Defunctland: The History of Freedomland U.S.A.
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- čas přidán 6. 07. 2020
- Learn more about Freedomland U.S.A. with 'Freedomland U.S.A.: A Definitive History' by Michael R. Virgintino
www.amazon.com/Freedomland-U-...
In this episode, Kevin remains in New York to discuss the short-lived but elaborate Freedomland U.S.A. designed by Disneyland's former manager, C.V. Wood.
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Special Thanks
Thomas K.
John Lagerholm
For more great content, visit defunctland.com
Walt Disney’s anger outbursts being put on construction wall signs as quotes is my favourite defunctland running gag
We need a compilation of them to be printed out and used as inspirational wall hangings
JSD324 that would be some good ass merch
Walt: Disneyland is a place for all to enjoy.
Also Walt: "Damn you! This is my circus!"
@@verostation I would 100% buy a "This is my circus!" sign if it were written in that cheesy 2020 script font. You know the one.
@@KaijaSchmauss the ok boomer font?
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.
lmao
Ikr?
Never have I felt more insulted by a statement I completely agree with.
(For the record, I am an American who was literally born on the fourth of July).
@@andysee6996 That's rough pal
Don't forget leaving put black Americans entirely. Very accurate
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
In the 60s, robbers were honest.
@@MrWolfSnack Professionals have standards.
@@MrWolfSnack
If they were honest, everyone would have gotten his fair share and all of them most likely wouldn‘t have gotten caught.
Happens more than you think. I've seen YT videos where professional criminals say something along the lines of "the smaller the team, the better. The more people, the more likely it is someone is dissatisfied with anything and will sell you out."
I busted
I like the juxtaposition of a themepark based on American exceptionalism where half the attractions are based on disasters.
Patriotism is not a fault. And it isn't exceptionslism, either. It's possible to be a patriotic Costa Rican, a patriotic French person, a patriotic Algerian... anyone can be patriotic.
@@Leatherargento But this isn't patriotism this is exceptionalism. Patriotism is loving your country, while trying to make it even better. Exceptionalism is blindly proclaiming your country is perfect despite the evidence.
I never even implied that people other then Americans cannot be patriots. They can even be national exceptionalists. It has no impact on my actual post.
@FakeSchrodingersCat where did you hear them say anything like "my country is perfect?"
@@Leatherargento I didn't. I also never accused you of being an American Exceptionalist.
We are talking about Freedomland U.S.A. here, not you.
@@Leatherargentowhen did anyone say patriotism is a fault? Where did you get any of what you said? Your whole comment is out of place here. All they did was point out the irony of having a patriotic theme park where the rides are based on local tragedies.
“God damn you, this is my circus!” is probably the best thing Walt Disney has ever said.
AND THEY FRAMED IT lhahah
No. It was when he shouted at his workers, who were on strike " oh, you commie sons of b***hes!"
Should have been my senior quote tbh
@@pdeady3709 I don't know if you're joking, but workers demanding fairer wages and working conditions should not be called communists by their monopoly owning founder and ceo
@@verdantmischief7092 Reich-wing media disagrees
"Freedomland was the bedroom where Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty made yankee doodle dandy."
Only Kevin can say that with a straight face.
He was probably grinning and desperately making sure it didn’t show in his voice.
@Simple Weirdo It probably exists somewhere deep in the dark web
This is literally the best line in the entire video.
@@ThisPoorGuy1 Right? I had to pause it because I was laughing so hard.
Only on this channel can I hear such wonderful quotes.
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
I’m surprised he didn’t stop and comment.
it’s crazy this is the first time i’ve heard about this- i don’t do my disney research though so it’s no surprise
Wasn’t Buzz Lightyear named after Buzz Aldrin though?
And Woody’s named after the material he’s made of (or was originally supposed to be, anyway)
Toy story was made by Pixar then bought from Disney in 2004 so no they were never named off of each other just coincidence
"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.
There is not nearly enough praise for this ✨golden✨ moment in the writing. It’s so funny but also so cringy and gross
If Yankee Doodle Dandy is, per the song lyrics, the nephew of his Uncle Sam, this means that Uncle Sam fucked his sister
@@sunsun5005 Agreed! it cringy and a bit nasty but also hilarious. Just perfection *chefs kiss* 😂
I had to pause & re-listen to this phrase three times. Then I laughed until I cried. Perfect.
