When you think about the name of almost any amusement park, their slogan or tagline comes to mind. We think of Disneyland and Walt Disney World as “The Happiest Places on Earth”. Closer to home, Kennywood in Erie, Pennsylvania currently uses two slogans: “Make a New Memory” and “America’s Finest Traditional Amusement Park.” A few years back they were “The Roller Coaster Capital of the World.” The new home of the Flying Turns, Knoebels Amusement Resort in Ellysburg, Pennsylvania, uses various catch phrases: “America’s Number One Amusement Park,” “It’s My Kind of Fun (Is Knoebels Fun),” “Picture Yourself (at Knoebels),” “Make New Memories the Old Fashioned Way,” and, “Fun, Food, and Fantasy.”
Waldameer Park & Water World wants us to remember: “You’re Gonna Love It.” Conneaut Lake Park is “A Traditional Amusement Resort with Something for Everyone!” and the place “Where the Past Becomes the Future.” Cedar Point right here in Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie is definitely no stranger to the use of slogans and taglines: “Roller Coaster Capital of the World,” America’s Rockin Roller Coast,” “America’s Roller Coast,” and, “CP is the Place to Be.”
For Euclid Beach Park, there were two slogans: “One Fare – Free Gate – No Beer” and “Nothing to Depress or Demoralize.” “One Fare” referred to the agreement reached between the Humphreys and the street car companies servicing Euclid Beach. The Deluth and The Superior, the two boats which brought patrons from downtown Cleveland to the Pier at the Park would be taken out of service and the street car companies agreed to charge one fare from the point of pickup to Euclid Beach with no additional charge for transfers. As for the “Free Gate”, there was never any charge for entering the Park grounds, except a few instances during the final years. When the Humphrey family took over operation of the Park in 1901 they wanted to emphasize the family-friendly way they planned to operate the Park. No beer or alcohol of any type was ever served or permitted on the grounds. Almost everyone associated with the amusement park business thought the profit lost from the elimination of alcohol and the games of chance would inevitably lead to financial ruin. Clevelanders embraced the new policy of “Nothing to Depress or Demoralize” and the rest is as they say is history. The “Coney Island” template was not the only successful way of operating an amusement park.