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In Parts 1 and 2 of this exploration of theme parks in the islands, I looked at some that opened and closed or are still around greeting thousands of visitors.
In the latter category, we have Sea Life Park, the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Dole Plantation, among others.
In this third and last installment, I’ll explore some of the interesting theme parks that for one reason or another failed to launch.
Some could not pass zoning hurdles or, if they did, could not raise enough money to get off the ground or secure community support for their sometimes zany and incredible ideas.
Caneland
In 1977, Kane Fernandez planned a Caneland theme park on 40 acres at Campbell Industrial Park, or next to the Kahuku Sugar Mill.
Caneland would emphasize the historical significance of Hawaii’s sugar plantation era in a fun, entertaining experience, he said. The amusement park would cost about $21 million, he projected, and charge a $10 admission fee.
Kane is the son of E.K. Fernandez, whose company has sponsored amusement activities in the islands for 118 years.
Fernandez said his park would have five villages, each featuring rides, attractions and food that represented the ethnic groups — Polynesian, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Caucasian — that helped build Hawaii’s sugar industry.
The main thoroughfare would be Plantation Plaza, a street scene of the early 1900s, highlighted by an “antique carousel of that era.”
There would have been a sugar mill candy shop, a glassblower’s shop and a large sit-down restaurant featuring smoked ribs, barbecue chicken, mahimahi, teriyaki steak and other favorite island dishes.
A large outdoor theater would have offered contemporary island music and South Seas musical revues. It also would have a petting zoo with baby llamas, wallabies, goats and other animals.
He expected 800,000 tourists in its first year.
Pupukea Cultural Center
Foodland’s Maurice Sullivan proposed building a 26-acre theme park on a cliff above the North Shore. It would feature ethnic villages representing the groups that migrated to the islands.
His goal was to promote an understanding of Hawaii and its ethnic heritage. Locals called it “Sullivanland.”
Each village would be housed in buildings that reflected the architectural characteristics of that ethnicity’s country. They would have displays and demonstrations of the unique arts and crafts of each group.
Sullivan expected 500,000 visitors a year but proposed parking for only 400 cars and buses off Kamehameha Highway below the park. A people mover would transport visitors from there up to its gardens and villages.
Southeast Asian Art and Culture Center
Doris Duke spent millions replicating a Thai village for a proposed Southeast Asian Art and Culture Center on 80 acres of land near Kaneohe in 1953.
An authentic Thai palace was to be built in Bangkok, disassembled, shipped and rebuilt in Hawaii. Buddhist shrines were purchased, and art collections were acquired for a museum of Asian art.
The Thai village would be on a man-made lake fed by Heeia Stream. The center could be on Haiku Road mauka of Haiku Gardens or in Kahana Valley. William Chapman, dean of the University of Hawaii School of Architecture, said sites along the Ala Wai and at Kualoa were also considered.
“Frustrated by resistance by the City and County’s planning office, Duke decided in 1972 to ship the whole village and the art to her estate in New Jersey,” Chapman said.
“No doubt Doris Duke’s village would have added an interesting attraction for Hawaii, though certainly not one that met the key promotional themes of Hawaii’s tourist industry.“
Undersea City of Hawaii
In 1965, Robert Retherford announced plans to build a $3 million underwater oceanic laboratory and entertainment center in waters off Ala Moana, Waikiki or Hanauma Bay.
The Undersea City of Hawaii would consist of two domes made of Corning glass that would be able to withstand 70,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. Each dome would be 70 feet in diameter and 31 feet high.
Guests would arrive via an electric train operating through a submarine tube 50 to 70 feet beneath the surface of the ocean, The Honolulu Advertiser reported.
One dome would contain the world’s first undersea restaurant, Retherford said. It also would house science displays, a U.S. Post Office and a souvenir shop.
Visitors could watch marine life through the dome’s glass walls. Sounds from the surrounding ocean would be piped into the dome through hydrophones.
Frank Fasi and George Hirosi also separately proposed building undersea restaurants in the same area. Hirosi’s “Shell City” would be a “substitute for skin diving for those who lacked the inclination to take up underwater sports.”
It would be built on land and lowered to the bottom of the ocean. The projects failed to come up with sufficient capital to continue.
Hawaii’s Magic Island
Lee Hyatt of Beverly Hills, Calif., proposed a theme park on Magic Island. His idea would have an imitation volcano thrill ride, jet-driven “coconut shell” boats, a railroad and a floating restaurant.
Guests could arrive by sampan. The park would include a Menehune Village, a “boat-through-a-jungle-forest,” black-sand beach, pearl divers, a teenage pavilion, a private toy factory and “other specialties for wee people.”
The state rejected his $18 million lease plan as “too honky-tonky” for Hawaii.
Magic Island Amusement Park
In 1967, Ruxton Schuh also proposed an amusement park at Magic Island. Over 1,000,000 visitors a year, he projected, could enjoy the river rides, amphitheater, aqua sports stadium, children’s area, teen city, movie theater and “authentic restaurants.”
Visitors could ride a river boat or monorail. The project would have “a little bit of China, Japan and Hong Kong” in a series of exhibits. It was modeled after Denmark’s Tivoli Gardens.
When the state disapproved, Schuh shifted to a Disneyland or “Magic Gardens” theme park at Campbell Estate or Kahuku.
Hawaiian Disneyland
Schuh’s Hawaiian Disneyland-type park would have a “historic seaport,” tropical arboretum, steam railroad, quiet lagoons, surf watchers’ pavilion, native craft workshops, exhibits from the mainland and Asia, and a performance meadow on 140 acres.
It would re-create 19th-century Hawaii, Schuh said, and offer badly needed jobs to former sugar workers. The state said OK but he failed to attract investors.
Kahe Point
In 1977, Arnold Green planned a 103-acre cultural theme park in Makaha or Waimanalo Gulch, a half-mile from Hawaiian Electric’s Kahe Valley power plant on the Waianae Coast. It projected a cost of $31 million and expected 1.5 million visitors a year.
The Disneyland-type park would have multiple themes at several different elevations within the canyon. “Old Honolulu” would feature “actual buildings from out of Honolulu’s past.”
“Gods of the Pacific” would be a boat ride through a jungle. “Village of the Menehune” would be a visit to the “secret homeland of these Hawaiian legends.”
“Land of Volcanoes” would be a thrill ride with arcade games in the towering peak of a bubbling volcano. At the highest point in the park, a cultural area and restaurants would provide a panoramic view of the Pacific.
The project failed to garner financing, and the area today is a landfill.
Oscar Show World
A Universal Studios makes sense in Hollywood, but in Hawaii Kai?
Oscar Nichols and Manne Green proposed a major movie studio complex there, or in Kuliouou or Kipapa Gulch, in 1973.
Over 500,000 visitors a year would visit the movie theme park, with sets and studios, they predicted.
OK. Now that you’ve scanned the list, which do you think were viable, and which were too zany or ridiculous? Would you have attended any of them?
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Have a question or suggestion? Contact Bob Sigall, author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books, at Sigall@Yahoo.com.
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