I came to the comments section to see who else caught that line. Oh my good god. Wonderful 16:53
"The cow, who died oblivious at an unreported date" is another out of context Defunctland quote for the books, I think
@@olivia_rcr6061 That would be awesome!
That guy who turned himself in out of spite because his partners cheated him out of his take is great.
Absolute legend
A true mad lad
True. But I’d hide the five thousand bucks so I’d have it when I got out
Reminds me of the movie Masterminds.
I only got 5k? Fuck these guys take me to jail lol
This feels like something made in the pre-war fallout universe, but like, real.
Hm...it does kinda feel like that
watch fallout 5 have fucking freedomland
Nukaworld
@@iwakeupandboomimarat did you not play Nuka world dlc?
@@themoshpit8341 i did i just. forgot about it
"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
Mine is "you commie sons of bitches!"
Oh _that’s nothing._ When the company was building _The Haunted Mansion,_ one of the head imagineers Rolly Crump was tasked with sending Walt concept art for the characters and portraits, etc. and the next morning Walt told him (I’m paraphrasing a little) “You son-of-a-bitch. I didn’t get one wink of sleep.”
These rides!! Lol. Imagine a ride at Disney called “Hurricane Katrina” “California Wildfires” or “The great Coronavirus”
The popularity of disaster porn just shifted from thrill rides to film and video games.
Ride one will be at New Orleans Square at DL, Ride two will be at Grizzly Peak at DCA, and ride three will be at Epcot’s China pavilion.
"September 11th: The Experience!"
“The Very Realistic Sinking of the Titanic”
9/11 Drop Tower ride
The fact that you do a personalized intro for every single video just surprises. This one was just spectacular
every defunctland video is personalized
They're the little surprise prize in the box that I'm always looking forward to when I open up a new one!
i always love the intros but this one was especially cool and satisfying
Ma cocks spectular. 👁👄👁
A lot of these trivia channels just pull up a wikipedia article and read it off verbatim while pretending they're clever & interesting. The little (and big) touches like this really set Defunctland apart in a class of it's own, production and authenticity-wise.
I'm glad someone had the guts to include the underrated, misunderstood, and ultimately forgotten founding father of our country, Danny the dragon.
One of 6 people to show up to Thomas Paine's funeral
"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?"
So I guess the Stalin Gulag Adventure ride is a no go too
"It's sponsored by Volkswagen..."
@@nathanaelrico3891 "They never have these problems at Apartheid Land down the road do they?"
"Um, actually, yes they do."
"It's not the government though is it?"
"No, that's more of an international issue."
yeah Nagasaki Dark Ride doesn't sound good
I guess The Fall of Saigon and Evacuation re-enactment is out the window.
Soviet agent infiltrating america: My name is Johnny Freedom.
True story: during WW2 when German saboteurs were trying to infiltrate American lines in US army uniforms, the American sentries would ask them to "recite the third verse of the American national anthem". If they got it RIGHT, the sentries knew they must be German spies, because almost no actual Americans know the third verse.
The fact that he had BLONDE hair and BLUE eyes.. Oh goodness..
@@kyraheron6088 The most Arya- uh, American you can get!
AdmiralBonetoPick I know the third verse of the anthem. And I can sing it. (Or at least I’m sure this is the right one) I think the line is “by the dawn’s early light”
Edit: I’m wrong. It’s “Who’s broad stripes and bright stars, thru the perilous fight!” Or is it “O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?” (I had the google the lines)
Also today I learned that I’ve gotten most of the lyrics wrong my entire life.
@@ravenpotter3 That's the third LINE. The third verse goes:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And, as an American, I've literally never heard this spoken. I looked this shit up on Wikipedia.
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.
Oh make no mistake. The Privilege is still real. The rest of us still have to show that piece of paper.
Unless you, you know, looked.
@@RikoJAmado boomer privilege
@@RikoJAmado The thing is - privilege is on a scale, not an on/off switch.
If your profile picture is you and you live in the US you are a white American - that makes you privileged. Even then, almost anyone who is an American is privileged over people in third world countries.
Furthermore - you think, from what Incan tell, that it is easy to be born into high class status, but it is not. People in the 1% can’t live a normal life and pursue their dreams, love who they want, talk about their feelings, or be themselves. They often end up depressed and on prescription drugs that are just as bad, if not worse, than black market drugs.
This isn’t an effort to shame you but an effort to ask you to realize that people from most walks of life suffer greatly for just having been born into true circumstances.
