Better than a Levitra-sponsored ride.
Just imagining what the trains would look like plus what it could possibly be named--- that's just downright frightening!
Older flats / non coaster / non water rides are: Wave Swinger, Rodeo (Trabant), Pirate, Tilt-a-whirl (though I believe this is a newer model of an older ride, but I could be wrong), Scrambler (though this run more like a kiddie ride than a "thrill" ride), Flying Falcon (it arrived in the 1980's), Giant Wheel, Dry Gulch RR, Monorail, Skyview, Fender Bender, Twin Turnpkes. The other Flats there are kiddie rides and I do not remember what they are. Skyview, Dry Gulch, and Monorail are the oldest I believe. Since it is not a coaster or water ride, I suppose Kissing Tower would have to be in here too.
Newer Flats / non coaster / no water rides are: Chaos, the Whip, Music Express, Ferriswheel
Newest Flats / non coaster / non water rides are: The Claw and Frontier Flyers
The following are just my guesses, but here goes:
- the Newer and Newest listed above are pretty safe.
- Dry Gulch is pretty safe
- Rodeo and Pirate are not safe... they would probably be the next to go.
- Who knows about Scrambler and how the change from Carrousel Circle to Founder's Circle may affect that ride.
- Tilt-a-whirl and Wave Swinger are safe... untill the time when (if?) Comet Hollow ever gets a make over.
- Monorail and Sky View are all hold overs from the Transition period of the late 1960's/Early 1970's. While they are pretty major rides and would seem safe, so was GIANT Wheel. Besides, how many parks have gotten rid of their monorails over the past few years?
- Flying Falcon was hailed as a major addition when it arrived back in the '80's. It is a fairly unique ride (you don't see all that many Condor rides). As long as it does not cause too much maintenance issues, I see it staying.
One thing to keep in mind... Hershey now owns Dutch Wonderland. Who know's what sort of movement could occur there. Some of the more mild flats that eventually will be removed from Hershey could eventually find their way to DW. Candidates not do do this... Pirate (DW already has Space Shuttle swinging "ship""), Sky View (DW already has a Sky Ride), Mono Rail (custom design to Hershey... plus DW already has one).
The late 1960's / 1970's seem to have been the transition era of Hershey... Traditional Amusement Park to modern "theme" Park. The 1980's seemed to be a slow period. The 1990's seemed to be a period of fast expansion. Now... with some of the additions of the Expansion era starting to show their age (case in point, GIANT Wheel...) a new era of transition could be on the horizon. Could a shift in emphasis from a "family" park to a more "thrill" park be approaching?
From my own personal point of view... I would like to see one more coaster (a large steel coaster... hyper variety) and a concentration more on adult flat rides.
Over the years more and more of these flats are disappearing from the park. Some of the ones that I liked best over the years are now gone... some long gone, some more recent: Tip-Top, Paratrooper, Roundup, The Bug, Coal Shaker (cuddle up), Monster (in its Monster theme and Rattle Snake theme), Flying Bobs, Cyclops. Some of these were already old by the time I rode them... some of them could be found at any carnival / fair at the time... but they were all still fun and gave a nice diversion from coaster after coaster after coaster. Let me rephrase that... when most of those rides were in the park, there were only three coasters (Comet, looper, Trail Blazer). What I meant was would a selection of flats like that exist today, they would give a nice diversion from Coaster after coaster after coaster.
NOTE: When I said a certain ride is "safe" or "not safe"... I was talking about their future existance, not commenting on "rider safety".
*** Edited 10/4/2004 2:36:41 PM UTC by SLFAKE***
Or are you confusing it with the kiddie scrambler next to the Flyers? :)
- Jeff
Granted, I haven't ridden it in years. I am only going on sight and my memory of other scramblers. It just seemed very slow to me. Of couser... keep a few things in mind...
The most recent scramblers I have ridden were the ones at Lakemont Park (where they have a tendancy to run their rides to the max), the local Dover (PA) Fire Company Carnival (again, travelling fairs and carnivals have a tendancy to run their flats full out), the enclosed Scrambler at Conneaut Lake (again... traditional park running rides at full speed and also enclosed giving an illusion of greater speed) and the Abominable Snow Man at Miracle Strip Amusement Park (again, enclosed with the illusion of greater speed). I have not ridden a scrambler at any other park since... I don't know when the last time was. I do recall noticing the Katapult at BGW as I walked by and thinking that it looks like it was moving slowly. So... for Corporate Parks operating on TPM (Theme Park Mentality), perhaps Hershey does run their scrambler like most others.
