Fading favorite flat rides

GregLeg,

I would love to try out a waltzer... Saw something very similar to a Tagada (if not identical) at one of the Morey's Peirs (I belive the southernmost) in '92 or '93. Rode it (with req'd seatbelts) and loved/hated it... barely stayed on the bench. This ride was more oval shaped with exit/entrance ends at points. Ride op varied the speeds of the spin, going so slow at one point as to make all riders catch air! Great fun!

Carowinds had a Waltzer back in 1976 as seen in this photo:
http://members.aol.com/k9660r/monorail.html

They also had a tamed version of a Tagada, called the Surfer. I use to love riding this!
http://members.aol.com/k9660r/surfer.html

Carowinds was a hotbed of classic rides at one time!

I never rode a Turbo but I do remember that the nearest park to me that had one was the now defunct Idora Park. I also remember the ride being on the Gooding (later Pugh) midway at the Ohio State Fair during the mid 1970s.

For some reason, it was rare to see Zippers in parks as opposed to carnival midways. I wonder why this was so?

I miss the calypso and monster most (SFGAdv had them in the 80s). Second to those would be Chance's Falling Star (when operating at optimal speed for maximum airtime), much better than any "Miami" style ride IMO.

Who posted about flying cages? If what you meant was:

http://www.ride-extravaganza.com/rides/swingin_gym/

I tried a few times at Jenkinsons after they acquired the smaller park next to it and moved the cages directly behind a pizza parlor (back when the beach train still ran and the J's Aquarium was still waterslides).

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Arthur Bahl said:
I never rode a Turbo but I do remember that the nearest park to me that had one was the now defunct Idora Park. I also remember the ride being on the Gooding (later Pugh) midway at the Ohio State Fair during the mid 1970s.

For some reason, it was rare to see Zippers in parks as opposed to carnival midways. I wonder why this was so?

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Zippers create vomit. And the capacity's not so hot either.

I've never been on a Zipper. The park that I went to as a little kid, Crescent Park (RI) had one, but I was too small to ride it at the time and I think my parents told me that it had broken at another park and scared the heck out of me. I don't know when the last time I saw one was. How is that to ride?

Lakemont has a Twister (Or did) Last time I was there, The operator did not brake the ride as as needed to get spinnage.

That's because the ride is controlled by computer rather than the operator and rotates at a constant speed.

We came across a set of the Flying Cages (or "squirrel cages") in Japan when I was there. Neat ride. I was able to get it to go over the top, but just barely. I think there's just not enough Greg to throw around in the cage. Well, that, plus my timing was a bit off.

I still consider the 3 consecutive rides I had on the Waltzer on the South Pier in Blackpool to be the best flatride experience I've ever had. They had guys walking the platform pushing the cars. By the 3rd ride (and a few good tips ;) ) later, one of them stayed on my car the entire cycle. Needless to say I was quite dizzy after that.

I'm not big on hanging upside down, but give me a good intense spinning flat and I don't even NEED a coaster. :)

Call me incredibly naive, but what is a Waltzer? Don't believe I've ever seen one before!

Incredibly naive one, Google is your friend.

To answer mailgirls question, The Zipper is still to this day one of the most incredibly scary flat rides ever invented. The fear starts the moment you're loaded into the claustrophobic cage. With nothing else but a padded lapbar, some handles to clutch on to, and a friend (Zippers almost always require two riders), you're in for one white-knuckle ride.

You sit there hoping, maybe even praying, that they don't start the ride just yet as your cage rises a little bit higher each time they load other cages. Because once the ride starts, it's sheer pandemonium.

Unless you've ridden one a few times, it can very hard to get your bearings of when you're getting to the end of the rotating chain section. This is, of course, where you see most of the multiple flips happening. And this is also where you can get severely disoriented, as the main body continues to rotate.

