Maryland State Fair to have big kids coaster!

According to the picture and caption in the Baltimore Sun yesterday, Amusements of America is supplying a Crazy Mouse for the fair. Now according to the Maryland State Fair website, Deggler is still the midway supplier, so I don't know if a) this the only ride that A.o.A. is supplying, or b) there was a change of vendor at the last second or c) like many fairs there are two carnival contributors

The POP ride preview is this Thursday night starting at 5pm, and is $8. I have to work at my other job tonight, which is right down the street from the fairgrounds, so I'll see if I can scope it out tonight.

The MSF has always been great, a bit too crowded, but the Wild Mouse can only make it better. I live in Timonium, and construction is about done!

Deggeller is the supplier, I guess they just bought a Wild Mouse Coaster.

Like I said, it's not uncommon to have more than one ride supplier. According to Deggeler's website, they don't own a Crazy Mouse (but they have an Evolution. I wonder if they'll break that out for us this year).

I'm not sure who the supplies of the Montgomery County Fair was but they had a drop tower at the fair last week. I didn't get a up close and personal view of it last week but it was tall enough to see from 270.

Perhaps it's the same company doing the Montgomery CO.fair that does the carnival in the Manassas area,I know last time they came to town they did bring with them a Chance-Morgan Revolution.

Now a crazy mouse isn't bad,I'd like to see one at SFA in the future because it would make for a great family oriented coaster.

I just confirmed that the Crazy Mouse is a Reverchon spinning coaster. I think it will be great to see what Exterminator is like without the building.

A Reverchon huh? I may have to make that trip. Why go to SFGam when SFGam is coming to you? When does the fair end?

Never mind... Found it on the internet.... Starts August 27th through September 6th. *** Edited 8/25/2004 7:58:41 PM UTC by coasterguts***

I checked things out last night, and while I couldn't see much without trespassing, I could see that they have a KMG Freak Out (smaller version of the Afterburner) and I believe a Chance Slingshot (neither ride has been at the fair before). Returning rides included the Deggler Ferris Wheel (which looks amazing at night), and the Larson Fireball. I'll give the full rundown either here or in a trip report. Just a reminder: TONIGHT is $8 for all you can ride, which includes admission (parking is still extra). *** Edited 8/26/2004 1:21:42 PM UTC by Intamin Fan***

Thanks for the info, I-fan. If I don't make it to the Maryland State Fair, the State Fair of Virginia (also Deggeler) starts September 23 in Richmond. Wouldn't mind trying out a Crazy Mouse that actually spins (Exterminator wasn't spinning during my KW visit).

Remember, Deggler doesn't own the Crazy Mouse, so don't expect that it'll be there.

I'd expect the Crazy Mouse probably wasn't present at the Prince William County Fair (which I completely forgot had come (and gone)), but a larger state fair might. Especially since the first picture on the State Fair of VA's site is of the Crazy Mouse. :) Hopefully it isn't a case of false advertising.

I dont know who owns it, but there was indeed a Crazy Mouse at the VA state fair last year. I *think* it was a Reverchon, but quite honestly, I dont remember. I *do* recall that that one spun *WAY* more than that rat dropping Exterminator, which I dont recall spinning much at all.

lata, jeremy

--Been there, done that, bought the sweatshirt...

Spectaculars like the Spinning Mouse are often owned and operated by by what is referred to as an independent. These are people or firms that own one or two of a ride (or several of a single type) and book them with shows or at independent midways. The San Diego County Fair, and the Minn. State Fair are examples are independent midways. Vandevorste out of New Braunfels ,TX has in the past toured with Zyclons, and is currently on the road with the Reverchon Spinning Mouse. The practice of booking on extra attractions is an old one. It makes more sense than owning a large piece that may be only used once or twice a year, and the indy operator is kept busy fulfilling this need for several carnivals.

And what gets even better is when Minnesota has the second biggest state fair in the country.

The Crazy Mouse is hidden from view except for the sign, which is barely visible from some parts of the fair (unless of course you catch a glimpse of it from one of the higher rides). Due to them needing a lot of flat real estate, they located it to the left of the bottom exhibition hall. When we first arrived, it was having problems, and one of the cars kept getting stopped at every block brake, and in fact had to be manually pushed off of the last block. When we came back later it had a long line, but it was manageable. I think we only waited 20 minutes and they were only running three cars out on the course at a time. The ride photo is very crisp should you decide to get one (it's only $6 for one and $10 for two).

The drop tower ride is actually a 70ft. A.R.M. Super Shot. It crawls to the top, but the drop is completely unexpected as it doesn't have the "Intamin" pause. It just drops! The KMG Freak-Out (KMG Afterburner's little brother) was good, but they only run about a 30-second cycle. Since there are only four sweeps, there's more of a chance for everyone to get a turn at the top of the swings.

Yeah, last night was fun. The Super Shot is actually one of the better drop rides I have ridden, despite its size. It looked completely new, along with the Freak Out. The Freak Out was short, like I-Fan said. But it was beautifully lit up, with loud music. It looked like when it swung to its full extent, it covered the whole midway. The Crazy Mouse was pretty good, but it broke down, and people were stuck on it for 30 minutes. I thought it would spin more though. It only spins for like the last 20 seconds of the ride. The line like I-Fan said is manageable. The zipper was only loading half of the ride, which I though was stupid because the line stretched all the way to the entrance. Anyway, I waited 20 minutes for 19 flips on it. The Orbiter was operating normally, as was the Kamikaze and Fireball. The Starship 2000 was doing double rounds. Once the seats came down, and everyone thought it was done, it spun faster again, and the seats go right back up again. The Larson Crazy Train called High Roller was ok. I can remember it being a lot more intense. The Inverter I do not reccommend because it HURTS! I almost lost a cell phone, which I found out that it had rang 27 times and I didn't know about it. The Kite Flyer was operating normally. The bumper cars looked really slow and sluggish, so we skipped them. We skipped the Wave Swinger, Carousel and the Ferris Wheels, and the Tilt-a-Whirl. The Flying Bobs/Matterhorn was operating extra long and it got boring. Overall it was fun. I definately reccommend anyone to go.

One of the people who went with us last night had his first Orbiter ride, and he thought it was crazy. I swear the way the carnies run these rides, it feels like one of the seats will come flying off any minute! I stayed off the Hi-Roller while my friends rode. After last year's experience at the Frederick Fair were me and my friend both felt nauseous (probably due to a few too many rides on the Tango and Flipper), I decided to skip it. It's a shame that the Super Shot doesn't go up the tower faster, because they could've pumped more people through. It took about 20 minutes for 4 cycles. I got my first Kamikaze ride last night, and it was awesome! I was off my seat for most of the ride. The two fun houses were so lame. I can't believe that someone would actually pay two tickets for the one, and three tickets for the other. I actually caught myself saying "They should put up a sign pointing to the Crazy Mouse". What was I thinking?:)