The Cuddle-Up was put in at the end of World War II - about 1945. In fact, it was one of the first rides put in the park after the War. It was a flat ride made by Philadelphia Toboggan. I think it had nine cars on it and they would spin and go from one turning circle to the other. The Cuddle-Up was successful for many years. And then, I got the brainstorm to retheme it. It wasn’t an original idea, because Fantasyland Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania had a Pretzel ride named "Winter Wonderland" that had a “frosted” façade after the ride had been changed to an arctic theme. After seeing that, I got the idea of building an Iceberg. So we put an armature around the Cuddle-Up, and put in wire and fencing. Then we had an outfit come in and spray concrete on. We sprayed painted it stark white to look like an iceberg. It was very effective.

Outside we had a simulated bear and penguins on the roof. Inside we had air conditioning. If it was 80 degrees outside, and we had it set in there for 60.  It was like walking into an iceberg. Inside we also had disco lights and disco music that was a hot thing at that time. Then I got the brainstorm to build the Titanic - the bow of the ship coming through the back wall like it was hitting the iceberg. Bill Tracy was originally involved with this. In fact, he worked on some of the ideas of what we would do the outside. And then, I can’t recall if that’s when Bill died or got sick, he had another young fellow who worked with him, and when Bill couldn’t make it, he came up and finished the job.

While not a traditional dark ride, the Iceberg is included as an example of a concept which initially involved Bill Tracy. James Melonic, of JMM Studios in New Jersey, told Laff In The Dark of his extensive involvement in the design and creation of the Iceberg pavillion, the fabrication of the metal mesh armature later coated with Gunite, and the modeling of penguins, polar bear and the bow of the Titanic.

It was a very good ride. We had it registered so nobody could steal it. However, in Panama City, Florida, the Miracle Strip park put the same type of device in.  One of the things in the park business, if you get an idea, you like to keep it. But it’s a compliment if somebody imitates you. It’s the greatest compliment in the world.     I used to be deathly afraid of fire in a dark ride while the park was operating, whether it was the Old Mill, Whacky Shack, Bucket O' Blood, or whatever. So I insisted that we put in escape doors in case of fire. True, we had problems of somebody discovering those doors and sneaking out. But if I had my choice, I'd rather have had a couple of people sneak out than have them sealed in if there was a fire. Of course, today’s modern operations have sprinkler systems, and rightly so. In the old days sprinkler systems were unheard of except for the high-class office buildings, not in amusement parks. We were very fortunate that fires occurred in our park when it was closed, and I think that history shows that most fires are in the off-season, or at night after the park is closed.

Dorney Park applied for a patent for the Iceberg ride, which was granted in 1978. Above: a selection of patent drawings showing various views of the ride building.