User:Plighting Engineerd/Good Gravy!
 Enchanted Forest's entrance | |
 | |
| Location | 8462 Enchanted Way SE, Turner, Oregon, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 44°49′59″N 123°00′30″W / 44.833085°N 123.008249°W |
| Opened | August 8th, 1971 |
| Owner | Roger Tofte |
| Area | 20 acres (8.1 ha) |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 10 |
| Roller coasters | 2 |
| Water rides | 1 [note 1] |
| Website | Official website |
The Enchanted Forest is a theme park located in Turner, Oregon, on a small patch of hilly wooded land next to Interstate 5, just south of Salem, Oregon. The park was created and hand built by Roger Tofte over a period of seven years in the late 1960s. The park first opened to the public in 1971. Early success led to many expansions over the last half-century, mostly built again by Tofte by hand. The Tofte family still owns and operates the 20-acre (8.1 ha) park, with three generations of the family involved in the day to day operations.[1] The park sees an average of 100,000 guests a year during the normal six-month-long season.[citation needed]
History
[edit]In 1964, Roger Tofte purchased 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land in Turner, Oregon for US$4,000 (equivalent to $40,554 in 2024), money he had earned repairing watches working for the state.[2] expecting the construction of the park to take two years. Due to lack of money, zoning, and poor weather, as well as Tofte's vision of the park expanding, the construction took seven years.[3][4] Tofte retained his job while building Enchanted Forest, only working on the project in his free time.[5] Tofte built many of the park's structures himself, including all of the initial structures along the Storybook Lane, mentioning he created any cement structures using a rebar frame cover covered with metal lath, upon which he sculpted cement.[4][6][7]
In 2006, the Challenge of Mondor ride was opened featuring dragons and monsters.[8] The original 1971 Humpty Dumpty display was damaged in July 2014 and was replaced in August 2014 with a new sculpture of the character.[9]
Areas
[edit]Storybook Lane
[edit]Tofteville Western Town
[edit]Old European Village
[edit]The park is divided into various districts that the Toftes classify as 'Attractions". Initially opening with just the Storybook Lane in 1971, the Tofteville Western Town and Old European Village were added in later expansions. The Haunted House attraction was opened in 1974. Enchanted Forest also features a "Summer Comedy Theater", which showcases original musical plays based on classic fairy tales, written by Susan Vaslev.
Rides
[edit]Augmenting the park are attractions such as the Ice Mountain Bobsleds roller coaster, the Haunted House, and the Big Timber log ride, the largest of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.[10] The Challenge of Mondor is an ETF Ride Systems indoor trackless interactive ride featuring dragons and monsters.[8]
| Ride | Opened | Manufacturer | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Timber Log Ride | Example | E&F Miler Industries | A combination of a log flume and roller coaster ride type. Themed to a logging mill. Features a roller coaster section and a 40-foot (12 m) drop into a splashdown. |
| Ice Mountain Bobsled | 1983 | Ascott Design | A roller coaster with enclosed cars that begins in an icy mountain. Originally built with trains which ran along a 24-inch-wide (61 cm) fiberglass track, the ride was modified in 1985 to use traditional steel tubular track. |
| Challenge of Mondor | 2006 | ETF Ride Systems, Sally Corporation | A trackless shooting dark ride. |
| Speedway Bumper Cars | 2007 | Example | A bumper cars ride. |
| Haunted House | 1974 | Enchanted Forest | A walkthrough attraction themed to a haunted house. |
| Carousel | 2017 | Example | A carousel featuring horses, ostriches, bunnies, and a pig. |
| Kiddy Frog Hopper | Example | Example | A 20-foot-tall (6.1 m) ride aimed at a young demographic. |
| Up and Away Ferris Wheel | Example | Example | A Ferris wheel-like ride aimed at a young demographic. |
| Tiny Tune Train | 2007 | Example | A train ride around themed sculptures. |
| Kiddy Bumper Boats | Example | Example | A bumper boats ride aimed at a young demographic. |
Park schedule
[edit]
The park is open on a seasonal schedule: opening in late March, weekends only in April, daily from May to Labor Day, and then weekends only through September.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the park did not adhere to its usual schedule for the 2020 season. The park was able to open daily with reduced capacity beginning June 26 with COVID-19 safety practices in place.[11]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Big Timber Log Ride is classified as both a roller coaster and water ride
References
[edit]- ^ Ozug, Matt (August 9, 2018). "How A Labor Of Love Grew Into An 'Enchanted Forest' In Oregon". NPR.
- ^ Pesznecker, Katie (18 July 1999). "Thrill-Ville, Enchanted Forest offer summer fun". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Retrieved 15 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Enchanted Forest's Tofte family finds their Happily Ever After". Statesman Journal. 14 August 2001. Retrieved 15 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "What's a forest if it isn't an enchanted one?". The Oregonian. 27 July 1972. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ "Enchanted, I'm sure". The Oregonian. 29 April 1993. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ TravelSalem (11 July 2012). Enchanted Forest (YouTube). Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "Bringing back the magic". Albany Democrat-Herald. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Another challange [sic] for ETF Ride systems in Salem, USA" (Press release). ETF Ride Systems. 7 June 2008. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- ^ Killen, Dave (August 26, 2014). "Humpty Dumpty returns to Enchanted Forest, defying incompetence of King's horses and men". The Oregonian. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- ^ "Rides Information". Enchanted Forest. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- ^ "Updated List of Coronavirus Theme Park Closures". Coaster101. 13 March 2020.
External links
[edit]
- No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
- The Best of Enchanted Forest - Portland Mercury
- Forty Years of Enchanted Forest - "Think Out Loud" on Oregon Public Broadcasting
- Enchanted Forest at the Roller Coaster DataBase
- Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. OR-4, "Enchanted Forest, 8462 Enchanted Way SE, Turner, Marion, OR", 11 data pages