Ok this isn't coaster related but I was wondering how may people ever caught rings on a carousel. The only park I know of that you can still do this is my homepark Knoebles. I caught the brass ring once when I was about 10 I got a free ride.
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I can't wait for the 2000 season to start!!
Can you be a little more specific about this game? I have never heard of it. =================================================
I've seen this on amusement specials. It's kind of a classic thing with old carousels where brass rings stick out on the end of an arm, and when your horse goes by you try to grab it.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
I've only done it at Knoebles but never caught the brass ring :-(.
I caught one at Knoebles in 98'
I caught one Labor Day weekend in 99.
I think I heard someplace that Knoebles is the only park in the US that still does this. My mother used to tell me stories about it from when she used to go to Betrand Island (NJ) R.I.P.
There is a pretty good account of it in the book "Fun at the old Cedar Point"
In a similar vein, the old Cedar Downs used to be at Euclid Beach Park (an old trolley line park on the east side of Cleveland). And the winning horse there would get the next ride free.
For those who've never ridden Cedar Downs. It is a carousel that has four horses abreast in a running position like race horses. The horses are supported by the bottom, not the top. The platform spins at a much faster pace than traditional carousels; and, while in motion, the horses move up and down and forward and backward in a groove for the horse support.
Isn't there another carousel around where you catch the ring, and then your next time around, you try and toss into a clown's mouth?? I remember seeing something like that on one of Rick Sebak's specials. Does anyone know where that carousel is??
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Neil
By popular vote, the official start
of the Millennium has been moved to
May 13, 2000
Santa Cruz Beach/Boardwalk, the last remaining seaside amusement park on the West Coast, has the classice 1911 Loof carousel where you can catch a brass ring and toss it into the clowns mouth. Along with Knobels, I believe these are the only one's left in the US. From what I heard, parks stopped doing this long ago due to the insurance risk(speeding closely by the protruding metal ring dispenser).
Knoebles has a Lions mouth you throw the rings into. When I was little I was afraid of the lion and wouldn't ride.
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I can't wait for the 2000 season to start!!