1. No "sitting" time for the rider. Once the ride cycle starts, it is always in motion. They load half the cages at once, while the other half are in ride cycle. A regular ferris wheel has a lot of non-motion time for the rider when it is loading, and the ride cycle is always short because of that.
2. Long ride cycle.
3. Very high capacity
4. Improved saftey. The ferris wheel they have in Midway America is dangerous. If someone (especially a child that someone took their eyes off of) put their arm out of the vehicle at a certain point of the cycle, the wheel would axe it off between the vehicle and the wheel. There is no possibility of this with the Intamin wheels as the support for the ride is always above the cage.
I cannot figure out why parks continue to install these more inefficient ferris wheels resulting in the discountinuation of the double/triple wheels when there was such a better alternative.
The ferris wheel left at Hershey is not nearly as spectacular and does not produce nearly as good of a ride experience as the Giant Wheel.
4.
Sorry for the slight turn in topic, I'm a bit of a scrambler dork.
Jeff
Given the choice, I would rather ride on a ride such as GIANT Wheel over the Ferriswheel in Midway America. As stated, great capacity and once you lift off the ground, your ride continues until you are lowered again... no problem with having to stop at the top and wait for the other gondolas to load.
If I remember correctly, on the commemorative hockey pucks for the 1996 (or was it 1004?) AHL All Star Game in Hershey, they had a design of the HP Arena with one of the arms of GIANT Wheel visible over top of it. It is / was a unique land mark.
Why do parks go with regular wheels over this style of wheel? Cost? How much does a "traditional" Ferriswheel coast compared to one of these two armed (or three armed) Intamin Wheels? Also, look at the footprint of a traditional wheel compared to the huge footprint of GIANT Wheel. Cost and space I would assume.
I have always been surprised that the triple wheels didn't take off in popularity - great family ride that takes up a relatively small footprint (even in comparison to the two loading pads needed with the double wheels). The ride time on them are excellent, especially when you consider the non-existence of having to "wait" for others to be loaded that was mentioned above.
I obviously love the triple wheels, and I'm pretty bummed that it looks like they are truly becoming a thing of the past - I just wonder if any of the new ride technologies out there would help out with the maintenance concerns that had arisen with the originals built over twenty years ago? Not a whole lot you could change with the basic design of the wheels, but I'd imagine the motors and other parts could be made more reliable.
What is the basic theory behind a traditonal wheel?
A motor drives wheels on which the outer frame of the wheel rests. The turning drive wheels turn the "wheel".
What is the basic theory of Intamin Double and Tripple Wheels?
I haven't the slighest ideaw... but... Hydrolics are involved to lift and lower each arm, as well as some sort of mechanism that turns the "wheel" at the end of each arm from the hub are of that arm.
Because of this more involved system, I assume that the maintenance cost, as well as the purchase cost, is greater.
On another tangent... how much more difficult is a Intamin Double or Tripple Wheel to relocate as compared to a more traditional wheel? Also, how much more expensive are they to run?
http://americas.best.vwh.net/mga/skywhirl002.html
Read through the captions, it gives you a pretty good idea how the rides work(ed).
While the one in Hershey seems to be headed for the scrap heap, I believe there is still a double in operation in Argentina - with two triples still running in Japan and South Korea.
I have to say that I am partial to the "Great America" versions - obviously there have been a few different variations over the years.
Thanks again to Steven...
Hershey's GIANT Wheel (and the other double armed versions?) used two different loading circles, with the double arms of the ride pivoting on the central support structure... in a manner like a set of scales or a see-saw. Not sure of the clearance that is needed below the raised arms of a tripple wheel, but is it possible that the required footprint is actually smaller for a tripple wheel with just the central support structure and loading "circle" as opposed to the central support and two loading "circles" for a double wheel?
1) Rodeo seems to be not operating more often than any other ride whenever I'm at the park.
2) Pirate seems a bit tame and has less capacity than similar rides at other parks. Of course, last time I rode it was just after I was on the Claw, so that probably makes it seem really calm.
