it creeks, it grows, it shakes, the giant dipper is one of seven wooden roller coasters still operating in the united states. the national historic landmark that still scares the heck out of the riders. still ahead on a second look. good evening i'm gasia mikaelian. welcome to a sec look. with the summer in full swing tonight we take a look at a favorite summertime destination. amusement parks. the santa cruz beach boardwalk is where fond child hood memories were made. as george watson first reported, the boardwalk has

attracted visitors for generations. >> reporter: do we long for this place. to feel the warm sand between our toes, the sand in our hair, the sweet taste of cotton candy. must we be content of only the memories these simple pleasures our senses sometimes seek. no it is not a distant imaginary do, it is real and it is here. the place where people have sought these simple pleasures for almost a century. the santa cruz board and beach walk. it burned down in 06 and was rebuilt in time to open for the summer of 1907.

it is along this curve way that is the lure of this park that has endured. the boardwalk itself is a california historic landmark. the 89-year-old carusel is a landmark. and so is the dipper. >> what can i tell you about this old roller coaster. it was built in 1904. it is made of all wood. the american association of roller coaster enthusiasts ranks it in the top 10 in the entire world. it goes 60 miles per hour and i think we're going to find out. >> my first job here was riding the kidty train.

the bulgy ride over here i ran when i was 16. i'm 60 now. it shows you that we have rides that have lasted. >> reporter: charles canfield's father was on the board of director of the companies that operate the boardwalk. it's been a hands on family affair for most of the past 100 years. his son took over as president in 1984 and has run the beach and boardwalk ever since. one ride that didn't last, it was called the slide for life and it involved a volunteer and a big fellow by the name of patterson. >> he would on his knees on the trapeez. get a child. he had to release the child. lift up, release his knees. jump in the water himself into the pier. >> reporter: the plunge is gone

too. built in 1907 it was a large heated salt water pool. it was emptied every night. the heating bill alone was $4,000 a month. when the public's interest waned in the early 60s the plunge went under. but places like the beach and boardwalk are all about memories the kind you make today. the kind you pull out and lovingly relive. then there's the memories best reserved by those who can tell us about them. >> we did grow up some here. that was the only fun place that we had at the time i was over here. my dad never worried about me. if i said i was going to go to the boardwalk. >> from the first miss california beauty pageant of 1924 to the big band sound of the 40s. with the coconut grove the ballrooms. from the ups and downs of the

depression. through it all from the start of one century to the start of the next, the santa cruz boardwalk endures. it is carved and niched in people's hearts and proven itself in harmony with the passage of time. one of the most famous attractions at the boardwalk is a giant dipper. the man who created it 90 years ago arthur luke said he wanted to make a roller coaster that was both combination earthquake, balloon asession and airplane drop. it took 27 days to build that acosta $60,000. when it opened in 1924 it delighted thrill seekers. including a boy who came back to enjoy it on it birthday. p erarari was 88 when he became

the millionth rider. >> the big difference when you're 10 years old and all by yourself you're scared to death. >> reporter: another difference the first ride he took the ticket was 15-cents today that ride costs $6. still to come on a second look. >> it was really before the days safety. there were no belts on it. there was a little chain at the side of the door. you held on for dear life. >> fond memories of san francisco's play land at the beach. ride that are meant to scare and thrill but critics say the dangers of some amusement park rides are real.

welcome back to a second look. the lure of amusement rides. one of the a lures was san

francisco at the beach. in 2000, george watson traced its history. >> reporter: it's not much of a destination now. a chilly strip of beach out at the edge of san francisco. and across the street from it a big and not especially beautiful apartment complex. but not so long ago, people from all over the bay area would come here to have fun. it was called play land at the beach. with enough rides, games and fast food concoctions to keep the kids happy all day long. if the kids had a steady stomach. for many of us there were images in our mind, most particularly this imagine. they called her laughing sal. she stood in the window of the fun house and cackled night and

