1964 New York World's Fair

==Amusement attractions==

One of the fair's major crowd-attracting and financial shortcomings was the absence of a [[Midway (fair)|midway]]. The fair's organizers were opposed on principle to the [[honky-tonk]] atmosphere engendered by midways, and this omission was another thing that had irked the BIE, which insisted that all officially sanctioned fairs have a midway. What amusements the fair actually hosted often failed to attract crowds. The Meadow Lake Amusement Area was not easily accessible, and officials objected to shows being advertised.

Furthermore, although the Amusement Area was supposed to remain open for four hours after the exhibits closed at 10pm, the fair presented a fountain-and-fireworks show every night at 9pm at the Pool of Industry. Fairgoers would see this show and then leave the fair rather than head to the Amusement Area, and few people remained on the fairgrounds by midnight.

The fair's big entertainment spectacles, including the ''Wonder World'' at the Meadow Lake Amphitheater, ''To Broadway with Love'' in the Texas Pavilion, and [[Dick Button]]'s ''Ice-travaganza'' in the New York City Pavilion, all were closed prematurely with heavy financial losses. It became apparent that fairgoers did not go to the fair to watch "entertainment" programs, especially as there was plenty of entertainment in Manhattan.<ref>"But Where's the Fun?  Lost in a $7 Million Fiasco" ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]''. August 7, 1964. pp. 85–87.</ref>

A notable exception was a minor attraction, the ''[[Les Poupées de Paris]]'' (''The Dolls of Paris''), an adults-only [[musical theater|musical]] [[puppet]] show created, produced and directed by [[Sid and Marty Krofft]]. This show, modeled after the Paris revues ''[[Le Lido|Lido]]'' and ''[[Folies Bergère]]'', was heavily attended, and financially successful.<ref name="TimeAO">[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896379,00.html "Adults Only"]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325021318/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C896379%2C00.html |date=March 25, 2012 }} ''Time''</ref>

Some spectacles were staged for the newsreel cameras, such as a May 1964 demonstration by [[Bell Aerosystems]] where [[Bill Suitor]] ("Jetpackman") performed a 16-second flight, hopping over the "Court of the Presidents of the United States", the circular path surrounding the [[Unisphere]] fountain.<ref name="RocketBeltMan">{{cite web |title=Rocket Belt Man - (1964) at the New York World's Fair showing off the PERSONAL JETPACK !!! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzBrTIrlJYE |website=Youtube |access-date=January 31, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>