Rotor/Gravitron Rides Information and history - Flat Ride Of The Week 11
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
- Rotors are some of the oldest flat rides out there still in operation!
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![АЛАУДИНОВ у Скабеевой: эти их ВСУ нас НЕ ДОГОНЯТ 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/an0anqU4WGQ/mqdefault.jpg)
PSA: If you ever win a fish at a carnival, DO NOT take it on the Gravitron. My friend did that once. He won two fish. Then a group of us went on the Gravitron. With nobody to hold his fish, he took them with him. When the ride was over, one fish had pretty much disintegrated and the other looked like it was still alive but it was badly deformed. Just something to keep in mind. It was really gross. But since we were like 11 or something, it was kind of funny.
That is hilarious!
@@CoasterCollege Well not for the fish but... yeah we had a good laugh about it
The more you know...
XDDDDDD
Micycles lmao that is so funny
So the joy wheel was literally a flat ride
Some of them at least. There were also ones with a peak in the middle to make it even harder to stay on.
0:22 A joywheel still exists! Its known as the "Teufelsrad" and you can find it at the oktoberfest in munich almost every year.
Yasu the Cat the joywheel is the best for parties, imagine that with a bunch of drunk college kids
Can't believe I missed it in 2017!
there’s also one at luna park in sydney! it’s slightly elevated in the middle (like a cone with a flat top shape), but it’s still the same concept!! :) it’s called the joy wheel and it’s in coney island!
Just like a merry go round at the park but at least you can control the speed and have something to hold onto. Still very fun... but also a death trap!
I seen a video of that and there’s a woman that manage to stay on for literally ever even with the operators throwing a rope onto the disk trying to get her to fall
Man I remember these from the 90s. These rides were EVERYWHERE. The dj was always playing something wild and we made it our mission to move around or do crazy tricks. Ill ride it again this summer at my local fair.
How’s that goin for u 😂
@@reddxt2spxxky Well how is it going for you?
@@creepertech9872 Well, how?
@@aw1lt Lol I forgot about this
They used to have a rotor at Kings Dominion and they had to every so often replace bits of flooring due to vomit caused ware.
general bacon i’ve been on a rotor at a small park in new york
I hear ya there
The Timeshaft that once resided at Kings Dominion was awesome and the music and lighting effects as well. I really miss that ride and glad I got to experience it first hand.
I like gravitrons, they had one at the brown county fair when I was in high school. The operator got out and walked above our heads and being a ride op at kings island I thought it was completely crazy and unsafe.
Oh yeah, Gravitron operators are hilarious. I had a ride with two, they were standing on opposite railings and playing patty cake at 90 degrees to the floor.
I've heard one guy leaned back to far and rippen through the cloth ceiling.
@@daltonk301 😂😂😂 I've just been reading that post again on Facebook
Do a whole explanation of a Rollercoaster for April fools day.
That would end up still being super interesting, lol
examples of roller coasters include:
- the farris wheel
- larson loops
- the slide at your local park
- chairs
I haven't felt this happy since my dad came back from getting milk.
When I saw the notification my heart skipped a beat.
Will forward the medical bill to you
Where did your dad get the milk? maybe I can find mine there. He left for milk 29 years ago
When I was a kid the covered version of these rides were called Starship 2000. Not sure if that was just in my area.
@blackandgold51 I would imagine the 2000 version wasn't popular after the year 2000.
That sounds about right for my state fair. I haven't been to the fair for 2 seasons so I can't remember for sure what it's called.
One time they brought an Gravitron to the mall near the house I used to live near and it was just called 3000. No Starship or Gravitron. Just simply 3000
Most gravitrons are called Gravitron or Starship 2000/3000/4000
@@LiftRider24 The one at the cne is basically the same, being called the 4000
I go to my local fair every year just to ride the gravitron
Im envy about your rides in USA or other countries, in Poland in fairs we have mostly only a low cost versions of KMG Fireball from Czech Republic. And also cheapest versions of Booster or Breakdance.