It’s not fair, or logical, to take the rare exceptions of successful people and argue that they represent a large demographic of humans.
@@ProjectFlashlight612 It takes quite a while for people to find a job these days for various logical reasons; like the fact that big businesses have shut down so many of the small businesses that used to hire workers en masse because they were separated by the industry they were selling in. Hate to say it, but aside from being a jerk you’re also being illogical, which is worse. Try to have some sense and education. It’s a good start.
I still can't get over how casually you mentioned that he went on to open the first six flags park
I grew up going to Six Flags Over Texas! I love that place!
I think C.V. Wood was off the project by the time it opened but one of his former employees did see it through.
“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
"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
My fav was they had to burn banks for a fire brake
"the cow died likely oblivious at an unspecified date"
Some things never change.
The funny thing is that it has been speculated that the fire was started by meteors that blew up near the ground that also started a forest fire to the south that same day.
@@drakeilt5776 That sounds far more newsworthy
“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.
Oh lordy.
Yeah how in the heck are you verified. No offense
Lol 😂 I didn’t catch that
Please explain the check
Out of all this, I’m actually most surprised I have 4 subscriber. What the heck are they subscribed to?!
I was verified by friends who worked for Google. I had no hand in the process and can’t help anyone else get verified.
"and the Cow, who died likely oblivious at an unreported date" this line is comedy gold to me
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!
No reply’s? Let me fix that.
@@aiilex6430
Tight
Where did the mom go?
@@manospondylus4896
According to him, they had gotten to the gondola that ferries people from one end of the park to the other. Grandma had gotten on first, but it was only after she did that they all realized the ride was one way. So she, being prone to panicking, started walking back after she got off, not knowing that my dad and grandpa had gotten on the next car to meet up with her at the end. And it being a time before cellphones, it took a while for everyone to find each other.
@@manospondylus4896I'm curious as well. 🤔
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.
Oh thank god someone noticed
@@Defunctland You really went all in with that one!
Taps nose with index finger.
I wondered why someone would bet with a 3, 5 off suit with that flop and you segued It beautifully into Woodys bluffing in life
You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
"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.
Really?
@@eloisecole3579 Welll, slight exaggeration on how long it lasted. Still, felt like 5 minutes
Disneyland is now known for kidnapping and pedophilia, time to become aware
@@binyahman5233 Yeah we know Binyah
@@binyahman5233 Yeah, we know and we don't care
"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.
Even more white than Disney's Tommorowland.
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.
And why write down past experiences when they never call and ask, and if they did they probably wouldn't get any response. The entire resume hiring system was archaic in paper form and even more stupid and difficult in the modern electronic world.
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.
You have to play the game before the game plays you
The law is unforgiving. Even to the innocent.
It reminds me of the guy who bluffed his way into buying/being sold the New York Islanders. It's astonishing what some people are able to manage with bravado and the benefit of assumptions.
Helps if you were alive in the early 60s...and people like this made it hard to get out of stuff today
It was the times honestly you could of of gotten away with so much back then. My grandpa would tell me stories of loosing the cops on car chases back in the 40s
That ending was like learning that it was the butler the entire time.
Or like learning that the victim's spouse did the deed for the life insurance.
I know, right! Like a "fuck you" from Walt, lol! He got the last laugh.
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.
Yep, and amazing how much of this country's development is actually based on hucksters, grifters and other 'salesmen'.
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.
I was there at least once.
Yeah, that was the SF earthquake ride. I was a similar age, maybe 1-2 years older, buy my memories are still pretty sharp. My Godmother took me several times, and she lived in The Bronx. I always got a kick out of the Chicago fire, but I was scared to death of that cable car (but rode anyway). I discovered very early that I wasn't a Thrill Ride Guy.
I don't remember much, but I do recall helping to pump water for the Chicago fire.
"disaster turned entertainment"
See y'all in 70 years for the coronavirus ride
At the end of the ride, you are in a Hospital
January 2021 has some rides to offer as well.
"The 9/11 dark ride looks too intense for me!" - Guest 231
"I can't find the Bataclan terrorist attack ride!" - Guest 390
"Escape the Beirut Explosion was really lame." - Guest 127
I'm going to claim that everything depicted in it is 100% true to my descendants
even if it isn't.
its just trump figures yeeting little viruses at you as you ride along on a carpet designed to look like your 3 dollar stimulus check, and for a sick little twist, you get to leave the ride with a complementary toilet paper roll
Too bad "Polio, the Interactive Stage Experience" never got greenlit.
