I remember being 13 yrs. old and watching the fire on the news --- my Mom started crying and I asked her why she was so sad --- she said "me and your Dad fell in love as teens at Idora Park one summer"

I grew up a couple miles from Idora. This brings back memories of the best years of my life. 😢

I left Youngstown in 1998. These videos bring back great memories of growing up. Youngstown was a great town to grow up in.

EXCELLENT! I lived in Cleveland and “mourned the loss” of Euclid Beach Park. My Mom always called it “The Beach.” And I remember the shock when Geauga Lake closed so suddenly. But I was one of those “American Coaster Enthusiasts” that came to Idora Park to ride “The Wildcat” and “Jack Rabbit.” I went with a friend and we thought “The Wildcat” was the best coaster in Ohio. This video is an awesome memory.

I cried like a baby when this happened to the "Wildcat" while watching it burn on the news!!! What a horrible year 1984. I was 13.😔

I road those coasters with my mom and we loved it. She died 20 years ago and I cherish those memories. Sadly, it's not even noticeable anymore. It's just gone.

In 1979 I was 31 and I took my 5 year old son with me on the wildcat...what a memory he never forgot and neither have I

I was born a year after Idora Park closed, and I'm not even from Ohio, but I love watching stuff like this. I grew up south of Nashville, TN, and we had Opryland as our theme park. Everybody hates that they turned it into a damned mall.

I often jog past the remaining ruins on my morning jog. It brings back memories of going there with the parents on the early 80s everytime. I’m glad Youngstown is making somewhat of a revival. The future is bright for this area in my opinion.

There is something that is extremely sad about abandoned amusement parks....a place that created such a positive feeling to people is left to rot. Sad indeed.

I miss this place so much. So many memories there. Youngstown used to be so beautiful

I remember seeing James Brown at the ballroom when I was 15 yrs old. And it only cost five dollars and I got to shake his hand.

Great memories as a child at Idora Park!!

Damn, I'm gettin old. Thanks for the good memories. My favorite was the lost river ride and the wild cat.

I remember going to Idora Park as a Young girl and my Teenage years!! Best Fresh cur French Fries Ever!! This is a Place that I will Always have Awesome Memories!!😁

I will always remember the musty, damp smell when u entered the cave on the lost river! So many summers of wonderful memories, playing skee ball for hours on end!

I remember that Wildcat. At one time it ranked Top 10 in US.

THOSE WERE THE GOOD OLD DAYS 😢

Good god the first three minutes are depressing. But really, it’s almost a microcosm of the hopelessness of Youngstown in general. While we watch other rust belt cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, or Toledo each experience a renaissance of their own, Youngstown continues to decay. It will never come back.

Went there many times in my early years. Most memory of it is gone, but this video definitely sparked some long buried experiences. I recall ice cream cones that were enormous and those sucker trash cans with circus animals on them. I feel privileged to have ridden on two of the most amazing wooden coasters in the world, the Wild Cat and the Beast at King's Island. They don't make them like that anymore.

This was my dads union picnic every year..I was little so I mostly remember kiddie land.. and the kiddie coaster scared me but I still rode it. But the #1 thing I remember are those animal trash cans that sucked the trash in their mouth. The carousel has been restored has been restored and is now displayed in a glass box in Brooklyn park....so what was a beloved memory for so many children of steelworkers is now a Instagram backdrop for nebby snooty Brooklyn gentrifying hipsters ..it is a beautiful carousel though...you would think Disney would have bought it cause it makes Magic kingdom Royal carousel look like a Chuck E. CHEESE ride.

Some might remember the huge crowds on WHOT Days in the 60s. All rides were free, live broadcasts by Boots Bell and others, great local bands all day in the ballroom and fireworks at night all paid for as a promotion by and for WHOT. It was a madhouse and a wonderful day. I’m pretty sure they did it more than once, but it was a long time ago.

I live about an hour from this park, & had been there several times as a kid..our church youth-group and our Girl Scout troop. When Idora Park closed down, we started going to Geauga Lake. Anyways, I am 45 now, and watching this video about Idora Park.....I can still remember almost every ride and the attractions. Miss those days !!

My Junior/Senior Trip went to Idora Park (Class of 1982) and I still have black and white photos of my parents (who were just dating at the time) taken while teenagers at this park. Idora Park....then Geauga Lake. Both closed now. So much for revisiting childhood places. (Glad Sea World closed though....hate that whole theme of cruelty to animals). Hard to believe that the carousel is now in NYC. Weird. My mom rode it....and years later...so did I.

Thank you for the many memories of Idora Park.

THE NAPE1962 CHANNEL GIVES THIS VIDEO TWO THUMBS UP EXCELLENT PRESENTATION . WELL DONE JOSEPH NAPIER SR YOUNGSTOWN OHIO

We were there in the 70s . This was a great place in my childhood. We lived right there on park ave.

I got to ride everything there Love it

I have fond memories of this when I was a young child.