Meeh
I really want to ride Ring of fire, Zipper or Round Up
Coaster Roaster I also do that and I love the ride
Me 2! It's my favorite ride :-)
Fun Fact: Mission: Space in EPCOT is the most expensive Gravitron on Earth!
MakBot *most expensive in space.
Really neat!
Absolutely one of my favorite flat rides ever!!!! I usually just stick to roller coasters because too much spinning can actually ruin a day at the theme park for me very quickly, and this is rather recent that spinning rides make me sick. I'm 38 now, and I want to say this started becoming a problem when I turned 35 or around the time I started to notice this. But the Gravatron is awesome, and I can still ride it once or twice in a day before I get sick from it!
Former Starship pilot here. Over a 1000 hours in the cockpit. Never seen a 'tron without the top. There's more than just canvas there! The top integrates a steel cable with a pair of turnbuckles that have to be turned until they are extremely tight. You can see it for yourself on the outside, right where the canvas meets the fiberglass panels that make the structure of the saucer. This cable along with a series of pins and wedges holds the whole thing together and its failure was the cause of that accident. Starship is one of the most intensely scrutinized machines on the midway by state inspectors for this very reason!
It is technically possible to custom order one of those cables from Wisdom without a canvas attached to it. I think it’s only been attempted once or twice though and was deemed unsafe
The rotor that was built in 2018 and has the cool art on it actually was at my local fair that same year! It could have been a different company or a different theme but this one looks really similar! I live in a small town in kentucky and it was a new ride that year. It hasnt came back which sucks because it was pretty fun! Also holiday world has one that spins 50 degrees in the air!
At my school every year they hire fair rides last year they got one that inverts and we also got a roundup :D
Bro you’re so lucky
ØPS NrulesUA-cam whattttt that’s freaking sickkkkk!!!! Luckyyy
My mom talked about the Gravitron in the 80’s with Kickass soundtracks and Music Videos playing on multiple TV’s in the center.
My favorite flat ride as a kid.
Do zippers next plz, they are my favorite flat ride, with a unique experience.
The rotor that used to be at my home park used the observation level as part of the line.
Same at my former home park, Geauga Lake (now sadly closed).
I actually got to ride a Rotor at Six Flags Magic Mountain back in 2006, I was thinking that because I’m fat that once the floor dropped, I’d be dropping with the floor but when the floor dropped I stayed in place, I went on it something like 10 times because the lineup was almost nonexistent, it was so much fun. as for the Gravitron, there’s an amusement park near my house and every August they expand it to include other attractions and one of the rides they bring for that is a version of the Gravitron called Starship 3000/4000, they also occasionally bring a Zero Gravity there as well.
So I'm not crazy thinking there was one there. Near Goldrusher?
Dona Lamb yeah that’s where I remembered seeing it, but that was over 14 years ago since I went there.
@@ilikecheesegirlXP yes that’s where it was. The Spin Out it was called. They took it out in 2008 because it hardly ever operated anymore. It was closed almost every time I went to the park.
Back in the 70's I would ride the rotor in Wildwood, NJ. It was called "The HELL HOLE". A fun ride in it's time.
I'm not an enthusiast but can happily say that Gravitron is my favourite amusement park ride, and will never pass up a chance to get on one. Its progenitor is kind of hilarious - would love to see that flat circle in action! ✌️🍍
i remember the ufo one. we would come off our seat thing and try to run to the bar around the ride op and touch it lol
My uncle used to be the owner of Martin's Fantasy Island in Grand Island, NY, and before he sold out to Apex (who utterly KILLED the park after only two seasons of taking over and basically destroyed a MASSIVE CHUNK of my childhood.... the bastards) he put in a Gravatron ride. I can't possibly explain how hard I was trying to get him to give it to me so I could put it up in my yard! I miss taking a Nerf ball into the ride with me and try to toss it towards the center of the ride just to have it come back to the person a few spots away from where I was standing. Good times, man. Good times! Thanks for the nostalgia hit on a day when I really needed it!
