The Haunted Shack was located over by Mother Goose Land, south of the restrooms, just east of the Merry Go Round (I think there is a food court there now....at least there was 10 years ago which is the last time I was there) The Haunted Shack terrified me as a kid from the outside. It was two levels and from the outside looking at it, there were several scary figures on the upper level. As you entered, there were a dual set of moving stairs that moved back and forth. After you climbed the stairs, you turned the corner and entered a long hall that had various round windows that you would look into and see scary scenes. You then walked down other halls that had similar things. At one point there were some jail bars that led to a spiral slide. You had to find the bars the moved and then squeeze through them to the slide. After you went down the slide you were in a "mirror maze" that you would go through to the exit. It was kind of "cheesy" but it was fun. I was sad to see it go. I am happy to see that Lagoon has never gotten rid of Terror Ride and Dracula's Castle. Lagoon is really lucky to have two "dark rides". Most amusement parks don't even have one these days.

Here is a photo of the Little Roller Coaster taken in 1973. I am not old enough to remember this coaster, but here is a note from a reader who is:

Click for a larger, wider image.

Here are some notes about the Rockets:

The rocket (rockets over the lake) was a ride that was very common in amusement parks in the early 1900's and started disappearing during the 60's and 70's. If you want to know that it was, you can go to the Disney California Adventure website. They have a replica ride there called the "Golden Zephyr" that is exactly the same ride. The most interesting thing about this ride is how it kept the trees around the wild kingdom station trimed in interesting shapes. Anyone who rode this ride could tell you about that.

I think the ride that used to scare me to death was the rocket ride. That thing had to be the oldest ride in the park! It had this huge tower, was located right next to the lake. That thing would groan and creak, and you just "knew" it was going to collapse any moment, but it never did. It took forever to start and stop that ride. It was later replaced by the Century Ride.

Below is an older photo of the Octopus when it was located at the park's entrance.

Skyslide which was located next to Jet Star and later where the magic carpet ride was placed before the park expanded north. This was a big "carpetbag" slide. I remember trouncing up the stairs with the carpetbag and sliding down several times. They also had these slides in the fun house.

This was a spin and puke ride where you sat in a big tub that spun around. As it spun the bottom would drop down and you would stick to the walls. There are still a few of these around, there is one at sixflags magic mountain but it is rarely in operation.

There was also a ride called "The Tumbler" which was like a "Teacup" spin ride. I remember getting deathly ill on this ride.

And whatever happened to that ride called the Tumbler? That was a lot of fun.

The Zugpitz was exactly the same ride as the Music Express, but it had a "winter Theme" to it, ala Alpine mountains. It only lasted a couple of years and then they took it out. It was probably about 7-8 years before the music express.

Here are some notes from readers:

I remember 'the Hammer'... which was kind of a 'becoming a man' ritual once we talked ourselves into going on it.

The hammer was a ride that was (or maybe still is for all I know - I haven't been to Lagoon for 12 years) located near the boomerang bumper cars by the penny arcade and tilt a whirl. It wasn't called "The Hammer" though, but everyone called it that - I don't remember what the real name was.

It finally came to me. The official name of the ride we all called the Hammer was "The Looper".

The original WildMouse was my absolute favorite ride. It scared me to death the first time I rode it, the feeling that the car was going to go right off the tracks as it whipped around those corners. I loved it! It was orignally colored blue I think, then later painted orange, then white, then was torn down. I'm glad they've replaced it with a new model.

Here are some comments from reader who remember the way the funhouse was before I ever saw it:

It seemed like the fun house changed every year I was there, growing up. The very first time, it took quite a while to get into the actual 'house'. You had to go through the 'challenges'... then walk through a bunch of dark halls and staircases (I recall)... there was a closet with a person made out of broomsticks and mops... weird... you would then go into a 'tilted room' that you had to go through switchbacks to get through... then down the sliding roller ramp... through the tumbling barrels and then you were there. The next year it seemed like they had removed the dark halls and the tilting room, and you just went straight from the 'challenges' into the tumbling barrel. Each year something 'nostalgic' disappeared... until it felt like you were at 'Chuck E. Cheese'... at that point I wasn't disappointed when they closed it down... but I would die to see some pics or video of the old 'Fun House'... that was a classic.

I remember as a kid during the 70's, before the "all day pass" we would have tickets and so going to the fun house for an hour or two was a bargain and allowed you more time in the park.

The funhouse used to be lots of fun, with that large disk that sat flat on the floor. People would sit on the disk, it would start spinning, and the idea was to be the last person remaining. Kind of a centrafugal dodge-ball. They also had this other ride in the funhouse that looked like a big washing machine. It would spin around really fast and the centrafugal force would suck you next to the wall. You could stand on your head or whatever.

The Fun House still exists, sort of. Just because you can't go in doesn't mean it isn't still there. These photos of the slide area were taken several years after the fun house closed