Janine is showing Egon around town and is showing him places she used to frequent in her adolescence. However, one such place is gone and replaced with a theme park. She talks him into going into said theme park, and they find a rollercoaster with the Ghostbusters logo on it, dubbed the Ecto-1. They ride it, and it has the Ghostbusters' faces on decorations. Egon complains to the manager, but he and the other staff brush his complaints off.
Back at HQ, the rest of the Ghostbusters have found out about the theme park. Egon tells the others what happened and suggests they sue, but the others think it's not worth the fuss. Egon asks what to do, but Peter decides to just leave it alone until it either moves or goes out of business.
Then, the Ecto-1 rollercoaster breaks down and the riders are approached by several vicious animals that appear out of nowhere. The workmen get it to go, and then the riders tell the owners of the park about the animals. One of them goes to take a look, but he runs away upon seeing some blue flashes of light. He calls the Ghostbusters, but Janine and Peter think he's just making it up as a publicity stunt.
So, the theme park workers try to use the haunted-ness of the ride as an advertising gimmick. That night, more people try to ride the rollercoaster, but things go wrong and it morphs into the shape of a dinosaur. Then, Janine shows the Ghostbusters a map of the area where the amusement park is now, revealing that a lot of animals died in a fire there. Peter phones up the owners of the park, concludes that it is haunted, and he and the others head there.
They're asked to take the people down from the ride, so Ray walks up without his proton pack, climbs the ride, and tries to negotiate with the ghosts. However, he gets trapped along with the civilians. His boots fall from the ride, along with a note saying, "Everyone's fine. I'm fine. Send in the marines — Love, Ray."
Winston tries attacking the ride from its makeshift tail, only for it to shed it like a lizard. Peter then gets the idea of (with outside help) scaring the animal ghosts by making a fire bigger than the one they died in. This works, and the Ghostbusters zap the animal ghosts. Peter wants to build a similar theme park, but the others drive off in annoyance.
This episode provides examples of
- Amusement Park of Doom: A rollercoaster at the new amusement park becomes haunted.
- Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head: Peter calls Ray a "turkey bird".
- Buffy Speak: Egon describes Janine's teenage habits as "teenager-ish".
- Cassandra Truth: Mr. Cooger when trying to call the Ghostbusters for help in checking out the sudden supernatural activity.
- Comically Missing the Point: Peter says that there should have been a theme park based around the Ghostbusters years prior, even though they'd set up business that year.
- Damsel in Distress: About half of the civilians that get caught up on the top of the haunted rollercoaster are women.
- Distressed Dude: Several men, including Ray, get trapped on the top of the haunted rollercoaster.
- Facepalm: Egon puts his palm to his face upon seeing his face on the rollercoaster.
- Ghostly Animals: The amusement park is haunted by ghosts of a lot of animals that died in a fire.
- I Warned You: Thinking the ride really is haunted, Mr. Nadel warns Mr. Cooger not to start it up again. As things go wrong afterwards, Nadel shouts he warned the boss about this while helping a co-worker to his feet.
- Not So Stoic: Egon laughs at the dinner table.
- Oh, No... Not Again!: Egon comes back to the firehouse saying he had a terrible time and that they have a problem. Winston has this reaction, thinking Egon ended up accidentally insulting Janine and causing her to quit again.
- Only One Finds It Fun: Egon tells a joke at the dinner table that's filled with scientific jargon. Ray openly laughs, while Peter and Winston stare in disbelief.
- Playing with Fire: The ghost animals, perhaps because they died in a fire, can create fires.
- Properly Paranoid: When saying the ride might actually be haunted, Mr. Nadel admits he always found something unpleasant about the structure and thought they should've dismantled it.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Egon denies that his walk with Janine was a date when Peter refers to it as such.
- Taught by Experience: Egon wants to sue the carnival for infringing on their copyright and using their likenesses without permission. The others disagree, due to how lawsuits can drag on for years even if you're in the right. Peter says ignoring this carnival is the best option. He cites his own experiences working at carnivals during his high school years when saying it will eventually just move out of town or go out of business.
- Tempting Fate: After hanging up on Mr. Cooger, Peter expresses certainty that that's the last they'll be hearing from him or that carnival in general.
- Theme Music Power-Up: The main theme starts playing in the background when Peter starts implementing his plan.
- Too Dumb to Live: Ray's plan is to negotiate with the ghosts, even leaving his proton pack behind before climbing the structure. It goes poorly, as evidenced by his note to the others, so Peter suggests Plan B.Winston: What's Plan B?
Peter: That's the one where we do something that isn't stupid. - Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?:
- Discussed when Winston says he thinks he's afraid of heights.
- Even though they're already dead, the animal ghosts, ever since dying in a fire, are afraid of fire. Exploited when Peter scares them with fire.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: When actual supernatural occurrences start up, Mr. Cooger immediately calls the firehouse to delicately ask the guys to check out the area. Peter, however, ignores the plea because his own history working in carnivals makes him think this is just an attempt to use the team as a publicity scam to drum up business.