Back in the 1970s, Carowinds had a rotor called 'The Oaken Bucket'. Once when I had a headache from riding Thunder Road, I rode the Oaken Bucket afterward, and that cured the headache. I have no idea why, but I was grateful.
Six Flags Great Adventure had a rotor for a long time, though I think it is finally removed. That would be my first memory of such rides. (They also had a round-up … and still do, though I forget the name of it now.)
I've been on the Gravitron at Morey's Pier in Wildwood NJ, but my first such experience was at a local carnival, St. Michael's. Curiously, that Gravitron spun clockwise like the ones in your video, but every Gravitron I've been on since spins counter-clockwise. I'm not sure if that's a US-vs-Europe thing or not.
I've seen people on Gravitron rides spin themselves upside-down … and in one very weird case, a person stood on the mat itself, like he was in a space station. No way that was safe, but that was a sight to behold!
Thx for the shout-out!
Sometimes, depending on what kind of operator you get, some Gravitron operators would stop the ride and kick people out for trying to go upside down. It’s fun to do it when you have a chill operator, though. As for standing on the wall, I would never recommend that one. That really is dangerous and could cause serious injury to yourself and others.
Motion sickness is almost always caused by your body telling you you're moving when your eyes are telling you your not. It's generally exacerbated by 'loss of horizon' which humans use to orient up and down. Spinning can cause nausea because it is directly messing with your inner ear. The Gravitron is less likely to cause nausea because there is no sense of motion, the majority of the ride the only sensation is being pushed back into the walls. There is no loss of horizon effect because you begin the ride without a horizon, but with 'level markers' in place and those markers (like the yellow railing) don't change, allowing you to orient. You as a person aren't spinning, and you can't tell that the structure at large is spinning, so both sources of nausea are defeated. That said, people do still get sick, usually after they exit the ride. If you're prone to motion sickness, regain your bearings inside the ride, especially if you noticed the lateral forces of the ride while it stopped. Be the last person off, it's better than hurling, and when you get off LOOK UP at the horizon. If hurling is imminent, book it for a trash can, there's usually one very close to the ride.
In general, if you are feeling motion sick on a boat (or other vehicle) stay on deck and move towards the bow. Yes, the bouncy part of the boat. Going below decks will add loss of horizon to your symptoms, do not 'hide' from motion sickness. The front of the boat gives you the best chance of convincing your brain that you are moving the way your ears say you are. You are directly in the wind, you can see and hear the boat moving in context to the water, you will get a bit of spray. Those things help your brain understand that you feel like you're moving because the thing you're on is moving. Also, ask for the boat to speed up, not to slow down, so that you can see forward and feel forward. This is the same reason many people who get car sick sit up front and roll down the window, or better yet, they drive. Operating the vehicle almost always prevents motion sickness because YOU are deliberately causing any changes in motion. Cruise ships are also largely exempt from sea sickness because they are too large to be effected by the all but the largest forces.
I learned this from the yellow boat guys in Tazzie and I use it every day. Drive if you can, get forward, increase input. Hope this helps someone else as much as it helped me.
I remember riding the graviton at Alton towers in the early 90's. Whenever I tell people about it no one else remembers it.
I remember it well! I used to operate this Gravitron... not at Alton Towers though but a few years earlier when it was brand new at Barry Island in South Wales. Great fun! In fact this Gravitron still operates today... Once again at Barry Island.
Zero Gravity is one of my favorite fairground rides. They always had one at my local State Fair and used to ride it all the time as a kid. Was hoping to ride it at the WA state fair at night after the crowds cleared, but then a huge thunderstorm bigger than any the area's seen in 20 years hit the fair at peak strength.
I was able to ride the Rotor and the Round Up at Six Flags Great Adventure. They don't have either one now but they were fun. The Rotor was so cool sticking to the wall.
