Re: more playland oddities

04/29/03 - posted by P.S. Perris

The Diving Bell was supposed to be a sort of early-day Marineland attraction where visitors would descend into an aquarium full of living Pacific Ocean sea creatures. At least, that was Whitneys original concept. The problem was that the dang animals kept dying and it was costing them a fortune to keep replenishing the pool. And no one was riding the Bell into the empty depths.

Instead, the Whitneys hit upon the idea of turning the Bell into an "atraction" rather than an educational experience. That's what most of us remember: a slow descent into murky depths followed by a rocket-like ascent to the surface followed by a cork-like bobbing on the surface.

I'd rather have seen fishies.

P.S. Perris