3) Scrambler gives a decent ride. Ride it at Christmastime when it's 30 degrees and it will feel really fast. Just as an aside, the Merry Mixer at Knoebel's has 16 cars (4 arms @ 4) while most other Scrambler rides I've seen have only 12 (3 arms @ 4) and Knoebel's seems to be a faster (and longer) ride. Which is more widely used, the 3 armed ride or 4?
4) One thing about the Monorail-- it does give people a glimpse at ZooAmerica and the "Real" factory. I don't know if that inspires people to head to the zoo who wouldn't have otherwise given it a thought. Plus they did incorporate it into the top hat of Storm Runner. It is a really nice ride at Christmastime too.
5) All the rides mentioned that were removed-- those rides are pretty rare at any park nowadays. (OK, Knoebel's just added a Round-up, but that seems to be an exception to the rule.) So I don't think it's a problem particular to Hershey.
6) Am I the only person who doesn't get that virtual thing they put where the Conestoga Wagon used to be?
7) On the Giant Wheel, you get to make the cages rotate so you don't have to see the same thing every trip around-- IMO the second best part after not having to stop during the ride.
In answer to your question Knoebels' Merry Mixer is a different ride, and from a different manfuacturer than the Scrambler. I think it's an older model too. There's also the Sizzler which is a more modern verion, usually only found at fairs. But, at parks Scramblers are most common. And, I think they are the best.
SLFAKE said:
...is it possible that the required footprint is actually smaller for a tripple wheel with just the central support structure and loading "circle" as opposed to the central support and two loading "circles" for a double wheel?
The answer is yes. There is only one landing/loading pad for all three arms - while the clearance area up in the air is probably more, the actual physical footprint of the ride structure/loading area is smaller versus the double wheels. And, it is my personal opinion that the triple is just a cooler ride than the double because of the ride length and the fact that you actually have two stationary positions in the air where you simply rotate while waiting for another "arm" to be unloaded/loaded.
That said, I'm sad to see that it seems like Hershey has decided to follow the Great Americas' lead by taking out their wheel.
I agree that the Intamin double/triple wheels are WAY cooler than normal ferris wheels but as it was pointed out earlier, they are a lot more expensive to maintain. More moving parts = more to break down. I would assume there to be a whole load of hydraulics in the double wheels to allow for the tilting of the arms as well as the swiveling motion of the triple wheels.
I forgot where I read it but I understand that the two triple wheels operating overseas are newer and feature simpler mechanicals so they may have a longer life than the U.S. originals.
*** Edited 10/1/2004 8:10:45 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***
Wait... 1997 was 7 years ago. Time flies.
Anyway, with regards to the Scrambler--this is a stock, Eli Bridge Scrambler, as built, from the factory. The only modifications made to it over the years were the elimination of the manual step-starter to bring it up to speed, and the addition of an electric actuator to apply/remove the brake. It is operated at the specs indicated by Eli. If you see a faster one, chances are it is not operated properly (no matter how much fun). I believe the spec is 7-9 rpm.
The Condor (Falcon) was installed in 1990 when the hill area was remodeled. It is a maintenance nightmare.
The Chaos is another constant source of maintenance irritation. It may be good to ride, but it stinks to maintain. It is on the endangered list.
I would debate the comment about the Trabant (Rodeo) rarely running: It is a very reliable ride and it rarely down due to maintenance issues.
The Wave Swinger is from 1981 and the Tilt is from 1983. Draw your own conclusions.
The Pirat is still a popular ride. A retrofit of the drive system has been discussed. It is from 1980, same as the Cyclops. The Conestoga (as will all Rainbows) became a maintenance headache, with the required checks (as per Huss) taking way too much daily time to make it worthwhile.
Why conventional Ferris Wheels vs. the Intamin Wheels? Price. Of installation and operation. Conventional type Ferris Wheels can be set up most anywhere, take up little space and require little engineering. The Intamin Wheels are anchored in bedrock, have millions of pounds of concrete anchoring them and require a great deal of set up and engineering. Lots of $$$$$. It's a neat ride and I'll hate to see it go, but I guess it's time has come.
Keep up the thoughts, though--this stuff is read by park management!
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