Visiting the carnival grounds to see how the Gravitron ride is set up. Watch them set up the Afterburner / Fireball Ride Next! ▶ ua-cam.com/video/qUkiMDjgfsg/v-deo.html
🛸👽I wanted to say thank you so much for uploading 'The Alien Abduaction Ride Setup aka Setting Up The Gravitron Ride'. Btw, I really like their alternative name; 'Alien Abduction' because it does look like a UFO.🖖👽🛸
Definitely not a problem and by chance have plan for the Rock-O-Plane, orbiter, fireball, expo wheel, power surge, Ali baba, pirate ship or other big semi trailer fold up rides?
How long does it take to set this up from the moment the trailer is delivered to when the ride can start taking passengers? How much does it cost to buy one? New? Used?
hopefully you have more videos in this series yet to be uploaded. I'm curious on rides like the Ferris wheel (both the single giant wheel and the double version), bumper cars and carousel. Is there a portable version of Enterprise/Skylab? I know there was of Chaos (a similar ride although it's cars could pivot, Enterprise/Skylab merely swung out with centrifugal force.) Your videos remind me of an odd thing I would do when my kids were younger, and we took them to the county fair: I would try to figure out where the trailer was hiding under the ride. Some were obvious, others not. Definitely an engineering marvel how these rides convert for going on the road.
I was lucky enough to operate the Grav in 1999. Many many many hours spent riding that ride. So many stories and memories. It is without a doubt my absolute favourite ride of all time. Rode it the first time when I was 10 and scared the life out of me, and I was hooked ever since. I’m 39 now and still managed to walk the wall a few months ago on one. Thank you very much for this video. As odd as it was to operate, I never saw the setup and tear down. I think my record for riding was getting on early in the afternoon and not getting off until we closed the fair that night. Operating wasn’t that long. Most people don’t realize, but operating it is a worse experience than riding it. You get used to riding it, but feel pretty messed up operating for a long period, especially if you turn your head. Golden rule, never turn your head. Look with your eyes, but never turn your head lol. Thank you again for the memories. Gravitron for life!
@@dj_netwrk4901 It’s your near guarantee of getting sick. Operating is worse because you spin with the ride similar to sitting on a swivel chair and spinning in circles non-stop, and you need to look 360 to see all the riders (hence why they usually have a few mirrors above their heads). Easy way to test, spin in an office chair for 5 minutes and suddenly start twisting and spinning your head while doing it and see how you feel. Or just try turning your head next time you’re on the Gravitron… just keep an eye on the nearest garbage can on your way out the door.
@@voxframe2259 Wow so the ride operator actually does spin? Can you even feel the spinning just like the riders feel or is it much more tame being in the operators chair? Would people get sick on that ride like everyday and would you unfortunately have to be the one to clean it? I've never witnessed anyone get sick in my hundreds of rides on the gravitron but I always feared that if someone puked on that ride it would get extremely messy.
I remember going on one of these rides, and the operator while the people get inside and wait to get full he will go outside for a sec take a breather and get back in, I remember this shaggy looking dude with a mcdonalds drink and just zipping the drink while operating it(dont know how he didnt puke) anyways it was intriguing to watch because for him not get sick he would just zip the drink while looking down and keeping his eyes closed with his hand on the lever to make it go and stop. I was like, how can people operate this ride Idk.
It's so much freaking work to assemble the damn thing, too! I could *never* be a carnie. I hope these guys are making at least $25/hr for all this hassle.
I worked this ride at Maple Leaf Village Niagara Falls Canada in the late 80's early 90's. The operator spins with the ride and surprisingly doesn't get sick. You and the ticket taker took turns - assuming they could stomach the spinning. It's one of the few rides where the operator is in complete control. After the shift at closing we'd go behind the panels and find change, cameras, and whatever else could fit into a customer's pockets. Thanks for posting this - brought back some memories.
This is so great. I really appreciate what you do. I bet kids love this too! I know I would have loved to have something like this to watch growing up.
