liberty land

Liberty Land WAS a theme park in Memphis, Tennessee that opened in 1976, on the bicentennial. It was a fun place for children and adults every summer. It has historical value because of the "Zippin' Pippin", the second oldest wooden roller coaster in the world. It was also Elvis Presley's favorite ride. It had many rides that are roller coasters, spinning rides, and a ride called the "Rebellion" that took you gradually up and up, then left you up there for nearly a minute not to know when they would drop you until you heard it click and thought it was going to break. That ride was the ultimate high. There was a ride called the "Sea Dragon" that swung front and back, getting higher and higher, and the "Kamakazzee" that was like that only it flipped all the way upside down. The rides there were scarier than most other amusement parks like Disney World because there weren't so many kiddie rides. But they did have some kiddie rides, like a chu-chu train and a smaller version of the "Sea Dragon". There was a metal roller coaster called the "Revolution" that turned you upside down 3 times, the "Tennesse Tilt", the "Wipe Out", the "Scrambler", a log ride, a water slide ride, etc. There was also an arcade with "Skee Ball" and "Wack-a-Mole" that you could win prizes for. Liberty Land was the location for the Mid-South fair every year. Sadly, Liberty Land was announced it was closing in October 2005, and was sold in June 2006. The "Zippin' Pippin" was sold for only $2,500 just because someone wanted one of the carts that Elvis rode in for a museum. The only ride that hasn't been sold yet is the Grand Carousel because they think it could sell for 1 million. There was a group trying to save Liberty Land, but Memphis still sold it anyway because the city feels money and sports are more important than history, and because they want to make Midtown safer. Liberty Land was a safe, clean place when it was first built but slowly became run down. Still, the city thinks replacing it with a community park isn't going to take the same downfall. Now all that is left for the children are memories, and you will have to go to Little Rock, Arkansas or Chatanooga, Tennesssee for the nearest amusement parks, and they will never compare to Liberty Land. Memphis, how could you?