Or "The Great Depression Experience." That would've been a real draw.
@@thegoodmudkip3652 a dark ride through prohibition and the Great Depression seems about right I’d say
The WHAT
Or Bonnie and Clyde's last ride wasn't popular only lasted one day I wonder why
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.
I once heard that the bridge purchase was a mistake. He thought it was the iconic Tower Bridge. I have no idea if this was true or not.
@@mitchellschoenbrun I like to think so
@@mitchellschoenbrun I feel like tower bridge is more famous NOWADAYS, but certainly in the past, London Bridge was incredibly famous in its own right. It had tons of houses and shops on it, thousands of people lived and worked on it, so it was pretty much its own town, its own neighbourhood and community. But yeah these days, a lot of people (even fellow brits) get confused and think tower bridge is London Bridge.
@@duffman18 You are confusing eras here. London Bridge had houses and communities centuries ago in the 1600s. The London Bridge of the 20th century was basically an average bridge with a road and small pedestrian walkways on either side. Tower Bridge(which was basically opened at the start of 20th century) was already a famous landmark at that point.
I think, that's where the "I have a Bridge to sell you" -saying comes from.
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.
It’s just like having a California-themed amusement park in California.
To represent Oregon, they could have a Portland " summer of freedom " and " mostly peaceful protests"
"God Damn you, this is MY Circus!" is now my favorite Walt Disney quote.
@@GeneralPatton88 God damn you
Woody and Buzz? Sound like the plot of a Toy Story movie.
Pixar is quite clever.
exactly what i thought
As soon as he said Buzz I had to stop the video and rewind. That's hilariously clever.
I also reminds me of the story the Woody's character in Toy Story had to be rewritten because he was an ass in the first draft.
No wonder the original draft of Woody in Toy Story was such a jerk.
“God damn you this is my circus!” is easily one of the best quotes in history lol
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
Too bad that never happened.
@@disneyboy3030no, probably a good thing
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
Maybe if someone does decide to revive the project we may see what will happen. Also I do admit that another CZcamsr did say that the park could practically be built anywhere. Got any ideas on where.
If this charlatan was still alive then California would make him governor.
@@krikeydial3430 did you read my response.
*gets a Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Resort in Florida ad after video ends*
@@disneyboy3030 I hope minnesota, we would love a disney park
Freedomland U.S.A is the most American name I’ve ever heard
🇺🇲🇺🇸
Right next to Cheeseburger Freedom Man.
Look up the video “who named the United States” by history matters and you’ll find something more patriotic.
Ginja Ninjaaa
Is that supposed to be sarcasm. I can’t tell on text.
And "Johnny Freedom!"
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.
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.
“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.
One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn’t belong.
With a name like Freedom Land USA I would've thought it was based in Texas
It would also have the biggest baddest and fastest rides in the wilderness
For all of the historical and metaphorical reasons!😂
We have Six Flags for our own historical fetishism.
Why it would seem more logical to put it in Pennsylvania.
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.
wow, that's incredible
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.
I think it mentioned they could get their by rail. Not sure
the old-timey add mentioned it was close to a subway stop
Funny, there was a supposed to be a northern extension of the Pelham Line (the northern portion of the 6 service) to Co-op City planned in part of the 1968 Program for Action. If Freedomland had held on just a little bit longer, we would have seen millions of passengers using the 6 train to Freedomland.
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.
I just want my free sample of Shock Jockey goddammit.
@@FrahdChikun Let me die a soldier's death Tin Man!
Bioshock Infinite pretty much was inspired by such parks.
Booker - Catch!
Playing Infinite is actually the one of the reasons why I got so invested in Native American history - specifically Wounded Knee and the Battle of Little Bighorn.
If anyone is interested in both sides of Little Bighorn (and subsequently Wounded Knee) I’d highly recommend the book _A Terrible Glory_ by James Donovan. It’s such a phenomenal read.
"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
I presume you are being sarcastic
@@aquapenguin9697 yes, thank you
@@sydney1706 no problem
@J are those tears for the estimated 20 million victims of the native american genocide my friend??
@J sorry i mistook you for a human with a brain
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.
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 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.
I was there as a kid. Thanks for the post!
All I remember now is that blue fence.