day. laughing sal played hostess to many generations of fun seekers. in 1858 ocean beach was just a strip of land beside a scattering of farm buildings. the city's prospering class would ride to the beach by train, partake of a drink at the sea wall hotel. and for those who could afford it the more elegant cliff house a commanding victorian palace on the hill. by 1922 the strip had numerous attractions. most notably shoots at the beach, an amusement park features a fun house, a mid-way and a dozen rides including a ferris wheel. in the midst of it all was

topsies roost. a pair of slide that carried revelers from the second floor restaurant down to the dance floor. in 1928, the park got a new owner and a new name. play land at the beach. and for almost half a century more, the rides kept working. >> the carusel that extravagant work of art that entertained millions throughout the year at play land is alive and well in san francisco. >> ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls please remain seated while the ride is in motion. please do not change seats while the ride is in motion. thank you. >> reporter: hand somely restored the old merry go is now restored. gold is the manager for the phone company during the week and runs the ride for the love of it. he worked at playland as a teenager and met his wife there. he has a private collection of tickets and signs from playland

in the 50s and 60s. >> talk about childhood heaven. when i was 16 i had the keys to everything out there. running the fun house on special nights like when they would rent the fun house out to a private party. being on that crew. things like that it was just great. it really was. >> reporter: the biggest thing about the slide was of course you couldn't wear rubber sole shoes because the wood and the rubber sole shoes did not mix. if your shoe hit the rail between the two slides your leg would go up under you and you would tumble. so everyone who was wearing rubber sole shoe would leave them in the mat. and then you would take a sack and take it to the top of the mat. it was before the days of safety. there were no belts on it. there was a little chain at the side of the door. okay. you held on for dear life. >> reporter: in the 60s the crowds at playland began to

thin. strollers would visit during the day but would avoid the place after dark as it began to attract juvenile gangs, shops were vandalized. the innocent fun turned sour. the cackle had taken on a sinister malice. finally in october of 1972, the rusting rides shut down and playland was handed over to a property developer. the wrecking ball was not far behind. >> it was very, very disheartening. it was sad. that's just the word for it. >> reporter: what else remains we found laughing sal in an odd little san francisco place called the museum of the exotica. >> reporter: for those who would like to see laughing sal in person. she's now on display at museum

mecanique in san francisco. located on pier 45 at the foot of caleb street in san francisco's fisherman's wharf. admission is free. when we come back to a second look. did this popular ride at disneyland cause a woman to suffer traumatic injury. she says the dangers of modern ride are real. and what the park is now offering new visitors.

welcome back to a second look. a look at amusement parks. as twee voo first reported in 1989 some of those who go on those rides claim the rides create more than an illusion of danger they are danger.

>> reporter: are rides more than an adventure. a woman thinks so she went on this ride indiana jones shortly after it opened. she says she doesn't remember much about the ride except that it jolted her violently. >> when your in it and they're operating it, it seems to be something out hell. it shakes you like crazy. >> reporter: within hours, jacobs fell into a coma and had to have three brain operations and a tube placed in her skull to drain excess fluid. she says she still suffering from brain damage. the indiana jones attraction is computerized so that no ride is exactly the same every single time. the jeep moves a little differently. it shakes a little differently. in fact, there are more than 150,000 different ride combinations. jacob's lawyers says one of those combinations were so

intense that it tore jacob's ligament on her brain. jacobson now has a lawsuit against disney. >> i had neck and back. it was moving like this. i wasn't interested if someone hit their thumb or thinger. >> reporter: it took a one year legal battle for them to obtain these injury logs from disney. enough to fill several binders. they cannot reveal specific number of injuries. but the indiana jones ride accounts for 80 of them. >> people have had disk and back problems. >> it appears the indiana jones attraction was rushed into

operation before all testing was complete. >> reporter: disney calls the rushed into operation statement false. but says that injury continued over the years that the ride was open. and the number of injuries went down. >> from 95 they're up here. 96 they're down here. 97 they're down here. 98 they're down here. so what happens? they're making changes to the rides. adding seat belts so people can secure themselves. >> reporter: riders must assume some level of risk, says disney. >> when the public doesn't know that brain injury is one of the possibilities that can arise from using the attraction, then the public cannot be said to have assumed the risk. >> reporter: other accidents

