European Carousel

Opened: 11 Apr 1964

Closed: 1983

Location: Mother Gooseland

This little ride, imported from Europe, featured different forms of motor transportation in place of horses and animals. It was much smaller than the Carousel and the vehicles moved on spinning tracks, not on a turning floor.

Some of the miniature vehicles on the ride included such things as a bus, train, race cars, motorcycles, scooters, and various automobiles.

The European Carousel lasted about two decades in Mother Gooseland, but didn’t survive heavy snowfall during the 1983-84 off-season. According to Peter Freed in a Deseret News article, “The snow crushed the roof on our European Carousel and crashed down on the merry-go-round. The ride was ruined beyond repair. It was quite an old ride. They don’t make it anymore, so we were forced to buy a brand new ride called the Red Baron”. The Red Baron opened in its place in 1984 and has been operating there ever since. Whether or not any parts of the ride were salvaged is unknown.

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LINKS

Mother Gooseland

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SOURCES

Lagoon Opens Saturday With New Attractions. Deseret News, 9 Apr 1964.

Raindrops keep falling on Lagoon on opening day. Deseret News, 20 Apr 1984.

Moncur, Laura. Lagoon 1973 (Part 5 of 7). Pick Me!, 21 Jul 2006.