Iconic tbh
Honestly this park did NOT deserve your money so I'm glad you and your girl finessed you way in! 😂
Out of everything you could have stolen. You stole light fixtures-
"The Weapons of Mass Destruction" - a ride that everyone advertises but nobody can find
Okay, I love triggering wannabe-Texans and Bible Belters too, but... damn!
Spoiler alert: It was a chemical weapons plant painted to look like a chocolate chip factory.
Funny how many everyday chemicals can be used as weopons if in the right proportions
But they'll sell tons of yellow cake.
@@floydlooney6837 Yellow cake...with special CIA napkins. And aluminum tubes (you know what damage you can do with aluminum tubes?).
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.
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.
"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.
@Flekk Bone Gnawer these people don't think that far out. Here and recent "now" is all there will ever be. As fucked as that sounds, more than a hundred years from now... The future generations won't have much of a connection. Just look at how some millennials and zoomers treat things just a few decades ago.
Flekk Bone Gnawer hell, next week! Imagine all the publicity! “See lifelike people jump to their doom!
By then, the controlled demolitions of that horrible day will be a faint memory. #Building7
@That Flippin Guy...
I kind of side with "yesterday's" (ahem) "older generation", lol.
@That Flippin Guy...
I kind of side with "yesterday's" (ahem) "older generation", lol.
“ Freedomland is the bedroom where Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty made Yankee Doodle dandy” I choked on my drink
"And the cow, who died likely oblivious at an unreported date--"
Defunctland's sense of humor will never cease to make me laugh
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.
Seriously somebody needs to make a movie based on this, it would be SO good.
@@MarioMario-mu5tp I had read a book about this called 3 years in wonderland
This park is kinda like:
“Let’s use tragic stories of how people died in U.S.A for entertainment!”
So... Isolationist Disneyland?
Hence, our morbid fascination with murder, all things violence.
Television and Movies.
Entertainment = to invite in.
We are not well.
John 14:6
Don't lie: you'd go.
Unprofessional Professor I won’t- I know my brother would tho XD
Now introducing, 9/11 the ride! It will be just near Pearl Harbour coaster
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).
15:18 "while watching bandits get caught, charged, and even attend their funeral after they'd been hung"
Wait, what?
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.
My Godmother, who lived in The Bronx took me to Freedomland at least 3 times. I still have fond memories of the Chicago fire attraction, the Wild West themed area and the stagecoach ride. Oh! And the cable car. I was a little scared at first, since I was only in first grade when Freedomland closed, but it became great fun.
It was at the end of the six train
Yes I went there as a child. Remembering the river paddle boats in water. Years later moving to coop city , uncanny
@@georgebrown2175 yes that’s it. I remember watching the paddle boats from a train. The train went further then. Thanks for info.
I still live in co-op city and only vaguely heard of freedomland. So happy to have found this piece of history
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.
Or Michael Moore or Kevin Smith
I was about to make a comment about randy moore lmao
Who’s Randy Moore? I looked him up, but lost of the results I got were porn.
BioShock infinite?
@@meowtherainbowx4163 He made a bad movie called "Escape From Tomorrow" which was notable for being filmed in actual Disney parks and it was critical of Disney, but mainly in really stupid ways that made no sense, while also having some other major problems, such as perpetuating dumb myths (like the turkey legs actually being from emus because they're so big) and having a bunch of creepy sex shit, some of which had some very unsubtle symbolism behind them. Jenny Nicholson made a great video going over it called "Escape from Tommorow is a dumb exercise in misery".
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.
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.
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
It's crazy how all this theme park history intertwines. I had no idea Freedomland, Disneyland, and Six Flags were all so closely linked
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.
PC hypocrites would close it
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.
Also the weather. I didn’t like this or the Macys parade or the Rockefeller Christmas tree either because it was always freezing cold.
I grew up in a house across the New England Thruway from Freedomland. When the video lists reasons why it failed so soon, I'm surprised it doesn't mention how hard it was to get there. Many New Yorkers don't own cars, and that was the only practical was to visit Freedomland. Public transportation was limited to a couple of Bronx-only bus routes, and the next-to-last station on one subway line, the station being a mile or two from Freedomland. At the time, this was seen as the greatest reason for the low visitor numbers--at least among people not directly involved with building/operating the park.
"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
If it had somehow lasted into the modern era, it would probably have a 9/11 Experience. And another decade from now, it might have the COVID Pandemic dark ride.
