According to the guidebook the cruise was one of three modes of transportation available to fair goers to move about the grounds. There were two locations where visitors could board a boat and take a leisurely ride to the opposing station. One section of the ride traveled along the outer edge of the ski lake offered passengers a front row view during the Mercury Outboard Ski Show.
Prices were: .75 cents for adults and .40 cents for kids.
Below is a scan of an admission ticket from the Bonus Book. (Click on images for a closer look)
In March of 2013 I had the pleasure of interviewing San Antonio Fair staff member Sherry Wagner about her work on HemisFair ’68. At one point she had a great story about the uniforms for this attraction. The back story was, as the fair was in the final months of construction in early 1968 she was given the task of creating uniforms for the Lagoon ride and have them turned around quickly in time for opening day in April. Due to the short time span she came up with the idea of buying clothing off the rack at some of the major department stores around town and creating a few combinations. A friend of hers who was hired as a hostess for the ride lived just down the street, so one afternoon they both went down to the site where her friend modeled the possible clothing configurations.
Below are images of concept hostess uniforms for the ride taken by Sherry Wagner and are added below with her permission. (Click on images for a closer look)
Below are vacation images of the ride. (Click on images for a closer look)
At one point probably during the 20th anniversary redevelopment of the site into HemisFair Park back in 1988 the lagoon cruise waterways were drained and mostly removed. However, in the southwestern corner of the park one can still see the concrete edges of the ride as it was just cheaper to fill-in the concrete waterway in this open area than to physically remove it.
Below are images of the ride today. (Click on images for a closer look)
434 S Alamo St, San Antonio, TX 78205
