Fantasy Island Amusement Park proudly presents to you, our patrons, a Classic, Turn-of-the-Century Carousel, custom designed for Fantasy Island by Chance Rides, Inc. of Wichita, Kansas. Featuring the famous Bradley & Kaye molds of horses that date back to the early 1900's. We hand picked the outside row of animals to be representative of the various styles of the master carvers of a bygone age.
The topmost horse and gold balls were added by Fantasy Island to bring back the authentic look of the Victorian carousel. These features are rarely seen today.
In 1974 Marriott's Great American Theme Parks wanted to present to the public an authentic carousel reminiscent of an era that had all but disappeared. Leb Brown approached David E. Bradley with this awesome task. Fortunately for all of us today, 'Dave' Bradley's love of the carousel's history caused him to assemble and duplicate exactly the beautiful workmanship that had been so long ignored. Faithfully recreated in fiberglass, the carousel horses presented to the public proved to be immensely popular and inspired many people to want to know more about this neglected piece of Americana. In 1986 Chance Rides, Inc. acquired these precious molds.
The Bradley & Kaye horses have the finest pedigree. They date back to the great era of carousel carvers. Craftsmen like Marcus Illions, Charles Looff, Charles Carmel and Gustav Dentzel. The molds for the Bradley & Kaye figures were taken directly from hand-carved, turn-of-the-century, American carousel figures. Each figure requires many hours of hand finishing and delicate paint work before it is ready to take its place in the ranks of this cherished American tradition.