I’d say raging rather than mild tbh
I’m surprised the Spanish flue pandemic wasn’t in there somewhere
Most of the attractions were dated far enough back that the majority of people who remembered them first-hand wouldn't be going to theme parks. 9/11 is recent enough that some children and most of their parents would be taken aback. Vietnam might be a better parallel for something to be covered today, recent enough to be easily recognized but old enough that you could doctor it to be more palatable
@@KingHalbatorix I was only being tongue-in-cheek with those comments (Freedomland obviously didn't have a "Spanish Flu Experience"), but even so, 1906 was only 54 years before the park opened. Parents with young kids in the early '60s obviously wouldn't have had firsthand memories of the SF earthquake, but their parents and/or grandparents might have. (For instance, my mom's mom was born in 1923, so her parents would've had memories of life in 1906.)
Likewise, the Vietnam War may be fading into the mists of time now, but there still seems to be enough disgruntled vets out there that a "doctored to make it palatable" Vietnam War dark ride would probably generate some backlash.
what i say: i like to learn about history on CZcams
what i mean: i only care about the history of theme parks/rides that no longer exist and only from Defunctland
Oh wow! That twist ending! (chef's kiss)
"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.
Step aside Michael Eisner, Robert Moses is the new villain of Defunctland!
God I hate Robert Moses with a raging passion !He wanted to destroy Coney Island and make it anti unqiue
Robert Moses was the man who built the highways of New York City including the Belt Parkway, Cross Island Parkway, Long Island Expressway, Van Wyck Expressway, Grand Central Parkway, Brooklyn Queens Expressway, Gowanus Expressway, Cross Bronx Expressway, Major Deegan Expressway and more. He was a villain. He also ran the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority, part of MTA.
Robert Moses was a racist who used municipal projects to keep poor black people as far away from whites as he could.
He's more of a real-life villain than Eisner could ever hope to be-although depending on what comes of that new lawsuit against Disney alleging that they helped cover up Harvey Weinstein's crimes, Eisner's time in the hot seat might not be over.
He's the real world equivalent of the villain in Roger Rabbit, except based on the east coast.
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!
That’s amazing! Glad I could help!
Question: In a nutshell, what was the effect of Disneyland on Anaheim...
@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 Answer: Before it was orange groves. Now it's a city.
@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 Rapid urbanization and turning a rural town into one of the biggest vacation destinations in the world. However, that success eventually created conflict on whether what's good for Disneyland is actually good for Anaheim's residents.
@@nightflyer3242 My friends and I were talking about how residents currently have a reprieve from the fireworks, and how any residents moving there at this time might not grasp just how loud it will be once the park reopens.
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.
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.
It's because of both of those things that I think a modern "freedomland" might honestly be really cool if we actually make it not so tasteless. Like, especially in this world we live in where the American ideal has been deconstructed to such a degree (and a well warranted one at that), I think something that can somehow address all of that while simultaneously recapturing the glory the ideal once had, and in fact perhaps even superseding it, would do wonders. Something that both educates on america's issues, old and new, perhaps even satirizes them, and remains steadfastly patriotic in spite of those things. Or perhaps even BECAUSE of those things, in a sense. It'd be a hard balance to walk for sure, but one that's well worth it in my eyes.
That aside, I also just like the idea of a gimmicky microcosm of the US of goddamn A just in general. That just sounds like it could be super fun and wacky.
Pretty much the same opinion that I have. It was tasteless and gross, definitely, but (in contrast to most places on this channel) it was exactly what it set out to be. It was huge, its rides were apparently enjoyable, and guests often came away with a positive impression.
It seems like boring, practical issues doomed this one, rather than anything too dramatic.
@@Somerandomjingleberry It is possible, I'm not from the US but there was this one time in school we had to make a whole theater act on our classrooms about the history of Guatemala it went from the act of independence until current day even mentioning the genocide and the population that live in the local dumpyard. Even with those topics it still had an air of patriotism because of the tone in which we spoke our lines
I felt the same way. While grossly offensive by today’s standards, it actually looks like a pretty fun theme park.
