Land of Make Believe (amusement park)

The Land of Make Believe is a family amusement park and water park catering mostly to families and children under 13 years of age. It is designed specifically for parents to participate with their children. Opened in 1954, it is in Hope Township, in Warren County, New Jersey, United States, on County Route 611, two miles from exit 12 off of Interstate 80.[1] It centers itself around "Safe and wholesome recreation", with entertaining rides and attractions that are most appropriate for children under the age of thirteen, but also has many attractions for people of all ages but not so extreme that it scares off young children mixed in.

For the defunct theme park formerly located in Upper Jay, New York, see Land of Makebelieve.
Land of Make Believe
Location354 Great Meadows Road, Hope, New Jersey, United States
Coordinates40°54.122′N 74°57.542′W
Opened1954 (1954)
Operating seasonMay–September
Area30 acres (12 ha)
Attractions
Total33
Roller coasters2
Water rides9
Websitewww.lomb.com
StatusOperating

Some of its most prominent attractions are the civil war train (which loops around most of the park), the Pirate's Wading Pool, largest in America with life size Pirate Ship and the Pirates Escape & Pirates revenge dual racing slides. The Land of Make Believe has many of the standard amusement park rides like a junior sized roller coaster, a Tilt-A-Whirl, Drop & Twist, Tornado, and Scream Machine 360 ultimate upside down thrill ride as well as more specialized attractions like a hay ride and a petting zoo. Some more of the water attractions include the Pirates Plunge, Blackbeard's Pirate Fort, The Sidewinder, Blackbeard's Action River Ride, and eight waterslides.

Train at Land of Make Believe

Initially, the park featured only attractions for small children, adding some water attractions for children in the late 1980s. Beginning in the first decade of the 2000s, the park has begun to add rides that adults can enjoy but yet are not too extreme for children. These included standard intermediate adult flat rides found in carnivals and amusement parks as well as larger waterslides found in major waterparks.

Scandals/lawsuits/crimes

In August 2012, police arrested Patrick Deck of Watchung, NJ. Deck was an employee of the Land of Make Believe. Deck pleaded guilty with two counts of transporting child pornography. He filmed a child urinating in the restrooms. Some footage was dated between 2002 and 2005. He was previously convicted in 1988 for endangering the welfare of a child and because of the previous conviction, he faces a minimum of 15 years in state prison.[2]

In 2011, Land of Make Believe was cited for lack of bathrooms and changing stations.

In 2012, former employee Jeremy Carrington sued amusement park director Walter Martowicz III for alleged sexual harassment. He mentioned the director would slap his buttocks, squeeze or push up against him.[3]

In 2016, an ex-employee stole $49,000. The theft began with small purchases and snowballed from there. Tracey Husarenko of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania was charged with eight counts of theft and six counts of fraud. She turned herself in that week.

In January 2019, James Bolan, an employee of LOB, sent illicit pictures of himself to someone he thought was a 14-year-old female. He sent them to a Bergen County investigator.