I went on the Gravitron for the first time when I was a couple months shy of turning 4, and I wouldn't be surprised if I've ridden it over 1,000 times since. I never once thought it was scary or intimidating, I just always thought it was so fascinating that just by spinning the room rapidly you could make gravity turn sideways. I'm now pursuing a bachelor's in physics, since understanding the laws of physics has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember, and I feel like all my Gravitron experience contributed to that
Same here!!!! I love physics and it’s my minor in my bachelor’s degree I’m going for 😁with a major in mathematics 🧮 the ride made me want to understand how it could work and I always rode it several times a night over summer when Houston had their rodeo
That’s crazy u did it so early on! I’m definitely going to get my kids to ride rides early😅
There used to be a Gravitron in Pleasure Island in Cleethorpes I believe this one has been moved to Barrie Island. Me and my friend used to go on it all the time, they are really fun.
The Pleasure Island Gravitron is indeed now at Barry Island.... Which is also where it started its life in the mid 80s. It also spent a few years at Alton Towers and Flamingoland before its stay at Pleasure Island. I used to operate this at Barry Island back then... Great fun, spinning around at 22rpm all day... Seeing the sights that only a Gravitron operator gets to see! In fact I enjoyed it so much that when pleasure island closed I just had to buy it!
Experienced Starship pilot here. The roof is actually structural and contains a cable that helps prevent the ride from spinning itself apart. The mentioned incident occurred because an inexperienced crew loosened that cable in the moments before the ride was to shut down for an overnight teardown. They didn't know those two turnbuckles at the panel directly behind the operator were literally holding the entire machine together. Gravitron was invented by Walter House, who also designed Super Loop aka Ring of Fire aka Fireball. Both rides heavily rely on cables. You don't so much as touch those cables on a Loop or a 'Tron before that ride is done spinning for the event. Regular inspection for a Starship includes that roof cable as well as the pin and wedge system that secures the wall panels in five places, two on the floor, ceiling and one joining each panel to its neighbor on the left if your looking at the saucer from the outside.
I rode the Rotor at Cedar Point in the 80’s! I loved it. The floor didn’t come all the way back up, so you always slid down several inches at the end. I think the last time I rode it was 1989.
I loved it when the Gravitron ride operator let us turn upside down!
I usually love to do that too. It ruins the ride for everyone if it has an overly strict jerk-like operator who yells at people for every little thing and stops the ride to kick people off for even moving an inch.
At 43, I went on one of these today for the first time! Not too queasy until the end as it slowed down, and I walked away a bit nauseous, but it was pretty fun!
They have this at literally every single carnival/fair I go to. This is one of my favorite rides.
The gravitron is one of my favorite flat rides, I also really like the Reactor a lot
I grew up riding the original Gravitron Moreys Piers, Wildwood NJ. One of my farvorite flat rids still to this day.
I can't be the only one who feels betrayed over the omission of the tilted "disco round" version?
I used to love riding this in the late 90s early 2000s at the state fair. I still remember what the ride operator said before he started the ride the first time I rode this when I was a kid, “do whatever you want just don’t get yourself killed”
This is like one of the only rides that I would legitimately get on. When my local fair brings it, I immediately get myself and my friends on. If only I had the same energy for other rides.
I remember my first time going on the ride, I was like 7. My aunt, who is only 8 years older than me, took my and my older brother onto the ride, my parents waited outside the ride. It was called Starship 2000 and I remember getting on, terrified. I remember how insane it was the boards would slide up and down and we stayed stuck to the walls, the operator was playing Barbie Girl by Aqua and he had Winnie the Pooh plush with him too. I remember a few teens and older kids on the ride too and they before we stuck to the wall, they did flips to get into insane poses.
I can confirm I have been on the first Gravitron in the world, at my home park Morey’s Peirs, and one of the last Rotors at Canobie Lake Park
I would never get on these as a kid. I love them now! They are so basic, but bring a lot of joy to tons of people. Thanks for the history!