3/10/17: Thank you so much for posting this video; Yes, it did bring tears to my eyes and Ohhhhhhh, the memories. God Bless.

This video is so well done. Thank you for doing it. It brought tears to my eyes, and the only thing I have seen is what's left of it now...a few foundations and steps, and obvious former midways of times gone by.

One of the most well produced and narrative Amusement Park Documentaries Izvestia ever seen, this coming from the guy who helped stating the Dark Ride And Fun Hoiuse Historical Groups! Bravo Guys! Well done!~ Bret “Pretzel Rides”.

Thanks for sharing the memories. So much fun.

Im a 90s kid. Grew up in the Youngstown area. Still live here. Love it here. Its my one true home. But never knew idora park existed until a few years ago. I cryied when i saw this for the first time. I never knew it was so happy and prosperous here. I only knew plight. It makes me happy that i can ask an old timer from here "how was idora" "how good did those idora fries or candy floss taste. I will always hold idora close to my heart.

So many memories watching this, both happy and sad.

I really miss that I grew up with that almost in my back yard

My dad used to take my brother n sisters n me to Idora Park back in the early 60s.....we were from Alliance......we also went to Meijers Lake........shop picnics etc.

So many family memories! From Massillon to Youngstown! I love and thank my favorite aunt and uncle, who would bring me here to idora park!

i want some idora park french fries

Many hours of fun in my younger years.

This video damn near brings tears to my brown eyes...this amusement park was legendary..I remember going here alot after church on Sundays..Youngstown has to be the unluckiest place in the world..First we had to endure Black Monday...the day back in 1977 that saw most of the steel mills start to close here...then this happened a few years later....a fire that destroyed our beloved Idora Park..I still have my own beliefs as to what really happened and why it happened but I'm going to keep it to myself...

I was in Youngstown Ohio in August it has Changed at lot never forgot my roots Jeff Boswell

I just watched your movie on Idora park and was so saddened by the photos. My parents took us there and we enjoyed a lot of the rides and concessions, my aunt lived across the street from idora,so we were there pretty often,and we loved it. I can remember the sounds of the roller coaster as we would walk into the park. Also in later years we had the Trio Bell Conto band played there and miss Greece was our high light of the dance,Miss Corinna zopai (this is not right spelling). It was a beautiful event. Many,many fun times there. Thanks for the beautiful film and memories. I do want to purchase the books. Thanks again.

I spent many hours in this park. Riding the coasters, fishing for goldish, spending pennies in the arcade, eating French fries and dancing to all the big bands...What wonderful and very nostalgic memories. We all loved it.

It breaks my heart to see Dead Idora Park! Love it always!!😥

Times, many, many times spent at Idora park were the highlights of my childhood! I wish I had a dollar for every time I rode the Wildcat sandwiched between my two older brothers, our heads rattling together on the jerky turns. I’ve loved roller coasters my entire adult life because of Idora and the Wildcat. I haven’t forgotten the other rides and especially not those best in the world French fries with malt vinegar!How lucky were we Youngstown area children to grow up with such an amazing amusement park like this and right on the outskirts of the absolutely beautiful Mill Creek Park. Wonderful memories!!! ❤❤❤

In 1984, my Austintown Middle School 8th grade class had its class picnic at Idora Park. I remember that I rode the Back Rabbit several times. What a fun park and such good times.

I Adore A Park , rest in peace, thanks for the good times

This park was really fun for us kids

The best French fries, dun wl cakes and corn dogs!!!

I'm from the southside of Youngstown Ohio... But I was born the year Idora burned down (apparently from the stories I was told) I can't even imagine anything in Youngstown being so amazing and it's sad I was born in 1984 so I'm not completely out of the old school genre💯💯😍😍😍😍

I remember towards the end when they ran the Jack Rabbut backwards. The Back Wabbit.

Omg do I miss this place. Youngstown used to be a great place. The rides. Ballroom. Spring thing. And look at it now. Nothing but weeds. Even the smell of the mills. Smell of money. Maybe not healthy but still. Sad sad

When we were kids we would ride our bikes down to Idora park for the day. We spent most of our summers down at the park. I remember being in 6th grade at Kirkmere Elementary at recess and seeing all the black smoke in the sky and hearing all the firetrucks as they rushed to the park because the Wild Cat was on fire. So many great childhood memories from Idora Park.

I just discovered this video. It is very well done. I grew up in Strurhers and Boardman, and my family went to Idora Park every summer. This video brought back wonderful memories. I loved the Jack Rabbit. They had the best cadied apples. They also made pulled taffee. The carousel was awesome. It really saddened when the fire did away with the park. All those years gone.

There's not much sadder than a derelict amusement park. My bbf's parents took us there a couple times when they had their company picnic there. Back in the late 70's. :(

if i had the money i would rebuild this :,C

As a little boy from New Castle Pa, Idora Park was a wonderland of fun and happiness. Back the even New Castle had amusement park it was called Cascade Park and it was a great place also but it wasn't as big as much fun as Idora Park. Now neither city has a amusement park and that a tragic for the entire region. Isaly ice cream and the parks were the best.

