Fantasy Island has been a mainstay on Grand Island for as long as most of us remember.
If you have memories you would like to share, email jodi@giecom.net
Previous Memories
Paula Drainville McDonnell Circa mid 1960's
From left: cousin Linda Nicholson Chabot and Paula Drainville McDonnell.
From left: My sister Michele (Drainville) Martin, Paula and my brothers Brian and Robert Drainville.
Paula feeding a deer at the petting zoo.
Dick & Chip Crawford Circa 1966
Dick Crawford sent in this picture of his brother Chip and himself on the boats at Fantasy Island circa 1966.
Fantasy Island Permanently Closed - February 2020
GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. (WIVB) - Fantasy Island is ceasing operations. The theme park's director of marketing, Doug Mandell, released a statement on Wednesday afternoon: "Despite significant effort and a great deal of investment in infrastructure, rides and new themed areas, we have not seen an improvement in operating results," Mandell said. "As such, we made the difficult decision to cease operations. This was not a decision entered into lightly. Team members are being assisted by their supervisors and the company is working to minimize impact to those affected. Guests may visit www.fantasyislandny.com for answers to commonly asked questions." Prior to this, reports stated that the park was selling its rides, but at the time, it was not clear whether or not it was shutting down completely. Fantasy Island's website prominently displays "permanently closed" on the front of it.History of Fantasy Island from Wikipedia... Fantasy Island opened in July 1961 and went bankrupt in 1982. It was acquired out of bankruptcy by Charles Wood, the original owner of Storytown USA. Wood sold the park to International Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) in 1989 and later re-acquired the park in 1992 when IBC went bankrupt. In his second stint of ownership, Wood changed the park's name to Two Flags Over Niagara Fun Park, a name it kept until 1994 when local businessman Martin DiPietro purchased the park and re-dubbed it Martin's Fantasy Island. This name remained until the end of the 2016 season.
On May 14, 2016, the day the park opened for its 56th season, DiPietro announced that Fantasy Island had been sold to Apex Parks Group, a California-based company.[1] The park's name reverted to Fantasy Island after the 2016 season concluded.
Originally, the park occupied only 12 acres of land; it expanded to the current 85 acres in 1974. On August 11, 1991, 14-year-old Kenneth Margerum fell 60 feet to his death from the Ferris wheel after his seat dropped from its axle. It was revealed that the park operators routinely removed one or two seats from the ride each day to prevent the ride from moving around in high winds during off-hours. Each time the ride opened, the seats were bolted back onto the frame of the ride. Investigators found that only one side of the victim's seat had been bolted properly, causing Margerum's seat to drop from its axle and subsequently leading to his death.
The park's Silver Comet roller coaster, which opened in 1999, was created in the style of the original Comet roller coaster that was located at nearby Crystal Beach, Ontario for many years. The original Comet was stored at Fantasy Island after Wood purchased it in 1989, the year Crystal Beach closed, before moving the Comet to his Great Escape park in Queensbury, New York, where it was reassembled in 1994 and remains in operation to this day.
