How many parks still have sky rides?

I have to confess, sky rides always make me a little nervous. The rational part of my mind says, "This is a relaxing, easy way to get from here to there", while the nervous part of my mind says, "We're hanging from a wire! We're gonna die!"

Alton Towers' skyride is probably my favorite. Not only does it provide great views of the gardens, it also saves a ton walking. Think going from Nemesis to Oblivion as Montu to Kumba.

It sounds more impressive if you refer to the round-trippers as "out and backs."

Whether they take you from Point A to Point B, or back again to Point A, another aspect of the Sky Ride is being able to see parts of the park in a different way than you do from the ground.

Gator, HP's may be funny/silly, but it's still pretty cool if you get to see GreatBear go zipping right in front of you. It's also a nice ride for the Halloween and Christmas events.

Does Paramount's Great America still have theirs? I remember riding it back in '01.

I like sky rides but the part that makes me nervous most is if they travel over water. Geauga Lake's used to bother me when it crossed over the water.

X Factor

Anybody mention SCBB yet? I would assume they still have one. I like the 'permanent' riders on their sky ride.

Don't know if this one counts, but in order to make it up to the action park at Glenwood Caverns you have to ride a Gondola. Most scenic 'sky ride' of any 'park'. Beautiful views of Glenwood Springs and the confluence of the Colorado and (can't remember the smaller river's name right now) with views up the valley towards Aspen.

Don't forget Ghost Town in the Sky. Although I've never ridden it or been there, that has to be a fun way to get to a park. Gun Town Mountain also has the chairlift style.

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janfrederick said:
I wonder which park had the tallest? The one at Magic Mountain seemed ridiculously tall...probably 130' on top of the mountain. Yikes.

I never did get a chance to ride the other skyride they had.

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Ya, Magic Mountain's Eagles Flight was one of the tallest suspended cable car rides when it was in operation. Unfortunately there was a fatality on it and I'm going to assume the state found it unsafe to continue operation, or it was Six Flags' decision to have it removed for Superman. Could be a grip of reasons why it was taken out. I'm not too sure why...

SeaWorld Adventure Park in San Diego also has a one. It's called Bayside Skyride and carries riders over the San Diego coastline in the park.

I'll put my two cents in on this one...

Lagoon has a nice skyride that takes you from one end of the park to the other.

Why do I keep getting the feeling that once I hit the gates at Lagoon, I'm gonna have be taken out by security an hour after closing...

Seems like Schlitterbahn all over again...speaking of parks that could use a transportation-type skyride...ROFL!

Siebert still rulz!

RGB...With the Great Bear fly-bys, it does offer photo ops...or so I've heard.. ;)

Among parks that could use a skyride: SFKK, that bridge is teh suxorz. BGT's is good, and necessary, but it should run all the way over by the Hospitality House if they're not gonna give me my access path from SheiKra and/or Gwazi directly to Scorpion. ;)

*** Edited 5/6/2006 4:35:22 AM UTC by rollergator***

Dutch Wonderland has one as well but it's so slow moving and stops frequently that someone is better of walking especially with the park not being that big

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rollergator said:

Seems like Schlitterbahn all over again...speaking of parks that could use a transportation-type skyride...ROFL

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Well, at two of their parks, you can pretty much ride from one ride to the next without getting out of your tube.

"Both the South Padre Island and the Galveston parks feature "Transportainment" river systems, which allow visitors to navigate most of the park (including waiting in line at rides) without having to leave the water." Wikipedia

or were you talking about the East and West seperation?

The bronx zoo here in NYC has one too :)

^^ coasterb...yes, I was talking about S. East and S. West in New Braunfels (mostly tongue-in-cheek)...

I have yet to get to *another* Schlitterbahn park....but I haven't given up on them building still MORE of their parks.

Puyallup. :)

Only because it hasn't been mentioned (as far as I can tell) as it's not in a likely place. . .

Blizzard Beach

I found something online for anyone who is very interested in ski lifts....

http://www.resortjobs.com/do/details/934

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BogeyMon said:
How about Kennywood's from the upper lot to the entrance? Do you still get a free ride before you ever pay to get into the park?

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Yes. It only runs when it's crowded enough to open that third parking lot, though.

Probably the most practical ride ever installed by any park. :)

l. Several of you have mentioned how these rides make you nervous. You ought to spend the Winters skiing. Some of those chairlifts are heart stopping. They're safe, comfortable and efficient. But they offer excellent views and, if you're willing to take your hands off the bar, you can get some great photos. But at the bigger resorts, some of the lifts are very long and rise and fall with the landscape. Once you've ridden several of those, the amusement park versions are pretty tame.

2. I certainly agree they offer great crosspark transportation. I never understood why Disney took its out, why Kennywood never put on in,or why Cedar Point doesn't lengthen the one and add at least one more.

3. Another possibility for crosspark transit would be those little helicopters now seen at KI and CW as kiddieland rides. You pedal the copters along a monorail type track and they run in a closed loop. But they could easily be run from one side of the park to the other, which would be a cool ride plus a very relaxing and efficient way to get around. Imagine one at KI running from The Beast over to Top Gun, or from Hurler over to Top Gun. At Kennywood, imagine one running from The Racers over to Exterminator.

The problems with and the reasons sky rides havent become the dominent form of intra park transportation is that they have to close in high winds and cant carry as much people as a quality train ride can. However, I do wish more parks would do what BGE did and not only have a high quality (3 stop) train and skyway but also have them alternate and travel in opposite directions. Its great to know that even though the park is a loop your'e one stop away from anywhere.

"I never understood why Disney took its out, why Kennywood never put on in,or why Cedar Point doesn't lengthen the one and add at least one more."

Cedar Point had two Von Roll skyrides at one time. In addition to the "Sky Ride" that still runs down the main midway, there was another one called the "Frontier Lift" that started near Corkscrew and went across the lagoons to Frontiertown. It's shown in this 1980 Park Map.

I like the rides as a form of transportation. They offer nice views and serve as a quick way to get around. It's a shame not very many are left.