Fading favorite flat rides

^Here's Madness' "House of Fun" featuring a ring of fire :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzvveVJgWkM&feature=avmsc2

There was a great Pretenders video that I cannot find, that featured a himalaya and perhaps some other rides too.

Then there is the Cars' "Don'tcha Stop" with a cheesy guy marathoning on Mind Bender - this one was done for Wild Rides - found it :) *note triple headrests*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZT1UJqzvVg

Speaking of MTV, here is a list of the first 10 videos played when the channel debuted:

1."Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles
2."You Better Run" by Pat Benatar
3."She Won't Dance with Me" by Rod Stewart
4."You Better You Bet" by The Who
5."Little Suzi's on the Up" by Ph.D.
6."We Don't Talk Anymore" by Cliff Richard
7."Brass in Pocket" by The Pretenders
8."Time Heals" by Todd Rundgren
9."Take It On the Run" by REO Speedwagon
10."Rockin' the Paradise" by Styx

The rest of the list can be seen here.

They had 250 videos, 25 from Rod Stewart and the same for Blondie.

Parks also didn't check lap bars then :) People were less greedy for money I guess.

People were less stupid then too.

The Bayern Kurve at Kennywood gave me and my companion an absolutely INSANE ride last June. Started off slow, but gave a long, increasingly rapid cycle. We felt in danger of being thrown off and loved every second of it.

One of the two or three other Kurves I remember was known as the Swiss Bobs. It was at Palace Amusements in Asbury Park. They also had a fun house and a Ferris Wheel sticking through the roof. The Palace, of course, was immortalized by Springsteen in Born To Run:

Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the Boulevard..The girls comb their hair in rear-view mirrors and the boys try to look so hard...the amusement park rises bold and stark, kids are huddled on the beach in a mist..I wanna die with you out on the street tonight in an everlasting kiss...

Love those visuals!

^^Kinda; and the reason for that is?
Greed perhaps?

And a solution is?

PTC buzz bars :) Among 5 million other things.

Mike Gallagher said:
One of the two or three other Kurves I remember was known as the Swiss Bobs. It was at Palace Amusements in Asbury Park.

Wow....those are some *deep* memories there...I must have been no more than four maybe five years old riding the Swiss Bobs.

I remember the operators voice getting more and more intense as the ride sped up, virtually screaming "iiiiit's the Swisssssss-Bobs" as the ride hit full power. My older brothers are going to definitely remember that ride when I remind them...thanks, Mike! :)

rollergator said:

Wow....those are some *deep* memories there...I must have been no more than four maybe five years old riding the Swiss Bobs.

I remember the operators voice getting more and more intense as the ride sped up, virtually screaming "iiiiit's the Swisssssss-Bobs" as the ride hit full power. My older brothers are going to definitely remember that ride when I remind them...thanks, Mike! :)

I was remembering the voice while I was typing that...he also used to say "as we go faster..and faster....and FASTER...on the Swisssss Bobs!!! Nothing like 60's-70's Jersey Shore ride ops..they were a breed unto themselves. I miss the Palace dearly. Sad thing was, I tried to show my girlfriend the site last summer, and couldn't even place it.

Mike Gallagher said:

Whippersnapper. I'm 46 next month. September 12. Trying to decide if I can hit my 275th coaster that weekend. Any thoughts? I've been to all three parks before.

You could always go to SFGAm on 9/12 :)

Does a waltzer have the same motion of a tilt-a-whirl? Is it more intense? Based on the picture, I cannot judge the ride and I do not think I have ever ridden one.

Andy, I'm willing to guess (based on my too-limited Waltzer experiences) that it's due to the "floor" being hilly that the cars readily rotate in BOTH directions. It's an important distinction to someone like me that can get queasy if all of the spinning occurs primarily in one direction and one plane. Having the switch of direction every so often really makes it more fun and less punishment.

Of course, the one at Botton's had a guy walking among the tubs and helping to really crank those tubs. You could spin like CRAZY if he caught you just right....and he DID! :)

Mamoosh said:

Mike Gallagher said:

Whippersnapper. I'm 46 next month. September 12. Trying to decide if I can hit my 275th coaster that weekend. Any thoughts? I've been to all three parks before.

You could always go to SFGAm on 9/12 :)

I'm not very interested in going to SFGAm on my birthday, Muslim Family Day or not. I didn't have a good experience there on my one and only visit in June '07. I thought the coaster collection was mediocre and that Raging bull was one of the most over-rated coasters I've been on. There were other factors that prevented me from really enjoying my day, so I would give the park another chance without much hesitation. I did love the double deck carousel, though.

Besides, Chicago doesn't really lend itself to the four day weekend I have, since I prefer to drive...

What ever became of the Cuddle-Up? I don't know of any being around now but maybe someone is aware of a park that still has one. I used to ride this ride at both West View and Kennywood when they had them back in the 1950s and 60s.

I remember that one of the casualties in the big fire at Kennywood in the 70s was a Cuddle-Up. Several years later the park installed a new one in a different location.

The Crazy Daisy, a 2-disc cuddle-up, still operates at Knoebels. But I assume you're referring to the larger multi-disc rides?

I don't think Raging Bull is overrated because I get the impression the ride was almost universally panned.

Ummm...Andy? Did you mean to post that in the B&M thread? :)

ApolloAndy said:
I don't think Raging Bull is overrated because I get the impression the ride was almost universally panned.

I've encountered several people who consider it one of the best..and it occupied the top spot of the lady I was with when I rode it.

Wow, crazy people. Maybe if it was the only steel coaster I've ever ridden. Nah, I'd imagine there were better rides out there. ;)

There are several Crazy Daisies still operating.
Knoebels
Seabreeze
Adventureland (Iowa)
All I can think of off the top of my head, but pretty sure I've ridden them elsewhere.

Morey's has a modern update of the ride with demolition derby cars (made by Zamperla). Imagine the exact same turntable setup as the crazy daisy, but swap out the tea cups with two-row (4 seat) cars where you're seated facing forward. Put two people in one row and leave the other row empty for some major spinnage. :)

California Adventure has one with Ladybug-shaped cars. I believe Disney Studio Paris has one with a Cars theme.

So both of those are probably Zamperla models?

Does anyone know of a still-in-operation Cuddleup? I love the Crazy Daisies and always thought it would be really cool with more turntables.