roller coaster destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2
Lakewood Fairgrounds The main thrill ride at Lakewood Fairgrounds was the Greyhound. The Greyhound was the old wooden roller coaster that was featured in all three Smokey and the Bandit films. Designed by John A. Miller, it was in operation from 1915 to 1974. The Greyhound was out of service during the early part of the 1956 season due to a major rebuild. After 1974, it sat out of operation for a number of years while the crowds at the fair continued to dwindle around it. Then, after a final repaint, its destruction was captured on film as a scene in the film Smokey and the Bandit II.
Smokey and the Bandit The Burdettes find legendary trucker Bo "Bandit" Darville (Burt Reynolds) competing in a truck rodeo at Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta; they offer him $80,000 to haul 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas back to Atlanta in 28 hours; Big Enos has sponsored a driver running in the Southern Classic stockcar race and "when he wins I want to celebrate in style." Bandit accepts the bet and recruits his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) to drive the truck, while Bandit drives the "blocker", a black Pontiac Trans Am bought on an advance from the Burdettes, to divert attention away from the truck and its illegal cargo.