TWISTER
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I rode a Twister owned by Reithoffer several years ago in Maryland. Unfortunately, I was by myself as I left right after work to make it there. Reithoffer travels with two different units, so rides can vary from fair to fair.

I came upon the Twister, and went "What the heck is this?" The ticket price almost scared me away (it was 4 or 5 tickets), but I was determined to get the credit. Unfortunately, this is most definitely a ride that needs more people to have fun. A group of four or five people were spinning like mad, while I just sat basically idle. Did I mention I got the credit?:)

BatwingFanSFA note:
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BatwingFanSFA, Richochet was added in 2002 and has been operating since 3/23/02 according to RCDB. Triple Spin was added the same year according to research I did. 2003 was the year of Drop Zone.

^^ Well, gee... I could have done that, Joe. ;)

LOL, but wikipedia does have a good picture of one.

My current sig, which mentions the Waltzer, is from a Dire Straits song called "Tunnel Of Love," which includes a lot of amusement park imagery. (Not to be confused with the Springsteen song of the same name, which also includes a lot of park imagery.)

Back to the Hey-Dey: IIRC, the one I grew up riding had a sloping floor like a Tilt, except it was oblong shaped and had what I call the graphite floor like a Whip. It also had banked curves at the end. Sometimes it was an accomplishment just to get in the car. It seemed longer than the one shown in swampfoxer's video clip.

About Twisters: No matter what you might think of Williams Grove, the guys who operated the Twister there knew what they were doing. They'd adjust the controls manually to make sure every car got to spin during the ride. Lakemont? forget it. 2 rides, 0 spins.

Thanks Intamin Fan, your explanation works better than the POV clips on YouTube. It's disorienting just to watch. I will have to try it next time I see one and I don't have a stomach full of cotton candy.

(there's one video where the guys say "oh dang" over and over again- now that's funny!)

For an insane listing and about 100 or so pictures of Waltzers head to:

http://www.fun-fairs.co.uk/waltzer.html

That'll get you your Walzer fix!

Tom

I know I am getting in on this conversation a little late, but I always loved the octopus and tilt a whirl as a kid and unfortunatley they are both fading out rapidly.

On a separate note, when I was a young child, my family and I took a trip to Geagua Lake and they had possibly the best flat ride ever, and I have never seen it since. It was an airplane type of ride that had a lever that you could pull that would turn the plane upside down. Not sure what it was called or anything, but it was very unique!!

Ok, Octopus' are a little rarer but still not hard to find. GL and CP both have one, and so does Waldameer up in Erie. I'm not sure where you are from though. Tilt-a-Whirls are actually still very common, most parks still have one in some form and Holiday World is adding a heavily themed one this year.

The plane ride you are referring to is an Eyerly Aircriaft Fly-O-Plane ride. There is currently only one left operating in the US right now and I think it's at Lake Winnie.

Tom

Okay... A Waltzer looks like Whip cars on a Tilt-A-Whirl table inside an Alpine Bobs building. What is the ride like? I somehow doubt it's as obvious as being a combination of those three!

I'm also assuming that Waltzers are a UK thing and never made it over here to the U.S.? Any particular reason for that? Or am I wrong...?

OMG Rob...are you even reading this thread? ;)

Carowinds had a Waltzer...there is a link a few posts above yours on this page!

And the ride experience? I believe on another page it was described [by Gregleg?] as a "Tilt-o-Whirl on crack" or something like that.

And I think you better take a closer look at the care. IMHO they look just like Tilt-o-Whirl cars but without the "hood"...which, ironically, is how they originally looked when the ride was introduced.

*** Edited 3/9/2007 5:50:01 PM UTC by Mamoosh***

Just had the chance to review the youtube of a tagada at Fantasialand... The one at Morey's was a much more fierce bounce than the little hops this thing was giving out. The ride op started the ride out like what was on the video. I don't see the ride listed on the moreyspiers.com website though (probably removed due to NJ State Laws on restraints).