Thanks so much! I appreciate it. I really enjoy what you do too. Although I’m surprised you have time to watch videos, I imagined you spending all your free time hacking algorithms to yield to your desires. 😂
My all-time favorite carnival ride growing up, especially when you'd get a ride operator that didn't care about safety and let us do whatever while it was spinning. Good times. Never realized how incredibly complex it is. Very cool. Glad to hear they're still making them for newer generations to enjoy 👍
Gravitron for ever! Absolutely my FAVORITE faire ride of all time. Back in the '80s our local (very tiny) fall carnival had one set up in the parking lot of a grocery store almost every year. The operator was awesome! He had a huge library of tapes and CDs and would play requests. We'd go on the ride probably 10 times in a row, listening to our favorite songs. Annoyed everyone else, but we didn't care. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Manowar, Aerosmith, Slayer, Motorhead, then finish the night out with some Y&T and Journey. F**kin' rocked! So loud your years would ring. We were all deaf by the time it was over. They'd let you climb all over the thing, too. Getting your rearend on top of the head rest and putting the back of your head against the canvas was a right of passage. Other feats of courage were getting to the center rail at full spin, and the vert stand off the seat (standing perpendicular to the seat, flat out over the floor.) I'm 45 now. A few less of us than before. 😟 But the county fair has one. They don't play music anymore so we have to bring in some headphones and rock out that way. They also don't let you do any stunts anymore ... so we wait until our last ride incase they kick us off. 😎 Thanks for the video. I always wondered how they set it up.
Wow, you were very strong. I couldn't, and wouldn't even try getting to the center rail during the spin. I never saw anyone do it either. I never tried laying upside down. I was too worried about getting sick and it didn't take much to get me feeling like shit on some of those old carnival rides. I just stood against the wall and enjoyed the basic ride. And....I'm not sure who came up with the alternate name of "Devil's Hole" but that one is the most lame on the entire list. FYI, you can google websites that sell or rent these rides both new and used. It's an interesting read. Not suprisingly a big factor in selling or renting them is "number of riders per hour", which is obviously important for profit sake. As a kid I would have never thought of the business side of it.
@@paulsmith5611 OK, I exaggerated a bit. :D It was more of a party trick than a feat of strength, but it never failed to impress everyone else who didn't know how to do it. So I guess I'm spilling the beans here. You had to be positioned and ready before the ride even started; leaning forward as the ride accelerated so you were flat on your face on the floor. Then you could inch your way to the center. Less centripetal force towards the center, of course. Then after you grab the center rail you can stand up and show off, watching other people trying to do the same but failing. Similarly for vert standing. You don't do it after the ride has spun up, that'd be extremely difficult. You do it while it spins up, carefully walking backwards and leaning forward as the ride spins up. But you have to be careful with the seat moving, because it'll slide up. So there's still some skill and timing involved.
@@SteampunkSammy It's not technically allowed here in the U.S. either. That's why you do it on your last ride of the day incase they feel the need to escort you out of the faire. :)
@@olepigeon Wow that's pretty cool. I never thought of that or had the balls. I could see the back rest moving up the wall and putting you in a bad spot!
Back in '86-'87 I worked at Playland Amusement Park in Rye, NY. and operated "The Rotor". It was basically a spinning drum that could hold about 12 people. When working at night, I'd get them spinning and sticking to the wall, then I'd shut the lights and drop the floor and turn the lights back on and they'd see that they were suddenly 4 feet higher than the floor. One time, I had people screaming so much that the managers came running over because they saw the long line of people waiting, and heard the screams and thought there was a huge fight going on. lol We'd get bus loads of kids from NYC coming in and after my helper closed the door, I looked down from my seat and told her "Okay hand me the hose. I'll start filling this up." One girl freaked out and started screaming "NO! I can't swim!" She turned to her friends and yelled at them "You didn't tell me they fill it with water!" lol Her friends were laughing at her because they knew I was joking and that the girl believed it was going to fill with water. 🙂 My favorite ride to operate was the Bumper Cars. I'd create games for the riders. I'd have the red and blue cars team up against the green and yellow cars, then during the ride, I'd switch alliances. Red & Yellow vs Blue & Green etc. One time, there was just one yellow car so I said "Everybody...........get the YELLOW CAR!" lol the kid in the yellow car was mortified. He simply yelled "NOOOO!" When the ride was over, they'd all run out, come back around and get back in line to ride again. I had the longest lines in the park.
