PINKPIGFLYER: "I RODE THE PINK PIG FLYER"

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Saturday, April 23, 2011

1957 RICH'S Department Store Christmas ad

RICH'S The Store of The Great Tree - OPEN MONDAY TILL 9

The Pink Pig Monorail on Roof of Rich's Department Store

Above photos color tinted by © D.G.WHITEFIELD
Note: Pink Pig Twins name on photo above, they added a second one because of the demand to ride it.

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This photo shows the Pink Pig monorail flying high in Atlanta when it was located on the roof of Rich's downtown department store in the 1960s. Priscilla and Percival Pig now live at the Atlanta History Center. AJC file photo
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This You Tube video by Brandon Benefield

Ride The Pink Pig Flyer through Rich's Wonderland of Toys.
All Aboard ! The Pink Pig Flyer is taking off for a magic ride through "Toys Alive"... 14 fascinating moving scenes from your favorite story book...There's The Cow That Jumped Over the Moon... Humpty Dumpty... Little Jack Horner... Little Ride Riding Hood... Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater !
Lights are twinkling ! Bright colored disc fly overhead...
And down below is the South's most fabulous collection of toys !
Bigger and more exciting than any other !
Come see all The Wonder of Christmas in Rich's Wonderland of Toys.
Plaza Floor,Store for Homes. Downtown only !

THE PINK PIG FLYER

The Pink Pig was an amusement park ride of sorts that was a miniature suspended monorail sized for children. Adults would be hard-pressed to fit inside the enclosed cars that the children sat in as the ride operated. The original ride "flew" from the ceiling of the toy department. The pig was then moved outside the building to a rooftop Christmas village that surrounded the Great Tree. The Pink Pig started outside under the tree, returned indoors to fly over the toy department before returning to its starting point. The original Pink Pig was named Priscilla. A second pig, named Percival was later added to meet the high demand to ride the pig. After completing their journey, riders received a sticker that said "I rode the Pink Pig".

The ride moved to the Festival of Trees in the 1990s, and resided at the Atlanta History Center. The ride was brought back to Rich's in 2004 when it reappeared at the Rich's at Lenox Square mall, the new location for the Great Tree. The new version of the Pink Pig is a conventional train ride with a miniature pink pig locomotive pulling a set of pink child-sized passenger cars at ground level, instead of the original suspended monorail design. It has been speculated that the original monorail was retired because it could not be maintained as a viable and safe children's ride.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Pig