Modern flat rides...Should amusement Parks invest?

Looking at the pics of the LA county fair; It seems that carnival type operations have surpassed Amusement Parks in the Spin And Spew catagory.Should Parks invest???

Well, considering that RollerCoasters aren't exactly the prime rides found at carnivals, yes. Rollercoasters are meant to be in big parks. The only fairs you will see with MAJOR rollercoasters are the German fairs. Hard Rock is a Fabbri Spiderman....very cool ride...very disorienting. I just wish that those flats made the rounds over in Jersey....we have been stuck with Pharoh's Fury, Sizzler, Kamikaze, and Tornado all the time. Spin-Out only makes an appearance at the Monmouth County fair 1 time a year and it's $3 to ride. Go on wristband night and ride forever is what I say.

I just hope that SFGAdv, Dorney, or Hershey purchase the new Huss Delirium! That thing looks wicked! That, and the Jump2. The Giant Top Spin doesn't look all that appealing. the Giant Frisbee looks cool, though. Huss and Zamperla have pioneered the comeback of flats in amusement parks. Let's hope that many many more are sold!

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Ohh yeah. Flat rides are most of the parks. Most parks aren't just coasters. This is also smart in the fact that flat rides are cheaper than coasters and the newer ones are just as popular.
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I agree that amusement parks ought to put more effort into some more modern flat rides -- you nearly always see a scrambler or himalaya or trabant type, but those designs have been around for ages, while they're building new coasters every other year or every year. Granted, new flat rides will not bring in the publicity, guests, and profit that a new coaster would, but it would be neat to see a park put $10 million into new flat rides all in one year, totally revamping that area of the park, just as they would have put it into a new coaster. There's no law that says you just have to have ONE new ride each season -- how about a half-dozen?

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SFNE has done this over the past few years. In 1997 they addes a top spin and Vekoma Air Jumper, 1998 brought a break dance and Chaos, 1999 brought an invertor, frisbee, tea cups, flying bobs, and vekoma mad house. and finally in 2000 they added a magic carpet, fly away, and a wipeout. I love when a park puts in multiple flat rides. They are really quite fun if they're good, bring down the lines and if they open at different times, give guests a lot to anticipate.
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sigh, SFNE goes "tiny" for 2001

I LOVE flat rides/spin n spews! They are awesome! I wish my home park, SFSTL, had more though. Ours our kinda old, I would imagine. We have a scrambler, Falling start-type, enterprise, swinger, rotor, and swinging ship. But hopefully we will get alot more in 2002! Hopefully Huss, Zamperla, and/or Chance rides! I rode my first top spin at SFEG not too long ago, and that was very...interesting! lol I also LOVE Chaos rides, and I rode my first Breakdance and I loved it! At least I think it was a breakdance. It was Hollywood & Vine at SFEG. That is a breakdance, right? Why do they have a "no single riders" policy on that ride? I don't really see the point of having that policy on that type of ride. Maybe someone can clarify this for me. Thanks!

><> Aaron <><

Most definitely!! They not only add to the issue of capacity, they also offer unique thrills of their own.

My current favorite flat ride of the newer generation is the Huss Frisbee. Tasmanian Devil at Six Flags Marine World blew me away. I'm hoping that we'll see one in this neck of the woods in the near future.

Also, I must add, I really enjoyed the Huss Breakdance (known as Whirlwind at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk). I'd like to see one of these at SFWoA as well.

X Factor
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That's just what we need at SFA.I wouldn't mind seeing a top spin or the new giant frisbee from Huss rides.At SFA we only have the typical selection of older flat rides and most of them are always down for some reason or another.In my opinion the best flat ride SFA has is Iron Eagle.(as long as it doesn't get stuck that is).

Every park should have a Huss Troika...

And, while they're at it, a top spin.

I think that in order to have a complete park, you need to have something for everyone, and a solid backup from the E-Ticket rides.
THis is where flat rides come in.
I would rather visit a park with 4 coasters and a few good flat rides than a park with 6 coasters.
A well rounded park is good.

My favorite flat rides are: Zamperla Roto-Shake.
(Hammerhead-KBF) I have never seen another one of these, but it is a lot of fun.
Wipeout-A classic flat ride!
Scrambler- Tame,but fun!!
http://www.zamperlarides.com/main/rotoshak.htm

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I think parks should invest more in modern flats. This summer I've ridden KMG's Spin Out, Orbiter, and After Burner, and Zamperla's Power Surge and Energy Storm. Previously I've also ridden the Huss Jump, Top Spin, and Frisbee. One problem is that many of these rides are very intense and therefore may be too much for the average themepark goer. The second problem is the expense. A really good flat ride such as the After Burner cost 1.5 million dollars.
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Batwing-Bow Down

JoNoJ27 said:
"Every park should have a Huss Troika..."

I agree. Troika is among my favorites of the older generation and I always try to ride it when I'm at CP (or any park that has one).

Condor, too, is an impressive flat ride and brilliantly lit at night. SFGAm's is the only one I've been on.

I've recently become quite attached to the Calypso at CP. Are there any manufacturers out there that offer a modern version of this ride or has this ride become somewhat extinct?

X Factor

Wow, I thought the condor (Hershey) and Troika (SFGAM - Triple Play) absolutely sucked...

Anyway, I'd love to see some of the newer flat rides. You can keep the topspins/splashovers and roto-shakes, but I'll take all of the "spinning pendulum" rides, especially the Delirium! Oh and a Mondial Top Scan looks positively wicked.
lata,
jeremy
--who notes that I-Fan rode a Huss Jump *this summer* as well...

If only my beloved Cedar Point had a Frisbee and a Power Surge, life would be perfect.

(Not really perfect, but certainly more fun.)

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I'd love to see one of those 250' tall swinging ships like they have at Nagashima Spaland

One of the best has to be the old huss enterprise. Forget the otsr's and lap bars, nothing like going upside down with NO restraints.

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While visiting the York Fair (York PA), I commented to my wife that what Hersheypark should get is one of those "Wild Claw" type rides (not sure what the official name is, Reithoffer calls theirs Wild Claw... someone said it is similar to a Frisbee). That is one wild ride.

They also had a "Power Surge" ride there. I rode it twice. I can honestly say that this was one of the very few rides (flat rides or rollercoasters) that actually frightened me. I was looking forward to getting to Knoebels and trying their Power Surge (among OTHER things), but after this, I think I will just stick to Phoenix, Twister, Haunted House, etc and give Power Surge a pass.

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Theme parks need flat rides to help spread out the crowd and minimize waits. Minimal waits=more pleasant experience=more return visits. Not everyone goes to ride coasters, and not everyone goes to ride extreme rides.

Even more gentle flat rides are a good investment. Its nice to have rides that the whole family can enjoy. A high-capacity, family ride like the Intamin double/triple wheel is a good example, but unfortunately all parks have removed that ride that had it except Hershey.

Paramount is the worst out of all the theme (i use that word losely as most of their parks are losing their theming) at keeping and maintaing their flat rides. Instead they remove them, without replacing them. What this leads to is a park that is boring on the repeat visit.

2Hostyl said:
Wow, I thought the condor (Hershey) and Troika (SFGAM - Triple Play) absolutely sucked...

I really like both of those, but I can't really take the "intense" spinners like I could when I was a kid. They're good in between flats for people like me.

What do you mean PAramount is the worst? Canada's Wonderland adds flat rides every year! Just recently we got a Mondial Top Scan(I so love this ride! ), and a Splashover in 2000.. Wonderland has a great selection of flat rides, and is getting a Huss Frisbee next year!