Fading favorite flat rides

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Acoustic Viscosity said:

Xexentanz (Witch's Dance)
http://www.flatrides.com/Ride%20Index/ZiererTampico2.jpg *** Edited 2/26/2007 10:11:12 PM UTC by Acoustic Viscosity***

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That looks like the one that use to be at Knotts Berry Farm! Am I right?

^ That's why "Tampico" is in the URL... ;)

I need to get back to MoA and Puyallup while there's still two running...LOL!

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I remember when Chance had problems with Zipper cages popping open and causing fatalities back in the early 1970s. The Comsumer Product Safety Commission even put out a warning about the ride until this was fixed. A Chance Skydiver at KW also had this problem during the 1960s. KW removed the ride soon after this happened along with its other Chance ride, a Trabant. KW has had a better relationship with Chance in recent years as they added a Wipeout (a bigger version of the Trabant) to the park. The ride remains in the park at present.

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It seems chance has had a lot of problems cough ( zippers, Skydiver, CHAOS's )

I wish Knoebels had a Tumbler/Xexentanz/Witch's Dance. Just imagine how sick they'd operate it! :)

Rides of the Looping Starship genre are alive and well. One newer version is the Zamperla Hawk. KW has one that was specially themed for the park called the Aero 360.

^I really enjoyed that ride, and I don't generally care for the looping starships.

^ I tend to agree Matt, the restraints on the Hawk are infinitely more comfy, esp. since the Starships have SO much hang time. Did notice you bypassed Phoenix at BGA.... ;)

While I agree Arthur that the rides are similar in terms of motion, there's a LOT of differences (mostly in favor of the Hawk)...maybe that's why the original Starships ARE disappearing? ;)

LOL, rides wear out, get harder to maintain, and are replaced, usually by larger, higher-capacity rides that DO offer similar experiences as the older ones. One of the reasons to attend smaller parks is so you can ride those "old favorites".

There wasn't enough time to ride Gwazi, Scorpion and Montu to my heart's content, let alone anything else. :)

Chance only made one Tumbler. It started out at SFoG in 1969 where I was fortunate enough to ride it in 1970. In '72 it went to Rye Playland. I have a couple pictures of it in operation there. Then it went to Coney Island. I have one photo showing it in pieces beside the Thunderbolt. I'd love to see some photos of it in operation there. Do any exist?

Calypso and Bayern Curve, I went on both of them at Canada's Wonderland in 1996 and haven't been to a park that has either of them since.

I would have said the Whip since it's very uncommon and my favorite flat but my 2 homeparks Hershey and Dorney both have them (granted the one at Hershey was installed in 1997 and isn't as forceful as the one at Dorney). I don't know if Rideworks is around anymore or not but I would like to see more parks get the same Whip they have at Hershey (since it seems unlikely a park would get an older style whip) since it's better than nothing.

Someone (I believe GregLeg) asked if anyone likes Gravitrons. I haven't ridden one in several years, but they are fun--as long as they stay together (don't know if anyone remembers that accident from a couple of years ago).

At the Maryland State Fair in 06', DeGeller had the brand-new Wisdom Starship 4000. According to an article in the paper about DeGeller, the owner said he paid $350,000 for it.

Since we weren't there on a POP or discounted day, I didn't feel like paying four to five bucks to ride it. Does anyone know any differences between the Gravitron and Starships, or is it merely the same ride under a different name? I can't tell a difference between the Starship 3000 I rode several years ago and the Gravitrons I rode as a kid.

On a different note, I saw a SkyDiver setup at a small carnival last year at Owings Mill Mall in Maryland. It's the first one I've seen in person. It was owned by some small-time carnival operator. I don't believe they were done setting up yet, and I never got back to ride it.

I believe that the Tumbler at SFOG was called the Wheel Burrow. It had cages like a Skydiver and two large wheels.

I remember riding a Gravitron at a local carnival when I was a teenager. My friend and I had a good time trying to turn ourselves upside down while the ride was going! (We had the whole thing to ourselves.)

I'm getting kind of leery of carnivals and things as I get older. I'm not sure how well the rides are maintained, or even if they're put together 100% properly!

