Hershey Giant Wheel

i gotta get to Hershey for the Halloween event....hopefully Giant Wheel will be running thru then.....

i will miss that ride, it was so much fun:(

This thread started by saying that it's rumored to be leaving. I think this is just a passing rumor that you all have taken seriously, and some of you are already saying that its a fact that it will be scrapped!

yeah guys, they could put in a very reliable Vekoma GIB :)

Wonder what the folks at Giant think of all this. Will they demand that their logo be splashed all over whatever attraction is in that spot next year? Will they feel they've been dissed? Will they stop offering Hersheypark discount tickets at their stores? Wouldn't one of those cages make a nifty addition to your family room-- or should I say rumpus room? These are the important questions.

PKI's Zodiac is in Australia althought it is SBNO. It was relocated to Wonderland Sydney in or around 1990 and sadly that park closed in April 2004. So the life of the Zodiac is also in doubt as the owners try to sell off all of the park's assets.

The following images are of the Zodiac on the park's last operating day. April 26 2004.

Image 1
Image 2
Image 3

*** Edited 9/26/2004 11:26:55 AM UTC by coasterfreak_au***

Maybee Hershey could buy the one from Australia for parts. I'm really going to miss this ride. It's really sad.

I hate to see all these Double/Triple Wheels going. They're great family attractions. Great America's midway hasn't been the same since Sky Whirl was taken out in favor of Deja Vu. Hopefully some park could use one of these, and spare Hershey the trouble of scrapping it.

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Coasterjosh said:
This thread started by saying that it's rumored to be leaving. I think this is just a passing rumor that you all have taken seriously, and some of you are already saying that its a fact that it will be scrapped!

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Not sure about it being scrapped but it is leaving. The ride op (a kind older gentleman that obviously worked for the park for quite a while) confirmed that the message came down from management about the ride having two or three more weeks before it would disappear from the park.

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RatherGoodBear said:
Wonder what the folks at Giant think of all this. Will they demand that their logo be splashed all over whatever attraction is in that spot next year?

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I think that their name on the Giant Center right next door may be enough for them. They may do a little something to get their name out a little more within park gates, but I don't see any "plastering" of the Giant name brand to be done on any rides...jmo.

Perhaps they could rename the Ferris Wheel to Giant Wheel now. And GIANT could put their name on that. The manufacturer's name for that Ferris Wheel is Giant Wheel anyway.

For Halloween, it will be operating as "Giant Squeal" and will cost 4 ride tickets, or $3.00, $21.00 for all ride wristband. *** Edited 9/28/2004 6:58:11 PM UTC by NitroFan***

The "GIANT" logo was worked into the Giant Wheel name years ago. I assume that, since the ride is going away, the marketing contract expires. I also assume that Giant was notified of this a long time ago.

For most of its history, GIANT Wheel was simply Giant Wheel... with the Hersheypark Pinwheel design on its hubs. As Rob said, not sure when, but the name was changed from Giant Wheel to GIANT Wheel with the GIANT foodstores logo appearing on the hubs.

Not sure if it was in this or a related thread... GIANT has a much more visible marketing "contract" in Hershey with the naming rights to the GIANT Center.

There was always a line for this ride in the mornings at Hershey when we were there. The lines were small in the afternoon, but remember this ride has huge capacity. It can ride around 90 people on each side........

The intamin giant wheel type rides that i am aware of are:

Astroworld Astrowheel--a slightly smaller verson with a differnt arm design that didnt go up as high.
http://www.sixflagshouston.com/photos/AstroWheel/modville

Magic Mountain Galaxy--a very cool version with 4 smaller wheels on each big wheel with arms similar to the Astrowheel.

http://themepark.sitesbyrob.com/galleries/mm_ne.htm (5th, 6th and 7th photos down)

Kings Island Zodiac, exactly like the Giant Wheel. Moved to Australia.

The 2 Sky Whirls

There is a triple wheel in Asia and i think there is a zodiac wheel in South America.

I had no idea that the PKI wheel was sent to Australia... I thought that it was junked. I am pretty sure that two more triple wheels are in operation- Korea and Saudi Arabia, I believe. I have pictures of them... PM me if you want me to email them.

I was just being facetious in my earlier post and not intended to be taken seriously.

But since we're on the topic of partners in fun,-- Capital Blue Cross has the monorail, Aeropostale has the laser show, even Waste Management has the Trash Time band. So I think it's time that Mrs. T's gets a shot.

Now that would be unique, a big pirogi ride.

Better than a Levitra-sponsored ride.

I don't know Rob, I could be *up* for a ride sponsored by Levitra! ;)

gator, pushing the bounds of good taste since 1967...:)

I guess it would get the juices flowing!

Hersheypark has been taking out all of the good flat rides over the last five years. The Conestoga Wagen, the Cyclops,the Giant Wheel... very very sad. the only good flat rid in hersheypark now is the Claw. My prediction is that they will remove the Pirate next. then the Chaos. *** Edited 9/29/2004 10:21:40 PM UTC by Coasterjosh***