Adventure Land

Adventure Land

This was an amusement park in Addison, Illinois.  It ran from 1961 to 1977. The land where the park is located was originally a restaurant and tavern. The name at that time was Paul’s Picnic Grove. From 1958 to 1961, it was a family attraction known as Storybook Park.

From 1967 to 1976, it was the largest amusement park in Illinois. It got this distinction after Riverview closed. Attractions included Dizzy Hofbrauhaus, Scrambler, Crash ‘n Splash Torpedo Tubs, Western Round-Up, Bumper Cars, Italian Bobs, and Super Italian Bobs. The Bobs reached a height of 35 feet; the super Bobs reached 60 feet. The park had room for 3,000 cars to park.

Storybook Park was sold to Durell Everding in 1961. His family also owned Santa’s Village (now Santa’s Village Azoosment Park). Durell renamed the park Adventureland. Some attractions from Storybook Park were kept. However, he was focused on adding more rides to the park in order to attract older clientele. He died in 1970 and the park was run by his family. The park was purchased by Medinah Investors. The park closed in 1977. Great America became the largest Illinois amusement park. This contributed to Adventureland’s closing.

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Images from Adventure Land

Images from Adventure Land and Storybook Gardens

Images from Stephanie Wegner