Article: Oh, what a ride ; Opened 50 years ago, Pleasure Island didn't last long, but the memories live on

A solitary sign, "Pleasure Island Road, Exit 42" along Interstate 95/Route 128 south, and a short road of the same name at the ramp's end are the only public reminders that remain of the sprawling theme park once marketed as "Disneyland East." Today, Edgewater Office Park, nestled among woods and ponds and surrounded by marshland, claims most of the space.

But there is a wave of nostalgia lately as those who worked at or visited Pleasure Island mark the anniversary of its opening 50 years ago this week.

"Just the fact that we were in `Disneyland' in Wakefield, who'd ever envision such a thing?" Ken Saunders asked recently. As park announcer, Saunders, of Whitinsville, spoke to visitors ...

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