I liked Kennywood's Rotor too. I almost got sick once watching it though! Riding it didn't bother me. Unless something else is wrong, I can handle spinning rides just fine! Remember KW's Round-Up? I wish I could remember the name of their looping-starship ride. I think it started with an R-- was it the Ranger? I think they only kept it for one season. I remember watching it and thinking there was NO WAY I'd ever ride anything like that! (Of course I also thought that about the Mindbender at SFOG; now it's one of my favorite loopers.)

Did Idlewild once have teacups? I remember riding them *somewhere* but I don't know where. When I was a kid I preferred the "spinny" rides, because coasters scared me to death. I didn't ride anything that went upside-down until I was in my mid-teens.

The Aero 360 makes me a bit uneasy because it's one of those rides that *looks* like the restraints aren't really sufficient. If that OTS restraint goes kerflooey, then what? :O I guess that's why I liked the Looping Starship-- redundant restraints. (Though I realize it's rough on the male anatomy in particular, especially the way the lap bar comes down!) If I'm going to be dangling anywhere upside-down, I want to be pretty sure I'm not going to fall out!

I also love dark rides. I miss Le Cachot at KW. The first few times I rode it as a kid, I kept my eyes shut the whole time! :) Well, I did peek a little. I rode that one with my dad too. The spider in the Goldrusher still makes me scream! :) :) Darn thing gets me every time, and everybody always laughs at me. LOL! I'm not that scared of spiders-- it's just a startle thing.

I wish more of the big parks would put in dark rides. Yeah, SFOG has the Monster Plantation (cute), and Carowinds has that new Scooby-Doo thing (haven't been on it yet), but I miss the traditional haunted-houses. Someday I've got to go to Disney World and check out their Haunted Mansion. It looks really cool!

Ah, well, I'd better go get some work done, so I can maybe afford to visit some parks soon! :)

CatPurrson

I rode a crazy ride at a fair in Florida... forget the name of the ride at the moment, but it was terrifying. Talk about putting your life in the hands of the restraints! It takes a lot to really unnerve me and this ride did exactly that! It was basically three arms arranged like a pinwheel that raised into the air on a boom- the boom moved, the wheel moved and the arms "tumbled" in a forwards and backwards motion, leaving the rider staring at the ground, secured with nothing but the OTSR. Pretty intense.

Actually, I think it was called Tango, now that I think about it. Truly scary... wish I could ride it again! Kinda like a Power Surge on crack.

KMG Tango at the Florida State Fair, Rob? Muwahahaha... ;)

http://www.flatrides.com/Ride%20Index%20Pages/tango.html

edit: No hotlinking, LOL, but you know how to find it.... :)
*** Edited 2/28/2007 4:35:04 PM UTC by rollergator***

Oh. My. Gosh. WOW! That does look scary. I'm not sure if I'd ride that or not-- it would take a lot of persuading! :) :O

CatPurrson

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CatPurrson said:
I remember riding a Gravitron at a local carnival when I was a teenager. My friend and I had a good time trying to turn ourselves upside down while the ride was going! (We had the whole thing to ourselves.)

I'm getting kind of leery of carnivals and things as I get older. I'm not sure how well the rides are maintained, or even if they're put together 100% properly!

CatPurrson

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You are kind of contradicting yourself by saying you want to go upside down on Gravitron, and you don't know about there safety. That's unsafe. However, that's not why I quoted you. This rides are inspected by inspectors (who else) after they are setup. If you have anyone to blame, blame the people that are inspecting the rides.

[url="http://www.windycityamusements.com "]http://www.windycityamusements.com/safety/safety.html *** Edited 2/28/2007 5:24:20 PM UTC by Ilovthevu'*** *** Edited 2/28/2007 5:25:18 PM UTC by Ilovthevu'***

Ray Cammack Shows has a Tango. It is one of those rides you'll never forget. :)

I just want to bring up three other flats from the past: the Bubble Bounce, the Calypso, and the Cuddle Up. I rode each of them at KW years ago. Are any of these rides still around?

It wasn't the Florida State Fair, it was the Lee County Fair near Fort Myers. Likely the same ride, though. Yeah, you laugh now, but I wasn't laughing then... and if I was, it was probably because I imagined the ride ops having to clean my body off the tarmac below!