Rides and attractions
Name Description Thrill Type Notes
Twisted Timbers Spinning family coaster High Manufactured By SBF VISA
Scream Machine 360 Spinning pendulum ride High Manufactured By SBF VISA
Off Road Safari Adventure A 4x4 pickup truck that takes guests on an ecotourism adventure. Moderate
Jump Around Frog Low Riders must be under 36 in (91 cm) to ride.
Rockin' Tug Moderate Manufactured by Zamperla
Tornado Ranging from Moderate to High Manufactured by Wisdom Industries
T-Rex Ranging from Moderate to High
Drop’n’Twist High This ride was formerly "Free Fallin"
Samba Balloon Ride Moderate Manufactured by Zamperla
Ferris Wheel Low
Grand Carousel Low
Civil War Locomotive and Train Ride A C.P. Huntington miniature train that represents a steam locomotive in the 1800s during the Civil War. Low
Thriller The park's only roller coaster that opened in 1994. High Riders must be between
33–36 in (84–91 cm) and accompanied by an adult.
Tilt-A-Whirl High Manufactured by Sellner Manufacturing Company
Flying Pirate Ship Low Manufactured by SBF VISA
Red Baron A ride where riders ride in miniature airplanes that represented planes used in World War I. Moderate
Dixie Car A simple ride featuring miniature police cars and race cars. Riders can control the sounds. Low
Magic Dragon Low
Carnival Midway Located by the front entrance. This midway has a lot of boardwalk carnival games to choose from that include great prizes. N/A N/A
Captain Ricky The park's official mascot. He is a bear who wears a pilot's uniform. N/A N/A
Middle Earth Theater A Medieval themed-show where guests can participate by dressing up into different costumes and being the stars of the show. N/A On rainy days, a puppet show is given.
Santa's Barn An enchanted Christmas forest which is Santa Claus' summer home. Guests can tell Santa what they want for Christmas ahead of time and get free cookie cutters. There is also a pizza place (Mama Santa's Pizza), gift shop, and ice cream parlor (Rudolph's Ice Cream) inside. N/A N/A
Arcade The park also houses an arcade filled with video games where guests can win tickets to redeem for prizes. N/A N/A
Haunted House & Cemetery A haunted house full of scary things inside of it. Next to the haunted house is a cemetery. N/A N/A
Hay Ride An authentic old-fashioned hay ride pulled by a tractor. Low
World War II Airplane Cockpit Guests can view and play with the controls in a replica World War II Airplane N/A N/A
Jenny Jump House A historic house complete with an audio history about the legend of Jenny Jump. N/A N/A
Old MacDonald's Farm A petting zoo complete with live farm animals. N/A N/A
Colonel Corn, Famous Talking Scarecrow Guests can interact with a scarecrow that talks. N/A N/A
Maze and Candy Cane Forest A forest that is full of giant-sized candy canes and a maze that is located next to it. Both are located directly across from Santa's Barn. N/A N/A
Family Picnic Grove An area full of picnic tables where guests eat. N/A N/A
Land of Make Believe Mining Company N/A N/A
Pirate's Cove The park's waterpark that is pirate themed. Water rides ranging from low to high N/A
Cookie House The park's gift shop. N/A N/A

Former rides and attractions
Name Description Notes
Obstacle Course A play obstacle course that featured cargo nets and a ball pit. N/A
Frogger This moderate ride was replaced by Free Fallin'.
Little Dipper A former roller coaster in the park.
Worm Ride

Water rides and attractions
Name Description Thrill Type Notes
Pirate's Plunge and Pirate's Cannonball Pirate's Plunge is a water ride where guests are taken down a slide, then down a huge plunge hole. Pirate's Cannonball, on the other hand, is a water slide ride. High Tubes are required for Pirate's Plunge, but not for Pirate's Cannonball
Wading Pool The wading pool is equipped with a pirate ship and small slides. N/A N/A
Blackbeard's Action River Ride A popular lazy river tube rafting ride. Low N/A
Pirate's Escape and Pirate's Revenge Guests are put inside a launch tube and then race down High N/A
Sidewinder Guests slide down a waterspray halfpipe. High This is the first Sidewinder water ride in the entire state of New Jersey.
The Black Hole A tunnel like water slide. High Recommended for guests 8 and up.
Water Slides Other water slides in the park include a blue waterslide and two white waterslides. High
Blackbeard's Pirate Fort Another part of the waterpark that has a water play area and a water bucket. N/A N/A

References
  1. "Land of Make Believe - About Us". Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
  2. Man charged with filming boy in Land of Make Believe bathroom LeighValleyLive.com. Accessed December 25, 2019
  3. Former Land of Make Believe employee sues amusement park, director over alleged sexual harassment LeighValleyLive.com. Accessed December 25, 2019
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