't get over how casually you mentioned that he went on to open the first six flags park

The fact that you do a personalized intro for every single video just surprises. This one was just spectacular

These rides!! Lol. Imagine a ride at Disney called “Hurricane Katrina” “California Wildfires” or “The great Coronavirus”

“Guests would enter Freedomland as millions had: through New York” LOL this script is so amazing. Never knew I would laugh out loud so much while learning

"and the Cow, who died likely oblivious at an unreported date" this line is comedy gold to me

"It's up for debate which is more embarrassing, that these people would ruin the reputation and life of an innocent woman to sell a few papers, or that it took three people to fabricate a story in which a cow kicks over a lantern." - Kevin Perjurer

When people talk about how easy it was to get a job back in the day its because you could talk and lie your way into a job and there was no easy way to check.

My dad told me he visited this place as a kid and when I learned of this episode, I watched it with him. He was pointing out all the attractions, reminiscing and telling me about the time he lost his mom in the park and he and his dad couldn't find her hours. It was a lot of fun hearing those stories, so thanks for the video!

I love how a joke among college students is that "We don't really need to graduate, employers don't actually ask for a copy of your diploma!" And CV Wood is the epitome of that.

“The Indian Village, originally in Old Chicago, was eventually moved to this area as well.” I was not expecting FreedomlandUSA to commit to that level of realism when it came to race relations.

This guy bluffed his way into making several multimillion dollar theme parks, while I can't even talk my way out of a ticket that legitimately was issued by mistake. Life is unfair.

My dad worked at Freedom Land! He once told me an anecdote about all his friends who worked on the ferry or boat, all of whom bought and conspicuously displayed a paperback book popular that summer called "Ship of Fools." From what he said, everyone who worked there thought it was doomed from Day One.

"Was thought of as Freedomland's fantasy land." Based on the history on display, it's pretty clear all of Freedomland was it's fantasy land.

"disaster turned entertainment" See y'all in 70 years for the coronavirus ride

I don't know how familiar the rest of your audience is with Texas Hold 'Em, but I immediately recognized a bluff in the opening. Sure enough: it's foreshadowing the content of the episode. Nice touch.

Me, a sheltered Brit: "Wow, I'd never heard of any of this stuff, it's fascinating... WAIT, he was the guy who bought London Bridge???" Hearing about that man shaped my idea of The American Way for a good chunk of my childhood. Amazing to get to hear more of his story.

One of my earliest memories is of going to Freedomland. I never knew where it had been until seeing this video . Thank you. I was only 4 years old so the memories are just bits and pieces. I remember having a great time but the only ride I remember was terrifying (for a 4 year old). It was some sort of a fun house ride where walls would seem to fall down just as your funcar would pass. I am guessing it was the earthquake ride in the San Francisco section.

"Freedomland was the bedroom where Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty made Yankee Doodle Dandy" made me burst out laughing for five minutes. If you're not proud of that line, you ought to be.

That ending was like learning that it was the butler the entire time.

A USA shaped theme park with different sections that are themed based off states and regions actually sounds incredible. Would be cool to have something like that today.

Given that we know Michael Eisner was present at the 1964 world's fair I'm now extremely curious if he was one of the folks who also went to Freedomland and this would later become an inspiration for Disney's America

Freedomland U.S.A is the most American name I’ve ever heard

Woody and Buzz? Sound like the plot of a Toy Story movie.

I absolutely love this sequence of Freedomland to the 1964 World's Fair to EPCOT. Its incredible how these are all connected with each other.

I lived a couple of miles from Freedomland from long before it was built. My older brothers flew model airplanes on that land, we called it the dump. It was big flat piece of land with glass and trash in the soil. It borders on Eastchester Creek and we swam in the creek many times, even after Freedomland was built. Me and my future wife once saw Cousin Brucie and the 4 Seasons in that flying saucer. We once spent the night on the rock across the creek. We called that rock Ferry Point. I remember that music played all damn night from the park. Once, after the park closed for the season we were walking across the parking lot and some guards tried to chase us off. This was in October. We ran from the guards toward the river and the guards took their time trying to catch us because they figured we were trapped by the river. We got down in the gully by the river, took off our clothes, rolled them into a ball and swam across the river holding our clothes above our heads. I still remember the look on the guards faces. So, there you have it, some of my Freedomland memories.