Frontier City is my local park. I'll have to try the rotor there once I beat my fear of rollercoasters
Good luck. !Tumbleweed" is closed most of the time. In fact, I have never seen it open*. But I hope you can beat your fear, as Silver Bullet is one awesome ride. (Not the fastest/biggest/newest of costers, but certainly a very enjoyable Schwarzkopf classic), especially if you like going through inversions having a lap bar (and seat belt) only. ;-)
*) Okay, I have been there just three times, which is more than any other US theme park. And quite surprising if you consider that I live 5000 miles away from OKC. But I also have some good "connections" to that park, therefore I know that Tumbleweed being closed is really a common thing.
yeah can confirm it’s closed a lot of the time. i went there regularly as a kid and teen and i think i rode tumbleweed maybe two or three times
I always wondered why is was always closed
I ran the Rotor at Cedar Point in 1980. It was a lot of fun, and people DID throw up on this ride often!! We used to call it the Lunch Review Vehicle! Also ran Geauga Lake Park's Rotor as well. Same manufacturer, different operating systems, but was still fun to operate and ride.
Awesome story, wish they were still around!
Rode one of these towards the end of the night at the county fair with buddy.
It was just myself, my friend, and the ride op.
The ride Op came out from the middle console control seat and started using the g force to run sideways on the wall of seats.
My friend and I both also got up from our plank shaped seats, as best we could.
And fucked around, playing with the g forces of the gravitron.
It was very unsafe, but we were all okay at the end.
Wow that brings back memories 1996-2006 when I was in school.. They always had rbr hardest hitting bass.. And people was all over the place jamming! That shit was so awesome, that was the ride at the West Virginia Black Walnut festival
I rode the one at Canobie Lake Park and I never felt like I was gonna throw up so badly in such a long time, this was back in 2014 (which was my first visit)
Used to go there in the mid 90's as a kid. One dude in our rec camp rode it 13 times in one day. Just kept getting back in line over and over. He never puked either. Great memories at that park back in the day.
@@chuckmcdiscs4586 it's a very good family park for many and I highly recommend it for others
This is one of my favorite flat rides EVER!
Geagua Lake had a Rotor in 1996 when I was there but I didn't ride it. I'm not sure when they took it out.
There was a rotor named Devil's Hole at Fantasy Island in Grand Island, New York. The ride was removed in 1994, and it was announced the the park would not reopen this year. I recall riding this as a kid.
Sylvan Beach has a Chance Rotor in central NY.
Great to know, thanks. I loved the Rotor at Great Escape as a kid in the late '90s
When I was a kid we went to fairs a lot and the Gravitron was my absolute favorite. I adored it.
Once when I was about 13, there was a little girl a few spaces down from me. I remember thinking that she seemed too small for the ride, but the operator let her on so I figured it was fine.
So the ride starts up, everything is as usual. Then when it got fast enough for the pads to rise up, there was sudden shouting. I turned my head to look (it was difficult because of the centrifugal force) and the little girl was gone. There was a piercing scream and the adults over there were yelling to stop the ride. There was loud music, so my brother and I started yelling too and attempting to wave our arms and get the operator’s attention. It felt like an eternity before the operator noticed, but it was probably just a few seconds.
It turns out that when those pads slide up, there is a gap under them that is open to the outside. Apparently, the little girl was small enough that her feet got caught in that gap and the centrifugal force kind of pushed her out of that gap. As the ride was spinning, she was hanging with her legs outside the ride, and up to her waist was inside the ride. She was clinging to her dad’s leg to keep from being thrown out. They had to call paramedics to help get her out safely and they took her to the hospital (I’m assuming to make sure she didn’t have any internal injuries).
Now when I see Gravitron rides, I just think of that poor little girl screaming and crying and her dad being so panicked yelling for the ride to stop and for someone to help his daughter.
I just can’t bring myself to go on them anymore.
Pay attention to height requirements, folks! They’re so important! Don’t let kids under your care cheat them by standing on tip-toe, wearing tall shoes, etc and don’t try to convince the ride operators to let you on anyway.
