Many will remember that the 1988 movie Big staring Tom Hanks was filmed at Rye Playland. And many will also remember the mystical Zoltar, the vending machine genie who turned Hanks into a kid.
Well Zoltar is no more and in his exact place lies a Pepsi machine:
Thanks to scoutingny.com for sharing this: "The Pepsi machine is literally located on the exact pole they stationed the prop Zoltar machine. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the same power outlet visible in the above still. Sort of too bad Rye hasn’t installed a working mechanical fortune teller here, or at least a plaque reading “Zoltar Says: Make Your Wish!” Anything beats a Pepsi machine."
Yeah, I’ve always been confused about why Zoltar doesn’t have a place at Playland. If not in the movie location, at least somewhere on the grounds.
You could even charge a buck to take a photo with a classic movie artifact. Maybe that would solve the Playland solution!
Cool post.
Bringing Zoltar back to Playland is part of our plan at the Westchester Children’s Museum!
I think there was a fortune telling machine just outside of Kiddyland in the early 1960’s. I think it was moved down by The Magic Carpet later on and was destroyed in the massive Funhouse/Magic Carpet fire.
“Zoltar Says: Make Your Wish!”
OK Zoltar – I wish that the crooks who are behind the consultants who are going to announce Playland’s staged destruction meet a fate straight out of an Arabian night.
Instead of yet another Children’s museum, how about something truly interesting and unique? Unfortunately, it looks like the idea of a Math Museum (MoMath) has been taken (http://momath.org/about/), but there have to be other equally interesting and unique ideas.