The more of these "attractions" I'm seeing in this park, the more it feels like exactly what people were afraid Disney's America would be

Too bad "Polio, the Interactive Stage Experience" never got greenlit.

“God damn you this is my circus!” is easily one of the best quotes in history lol

Rewatching this, is it possible that a contributing factor to attendance failure may also have been a lack of rail access to the park? Plenty in NYC lacked cars, and if they wanted to get to amusements, they’d probably opt for Coney Island, which they could access by rail.

“When You Wish Upon a Star.” “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” “God damn you! This is my circus!” Truly some of the most classic phrases when you think of Disney.

"God Damn you, this is MY Circus!" is now my favorite Walt Disney quote.

As a Co-op City resident, this was great to watch. I grew up here and my mother always talked about visiting Freedomland when she was young before we moved here; sadly she's passed and her perspective is gone but has provided me with a lot of information that I'm glad to have.

I went to Freedomland many times as a kid. My father was a musician working for CBS in New York and did a weekly Dixieland Jazz show broadcast for a time at Freedomland. I do remember the San Francisco Earthquake ride and Casa Loca, the tilted Mexican style house. My brothers and I loved Freedomland.

I grew up in The Bronx and used to sneak in to Freedomland with my future wife. The fencing by the Hutchinson River wasn't real good and we could get through it. They had really good entertainment. I remember hearing Louis Armstrong and Gerry Mulligan (separately). After the park went out of business we went in and stole lighting fixtures. I don't remember why. We were bad kids.

"indian fighting days" you know someone's going to be sensitive, unbiased, and historically accurate when they define a period of time by what race of people you're supposed to imagine yourself physically attacking

Production value or not you're an amazing storyteller. That opening line about them playing poker followed by the card sequence was genius. Getting your introduction out of the way while setting the scene and preparing us for the kind of story this was. Beautiful, creative and just fun. You do some amazing work.

I had family that visited Freedomland. "O'Leary", if asked, actually did give the real story of what happened. So at least there's that. The earthquake ride also was actually pretty educational.

This park is surreal. It's like a real life version of the Wounded Knee attraction in Bioshock Infinite. Guess it wasn't so far fetched afterall.

With a name like Freedom Land USA I would've thought it was based in Texas

I have a brochure and ticket for Freedom land in my scrapbook. I grew up in north Jersey and visited the park a couple of times with school and church groups. I remember the space ship ride and helping to pump water to put out the Chicago fire. Good stuff for a 10 year old. That was a great time and place to grow up in - Freedom Land, Palisades Park, the World's Fair, the Jersey shore attractions, and watching the Mets learn how to play baseball.

"And the cow, who died likely oblivious at an unreported date--" Defunctland's sense of humor will never cease to make me laugh

I and my parents were among the first residents of Co-op City in early 1969. I'd heard for years that it was "built on the site of some sort of amusement park called 'Freedomland'"...but I was never able to find any information about it. I moved away from there in 1992...and it took almost 30 years for me to *finally* learn the story. Better late than never, I guess.

"The Weapons of Mass Destruction" - a ride that everyone advertises but nobody can find

15:18 "while watching bandits get caught, charged, and even attend their funeral after they'd been hung" Wait, what?

I still live here in Co-op and would love a defunctland deep dive-style video of our city’s history. I know this is outside your purview but I was thoroughly entertained and appreciated of this little slice of history from this video. I’ve lived in Co-op city from birth (90s baby) and I still reside here till this day. And I remember vaguely hearing the name Freedomland about 5 years ago or so, which prompted me to click on this video since the name sounded familiar. Up until now it felt like a neat little fun fact that I happened to hear but now it feels like a fully fleshed out, historical archive of a place I’ve called home my whole life. Thank you for the research that you do and creating documentaries of obscure, seemingly trivial, topics that end up being fully immersive/informative. Just subbed 👍🏾

"C.V. Wood was a hustler at best, and a conman at worst" Sold.

