Most amazing/unique flat rides?

Moosh and Dukeis#1 nailed this one. I would LOVE to be able to ride a turbo. Every time I look at pictures of Belmont part from the 70's, I get sad. I've also always wanted to check out a double wheel. Any of these left in the states?

And that Wheel Burrow--someone posted a video of it in operation a while back....mind boggling!

I had the pleasure or riding a Turbo once. It was an experience I'll never, ever forget.

Not sure if you would call it a flat ride or not, but the Racing Derby at Cedar Point / Rye Playland certainly qualifies as unique and is something I ride every time I visit. Plus, to the uneducated, they can be quite an eye-opening experience (especially at Rye Playland)...

Swampfoxer and millrace:

If my memory serves me right, there was a ride that came to the MN state fair in the early 90's a couple of times.

4 people get into a cramped "tea-cup" car on casters which gets hooked up to a central point with 4 other cars. The central point rotates the cars around in a circle and then one-by-one releases the cars into a tunnel. The cars spins as it goes through the tunnel and back to the loading station.

I do recall that having the name Boomerang. Just wondering if it's what you two were talking about.

If so that was one of the coolest concepts I had ever seen. The midway back then had some other cool stuff that you don't see any more but that one really stood out to me.

It was rough and banged you around a little but fun.

Is this your huckleberry? If so, I'd love to see a more recent picture. It is kind of difficult to make out: http://www.flatrides.com/Ride%20Index/ADCWaltzer1.jpg

What is a cuddle-up?

Huss Giant Jump 2. Operates as Shockwave at Canada's Wonderland.

http://www.hussrides.com/33GiantJump2.htm

German fairs had a Flying Circus. I think only one was ever built. Not that I've ever ridden it, but it looks INSANE.

That Waltzer is similar to the Boomerang. I rode the updated Boomerang at the Ohio State Fair sometime in the 80's. It had the look of a Wisdom ride but I'm not sure of that. The ride was like the original versions (I'm thinking Chicago's Riverview Park) but the tubs had two benches back to back, four seats total, instead of round teacup style seating found at Riverview (and I'm assuming Bertrand). The tunnel was covered in canvas so it wasn't very dark esp during the day. It was real manual, too. The operator had to push each of the four tubs to the wheel and attach it. The wheel would spin for a while- due to the back to back seating half the riders faced the center of the wheel and some faced outward- then the guy in the booth would randomly release each tub to fly up the ramp and disappear down the tunnel. It was a blast- we rode it over and over.

Moosh- the WheelBurrows real name was the Tumbler manufactured by Chance. One operated at NY's Coney Island for a while (Steeplechase area) and it very well may have been Georgia's ride transplanted after it was removed. I have never heard of another one being installed anywhere.

The Flying Circus (aka Magic Arms) at one point was going to be distributed by Premier Rides in America. Maybe someone took one ride on it and said "No thank you." There are just way too many planes of rotation going on. I would think you'd need a raincoat just to keep dry, if you know what I mean.

---

millrace said:
swampfoxer: Do you have any pictures of the boomerang? I'm always hearing rumors of a modern boomerang ride that shows up at carnivals but I've never seen a picture of the thing.

---

Here is a page I scanned from "Carousel" Magazine of a racked Boomerang. I wish like heck I had taken my video camera that day in 1993. At least I can say I rode the darn thing. Little did I know I'd never see one again.

http://members.aol.com/coasting2/boomerang3a.jpg

---

RCMAC said:
the WheelBurrows real name was the Tumbler manufactured by Chance. One operated at NY's Coney Island for a while (Steeplechase area) and it very well may have been Georgia's ride transplanted after it was removed. I have never heard of another one being installed anywhere.

---

Chance only made one of these Tumbler's. After it left SFoG, it operated at Rye Playland briefly and then to Coney Island. I have a photo of it dismantled lying beside the Thunderbolt.

Here are a couple photos of the Tumbler in operation at Rye. I rode it once at SFoG in 1970. Barely made it though. It broke down soon after I got off the ride.

http://members.aol.com/coasting2/wheel_burrow_rye2.jpg
http://members.aol.com/coasting2/wheel_burrow_rye1.jpg *** Edited 7/19/2007 9:20:33 PM UTC by swampfoxer***

Another flat that I used to love, although not unique back in the day, is all but gone today.. the Tip-Top.

For those who never saw one, it had round cars on a turntable which spun around, and once it was going around, this massive hiss of air pressure would bounce one side of the turntable up and down (kind of like a position of a Trabant but it was intermittent, it wouldn't stay there). When the air let loose, the turntable just fell! Kind of a mini spinning drop ride.

Best part, is it had this wheel in the center of each tub that you could also manually spin. I was a sick, twisted bastard with this wheel and would spin it as fast as I could until I could no longer physically keep up with it. :)

I loved the Tip-Top. There used to be one back in the day operating at Camden Park. Singlehandedly my most favorite ride there. That and the Whip.

There are still Tip-Tops in operation. Wild Waves near Seattle had one on my last visit...pretty sure it's still there. There's another one in New England [Santa's Village, maybe?].

Thanks for the photos of the Chance Tumbler. If anyone knows where I can find the video of the ride in action please post it. I checked youtube and unfortunately missed the link in whatever thread it was mentioned in.

*** Edited 7/19/2007 11:47:32 PM UTC by Mamoosh***

Stricker's Grove has a Tip-Top also. I love that ride. I haven't ridden one since Pontchartrain Beach in New Orleans until I went to Stricker's Grove for CoasterCon XXX.

Of the ones I've experienced they would have to be the Mondial Top Scan and the Zamperla Power Surge.

The KMG Freak Out is crazy, especially the one they set up at the IX Indoor Amusement Park here in Cleveland. Seems like you might hit the roof.

I feel fortunate to have went to Idlewild last year to try the Huss Tristar. It seemed more like the Condor, minus one wheel, placed on an Enterprise arm.

Old school flat ride would be the Bayern Kurve. I miss Kennywood's alot.

*** Edited 7/20/2007 1:42:05 AM UTC by X Factor***

Kennywood had a Tip Top or similar ride back in the 1960s. It was named the Bouncer. I also believe that Hershey had one years ago when it was a traditional park.

As for unique and exciting rides -- how about the Wonder Wheel at Denos on Coney Island. It combines the thrills of a Ferris Wheel and a coaster into one ride. It was certainly unique until DCA built a ride like it. *** Edited 7/20/2007 2:06:30 AM UTC by Arthur Bahl***

The Bug: Classic, unique and only 3 left.

Did the Wheel Barrow ride spin on an axis like Evolution, with wheels on both sides of the arm? From the pics, it looks like it had the same motion.