I've ridden every Gravitron I've ever seen. You get a good ride operator in there & they'll let you stand up on the seats. We local kids would turn upside down, sit up, & do all sorts of stupid stuff in them. Now I need to find one to take my kids on.
I went on that ride at canobie lake park last summer (it’s called Turkish twist) and it was really cool. I would 100% recommend it. Just don’t go on it if you have motion sickness or you’ve recently eaten.
YAY NEW FLAT RIDE OF THE WEEK VIDEO!!! i rode a rotor at london’s biggest funfair winter wonderland and it was terrifying but quite cool! my friend rode it 2 times in a row and he was so dizzy it looked like he was drunk 😂
There was a round up at my local fair once. I was too small to ride it. It never came back and now there are none left in my country. There will be a gravitron this year for the first time in 20 years though.
Every time I hear U2’s “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” it reminds me of riding the Gavitron at the Calgary Stampede
I remember one year at the fair where the ride operator in the middle of the Gravitron threw marshmallows at the riders. It probably wasn't very safe, but it was the most fun I've ever had on the ride. 😂
The Timeshaft that once resided at Kings Dominion was awesome and the music and lighting effects as well. I really miss that ride and glad I got to experience it first hand.
Browsing UA-cam and found this blast of nostalgia. When I was younger the fair that frequented nearby had one and was originally called Gravitron but at some point was renamed Starship 3000.
A fun thing to do on that type was when the ride got spinning fast enough (and if there was room around you to do so) me and my friends would pose ourselves upside down or sideways.
The only time I ever had nausea from riding one happened when me and a friend rode it like 5 times in a row due to the lines being short for the late hour and we had the bands that allowed unlimited rides.
I see Gravitrons at almost every fair (also called Starship 2000). For someone like me with a low ride intensity, it's one of my favorites, though sometimes I get a slight headache after riding, and I have to sit down for a while.
This was my absolute favorite carnival/ fair attraction when I was a kid. Back in the 90s it was pretty common for ride operators to crank the audio system to dangerously loud volumes, for whatever reason, even as a kid I remember them being uncomfortably loud a lot of the time.
Then there were never consistent ride rules, depending on the operator. Some would let you basically take any position during the ride. You could try and sit up, or flip around as the Gs increased so that you were upside down for the duration- this was the least common allowed extraneous position likely because it required the rider to right themselves before the centrifugal force subsided or risk falling head first when gravity took over
I road the Rotor at Cedar Point as a kid too and loved it.
I have ridden all three of these types of rides, including the Rotor at Cedar Point, and I LOVED them all! I never got nauseated at all.
Turkish Twist at Canobie Lake Park! Ohh man, bringing back some mid 90's memories. Our "older" rec camp for 12 and 13 year olds would go there every summer and just let us loose. Some great times there back in the day.
My local fair had a Roundup ride called the Tasmanian Tiger, and I rode it every year! It prominently featured the Warner Brothers character Taz, and I once rode it four times in a row, causing me to lay in the car for the rest of the fair with nausea. They're great rides, I just overdid it.
I used to put the gravitron together for years at my fair.
I’ve seen several traveling Rotors. The only permanent one I knew of was at King’s Island. I can remember riding a Round-Up as early as about 1962 at the Tennessee State Fair. I think Strates show did the midway then. There is or was a permanent Round-Up at Holiday World in Santa Clause, IN. I am a fan of both rides. I can only remember riding a Gravitron once, and that was at Fall Festival here in Evansville, IN. Several health issues keep me off rides these days. Getting old sucks! But there is still a bit of young boy lurking in my 74 year old body that wants to get on thrill rides. About all I get to do these days is stand beside my 3 year old great granddaughter to keep her from slipping off the carousel horse.
Gravitron is my favourite fair ride, it’s the best when the fair is empty and the operator lets you do whatever you want. My first ride removal heartbreak was pharaoh’s eye, the round up and my home park Wonderland. At some point they added seat belts to it but when it first opened with no restraints at all it was truly amazing. I still get upset thinking about losing that ride.