"In fact, visitors could literally point the finger at O'Leary and her cow, as both were featured as walk around characters in the park" Dry wit and irony, Keven Perjurers' specialty. Also note how Freedomland seems to have a mild hard on for the great disasters of American History

This brings back memories as I remember going to Freedomland when I was little but I only remember the last time I went (1963) because I met the mascot of one of their sponsors: Elsie the Cow of Borden Milk, not a costume mascot but the actual cow. I think of it every time I go to Co-Op City to shop (3.5 mile by car).

I love the fact that the park was exactly as ignorantly tasteless as what you would think when you hear about an American park named "Freedomland!" I will admit that it was an interesting park theme though, and pretty well thought out.

“ Freedomland is the bedroom where Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty made Yankee Doodle dandy” I choked on my drink

This park is kinda like: “Let’s use tragic stories of how people died in U.S.A for entertainment!”

As a lifelong fan of carnivals, amusement and theme parks, it is always sad to see them go by the wayside. But Freedomland indirectly provided me with a fun summer job. In 1965, I worked at Fair Park in Nashville, TN, in charge of an Alan Herschell Mad Mouse roller coaster purchased from the recently defunct Freedomland.

I lived in Co-op City for 18 years. This was a cool video. I wondered if Co-op had something to do with the Freedomland fail. I know that they couldn’t build a housing project on the land right away due to it being a landfill - but they could after an amusement park was on it.

Ah, I've heard about this place. The failed Disneyland of the East. Freedomland USA, very American name. A salute to all theme parks but mostly Freedomland USA. The Bronx no longer has this but they bring the crowds in with the popular and famous Bronx Zoo. And the Joker stairs

"The great Chicago fire was a disaster... today, it's spectacular entertainment!" Wonder what kind of stage show those ghouls would have created after Sept. 11.

Thanks for clearing up a number of questions I've had on my mind for years. Back when I was a kid sometime around 1959-60, I remember the local paper running a supplement in the Sunday paper promoting Freedom land. What interested me at the time was the Civil War area since I was a big Civil War buff at the time. Until I saw this video, I was always under the assumption Freedom Land was out in Connecticut or New York state, I never realized it was located in NYC. As for why it failed, my guess is the lack of thrill rides and you can't really can't translate Patriotism into a theme park.

I live nearby co-op, I never knew that there was once an amusement park there! Honestly, Freedomland's main attractions seem pretty macabre so I have to wonder how successful the park would've been in more modern times lol.

Step aside Michael Eisner, Robert Moses is the new villain of Defunctland!

It's crazy how all this theme park history intertwines. I had no idea Freedomland, Disneyland, and Six Flags were all so closely linked

Yesterday my wife, a Filipina, showed me pictures of people in the Philippines standing on the ceiling. It was some kind of upside-down house where people get their pictures taken, and it reminded me of a crazy house I had been to as a kid, and when I looked it up, it was Casa Loca at Freedomland. We went there once, and all I remembered was the Chicago fire, until the video brought back memories of Elsie, the ore buckets, Little Old New York. and more. Thanks for this amazingly well-done video.

Oh wow! That twist ending! (chef's kiss)

Hey! I’m not sure if you remember me, but I emailed you ~two years ago asking for advice on a research paper about Disneyland’s effects on Anaheim’s economy/ infrastructure. You directed me towards looking through archives/ newspapers and that really helped kick my paper into the right direction; ended up getting a 98% on the final piece. I’m never early to your uploads, and seeing you made me realize that I never updated you on how it turned out. Anyways, loved your stuff back then and will continue to do so. It’s really exciting to see the production value increase for your work over time. And of course, thanks for helping me out!

Year 2040: Freedomland 2 opens with the 9/11 ride, School-themed laser tag arena, and wandering riot cop characters who randomly attack people

"He could get jobs in the field of engineering by saying he had a degree, hoping no one would check." Meanwhile nowadays if you don't have 10 years of experience for an entry-level job you might as well not even apply.

