Visitors once crowded the park, treasured it, and supported it. Some say a rowdy element took over the park in the late 1950s, but others say the park’s demise was caused by bigger paychecks, the advent of television, Disneyland, and Magic Mountain. Connie Basbis Pappas answered best when she said, “It was a peaceful place, the train was slow, and the merry-go-round was beautiful, but we grew up and moved away.”