Do carnival rides make you nervous?
They sure do to me. I can ride anything in an amusement or theme park and not even think of being nervous, but I go to a carnival and certain rides just make me uneasy.
I was at SFGAm Thursday and Friday getting on the biggest , fastest coasters in the park and none of it phased me. I take my daughter to a carnival today which had the Looping Star and the Zipper and I refused to go on them.
I just get a little on edge knowing these rides are transported around hundreds of times a year where they are torn down and put back up. The employees that run these carnivals are also rather shaky if you know what I mean.
Anyone else have this situation where you go to a trusted amusement park with no worries but you head to the local carnival and think twice about riding?
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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!
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did you know that there is an intamin inverted coaster that travels german fairs?! i has 4 or 5 inversions (cant remember) and looks really impressive for a fairground ride!
laurence said:
"did you know that there is an intamin inverted coaster that travels german fairs?! i has 4 or 5 inversions (cant remember) and looks really impressive for a fairground ride!"
It is called EuroStar... it was featured during a show on the Travel Channel about European coasters. It looks pretty wicked.
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"Looks like you've been missing quite a bit of work lately"
"Well, I wouldn't say I've been MISSING it, Bob."
yeah, it is called eurostar. here is some info on it:
http://ft.coasterwire.com/intamin/euro.htm
i think its cool and there should be more inverted traveling coasters in the world
There used to be a lot of Schwarzkopf loopers on the European fair circut. The most known one was Thriller, now Texas Tornado at Astroworld.
Anyways... I've never been on a Zipper because I'm terrified of even the Lady Bug ride at carnivals! You never know when they will fly off and crush you... I havn't gone to a carnival in 3 or 4 years because I decided they just aren't my thing. I like having fun without risking my life.
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The American Eagle Blue is officially better than Viper
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Beer, my soon to be wife, coasters, and the FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Is this a great country or what!!
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stoogemanmoe
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"I sold my soul to Viacom"
Funny you ask Chitown!
I was at a carnival earlier today. There was a huge "Titanic" slide. It was meant to look like half of the boat sticking out of the water. Poeple would slide down it just like hey did in the movie (they fell to their death in the movie). I didnt go on the ride, but IMO it seemed kind of morbid.
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With great power, comes great responsibility-Spiderman
Hey the carnival Amusements Of America is here in my city. Every year my city Chesapeake throws a party called the Jubilee at our fair grounds/city park. I believe it's the largest carnival on the East coast except for our state fair. I just got back. I went Friday today and I am going back tomorrow. I'm a sucker for flat rides. I wonder why most amusement parks shy away from the flat rides found at the carnivals. They do offer park models of the same rides. I feel perfectly safe on the rides but i wish the had the seatbelts like the ones found on B&M inverted coasters that connect from the seat to the OTSR just to be sure if the lock for the OTSR fails there will still be something else keeping me from hitting the ground.
First of all, that ride is incompletely dismantled and reassembled every week. That means there are areas accessible for inspection every week that may only be seen once a year in an amusement park, if at all.
Second, consider the help. In an amusement park, that 20-year-old kid running the ride has had a little training (sometimes only a few hours' worth) and knows how to make the ride go and stop. That ugly lookin' carnival dude with the tattoos and the missing teeth is not only the guy running the ride and putting you on it...it's very likely that he also maintains the ride, sets the ride up, tears the ride down, transports it, sleeps under the platform, has lunch in the doghouse, and in general knows more detail about every component of that particular ride than any other person on the planet!
Just something to think about...
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
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Jes
Jes's Roller Coasters DJ Jes MCS Please, Feel Free To Call Me Jes!
Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure 2002 Ride-Ops Crew
It depends upon the show. I've seen some rides that I wouldn't get within a hundred feet of. Then there are shows like Ray Cammack, Cumberland Valley,Reithoffer,to name a few. These shows are traveling theme parks. The promenent shows have a huge investment in equipment. They can't afford to take chances. The ones that do don't stay in business very long.
Well anyways, I feel safer on amusement park rides, but I will still get on the carnival rides as much as I want. The Colusa County fair is comming up in 2 weeks.
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http://sixflagsthrills.tripod.com/sixflagsthrills visit for some great thrills!
"enough is enough"-?
Other people have said some great things, so I only have a little to add. Carnivals, like amusement parks, vary in quality from show to show. Some shows are notorious for having well-kept pieces. I would argue that Spectacular Midways has a flat ride collection that are as well-kept as some of the best amusement parks in the country. I distinctly remember their Chance Pharoh's Fury at the Florida State Fair. The paint job was perfect and all the lights (both white and neon) were blazing.
The best way to decide if a carnival is well-run is to simply look around before you ride anything. After being on a good midway or two (Windy City, Spectacular Midways, Gillette Shows for mid-size shows and Ray Cammack, Cumberland Valley, Conklin, Funtastic Shows for the big boys) you can tell when a mediocore-to-bad one comes to town.
And Millennium Force 2K2, most states do require that carnivals pass inspections, which is the reason that good carnivals keep thier rides in good working order. Rides that do not work correctly do not pass inspection and therefore do not bring in money. Simple economics says that it is in a show's best interest to keep thier rides running well and safely.
Adam
Ever since I got on a Scrambler ride at a local carnival here in Texas, I've had problems with carnivals.
This particular ride was poorly maintained. While I was riding the motor blew a gasket or something. The thing started spraying motor oil on all the riders, myself included. I went home covered from head to toe in oil from that damned thing.
I've had a problem with carnival rides ever since.
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TITAN RULES!
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"ok everyone go ahead and pull down on your shoulder restraint so you feel nice and stuck!"
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