Associated parks:
None
Larson Fireball-This is a modern looking Super Loop. There is one train with OTSR’s and you ride around in a perfect circle. The interesting thing is that there’s no program. The operator has a joystick and he controls the direction and speed. It won’t blow your mind, but fair goer’s (many of whom seemed to have never gone to an enclosed themepark) enjoyed it.
Larson (?) Cliffhanger- You lay down on your stomach three to a “kite” and ride around in a circle at an angle. After it picks up speed and height, it does kind of feel like your flying. Much better than it looks.
Chance Zipper-Who dare calls themselves a carnival and not have this ride? This was my second ride on a Zipper and it wasn’t as scary as the last, probably because it was still light outside. We managed to flip over five times in a row though which was really fun.
Chance Wipeout-This looks like your basic Trabant, but it’s somewhat different. It has inward facing seats for one, and two it has airtime! Interestingly enough the airtime only happens when your going backwards (depending on which way you’re facing).
Chance Inverter-This is the single arm version of the ride which can also be found at SFWOA and SFGAdv. GWG had never ridden it, so we climbed onboard. Sitting four to a row, you swing backwards and forwards until you hang at the top. The seating is comfortable for a ride that hangs, and the cycle isn’t that long. Not that exciting, but hey it looks cool!
Wisdom Tornado-You sit four to a car on this one facing towards each other in a circle. Each person gets there own seat. There is also a wheel to spin your car. I couldn’t get my lapbar to close and the ride op almost started the ride. Luckily this is the only safety issue I saw today at the fair. The ride was so mild, I’m sure I would’ve been fine without the lapbar, but better safe than sorry, since the seats have no sides on them. We were really disappointed in this one because we couldn’t get the center wheel to turn very well. Maybe it just needed some grease.
Wisdom (?) Starship 2000-This is a Gravitron, which GWG had never ridden. It’s basically a souped-up version of a Rotor. You stand against the wall which is angled and you rest against a tray (for lack of a better word). The ride picks up massive speed and the floor drops. Then the really cool thing is that the trays all move up towards the ceiling individually. Then they move down and back up again. The ride cycle was ridiculous at well over 3 minutes too. Great fun, but just try to walk straight afterwards. The operator who sits in the middle was actually smiling at the kids riding it. Very unusual for a carnie.
Tivoli/KMG Orbiter? (It said Tivoli, but KMG lists this ride also)-Located near the entrance is a carnival ride I won’t soon forget. The ride has six arms and three cars on each arm, with two seats on each car. This is like a scrambler, but if the scrambler were on speed. And boy, does this ride have a plenty of speed! When the center arm picks up, the arms tilt at an angle and the fun begins. The G forces are massive and it’s unbelievable how fast you’re spinning. I always get that thought in the back of my head “what if an arm were to break and we were to fly out into the midway?” It’s happened before, and I’m thanking the fact that Maryland has an rigorous inspection program for carnival rides. We agreed this was the best ride at the fair.
Other
Swings
Lost Mine-This is kind of like a carnival version of The Haunted Mansion at Knoebels (it nowhere near as good. I’m just using it for comparison). Sitting two to a car you travel through a really tight, sometimes dark course through hairpin turns and one drop. There are a couple of loud sounds, and one good scare. The course is so tight, that you can reach out and touch the walls. I’m 5’8” and my head almost touched one part of the ride. With some more themeing like The Haunted Mansion, this could be a better ride.
Funhouses-They have four of these and I wouldn’t pay $1.50 to walk-through any of them. I’m very glad we had the RID wristbands. There simply wasn’t enough going on in any of them, although I experienced my first revolving barrel in one. Sample: Walk though house of mirrors, climb steps, walk past funhouse mirrors, get on a slide, the end.
Unfortunately, we were not able to ride the brand-spanking-new Zamperla Power Surge, because that got stuck with riders on Monday for an hour and 20 minutes (Yes, the media is blowing it out of proportion. It sounds like they wish someone actually got hurt). Thankfully, we’ve ridden the one at Knoebels. Zamperla was there today and they did cycle the ride several times. A computer problem is apparently to blame for the problem. No idea if it’ll reopen by the end of the fair.
*** This post was edited by Intamin Fan on 8/29/2001. ***
Anyway, I only have two words for you I-Fan You Bastard!. (j/k) I really want to get up to the fair. It's funny, me and my parents were driving up to HersheyPark on Sunday and had to pass right by the fairgrounds. Heck, we almost stopped! I hope I can find someone to go with me this weekend. Maybe one of my new "College Buddies" would like to go...
glad you had fun!
lata,
jeremy
--who is drooling at the thought of a scrambler on speed...
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"Nobody writes about the planes that land." Steve Salerno Washington Times 7-10-01
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NITRO EXPLODES!!!!!!!!!!
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