@@filanfyretracker Yeah. People looked down into the drum. The operator sat at the controls a little bit higher, and the helper let people in and out, and hosed down any puke.
First time on it, the operator played the song I want you to want me by Cheap Trick. Not sure why, but it was the perfect song for the ride and that was in around 1995 time frame. I miss those days.
I used to restore some of these rides as a fiberglass tech and artistic painter back in the 1980s while completing my collage education. Conklin Midways, 1986 to 1989. What a way to spend my winter weekends. Best job any young adult could ever have
This was really interesting. Thank you for sharing it. I am a software engineer but I love all sorts of engineering and it is fascinating how the manufacturer came up with the design on how to make this compact enough to fit on a single truck but safe enough to be setup and torn down as often as it is.
A Starship 2000 variant of this ride ran at Funtown Pier in Seaside Park NJ for many years. The ride was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy along with the rest of the pier. I recall it as being one of the more popular rides they had back then. Good times…
Crazy that people manage to make money operating these things. I’m thankful for all the people it takes to make a carnival come together. Thanks for sharing behind the scenes!
Worked at an amusement park that had a park model of these. There's a window in the door that houses a camera so the ride operator can line up the door with the stairs. The park used to let us bring our own tapes to play in the saucer as long as it had no profanity. One guy used to play Elton John or Barry Manalow. Not a lot of fans when he worked it. 😂 This was pretty cool to watch. Great information on the set up.
Haha, I remember they always played Black Sabbath or Metallica or AC/DC when I was a kid and went to the carnival, it was great so loud you couldn't think haha 👍
Words can not describe how much I loved this ride as a kid. From the mid 80's, until probably the early 90's I rode the hell out of this. I can smell it (always had kind of a oil smell) and can hear the 80's hair metal playing, great times. Seeing this video makes me want to go on one so bad lol. Very fascinating how its assembled.
@ Austin Lawler That's *exactly* my memories of it from the same circa-mid 80s, circa-early 90s to mid 90s. My hometown used to have 2 massive traditional festivals every year, at the same areas every time they came to town. The Gravitron they would bring was fucking bad-ass! They would be playing nothing but 80s hair metal with awesome lighting inside and out. My friend lived literally right next door to a massive parking lot they would setup some rides on. His parents would get free tickets and bracelets for unlimited riding because some of the carnival employees would use their water to connect to their RV's and use their electricity sometimes with extention cords. So we would ride every single ride all night, every night. Always made the Gravitron one of the first to ride. Good, fun memories with all your childhood friends and girlfriends!
This ride was always my favorite at our local fair in the 90s and early 2000s. I miss it. Really cool to see how to gets set up! I had never even thought about how all those rides get packed up to move to the next event!
Ah memories! Our county fair would contract Midway Rides and games from Utica NY. Me being in boyscouts and working both stands at the fair, we'd get free bracelets everyday. Befriended a ride operator, and got to operate the Himalaya and scrambler! Only 14 at the time but it was definitely fun for me. Setting up rides always fascinated me. From engineering the trailer to fit everything to the actual setup, to the 3 phase motors that drive these rides! Working as a ride operator was a dream to me before leaving NY. Even got the job as one at Darien lake, but already had plans to move sadly.
Im actually impressed at how safe the ride looks and is being put together ..I wish the guys putting it together worked a little safer for themselves tho ..but its a tough businesses i see
hopefully you make more of these video's, well documented and love that you are showing all the rides of my youth, brings back good memory's. thank you.