I used to operate a graviton.. there is a common myth that the operator feels the effects . I never got dizzy .. on a side note if you ever go on a graviton ,make sure your money,phones,wallets are secured because when people move around on the walls there is a small space between each pad which objects tend to fall between and people don’t realize they probably lost said thing on the gravitron.. I can’t even count the amount of phones, money,wallets jewelry I would find behind the pads on tear down.. on another side note , I never liked operating the roundup for the simple fact that the operator needs to stand on the stairs to engage the hydraulics
This actually happened to me tonight with the gravitron. I heard a slam and I felt that my phone was gone. Told the ride opp and he knew exactly where my phone was. About 15 feet from where I was standing behind the sliders
Gravitron is also very cool, i tried it at the same place that had the Sombrero. You could take any position if there was space because you would stick to the wall so well. And they always played like europop etc
They used to have a Gravitron at Alton Towers from 1990 to 1992 it sat roughly were Oblivion’s station is today
The ex Alton Towers Gravitron still operates today! It's now at Barry Island in South Wales. It also used to be at Barry Island when it was brand new, before its Alton Towers days. I used to operate it back then... Great fun!
AstroWorld in Houston Texas had one called the Barrel of Fun. It was removed when it floor lowering mechanism couldn't be fixed. Six Flags Over Texas had Spidletop.
The Turkish twist at canobie lake park is fun. It was always fun to push the patience of the ride operator by trying to go upside down. It was also fun to see everyone get hurled on from the observation deck before riding.
In case you did not know, for some time the Round Up had competitiob from HUSS - their version was called the U.F.O (I have operated one before - Knight Mares at my home park, Canada's Wonderland)
Also had people climb the wall.
so rode a couple of versions of this.. Jax fairgrounds in the 80's was the best .. What Amazing ride and times ty ty Florida
Gosh I have such a bad memory of this ride that has stopped me from going onto it again. I was at my local fair that happens every year, and they had the "Alien Abduction" (Basically the exact same thing as this ride lol) and I decided to try it out. When I got on I was fine at first but the pressure on my chest hurt a lot and it started to give me anxiety. When the ride started slowing a bit I was relieved, As I wanted to get off but then the guy in the middle (who runs the ride) asked if we wanted to keep going for a second round, so with a whole ride full of people screaming yes obviously he didn't hear me saying no and there we went again. By the end of it I was so light headed I had to go home for a few hours and calm down, I was fine, But I really dislike the ride now.
Worlds of Fun had a Rotor ride called the Finnish Fling. It was one of my favorite WOF rides.
The first (and currently only) gravity on I went on was really fun. At the end, I got to witness the most graceful vomit I've ever seen. As soon as it stopped, a boy about 12 years old just grabbed onto the guard rail and poured it out. No hacking, no heaving, just like he was a bottle.
I was on one in Rehoboth Beach, I'm going again this July. It feels like a space adventure. You don't even feel the spinning. Later in the ride the seats go up and down and it's fun and forceful. I love me a Gravitron!
One year at our county fair, the Gravitron was broken so it wasn’t installed. When we found out we didn’t even go lol.
I Remember climbing upside down in these at a carnival when I was younger.
I usually still like to go upside down in Gravitron rides too. It seems like these days you aren’t allowed to do it as freely as you used to be able to. Sometimes you get an operator who will yell at you if you try to do anything, and if you keep doing it after that they sometimes stop the ride and kick you out. So a word to the wise, make sure a chill operator is in there before you try anything.
I was on a Gravitron that caught on fire... They opened the front door while the ride was still spinning and there was smoke everywhere. It was then closed for the rest of the duration of the fair. Good times.
As someone with extreme motion sickness these are one of the rides you couldn't pay me enough to ride.
