There's still a triple ferris wheel out there

I just called up Ital International (the people that we're supposedly selling the sky Whirl from SFGAM) and the man I talked to said that indeed they are selling a Giant Triple Wheel. It is currently in storage. He said it is not the one from Great America but it is from somewhere in the Midwest. Heres the link to the site for those who haven't seen it yet.

http://www.italintl.com/wheel/w15.htm
Do any of you know where this Triple Wheel is from?

As far as I know there were four Triple Wheels built (per Steven Wilson):

-Marriott's Great America (CA)
-Marriott's Great America (IL)
-a park in Japan
-Lotte World

Considering that the ride on ITAL's site opened in 1976 it would seem that this would be Great America's. I do not know of any other US park that had one...but I have been wrong before.

Adam
http://history.amusement-parks.com

After seeing the condition of PGA's in July, I assure you it is NOT theirs! I almost dressed in black just to see it! There have been a couple threads on this recently, so searching may turn up some answers. Can't remember which one this is.
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Brad Sherman
"Well sir, there's nothin' on earth like a genuine bona fide electrified 6-car Monorail!"
Model coasters and rides

Wait, you actually called the guy to ask about a triple arm ferris wheel that I am nearly certain you have no plan to purchase and you didn't ask where it was from??

I heard there was also one in Kuwait, and Magic Mounatin

I would assumed that the one at Magic Mountain was a 2 arm model like the one that PKI used to have.

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No I asked where it was from, he said he didn't know

SFMM's was a 2-arm model.

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"I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T! I mean S-M-A-R-T!" - Homer Simpson

Well we know of 5 giant triple wheels so far, the old ones at both Great America's, some park in Japan, Lotte World, and a park in Kuwait. The wheel that they are selling came from somewhere in the midwest. I have absolutely no clue what park it's from.

Make that four, the wheel in Kuwait (Entertainment City) was a double wheel and is rumored to have been destroyed. I just found the park in Japan, it was called Seibuen.

Adam

http://history.amusement-parks.com

Ok cool, thanks fo the info. Lonnol

I like wheels like this. I've only been on the Giant Wheel (2 armer) at Hersheypark. They're so unique.

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Welcome "aboard" Wicked Twister. Please keep your hands and arms inside the midway at all times.

yea me too, I used to love Sky Whirl at SFGAM, I had so many memories on that thing.It was the first ride I was ever on. I still wish that they could have put Dejavu somewhee els in the park and spared th Sky Whirl. Hopefully someday we will find out where this mysterious 3 armed wheel is from.

Could somebody remind me why we wanted Deja Vu in the first place?

Alot of people who enjoyed Great Americas wonderfull Family setting (prior 2001) neved evend wanted Dejavu. Dejavu is a fun ride in my opinion but it breaks all the time, it alwayshas 2-3 hour lines and no fast lane, it is a very short ride, plus it led to the death of the hay baler and the wonderfull SkyWhirl. I wouldn't have been as upset if Sky Whirl was taken apart and moved to another park, but the morons who took it down pretty much mauled it when taking it down. then GreatAmerica sen it to the dang recycling Plant! Sometimes I really ish marriots still owned that park....

Rides are removed for basically four reasons:

-They wear out, or continually cost the park exhorbitant amounts for maintenance/upkeep.

-They reside on what every park considers "valuable real-estate."

-The ridership is low and necessitates a replacement attraction that can be marketed.

- An accident or malfuntion dictates the removal.

Often, rides dissapear through a combination of these. It is very sad to see staples of a park go. However, parks cannot continue to operate rides that fall into 2, or 3, or all of these categories listed above. It is not in their best interest.

I am all for preservation and think it is necessary that we not write off attractions that may have some years behind them. However, I also have the mindset that a park should stay fresh and new and should sacrifice things for more interesting attractions.

If parks had not removed original rides we may not have many of the favorites we have today. An original canoe attraction was removed for Beast. A log flume was removed for Raptor. A Sea Dragon was removed for Apollo's Chariot. A rotor and neglected dark ride was removed for Volcano. Etc Etc Etc

Every now and then a dud crops up. I think the Deja Vu's were indeed a "dud" but on paper and in theory looked good to the parks. It is easy now that we have seen their downtime issues as well as horrible operating problems to say that it was not worth the removal of the Sky Whirl. However, if you remove these after thoughts, and the ride had ended up being an enthusiast favorite, then I doubt many would regret the Sky Whirl's removal.

Just this season PKI removed King Cobra after a near 20 season operation. That is pretty darn good if you ask me, and it surprises me that it lasted this long. But many were saddened/angry/concerned/surprised by it's removal. It was a fun ride, but as with many rides such as the Skywhirl, had seen better days.

If you harken back to the days of Coney Island rides rarely lasted more than a few seasons. Part of the fascination of the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel is the fact that they lasted when literally thousands of rides (and parks) came and went. In it's heyday, Coney Island was a smash and a must visit for people because it was always new, fresh and exciting.

Modern day parks uphold that tradition but not nearly as extreme as the golden era. Removals could be a lot worse and much more common than they are now.

Today's modern corporate parks survive on marketability. They must rely on offering new attractions, and keeping things fresh and different. While classic turn-of-the-century parks like Kennywood exist by finding their niche lies in retaining their classic attractions.

It stands to reason that Skywhirl dissapeared for the obvious reasons listed above. Although it will be missed, it serves as a great memory.

IMO, without the dissapearance of attractions and ever-changing face-lifts, parks would become very boring to me. My main draw to the parks I attend over and over is to see what is new, different and exciting. It keeps me going back, but also gives me memories to recall with friends.

I love being able to have conversations like "Remmber when that three armed ferris wheel was here?" If it still existed I would probably walk right by the attraction and never give it a second thought.

Shaggy

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Shaggy

R.I.P. Maestro
Phantom Theater 1992-2002

I never even thought of it as a three arm ferris wheel until it was gone. It had just been that slow spinny ride I happened to like.

I agree that if a bottom-line corporate park has an attraction that does not work and they cannot get parts for, it is time to go. However, as PKI has shown (with other Paramount Parks following suit) thrill rides are not the only thing that can be marketed. Thier family/kiddie areas give a very good return on investment. I did not think the problem was with the removal of the triple wheel itself, but rather, the addition of two shuttle (i.e. high thrill) rides in a park with capacity problems. Why not put one shuttle in and an adequate family replacement like a Mondial Ferris Wheel, a Zamperla Zepplin Tower, a Chance Aviator or a Huss Magic? No, these are not capacity machines, but at least they comliment the thrill addition. In addition to pulling out the wheel they pulled out several kiddie rides that were next door. By installing things for both the thrill seekers and the families you invest in the two most critical markets out there. While thrill seekers are important, families (which often give very good per-caps) are important to the future of a facility, too.

Adam
http://history.amusement-parks.com

Heres what I think Great America shoul do, rip down Dejavu and sell it, then use the money to buy that mystrious 3 armed ferris wheel from Ital ;-) (like that wuld ever happen, lol)

Isn't there one at Hershey.

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-Sean