Vintage Video Takes You Back to the Glory Years of Lake George NY

An old home video we found from the 1970s shows us amusement park life in Lake George during much simpler times. See i tbelow!

Memorial Day Weekend is fast approaching, and many of us are gassing up the rides (if it doesn't completely break the bank) quite possibly heading up to the ADKs and perhaps even a visit to the Great Escape.

But eons before the Adirondack Outlaw, and decades before the Steamin' Demon, Lake George was home to Gaslight Village, Storytown USA, and much simpler times.

These were the days of bumper stickers, Jungleland, Ferris wheels, and tilt-a-whirls. I'm all for whatever the public demands (and business owners decide to build) so I personally have zero problems with what has transformed over the last 40 years or so in Lake George. With that being said, it was nice to check out this rare home video of some pretty cool Lake George attractions that no longer exist and some that still do, all captured with vintage 70s charm.

I remember my sister and me hoping in the back of dad's old Buick Regal and heading up to Lake George on a warm, sunny Saturday morning to have a little family fun. Sometimes we did the theme parks, but most times we skipped the parks entirely and just strolled leisurely around Lake George Village. We played video games in the arcades, watched the Minne Ha Ha out on the lake, and took in an ice cream cone (with sprinkles) while we window shopped the souvenir stores near Frankenstein's Wax Museum.

I was born in 1973, believed to be around the time this video was taken. I really didn't have too many memories of Gaslight Village or Storytown USA before it became the Great Escape but after watching this video, many things came back to life for me and some things really stood out.

Gaslight Village is no longer in existence, and Storytown USA became the Great Escape in 1983.

Something else I seem to have missed from childhood: Dolphins!

Storytown USA used to have trained dolphins in the old high-dive pool. Either I was too young to remember that or somehow after watching Blackfish I decided to mentally suppress any and all feelings about intelligent aquatic life held in captivity for our amusement.