@@Somerandomjingleberry The thing about theme parks is, they are arts and entertainment, not education. Trying to sell this park as education and referring to specific tragedies was a poor decision. There is no reason you can't theme a park after a nation's culture. Look at World Showcase at EPCOT. The problem with America is it has such a strange relationship with culture and history. As a country the US focuses it's culture on divisive social and historical aspects and tries to glorify them, rather than just avoiding them altogether and generating a true national culture based on the things it has to offer (nature, films, music and for god's sake, can't 250 million people develop some better culinary offerings?). It's like if a Spanish themed park had a load of bullfighting lands or a German park based in the first half of the 20th Century. The American ideal is exactly what's wrong with America - it's this self-perception that as a country it is more glorious or entitled than other places. If it was just reeled in a bit it wouldn't be so tasteless or offensive.
"The bedroom where Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty made yankie doodle dandie" KEVIN NO I WAS EATING
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
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?
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.
I loved the stagecoach ride through a Civil War battlefield.
Your production value is absolutely stunning and inspiring.
The intros 🥵
Yes great quality for both of you guya
Ah hay! Didn’t expect to see you here
Love both your content
A CZcams show about theme parks has no right to look this good.
_goated_
Oh my god you need a Netflix show. This series is so high quality it’s above CZcams.
Or maybe the rest of youtube need to up its game to better match this kind of content.
Netflix would ruin it.
Eric Chandler yeah he’d have more money but less creative control
CZcams is better than Netflix.... obviously.
@@FeedScrn They both good.
They both bad.
I like them both.
My personal hero of life, mister D.N.A.'s - Dirk Gently's holistic detective agency was well made indeed. My favorite Netflix series.
Umbrella academy pwns too.
CZcams is youtube. It's great.
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.
“God damn it! This is my circus” needs to be a tshirt
fibromaniacnm More PROJECTION from the brainwashed far left 😉👍🏽
Have ol sleepy joe look in the mirror. You don’t even realize he’s just their puppet 🙄
g baker Yeah! That’s a great idea they could wear them at the Democratic National Convention.
And at the Republican Convention they can wear T shirts that say:
Not my circus, Not my Monkeys.
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 lived in Bayside as a young kid, and we visited Freedomland several times (yes, I'm that old). It closed down the year we moved out to L.I.
Historian212 I’m from Bayside too!
I grew up in Jamaica, Queens in the 70s and 80s. lived out in far Rockaway before that when I was still in diapers. Never heard of Freedomland. Of course I know where a Co-op City is. But holy crap! I had no idea what it once was.
Grew up in Astoria in 50s/60s. Visited Freedomland once, was probably about 8 years old. Only thing I remember is Casa Loco. Later went to Lehman College where about half the student body lived in co-op city.
Love the opening with the cards. That’s the kind of creativity that Hollywood used to have.
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.
"The Mayor would declare June 19th as Freedomland Day" .....so close.
Ok now this is epic
+
I have a feeling that black people wouldn't be treated very well at that park.
If I ever start a business, the "God damn you! This is my circus!" quote is getting framed and put on the wall.
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!!
Your videos are so fabulously put together, each and every time. Thank you for your hard work as always.
My family went to Freedomland when I was a child. I remember "Casa Loca", the Chicago Fire, and riding on top of the stagecoach!
I remember a couple of those rides that got sold to Cedar Point. They might still be there. "Earthquake" and the pirate ship.
I remember going with my Dad when he transported the stage coaches on his flatbed truck. I was six years old. The place was all mud and lumber at the time.
@@TomDaly943 I remember seeing the 3 stoogies, Moe, Larry and Joe Besser there.
@@gc2916 like this? czcams.com/video/AdJbO6DN-ZE/video.html
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 mean the bronx has the most parkland of any borough so if there was a place in nyc that would have space it would be the bronx or queens imo
John Cantatore That’s a good point. I sometimes forget that fact because I grew up near the part that’s densely built up. So it was a good idea, but bad execution.
From this video, Freedomland is fascinating. I wish I could go there today.
Wow that's an amazing edit! Love the info. Some great comments on this video
I also went to both. Actually liked Freedomland a bit better, because you didn't have to wait on long lines forever to get in to the best rides. And you got to do more, whereas at the Fair you mostly just looked at stuff. Although the "Small World" ride at the Fair was kinda great.
I'm laughing at what people think of the Freedomland rides. They were really more like the way people go to haunted houses and stuff today. Most of us young kids didn't know there was a Chicago Fire or a San Francisco earthquake, and couldn't relate to it even if we did.
I'm constantly blown away by the production quality of these intros, the custom music, and the attention to detail, it's amazing
I'm amazed at how much research and effort you do put into your videos and your presentations. They are fantastic and it seems like each subsequent one is better than the one before it.