As for amusement parks... I think the first one I ever went to was Disneyland. We stopped there for a day en route to San Diego during one of the family visits from Seattle. They still had the whole lettered-ticket system, and I can sort of still remember the look on my parents' faces each time we asked to go on another ride. I'm not exactly sure what that look was, but it was a look - as they held the little ticket/punchcard. -Was it a ticket/punchcard?
I remember the Pirates of the Caribbean and It's A Small World... And Thunder Mountain Railroad... BUT, I did not ride the Teacups.
Otherwise, when we lived in Ledyard, CT, we frequently would go to those travelling midway parks. Sometimes they would just travel from one county to the next, basically down the road, and we would end up "following" them. -And I seemed to have a knack for winning free passes to them via radio call-in contests - WRNL in New London!
...And it would always take me a bit of time to get out of the Fun House. But my favorite "effect" was the Haunted House ride. There was that first pass through the dark tunnel, and you would feel furry fingers grazing your head. A very simple effect, but very effective. At least to a nine year old.