By Roadside America (2011)

It’s hard to find an American tourist attraction more legendary than Aquarena Springs, San Marcos, Texas. For a time, it was second only to the Alamo as the Lone Star state’s most popular destination. Where else could you see a pig swim with mermaids, or Glurpo the Clown smoke underwater?

The family-owned theme park, while no longer in existence, is still a vital memory for generations of Texans and out-of-state visitors.

The centerpiece was the “World’s Only Submarine Theater,” a marvel of engineering that would blow ballast and submerge an audience below the water. After it was opened in 1950, the submarine theater garnered wide attention — years later, we found it featured on the cover of a 1952 Popular Mechanics magazine (which also appears in the film).

Aquarena always had some new stunt to attract media interest — in the early 1950s it hosted the first underwater wedding, reported in Life magazine (to prevent the wedding gown from floating up over the bride’s face, small lead balls were sewn into the hem).

Aquarena’s greatest roadside triumph was the inclusion of a pig in every submarine theater performance. “Ralph” would run down the volcano ramp and execute a “swine dive” into the Springs, then swim, as the theater slowly submerged. The documentary provides all the details — the training and feeding, the special between-show retreat (“Ralph’s Pig Palace”).

This DVD contains 78 Minutes of Amazing Stories and Images of Aquarena Springs!

Only $19.95 plus $5 for shipping and handling for DVD version! (See trailer above for streaming options)