Intamin Double/Triple Wheels

Wow. That one in South Korea is really in a beautiful setting.

I did a search and found some more photos:

http://www.lotteworld.com/english/e_magic_island/hydra.html

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/pictures/Sel2678.jpg

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/pictures/Sel2673.jpg

I wish Chicago had thought to put the Sky Whirl on Navy Pier... That really would've made the city unique. Maybe someday...

JoNo thank God theres someone else out there that thinks the same thing, I told alot of people that SkyWhirl would look great at Navy Pier and they all said "Why should that old piece of crap go to Navy Pier?" I think it would have looked great having the arms go out over the lake. I'm glad there are others who think the same.

*** This post was edited by SFGAMNUT9302 on 1/4/2003. ***

That's been my dream since it was taken down. I guess we'll have to wait a while for the next one to be dismantled... :)

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Did you know that 1 in every 5 American teenagers believes that the US declared its independence from FRANCE???

scraperguy99:
At the present time, HP's Giant Wheel is not in danger. There has been talk in the past about removing it, but it hasn't happened. I have passed the comments here along to management so they can know that it's still a popular ride. Take note that it doesn't hurt to send your comments to parks that have something you want to see saved.
As for Intamin's Gyro Towers, I believe they are still on the current list for manufacture. I don't know that they've built one in the States recently, but that's probably just because all the parks here are too busy building bigger and badder coasters! ;)

Yeah, I really hope Hershey keeps theres for many year to come. Even now that I think about it, it makes sense to have 2 ferris wheels anyway. The Giant Wheel gives a nice view of the lower half of the park, while the Ferris Wheel gives a good view of the upper part and Midway America.

These rides have been removed in American parks simply for the fact that American parks are run for greed and profit, not the happiness of their customers. Six Flags, Paramount, Cedar Fair, are run by corporations whose main goal is to increase the price of their stock. Hershey is run by a trust, and while the park is profitable, it is not guided by stock prices. That may be why they manage to maintain their rides, almost double their park size and keep the park clean and spotless.

When I worked the Triple Wheel at GA Santa Clara, the lines were diminuative. The ride worked fine though. Not too much downtime. I loved the ride too, however, it was just a tad too long. It made people sick. But what a marvelous piece of machinery.

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"If the beats were made of meat then they would have to be me ..." - L.L. Cool J

Right on super7. I think you have a good point about the operating decisions of corporate park owners like Six Flags and Cedar Fair vs. Hersheypark which almost seems family owned in the way it is operated. Hersheypark's decision to maintain classic family rides such as the Giant Wheel, even though it doesn't have the marketing appeal of the newest mega-coaster, is why Hersheypark is so great.

It's interesting though that Busch parks are so well run. They still make decisions with profit making in mind, but they still hold onto some good values, and they seem to appreciate their customers. It just shows that even a corporate park company like Busch doesn't need to be as greedy as Six Flags to be profitable.

I just remembered isnt one of these rides featured in Beverly Hills Cop 3? In the Wonderworld or watever theme park that they put in there, and Eddie Murphy saves two kids from the gondolas on the ride?

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"Launching in 1,2,3..2..1"
-Wicked Twister Ride Op.

Yup, the tripple wheel at I would assume the California park was in Beverly Hills Cop 3.

I have a beef with Paramount's Great America for removing the Triple Wheel AND the train!!! The train was great. Why'd they do it?? It added to the kinetic festiveness of the place. That along with the ragtime and dixieland music and cool employee costumes (like knickers)...Too bad.

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"If the beats were made of meat then they would have to be me ..." - L.L. Cool J

Well you could always come to SFGAM and ride the train, the whizzer, the Yankee Clipper, the Ameri-Go-Round, Home Town Funmachine,the trolleys during parades, and enjoy classic Marriotts theming like Yukon territory, and Home Town Square ;-)

Paramount tends to remove their family friendly attractions (a kiddie suspended rollercoaster does NOT fall in this category) and replace them with nothing similar. The train is long gone at Kings Dominion also as the monorail disappeared from Carowinds. Six Flags at least has one up on them in the train dept. They spend the money to maintain their trains unlike Paramount.

Though I love Arrow (and Schwarzkopf) coasters, I cannot say enough about my fascination with the Giant Wheels. Their spidery, clawlike hubs gave a truly unforgettable ride both phycially and visually. The teetering of the doubles versus the rotating of the triples......and the moment when the motor kicked into gear and your cabin was swept away on a journey climbing well over 100', as you clung to the bars for dear life! I am sure I got airtime when that thing kicked into gear!

Steven has provided us with an extremely rare look at these thrilling behemoths, and I will never forget viewing PGA's last summer with him. It is truly depressing to see such a unique ride sitting there, its days of playing a vital part in the Great America skyline over. All the more reason to go to Japan! Or in my case, attempt a working model (which Steven isn't aware of tsk tsk). :)

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Brad Sherman
Arrowed!
Rides for rodents!

Hey, Brad. I was wondering when you were going to show up in this thread.

Here are some views of the Santa Clara Sky Whirl's final days:
http://pws.prserv.net/steven/swtw.jpg

Working model, eh? You are making TWO working models, aren't you??? ;-)

JoNoJ27: Thanks for finding those additional photos of the triple in Korea. Nice!

Steven

How many double wheels were built? I know of Hershey's, and I know that Kings Island had one... were there others?

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-Rob

The ones i am aware of:

Astroworld Astrowheel (this may have been the prototype), the tower was much smaller, and the arm had a bend in it. It did not raise nearly as high off the ground and had 8 cabins on each arm.

Magic Mountain Galaxy, this ride was similar to Astrowheel, but it was maybe the most unique as each large wheel had 4 smaller wheels on it which also spun. It had 16 cages on each side. Pictures of it compare to Sky Whirl's spectacular looks.

Hershey has the high rising 2 arm wheel. Kings Island had the same ride. I am under the impression that the Kings Island Wheel is the one at Australia's Wonderland now, it goes by the same name Zodiac. Then there is the one in South America that the above website pictures.

It looks like 4 triple arm wheels, SkyWhirls and one in Japan and one in Korea.

Were the wheels at the Marriotts parks really scrapped? If so, what a huge waste of excellent equipment.

Wow, the Magic Mountain Galaxy sounds really interesting... how come no one ever speaks of that ride? Was it an Intamin? When did it operate? Does anyone have pictures or info on it? As you can tell, I am quite curious...

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-Rob

This site has some nice old pictures from Magic Mountain, including the Galaxy

http://snow.prohosting.com/themepk/magic_mountain.htm

Thanks for the link... that Galaxy is definitely interesting! I had no idea that such a unique ferris wheel ever existed... its even more complex than the triple wheels.

The cars (cages?) look identical to the ones on the double and triple wheels, so am I correct in assuming that Intamin designed/constructed the Galaxy as well? Does anyone know when that ride was dismantled, and if it was destroyed or sold to another park?

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-Rob