The Skyrail was actually fun, even with my fear of heights. It was neat to see (and smell) the beer being made. Heck you can still smell the beer (the hops?) when you drive by on Roscoe Blvd.
I remember the gardens being more lush. I also vividly remember my dad making my mom wait in line with him for the free beers even though she didn't drink. Ah the gold old days...
An actual ticket to the park has eluded me thus far, but at least you can park your car with this!
13 comments:
This is frickin' awesome! Especially since I basically grew up going here all the time, and lived 2 blocks away. I'd say this was from the mid 60's or so. The Skyrail cars were painted black when it first opened, then multi colored, then they were all red when it closed in 1979.
Great find!
This must be early - - it just looks like it! You don't even have to be on Roscoe to smell the hops, just drive by on the 405. I think I have a Busch Gardens flyer somewhere (maybe from the 70's), I should look for it!
This brochure looks very familiar. I visited here before there was a log ride, i was about 8 or 10, say 1967-69. So, I think this is the brochure from about that time.
It was a cool enough place, but we never went back. took away time from disneyland.
love you blog by the way. Brings back many many good memories of my youth with my parents, and my childrens youth.
thank you.
My family only went once before the expansion and once after, but I still miss this park! I wonder what will happen to the Busch Gardens in Tampa and Williamsburg now that Anheuser-Busch has a new owner. I think I heard something about them wanting to sell off all the parks including Sea World in San Diego and Orlando.
Wow that looks cool. I especially like the log ride layout. Looks like it goes through the middle of an animal enclosure.
Remember it well. Sadly I also remember a Skyrail accident in the 70s that resulted in patron injuries (maybe even deaths). It wasn't long after that tragedy that the place shut down.
I remember Busch Gardens. We went there fairly often as we lived in Van Nuys in the Sixties/early-mid Seventies(the free beer must have been the main incentive for my dad to take us there!)My dad also worked close by at the GM plant on Van Nuys Blvd. Living in the Valley then there were three places that were popular to go to: Busch Gardens, Jungleland(in Thousand Oaks)& Universal Studios. Those were the days!
I showed this blog to my uncle, and was so excited. I knew the Busch Gardens as a child his best friend lived in this place .. rejoiced and told me many stories ... thanks for sharing memories with us
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
I vaguely remember going to Busch Gardens in the '70s with my family, and hanging out by a lake with flamingos and the BG mascot walking around, which was an American bald eagle with a shield on its chest. I remember taking pictures with it. Sadly I can't remember more than that, aside from my dad and uncles being happy about free beer.
Later in the early to mid-'80s, during my trips through the valley on the 405, I would always see those abandoned skyrail tracks winding its way around the brewery and even going inside it. I used to totally stare at that, especially since they still had one of the trains suspended on the track, eerily "frozen" as it banked into a turn, its cabins devoid of passengers. Any of you other readers that made that same trip on the 405 would know what I'm talking about. Didn't it trip you out too?
I asked my dad what it was and he remarked that it was indeed an attraction that used to give an aerial tour of the brewery. The popular story apparently is that someone fell from it and died sometime in the '70s, so they stopped its operation. It is kinda weird though that they kept one of those trains on the track, just frozen in its position like that.
I went there with family and later had a good friend working at the brewry when the theme park was closed. The only thing left as a reminder of those days is the railroad overpass that was used to walk to the newer expansion area with the log rides and such. I remember how the massive lake was used by Radio Control boat clubs on Sundays once a month. We would watch the scale boat models and drink FREE Michelob beer. Those were the days. I worked a couple of college summers at Budweiser's competator in Van Nuys, Schiltz Brewry. They're gone now, too. A shame.
I remember going there for an evening company party had to have been 1982. Not sure but I think the rides were closed. We had food and free beer along with a comic-hypnotist. The birds were awesome as well as the water features at night.
I too grew up in the valley and went to Busch Gardens many times. The last time was in Oct. 1976 which I recall because we listened to the World Series in the car radio on the way home. I enjoyed buying beer related items in the gift shop which were very cool for a kid to have back then. The trick spilled beer from a Busch can (real can, plastic beer) was a hit on my bedroom dresser.
I was fortunate to work at Busch Gardens in the mid70's in the Old St. Louis gift shops and the Log Ride. I have so many happy memories there. My best friend Kathy worked at the monorail and her husband worked in the warehouse. The employees were treated like jewels like one happy family. .i used to go to work early to see the creatures such as the gibbons monkeys,peacocks amazing birds before the guests arrived to the park. it was such an awesome place! In the heart of the San Fernando Valley.
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