Shit got me tearing up. How sad.

You did a nice job in this production. 'm proud of you folks.

Beautiful ❤️ Such wonderful memories!

Well done. And yes, I had a tear while watching. Such a shame.

This was very sad my dad my aunt and uncle used to went here when they were kids back then.

What memories.

I did go the final year it was open, and it was a very sad sight. In the video, you see happy kids playing. When I went, it was ghetto thug groups of teens pushing their way around. The demise of the steel mill turned the neighborhood into slums over the next 2 decades, and that was the final chapter of clientele at Idora Park. The property is now owned by a nearby church that hasn't done anything with it except let everything rot. Such a sad, yet typical end to things that were once beautiful in Youngstown.

How sad. Makes you wonder though if the fire was arson

The Wildcat.

I was from Vienna and we lived to go to Idora Park!! I have a record that I recorded in one of those recording booths made at age 7. I always looked forward to Battle of the Bands or any 60s band that played there. The Wildcat, Jack Rabbit, Carousal, Fun House, the Rockets.... just to name afew rides.... The Rapids or Tunnel of Love.....

I was there to see Bobbie Sherman concert

The wildcat was top ten in the us in the 80s right before it closed

Im to young to have ever been to idora park while in operation. But I love history of the mahoning valley/ Youngstown and after I read “The ride of summer” And then watched this, I cried at the end. Our area has a lot of positives and negatives but this is up there with the worst.

I remember idora park Jeffrey Boswell 64 lives in Houston in born in Youngstown Ohio

My Uncle died on a roller coaster here back in 1915, Daniel Denehy

great video... Unfortunately born in 1982 I did not get to experience Idora in its hayday but I was one of the kids that enjoyed to go into the park(though illegal) and walk through the remains... used to go into the ballroom and sit with friends writing and making music (the old piano; though broken, did actually work; somewhat)... my one friend did a school project of the place and unfortunately lost all his negatives that he took... those were good times and was insanely outraged when someone set fire to the ballroom; leading up to what is now just an empty lot

PTC Carousel spotted.

Closed due to a fire that did some damage to the park in 1984. Could you imagine where the park would be now if the fire never happened?

We went there as kids

I never road the wild cat! I was gonna go with my older cousin and my grandmother said I was too little🥲

Yep only the memories remain now with a few traces of blacktop.

They should have sold pieces of the Wildcat and Jack Rabbit when they were demolished.

Its still a beautiful place. You can almost see its potential...that is if that stupid church would just sell it to jim amey or mill creek

I'm from Sebring Ohio went to that Park quite a few times as a kid would like to hear more about Sebring Ohio in alliance Ohio

It's sad that a beloved Ohio landmark was allowed to wither away and die so quickly. And it's shameful that no one with deep pockets in the area didn't step up and attempt save it. Barely 1/4 of the Wildcat was lost; that could've been repaired quite easily ... and the investment returned. If such a thing happened today, you can bet people who cared would band together and raise the funds to rebuild. Idora was a survivor when Euclid Beach, Chippewa Lake, Meyer's Lake, Cascade, West View and so many other area parks died. Like Kennywood, it should still be here. I miss the Wildcat and Jack Rabbit as well as so many other things that were unique to Idora.

Someone re-created this park in planet coaster. I downloaded it a while ago thinking it was just a random park someone made in tge game and im just now learning this was a real park.

Grew up on Neosho Dr went here and stopped by the empire club

The Jackrabbit

I remember this when I was about 8-9

It is soooooo very sad

It's always sad to drive through mill creek Park and see the wildcat rotting away!

all these parks closed way before my time. Although I live in Chicago I think Ohio parks are really interesting especially since one of the greatest amusement parks is there:P I wonder which park was better though Idora or Euclid Beach?

I almost feel like I died & came back to look @ a nightmare!

I live ten minutes away from there

I grew up near amusement park in Haslett Michigan it was called lake Lansing amusement park and by 1971 it was over they sold the carousel to cedar point for a million dollars and they stopped running the roller coaster in 1971 also because it was in bad shape by 1973 the park was closed this amusement had every ride you could imagine it ran for 40 years and then it stopped.... End of a area.... Google lake Lansing amusement Park and you can see what we had for 40 years

WHOT Thomas John and "hot" days. Awesome 70's rock&roll. Making out with a hot chick up on the hill, man, those were the days.

I don't know if Idora park would add a Looping Star model to the park. Wouldn't survive past the recession though.

Same demise happened to Seaworld & Geauga Lake park Sad to see they werent cared for

Anyone remember Pat Duffy? ( one time owner)

The whole dsmn park burnt up, we have insurance fraud at its finest and then came Cedar Point 😏 I'm not stupid

Anybody got some pics of the Lost River? Rare pics! I've been on many websites and even ordered the books from the Idora Park experience! I just wanna see it by the Wildcat!

where was this place?