Boy Falls Off Zipper.

First come, first serve seating policies are DEFINITELY dangerous. I'd avoid it too, if I were you.

-Nate

What do you mean by "first come first serve?" No gates? I thought most rides were first come first serve minus fastpass stuff...

And no OTSRs on a LOOPING coaster? How many people have died on that thing already? Gosh!

Denis... a rollercoaster in Belgium stalled during the loop in 1998. Guess what were the restraints on the train? Lap bars. Just that. No one fell off or was even injured even if they were upside down.

Supermanege, Boomerang, Dragon at La Ronde operates on a "first come first serve" policy if you mean by that that the operators only allow enough people in the station at once to fill the train. Do you still ride those? Even Monstre used to have that policy.

I would never get on the Zipper. I don't know it just seems to unsafe for me. Also, i'm claustrophobic!

There was an accident with the Zipper here in Hamilton Ontario last summer. One of the wheels came loose supporting a car and went flying and nailed a girl in the head. The car ended up going sideways. The ride was stopped Immediatly, everyone was off. No injuries except for the one girl on the ground. Fortunatly it happened right where the "WARNING: FALLING OBJECTS" sign is. And Carnival rides have had accidents, it seems like everyyear for the past 3 years theres been an accident at the CNE. But Considering how many visitors go there and the rides practically are running from 10am - 10pm Non-Stop all day, everyday for 2 weeks. This year its been the Zipper(Not as serious as the other two), Last year it was the G-Force, The Hole ride collapsed. The year before that it was the Swings, When all the rides got slammed into the ground. If you dont wanna take the VERY tiny chance of being injured, then don't ride. If i die on a ride atleast i would have died having fun and doing what i enjoy.

I still do not understand what "first-come-first-serve" is...? I thought all rides were "first-come-first-serve"...?

Check this site out:

http://www.rideaccidents.com/

Accident info on parks/fairs etc.
One thing i can say from following that site: If i had little kids, I'd never let them in those inflatable castles again.

It's amazing how many snaps, pops, and squeeks you hear on carnival rides. These rides are so poorly maintained that I have no intrest to ride them. I've never felt fully secure on a carnival ride. Last time I rode a carnival ride was when a cable snapped scaring the s*** out of me. *** Edited 8/24/2005 2:23:12 PM UTC by AJFelice***

What state is your ride inspection certificate in?

Adam

Ambissilard, La Ronde only has 2 good roller coasters, Le Vampire, and Cobra. The other ones just don't thrill me at all. And their Boomerang was built in 1984! I don't like boomerangs with older arrow trains. SFDL's boomerang is newer, and the trains are actually comfortable. And Super Manege sucks. Really small first drop and only 2 inversions, which are corkscrews, make this roller coaster suck. I only ride Vampire and Cobra. First come first serve roller coasters, I don't like them. When I go on a roller coaster, I always sit where I feel most comfortable riding. "The Bat" a boomerang at Canada's Wonderland, has a first come first serve seating policy. When I come to the park, I go on "The Bat" first thing after the rides open at 10 am. I just run and get the front seat, where I feel most comfortable while riding a roller coaster. One "The Bat" ride is enough for one day, since the line for this coaster is long at later in the morning and it's likely I won't get the front seat. Thunder Run at PCW, also has a first come first serve seating policy, and since it doesn't have any big drops, I don't go on it. Italian Job Stunt Track has an hour long line, and seats are actually assigned. That coaster I just avoid. So, don't go on coasters with first come first serve seating policies. And regarding the looping coasters with lap bar restraints, I just don't feel safe riding those coasters.

Sounds like you need a new hobby!

There are poorly maintained and well maintained carnival rides. Same for fixed rides. Wood blocks are the safe support to use for portable rides.

The accident referred to happend at Legend City, Tempe,AZ. The latch on an older Zipper failed, ejecting the rider, who died from the resulting injuries. The Zipper is one of many rides that were designed and produced by the Valare Bros. of Long Beach, CA. By the late 1950's they had sold the production rights to their rides to the Allen Herschell Co.

The style of latch used on the Zipper was also used on a number of Valare, and later Herschell rides. Properly maintained they gave good service. However, they do wear out, and must be replaced periodically. Such was not the case with the Zipper in question. The resulting trial found not only the park's owners liable, but Allen Herschell as well.

The end result was that Legend City folded. It's owners went back on the road ,fielding a moderate size carnival. Weiner-Rapp, the firm that owned Allen Herschell at the time, sold it lock stock and barrel to fledgling ride manufactuer Harold Chance.

By the way, the people who owned Legend City Have gotten off the road again and have the operating contract for Enchanted Island in Encanto Park in Phoenix.

On the whole "fixed vs. portable" thing...

Has it ever occurred to you that when the ride is dismantled, there are items exposed for inspection that are not visible when the ride is set up in a park?

I think it's pretty much a wash. The carnival rides are probably monitored better in some ways than the same rides operating in parks, but then the park rides don't have the added wear and tear that comes not only from setting up and tearing down, but also from driving down the road. I understand that the leading cause of structural cracks on the Zipper is "potholes".

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Did this particular Zipper ride have old-style locks or new style locks?

Old style locks = spring-steel bolt + Hairpin ("R-key") cotter pin.

New style locks = dual bolt-type locks which no longer use the cotter pin.

In both cases, there is also that side lapbar lock that gets released by pulling the lever at the side of the cage, which is otherwise isupposed to hold the lapbar closed even when the other two locks are unlocked.

It was the old style. The "R" key (we used to call them "mouse keys") was the "fix". They originally didn't use the key as built.

Denis, do you actually enjoy your visits to an amusement park? I'm not sure at this point... you seem to find "I won't ride it cause of that" things in every rides except a lucky few. Like I demonstrated with the Belgium incident, lap bars on a looping coaster are very safe. Carnival rides for some fair rides owners are in better condition than most amusement parks.

Intamin Fan Wrote:

Carnival rides at the very least way several tons. They're not going to fall off the wood blocks. Find me a single example or two of a portable ride falling off blocks.

Funny timing on this one:
http://www.rideaccidents.com/

Listed under the News section. Carnival worker killed.

Granted, it was during the set-up.
Figures it would have to be an Enterprise. I like that ride. *** Edited 8/26/2005 12:55:26 PM UTC by FLYINGSCOOTER*** *** Edited 8/26/2005 12:56:53 PM UTC by FLYINGSCOOTER***

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RideMan said:
I think it's pretty much a wash. The carnival rides are probably monitored better in some ways than the same rides operating in parks...

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The larger County Fairs and such, where the workers who do tear-down and set-up are "well qualified and diligent", I have no qualms whatsoever about riding...

The Volunteer Fire Dept. carnival, I was a bit nervous riding a coaster *barely* taller than I am...;)