Clicked on this from my recommendations not realizing that I live within a few miles of this site but had no idea it had ever been there...but I wonder if my parents knew of this place?

Your production value is absolutely stunning and inspiring.

I vaguely remember my mom mentioning Freedomland, and I was confused at how they managed to fit a huge ass amusement park in the Bronx. Of course, I forget that the Bronx was a different place in the 60s. The fact that this park was so close to where I live is fascinating. Edit: The attractions in this park are wild. The fact that it failed so spectacularly seems almost like karma. Edit 2: My mom went to both the ‘64 Worlds Fair and Freedomland. But she remembers more about the Worlds Fair if that’s any indication of how interesting Freedomland was.

I absolutely loved Freedomland, went there several times with my Godmother. The Chicago fire never failed to entertain me, and the Wild West stuff was great. The cable cars were great, if a little scary, for a kindergarten/first grade-aged kid. The thing I remember most vividly was the glassblowers at the entrance to the park. They blew to your order right in front of you, and that would definitely be much too dangerous to be allowed today. One of the first things I remember ever buying was a blown glass unicorn I gave to my Mom. I watched the glassblower work in absolute fascination, and am still intrigued by this very hazardous art form...from a distance. I guess that's why I love Dale Chihuly's blown glass artworks.

Love the opening with the cards. That’s the kind of creativity that Hollywood used to have.

“God damn it! This is my circus” needs to be a tshirt

If I ever start a business, the "God damn you! This is my circus!" quote is getting framed and put on the wall.

I remember going to Freedom Land as a kid back in the 1960's. It was an awesome experience. I also remember Palisades Amusement Park and Coney Island before it went downhill. Great memories.

This is so surreal. I knew I recognized the name when I first clicked the video. My family and I have lived here our whole lives in Co-op (like about 50 years). I’ve always heard about this amusement park from random places but never learned the actual history or even seen this much about the park until this video.

My mother lived in the Bronx as a child. She remembers her family getting dressed up and heading out to Freedomland, but strangely remembers nothing about the park itself. However, she has vivid memories of the World's Fair. We joke that Walt used his TV show to hypnotize people into forgetting Freedomland. :D

Oh my god you need a Netflix show. This series is so high quality it’s above KZfaq.

Fun fact, the Tornado dark ride was sold to StoryTown (later known as The Great Escape or Six Flags Great Escape) back in the mid '60s. My family went to StoryTown every summer, but it took years before we finally checked out the Tornado, which was located in the park's Ghost Town wild west area. It became my sister's favorite ride. It was old and janky looking inside but we loved it anyway. It's long gone now, sadly. StoryTown also bought Danny the Dragon, who happily entertained children for several years until Six Flags gained control of the park and decommissioned him. The last thing I knew, his front car was painted dark scary colors and was submerged in the park's lake as a "scary" decoration for the park's annual Fright Fest every October.

"And the cow, who died likely oblivious..." absolutely killed me.

Freedomland USA sounds like what a parody of Disneyland would be in an unsubtle political indie movie about how patriotism is like a religion. Nobody tell Randy Moore, please.

Your editing and storytelling are so top notch. Feels like I’m watching professional Hollywood documentaries when I watch your channel. The way you set up the stories, introduce the characters, use metaphors, absolutely brilliant. Amazing work. You’re one of the best content creators on this platform

I love how at 12:20 you used the theme song to Monty Python's Flying Circus.

I'm constantly blown away by the production quality of these intros, the custom music, and the attention to detail, it's amazing

"We have a limited operating season, so we need to get as many people through the gates-" "We'll only open on weekends." "But-" "WEEKENDS. ONLY." Galaxy-brain managing right there.

Born and raised for over half my life in Queens and I’ve NEVER heard of Freedomland until today. This is one of the craziest rides your channel has taken me on.

I just came to say this video is awesome. The editing, production value, photos, and your commentary are all spot-on! Keep it up man these are great

I’ve gotta say, after subscribing and binging all of these, this show has some of the most creative openings of all time. The show is informative, with some humorous parts and I love that. But the intros really shine. Wonderful job!!