Anyone remember the Swingin' Gym ride?

My mom remembers watching her dad and uncle work their way over the top when she was younger. She believes it was at Kennywood but isn't sure. She said the next day their arms were killing them.

Like stoogemanmoe mentioned, the long defunct Enchanted Forest in Chesterton, IN had a sweet set. Around the age of 7, my cousin and I had so perfected our technique that we could complete a full revolution with 6 swings. And while not drunk, we could perform several very dangerous, but very fun, stunts. Fun!

They also had a set of Venetian Swings. Wow, just remembered that!

The second link in the original post has a photo of the one at Enchanted Forest.

http://www.ride-extravaganza.com/rides/swingin_gym/swingin_gym_02.jpg

It's not labeled but I have the exact same postcard. :) *** Edited 4/28/2005 8:15:30 PM UTC by swampfoxer***

Euclid Beach had one also

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carrouseler said:
My mom remembers watching her dad and uncle work their way over the top when she was younger. She believes it was at Kennywood but isn't sure. She said the next day their arms were killing them.

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I don't believe that Kennywood ever had one of these but I could be wrong.

Chippewa had one. I think Euclid beach had one too. I was like seven when i rode it.

Sauzer's Kiddieland in Schererville, IN had them also. I used to ride them when I was younger. They were awsome.

I didn't find them as bad as the article made them sound. They were definately around for more than a year.

MachoNachos. The Op gave a very simple push to get just enough swing. Then ,you would move your body to each side, front and back as the cage would swing. Say, if the back of the cage was up you moved and kind of sway to the front of the cage and vice versa. We allowed 7 swing overs. I always rode it on my breaks too. I could get it over the top in only 4 front and back swings. When I would get back to my ride, The Hurricane, I would be dog tired..lol. I wish I knew where the Gym went.

Swampfoxer, that was the original set of two units the park opened with. The newer set had kind of the shape of a Joker's hat on top, and hand breaks for the Op. I'll try to find a pic of it.

Edit: The Ebay post with picture has a good view of the joker hat model. *** Edited 4/29/2005 10:18:39 PM UTC by stoogemanmoe***

Edit: I just noticed the old advertisment that the units made in the U.S. were made in my hometown too. *** Edited 4/29/2005 10:23:18 PM UTC by stoogemanmoe***

The only one I ever remember seeing was at Wildwood. Just don't ask me which pier it was on, because I was a youngster back then.

Kennywood did indeed have a set of Swinging Gyms. They were there for one season only. The rph was way too low, and way too many skinned knees and elbows. Today they are considered a liability nightmare.

I was reminded of this old ride when I watched Dog Eat Dog the other night. They have a stunt with a similar contraption. In the 60's they popped up everywhere, and just about every traveling show had one, too. I never tried it until one day at the Ohio State Fair in the early 70's. I was surprised at how difficult and exhausting it was- I'm quite sure I got close but never completely over the top. (maybe that model was rusty!)

I about wrecked the car when i saw the one at that FEC in Sandusky. I did pull in to check it out, but it wasn't operating. It brought back memories, though.

Kennywood had their's from 1962-1965 and was called the "Allez Oop". It was located in front of Noah's Ark during that time period, replacing their original Flying Skooter (Dipsy Doodle). It was replaced with a newer Flying Skooter (Flyer), the one that was eventually sold to Knoebels. Not sure where they sold their Flying Cage/Swinging Gym ride.

Conneaut Lake Park used to have one as well during the early 1970s. It was located between the Wild Mouse and Paratrooper in the little midway section there. (It's possible that they bought Kennywood's.)

Also, I remember seeing the one at the former Sport City FEC in Sandusky. It was a trailer mounted ride (possibly the one for sale on e-bay?). It was there in 2000, but, I never saw it operate. That FEC closed about 2 years ago, replaced with a Home Depot.

There was a set of swinging gyms on the Steel Pier in Atlantic City New Jersey in 1964-1965. My leg accident on the ride probably caused their removal. Apparently the salty ocean led to the steel grating rusting and while on the ride with my friend (we were 16 yrs. old at the time) about ready to go over the top - my leg busted through the steel grating and crashed into the cement below. The operator could not stop the ride due to the momentum right away. Fortunately a crowd gathered and yelled at me to keep my leg straight - so it didn't get mangled between the cement and the cage. My leg swelled to 7-8" and turned a nasty black and purple and took about 6 months to heal. What was a fun ride turned into a nightmare for me!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3971843540

What a steal!!!!
The one on ebay went for $2500.00!!
Man, if I only had a place to put that ride I may have considered bidding....

There was one at Seaside Heights Park in NJ for years. It was located on the pier not far from the Wildmouse.

This summer I saw a set here in Columbus, OH being operated by a small carnival company at an event at a parish festival just down the street from my house. I'm not positive, but I believe it was being operated by "Sterling Fundways" which provides the 'midway' for a lot of events around here whose names begin with "St." and end with "Festival". The ride looked to be in excellent condition, and freshly painted. The bad part is that I never managed to get my camera down there to take pictures.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Paul Drabek took some pictures of Chippewa Lake back in 2002. Here is a good picture of the Swinging Gym at Chippewa Lake. http://www.negative-g.com/ChippewaLake/Chippewa-Lake-2002-17.html
You can clearly see that the cages have been removed.

I just stumbled on this so I don't know how often people post here but my father and uncle both have one salvaged from a trailer of 4. They are mounted in the ground with foundations. They are cool for parties they have and yes I can get it over easily. They bought them hella cheap but needed work. We keep it low key though, someone told us NY outlawed them. :)

"They are mounted in the ground with foundations." vs. "I can get it over easily."?