Story time: so I was riding the successor to Planet of the Apes at Morey’s Piers (I’m assuming that’s what is referred to) called Cygnus X-1 with my sister and my friend Aiden. We had just gotten off and decided to go on again. We get back in line and scan our wristbands and take our spots. We had our fun feeling the Gs and getting blinded by the strobe lights and the ride was over. As the door dramatically opened, something became very visible. The door missed the stairs. The operator had called maintenance (I think someone came over but I don’t remember). Eventually the operator slowly just rotated the gravitron around until the door was aligned. We got off and my friend Aiden felt sick, so we went back to our shore house, not getting the ice cream we wanted.
Pffffff! I work for a carnival. That happens on our portable Alien Abduction at LEAST once a spot. Literally all we have to do is tap the throttle a few times to inch the ride forward while the gate handler pushes back on the fuselage with his hands to keep it from overshooting. The process takes 10, maybe 15 seconds.
For A ride coming to a stop a few degrees off from where it was supposed to to cause that much of a delay, that’s beyond stupid.
@@AmonAmarthFan609🤷♂️ in the many years of me riding that specific ride it’s only happened the one time. I assume that’s what they told the operator when he called because that’s basically what happened
I remember the original Elitches in Denver Colorado had one of the original rotor style ones called the mine shaft (this might have been moved to the "new" elitches but i cant remember). Lakeside amusement park in Colorado still has an operational Round-up.
The Gravitron story is absolutely insane which way did it spin itself apart
It was probably the way the outside panels are secured to the table.. wisdom has always used a wedge thru a pin design with an r key to secure the wedge.. the problem with gravitrons were the pins were welded into the table and would rust and wear away over time,an the only other things holding the walls were the overhead sweeps that were shared between 2 panels..if the table pins snapped off , the panel most probably swung out at the bottom causing it to hit the scenery
Eyyyyy canobie is my home park, such a fun little ride.
The closest thing I’ve gotten to riding an actual joy wheel is to go to a local playground and ride one of those human powered push merry go rounds. Get somebody big and strong to get it flying and you can fly off if you’re not hanging on tight. That’s probably one of the biggest reasons why city parks don’t have them so much anymore. Injuries were leading to lawsuits. If you can find a park that has one, do yourself a favor and ask someone to give you a good ride on it. Those and the big metal slides. Those were the good playground toys back in my day. Good times!
NYC's Coney Island had an infamous rotor named "The Hell Hole" right next to the iconic Wonder Wheel. It was a huge hit, individually owned (not part of any park), and suffered a major accident where it came apart in motion and lives were lost leading to it's permanent closure ......
The Rotor I rode at a park in Wrstern Pa in the 70s was fun. I remember some kids would crawl around like Soer-Man on the wall if they had enough room and no one next to them.
Like 12 years ago I went on this a couple times and violently threw up many times after. Last summer my boyfriend went on it and I had an anxiety attack and threw up again. I was traumatized. This ride makes me throw up in more ways than necessary.
i remember being a kid and just doing stupid tricks on gravitrons, its so tame yet enjoyable!!
It's all fun and games until someone gets injured by not getting into proper position on time.
Great documentary! Over here in the UK, I've been on numerous Rotors as it's still quite a common ride. Easily at least 10 of them still in operation and travelling the UK circuit. The UK has a lot of Round-Ups as well, around 30-40 of them. We don't have any Gravitrons though that I'm aware of and I definitely haven't seen one. Looks well smart though :-)
There is one Gravitron in the UK. Its at Barry Island in South Wales. Its been in the UK for years... previously at Pleasure Island, Cleethorpes... Flamingoland and Alton Towers
We had the Gravitron and then Starship 3000 every year at our school carnival. It is probably my favorite carnival ride of all time. Record is 26 times in a row. I miss it. I wish my body could still handle rides like this.
I love the Gravitron. One of my favorite rides ever since I was a kid in the late 80s/90s
Gravitron and Roundup are some of my favorite rides. The centrifugal force is such a fun feeling. The Joy Wheel also looks like a lot of fun, it would be neat to experience that one.
I used to love riding the Roundup style ride. It adds something to it to be tilted up in the air and out in the open like that over the standard rotor or gravitron that’s covered.