Best and Worst Flat Rides?

Some love here for the old Tampico Tumbler at Knotts - it looked perfectly benign from the ground but the forces on that thing were wicked.

On the other hand, the Air Race looks like something I shouldn't be able to ride, but I found it to be fun without being nauseating.

Chris.

^hambone - you have 2 "Tumbler" rides left in the US. Puyallup in Washington runs one, and it is REALLY solid. Mall of America has the other, and it's a little bit tamer, but still a great ride.

Hexentanz by any other name.... :~P

Hexentanz is a Zierer ride and played the European traveling circuit, maybe still does. On early models when the ride reached the top there was a little bend in the pole that caused the ride to tilt in addition to its usual motion. When they marketed the ride for the U.S. they called it Fireball and eliminated the tilt. I thought Knott's and the Mall were the only customers, so I'm glad to know there's one at Puyallup. It's probably a portable model. Didn't they have a Huss Jump (Jumping?) too?

I was at Knott's once when the ride was there. I was dying to try it, but to my dismay it was undergoing refurbishment and was laying in pieces on the ground. When I got to the Mall I was glad they still had theirs, but it was having trouble. The ride ops took forever moving riders around until they felt it was properly balanced. I finally got to ride, and then it made me really dizzy sick. Oh well.

^^Thanks rollergator. I saw the MoA ride while trying to google what the generic name for the Tumbler is. Glad to know that wasn't a mirage.

Would love to get to Puyallup but it's hard to see that happening soon ...

Chris.

^NP. I love my coasters, but flats are certainly more than a hobby.

Speaking of which...RCMAC, yes, it is a Jump v1.0 at Puyallup, named "Jumping" because the creative team was on holiday that week. ;~P

I was at the Ohio State Fair and I saw a Dartron Hop-A-Round, a kiddie ride where little critters (it is not entirely clear whether they are rabbits or kangaroos) ride around on an eccentric arm, creating a hopping sort of motion. I saw that and immediately thought it could be a pretty neat ride if it were scaled up to an adult size and speed.

I was, therefore, pretty excited when I finally got to ride the Hexentanz at Mall of America, since that is pretty much exactly what that ride is. Personally, I enjoyed it.

Did I already mention in this thread, though, that my favorite flat rides include the Bish-Rocco Flying Scooter, the Aeroaffiliates Flying Coaster, and the Eyerly Spider? In an effort to include some rides that are younger than I am, let me also include the Zierer Flying Carpet, the Huss Pirat, Huss Swing Around, and just about any variation on a Wave Swinger. It's worth noting that among those, I think Zierer has the second most comfortable seats, after Chance's Yo-Yo.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The worst flat ride is any music express there fun if your by your self but if your with 2 other people and your on the outside that ride is not fun at all and when there is little padding on the sides it is the worst ride experience ive ever had. My home park "Waldameer Park and Water World" has one of the worst music express ive ever seen, the padding is sleek and provides no friction on your butt while there is a metal bar just above the edge of the seat im not talking about the lap bar but theres this "detail" bar there that digs into your ribs, ill ride a music express alone or with 1 person but never with 2 other people.

The best flat ride ive been on is also at my home park Waldameer its a classic Bill Tracy dark ride called "The Pirates Cove" for my friends and I that is the go to ride if you want to scare each other, make out, fool around, ditch someone or scare kids. The ability to walk through at your own pace is what makes it the best ride to do that and you know you arent on a timer despite the smell of pee and sweat its a ride i can spend hours in with my friends.