I have been on this ride dozens of times, love it. Never thought about how much time and labor it takes to set one of these up, very hard and monotonous work, I don't know if I could do it. Your videos are very entertaining and interesting, since the public is not allowed, near these rides when they're being set up or dismantled. I like the fact that you took time out with drawings and diagrams to describe how things are done. Thanks again
Love the video. All my life I remember seeing her for the first time. Meyers Fair, (I think they was outta Florida), Early September 1989, Lexington, TN. Im pushing 40, and every year they come, I still go to bed with my ears ringing and just a touch of pleasant nausea after taking a ride in her. God bless you many crews over the years for operating, setting up and giving us all thrills safely. I appreciate y'all.
THIS RIDE is at the top of my 90s fair/carnival memories! Especially when you factor in the 2 things that tie it all together; flashing lights, and pumping music!
I was born and raised in the carnival business 5 generations! Interesting video, a little information on the brakes the control is a old semi truck manual trailer air beak handle on the steering column that is no longer used in semi's and hard to find we had ours break during a Saturday at the Georgia national Fair in perry and I finally found one in Atlanta at the peterbuilt dealer ! I don't know if you are familiar with the international independent showman's association in gibsonton Florida, we have a great museum of the carnival there?
I always remember passing through this ride as a child. I was scared to ride I thought i was going to get sick on it. One of my friends dared me to get on it and so I did and liked it. I'm 43 and my children get on it with me.
My parents stopped at a roadside little carnival and I think I was 12, I was the only customer on the Gravitron and the operator said that I can do anything I wanted to try and he gave me a extra spin. He was a cool dude.
Growing up in MT going to the state fair, I have a lot of memories of the Gravitron. Or as people affectionately called it, the "Puke Blender". Lol This and the Zipper were always the rides we ran to first. Didn't realize I needed to know about how these rides were setup, but this was actually quite cool! Fascinating video! Glad I stumbled upon your channel!
I grew up across the street from our county fairgounds as a kid. Every July me and my friends would be in awe of the carnival workers setting up the rides, and it was actually more fun for us than actually getting to ride the rides. This one here I first rode in the 80's when I was like 10 or so (85-ish), the carival worker was blasting Boston- very appropriate music for this ride, lol. One of my friends puked all over himself and we had to go home.......few hours later we were right back in there spinning ourselves dizzy to Metallica, AC/DC or whatever the operator was blasting on their speaker.
I just wanted to let you know that I think this kind of content is just wonderful! I only got to see rides unpack once in 1992. I got to see this machine and the sky wheel go up. So please keep posting vids like this and I love your backyard project as well! Thanks.
Loved the video! I used to travel with Butler Amusements back in the day and have fond memories of the experience! It was always amazing to me how quickly and efficiently the rides went up and came down. I was a jointy, so wasn't involved in that except as occasionally helping as time permitted... Subscribed!
This used to be my favorite ride at fairs. It was the one I started with and the one I finished with. The last night of the fair the operator always opened it up to it maximum speed and ran it a little longer than the normal ride as the crowds had mostly went home except us die herds wanting that last ride on the Starship 2000. The operator would toy with us and say it was "worn out" and would barely go and one of us would always yell something at him like "Sure, open it up and quit holding back" or the one I used, "Kick this Mule!" and they did. They would shut the lights of and come to a near stop and then power it up, turn on some hard rock music and by the time the lights were back on we were in G-force heaven. Sometimes, though it was dangerous, they would get out of the "cab" and walk the rail or join us on the wall saying no one was driving (but you could see a remote brake control or a radio on his side to get the ride stopped if needed). Ah he fun times.....sadly I can no longer ride this great ride due to medical issues but oh the memories.... thanks for this awesome video of how my favorite ride i set up.
I used to ride the Gravitron every year at the York Fair. Til one time I sat up, mid ride, and blacked out. Then my buddy Devin used to roll around with Majestic Miday setting the rides up. He showed me how they are made and assembled.... I feel I'm better off not getting on it anymore. lol
This was another fascinating video. Thanks for sharing! I had to chuckle at the “Max Ride Duration = 2 minutes” on the ride plaque. I swear some carnivals I have seen this at have run the ride far longer than that! (I couldn’t survive one minute on a Gravitron these days…)
Neat. I was a carny back in I think 88'/89' and was top man on the Chance rides giant gondola wheel, which means I did all the high work along with another man during setup and slough, and not that I was da' bossman. The ride is just over 100' tall and sits on three 53 foot trailers, a fourth has the generator and a dry van trailer to haul scenery and hardware. Generally it was a 2 day set-up but on occasion we had to do a straight - through to make an opening which could be 15 to 20 hours from staging to complete. Tear down went much faster and with a good crew could be down the road in 6 hours. If you get the chance, you should do a video on it, I think people would like to see the operation, it really is incredible. (I would just for the memories).