have happened at disneyland, but under california law the park does not have to report them to the state unless they involve an employee or someone dies. last year cal osha investigated an incident that killed one person and injured two other people including an employee. cal osha fined disneyland more than $12,000. the theme park said safety is always a top concern. >> at the santa cruz beach boardwalk, officials say they shut down the hurricane boardwalk coaster and shut down the ride after some riders complained it was too intense. zapora jacobs eventually

settled with disney for an undisclosed amount. cal osha says there's been 82 serious ride injuries and 10 fatalities of guests reported at permanent amusement parks here in california. and a look back at its glory days. >> a drop through a windy water chute. an a notorious water park comes back to life.

welcome back to a second look. tonight we revisit some notable amusement parks. perhaps the most famous of all boardwalks is the one at coney island in brooklyn. by the time this film was shot in the 1920s, coney island had been a tourist destination for a century. over the years new yorkers road carriages, then railcars then electric trolllies then the subway to get to coney island

and escape the sweltering summer heat. by the mid-1800s, hotels had sprung up. some for the rich others for the middle class. in 1986, charles luche added the first carusel. in 1995 the first amusement park in the country sea lion park opened its gates. go for a spin on various whirling devices and climb aboard a giant roller coaster. sunday attendance in the summer could reach more than 1 million people. the amusement park at coney island started a new trend. >> reporter: coney island was the king of them all. amusement parks were at their peak when there were 2,000 of them spread across the united

states. so to be acknowledged as the coney island of the west was high praise indeed. that was the title bestowed on alameda's tiny bay side neptune beach. it had it all. two huge salt water swimming pools, ballroom dancing, and everyone the occasional high wire daredevil. 80 years ago thousands of people a day made the sandy shores of alameda the end of the line in their per suit of pleasure. >> it was open five months of the year from palm sunday until labor day. on the weekend they would have 20, 30,000 people over there. >> reporter: neptune beach was the northern california entertainment attraction of the decade known as the roaring 20s. alluring pleasures began on the

tower. the tower of jewels which had been the center piece of san francisco's 1915 panama pacific. neptune beach was expected to allure to families. there were vast picnic areas, 10-cent hot dogs and of course the swimming. but getting there was also an inexpensive efficient operation thanks to an urban transportation set up that would be the envy of any operating today. >> you would get on a ferry boat at the ferry building and in 20 minutes you would be over the oakland mall. another 20 minutes you would climb on a southern pacific rail cart and it would take you right to the gates of neptune beach. >> reporter: the last 10 were in starch contrast. the time dictated the demise of what had become a part of the fabric of bay area life. automobiles that become more of

a staple of american life. the open road beconned people to explore way beyond the limits of the immediate bay area. the amusement park at neptune beach had suddenly become an amusing enacronism. neptune beach finally shut down. the carts valued at $1,000 sold for only $250. neptune beach once the glory of alameda and one of the brightest baubles in the glory era of america's amusement parks, slipped into memories barely recalled. for those on the east coast, this summer has brought the return of an often remembered destination. a park dubbed the world's most dangerous amusement park.

action park opened in 1968. lawsuits were brought against the owner aft several people died. the parks dubbed names like accident park. this summer it sprang to life again. features a new ride the zero-g. the rider climbs 100-foot tower then stands in a capsule. that's when the door opens sending the rider through tubes that are partially flooded with water. the reopening of the park prompted cory booker to tweet that while he still has battle scars from the old park he so wants to go again. that's all for this week. i'm gasia mikaelian, thank you for watching.

. >> hi, everybody. i'm beth troutman. great videos from the web are coming your way "right this minute." a globe trotting filmmake knows this volcano is going to blow, but the camera keeps lling. the menap his own close call. long borders go along the winding road. why carving it up nearly makes