This entrance to Fantasy Island was familiar to visitors in the late 1960's through the late 1990's. The ticket booths came from the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. Martin redesigned the entrance, removing the dated ticket booths, removing the curb and adding flowers and flowering trees.

Visiting kids to Western Town took an oath to uphold the law. Cowboys, saloon girls and Indians passed out the little tin stars that could be clipped onto clothes. The General Store sold cowboy hats, cap guns, Indian headdresses, Indian dolls and drums among other western style items. Look at the background. There were no trees in the park during the early years. The building with the red awning was the Gingerbread House which sold sweet treats. Today it is the duck pond game. The long pink building next to it is now the Birthday House.

These high-stepping dancers performed in the Golden Nugget Revue during the park's early years. Western Town was originally decorated with antique wagons and other antique "props." Live horses were used for ths shows. The buildings of Western Town are still the site of the infamous shootout.

The petting zoo was called Animal Kingdom on this postcard. The enclosed area held  free-roaming llamas, goats, deer and donkeys as well as penned animals. The entrance was through a giant Easter Egg. The panarama view of the park from this side shows an area void of trees. Umbrella tables shaded picnickers from the sun. The major restaurant was the building on the left which is now Basghetti's. Western Town and the birthday house can be seen in the background. Some of the diorama buildings can be seen to the right. Behind the building with the checked roof is the miniature train station and behind that is Jack and the Beanstalk.

The 1865 model miniature train was replaced by a streamliner model in the mid-1960's.

Along the path of the Garden of Fables were dioramas both animated and not.  Humpty Dumpty had a storyboard near him that told his sad tale.

The Paratrooper was one of the first thrill rides introduced to the park during the 1970's expansion. Other thrill rides included the Trabant, the Scrambler, the Tilt-A-Whirl, The Bumper Cars and the Wildcat roller coaster.

By the time Charley Wood purchased Fantasy Island much of the Garden of Fables had been replaced by kiddie rides. Charley brought back the fantasy by having his good friend, Arto Monaco, build Cinderella's Castle on the former site of the Birthday House. The carriage came from Arto's defunct park, The Land of Make Believe, formerly of Upper Jay, NY. The carousel now occupies this site.

The Nitro quickly became a favorite among park patrons when it was introduced a few seasons ago.

Kids love driving the antique cars. Locked onto a track, the vehicles are actually powered by gasoline and requires the driver to press the gas pedal. A popular ride in many amusement parks, the antique cars at MFI wind around a grassy area and cross over a bridge.

The Sleeping Giant snores away the summer in the grassy area near the front train station. Originally created as Gulliver of the book Gulliver's Travels, he is one of the few pieces left from the Garden of Fables era.

The Silver Comet took its first downhill plunge in May 1998. Although its configuration is different from the Crystal Beach/Great Escape Comet, people still confuse the two, which makes Marty very happy.