Fondly remember this with my Dad going to small local carnivals. Originally was pretty scared of it but eventually went on and loved it since. Might've climbed toward the ceiling a bit but never did anything too rash. Definitely one of my favorite rides in memory and very cool to see the complexity in putting it together!
My favorite ride. I can ride it over and over. It doesn't bother me none. Reminds me of my childhood. The 90's with friends. I'm gonna have to go find one so I can ride it.
Was a gravitron operator in the early 90s until 2007 ..I don’t miss racking and unracking the walls especially when it’s new and the floor pins are still tight .. it required using an arm and a leg sometimes.. also the sign and the canvas top were a nightmare.. that’s cool that the newer version has a hydraulic sign, the older models was 4 guys to lift it.. also you touched on how you’ve seen the wall panels staggered from side to side.. the reason being is it balances the ride… the small motor used during setup has a tendency to drift if the turntable isn’t balanced when changing directions.. as for the seats or couches as wisdom calls them , the center couch folds out all the way to the railing and you push the rest of the rack out and there is a bracket that keeps the couches in the vertical position.. the center couch is also pulled out when someone loses objects.. I’ve found wallets phones money more that say the zipper .. fun fact though is the turntable was first used on another wisdom ride called the magic carpet which later became wisdoms Aladdin .. I think the magic carpet came out before the gravitron but I was just a wee carny in training.. I do remember driving with my dad from NY to wisdoms factory when our magic carpet was refurbished around 85 .. thank you for your awesome videos and the fact that you use proper carny terms like sweeps rim irons , I was really impressed with you calling the bars on the zipper k bars , cuz that’s what they are .. lol keep up the good work .. also as someone who has built racks for rides, mostly mangels kiddie rides, the way you are learning for your own ride is the way I would go about it… good luck
Hey Pete loving the vids! Didn't realize how much time and effort it takes to actually start up a ride. Cheers for the video. My country calls this one the "Vomitron" knowing most people get pretty nauseous
Gravitron was always one of my favorites as a kid. I recently got a job helping to assemble a trailer mounted main stage for a fairground. It's neat to compare what I did for that to this setup. Thanks for the great video!
I dig the gravitron rides that were stationed at a non moving amusement park...the roof was pure solid..no tarp...so during the day...pitch dark and no sun beaming through..
My small town had an annual summer fair, and for a while we still were able to get a midway in. (25 years ago, damn I'm getting old). I was fortunate enough to ride on a gravitron one year and always went to the fair after that hoping it would come back. Never did, but the memory never left me! I got to experience a single person gyroscope years later and that was just as freaking cool! Thanks for your videos, you got a new subscriber.
Ohh. My. God! I have set up run and tore down a couple of earlier Gravitrons, one for Belle City Amusements, another for United Shows of America back in the 80's and early 90's, so much fun for a young guy in his twenties, the main drawback was the odor of old stale vomit inside those rides. For the most part, the Gravy Train is still the same as then, though I see someone made a few improvements to safety, but apparently the idea I stated back then about having a screen on the rafters to keep people flying out never was implemented. Thanks for the memories
This year there was a Gravitron Ride "Star Wars" in my hometown Wijchen in The Netherlands. I had not the time to film the build up, but I didn't realize it was going this way. Thanks for sharing this video.
Hey Pete One ride I’d like to see set up is the large ferris wheel 🎡, seen mostly at large fairs, seems it takes 2-3 trucks to haul and support it during operation
This is the best series, please keep filming the setup of flat pack rides. Would you do the ferris wheel next please? Your videos are the best on this subject please keep up the amazing job.
Just stumbled upon your channel by chance. And I have to say I am loving the content. From the setup of fairground rides to your restoration of the carnival rides. Fascinating stuff and really concise and interesting videos. Keep up the great work. From a fellow UA-camr.
What a great video. I used to setup and teardown a Gravitron for a company years ago. I used to set it up with one other guy in 3 1/2 hours and we would have it down in 2, lol. Subscribed and look forward to seeing what you have.
Very interesting, i didnt know anyone was posting vids on how carnival rides worked and how they are set up. We have a big street festival in the fall and they bring in loads of these rides. I get to see them all folded up in a parking lot they wait at some days before the setup day. I dont take time to go down there and watch them assemble them. I guess i should do that some year. The last time i rode a Graviton was long time ago, they had open top on the ones way back in the 80s, i didnt know they put tarp covers on them now. Now that i think of it, the ride i was thinking of was kind of the same spinning but it lifted up and had the whole thing up on edge as it spun and it looked like a giant roulette wheel. Cant recall the name of it.
LOVE this! I've wondered about how these rides get set up ever since I was a little kid. We went to the Jacksonville Fair a couple weeks back and I kid you not, I was looking at the Gravitron thinking "i really wonder how all of this gets put together"
I remember riding this as a kid pretending we were going through some epic training thing like a centrifuge lol. Thanks for entertaining my inner child for a bit showing how it works.
Visiting the carnival grounds to see how the Gravitron ride is set up.
Watch them set up the Afterburner / Fireball Ride Next! ▶ ua-cam.com/video/qUkiMDjgfsg/v-deo.html
🛸👽I wanted to say thank you so much for uploading 'The Alien Abduaction Ride Setup aka Setting Up The Gravitron Ride'. Btw, I really like their alternative name; 'Alien Abduction' because it does look like a UFO.🖖👽🛸
Definitely not a problem and by chance have plan for the Rock-O-Plane, orbiter, fireball, expo wheel, power surge, Ali baba, pirate ship or other big semi trailer fold up rides?
How long does it take to set this up from the moment the trailer is delivered to when the ride can start taking passengers?
How much does it cost to buy one? New? Used?
Man, that is really cool how long does it take to set that up all day or a few hours?
hopefully you have more videos in this series yet to be uploaded. I'm curious on rides like the Ferris wheel (both the single giant wheel and the double version), bumper cars and carousel. Is there a portable version of Enterprise/Skylab? I know there was of Chaos (a similar ride although it's cars could pivot, Enterprise/Skylab merely swung out with centrifugal force.)
Your videos remind me of an odd thing I would do when my kids were younger, and we took them to the county fair: I would try to figure out where the trailer was hiding under the ride. Some were obvious, others not. Definitely an engineering marvel how these rides convert for going on the road.
I love how these nuggets fold apart like a Lego set. Loved them since childhood and it’s awesome finally learning how they’re made!
Netflix should do a doc on these rides . They do a doc on everything. There must be so many stories about the Carnival roadie.
I was lucky enough to operate the Grav in 1999. Many many many hours spent riding that ride. So many stories and memories. It is without a doubt my absolute favourite ride of all time. Rode it the first time when I was 10 and scared the life out of me, and I was hooked ever since. I’m 39 now and still managed to walk the wall a few months ago on one. Thank you very much for this video. As odd as it was to operate, I never saw the setup and tear down. I think my record for riding was getting on early in the afternoon and not getting off until we closed the fair that night. Operating wasn’t that long. Most people don’t realize, but operating it is a worse experience than riding it. You get used to riding it, but feel pretty messed up operating for a long period, especially if you turn your head. Golden rule, never turn your head. Look with your eyes, but never turn your head lol. Thank you again for the memories. Gravitron for life!
Im hooked what happens if you turn your neck lol
@@dj_netwrk4901 It’s your near guarantee of getting sick. Operating is worse because you spin with the ride similar to sitting on a swivel chair and spinning in circles non-stop, and you need to look 360 to see all the riders (hence why they usually have a few mirrors above their heads). Easy way to test, spin in an office chair for 5 minutes and suddenly start twisting and spinning your head while doing it and see how you feel. Or just try turning your head next time you’re on the Gravitron… just keep an eye on the nearest garbage can on your way out the door.
@@voxframe2259 Wow so the ride operator actually does spin? Can you even feel the spinning just like the riders feel or is it much more tame being in the operators chair? Would people get sick on that ride like everyday and would you unfortunately have to be the one to clean it? I've never witnessed anyone get sick in my hundreds of rides on the gravitron but I always feared that if someone puked on that ride it would get extremely messy.
I remember going on one of these rides, and the operator while the people get inside and wait to get full he will go outside for a sec take a breather and get back in, I remember this shaggy looking dude with a mcdonalds drink and just zipping the drink while operating it(dont know how he didnt puke) anyways it was intriguing to watch because for him not get sick he would just zip the drink while looking down and keeping his eyes closed with his hand on the lever to make it go and stop. I was like, how can people operate this ride Idk.
My younger self was convinced it spun then stood up sideways only when I rode it.
Let’s take this time to thank UA-cam for letting people post behind the scene videos of things we wouldn’t normally see in depth on television!
I’m thankful UA-cam killed Television
More like the end of film and the fruition of the digital camera.
I'm thankful to good content creators like the guy that did this one. I'm not so thankful for UA-cam and their censorship.
This is what UA-cam was invented for!
It's so much freaking work to assemble the damn thing, too! I could *never* be a carnie. I hope these guys are making at least $25/hr for all this hassle.
The gravitron is literally my fave ride. I remember when they used to have a dj in the middle, and some ppl would do stunts on the seats
I worked this ride at Maple Leaf Village Niagara Falls Canada in the late 80's early 90's. The operator spins with the ride and surprisingly doesn't get sick. You and the ticket taker took turns - assuming they could stomach the spinning. It's one of the few rides where the operator is in complete control. After the shift at closing we'd go behind the panels and find change, cameras, and whatever else could fit into a customer's pockets. Thanks for posting this - brought back some memories.
This is so great. I really appreciate what you do. I bet kids love this too! I know I would have loved to have something like this to watch growing up.
Thanks so much! I appreciate it. I really enjoy what you do too. Although I’m surprised you have time to watch videos, I imagined you spending all your free time hacking algorithms to yield to your desires. 😂
My all-time favorite carnival ride growing up, especially when you'd get a ride operator that didn't care about safety and let us do whatever while it was spinning. Good times. Never realized how incredibly complex it is. Very cool. Glad to hear they're still making them for newer generations to enjoy 👍
Gravitron for ever! Absolutely my FAVORITE faire ride of all time. Back in the '80s our local (very tiny) fall carnival had one set up in the parking lot of a grocery store almost every year. The operator was awesome! He had a huge library of tapes and CDs and would play requests. We'd go on the ride probably 10 times in a row, listening to our favorite songs. Annoyed everyone else, but we didn't care. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Manowar, Aerosmith, Slayer, Motorhead, then finish the night out with some Y&T and Journey. F**kin' rocked! So loud your years would ring. We were all deaf by the time it was over. They'd let you climb all over the thing, too. Getting your rearend on top of the head rest and putting the back of your head against the canvas was a right of passage. Other feats of courage were getting to the center rail at full spin, and the vert stand off the seat (standing perpendicular to the seat, flat out over the floor.)
I'm 45 now. A few less of us than before. 😟 But the county fair has one. They don't play music anymore so we have to bring in some headphones and rock out that way. They also don't let you do any stunts anymore ... so we wait until our last ride incase they kick us off. 😎
Thanks for the video. I always wondered how they set it up.
Wow, you were very strong. I couldn't, and wouldn't even try getting to the center rail during the spin. I never saw anyone do it either. I never tried laying upside down. I was too worried about getting sick and it didn't take much to get me feeling like shit on some of those old carnival rides. I just stood against the wall and enjoyed the basic ride. And....I'm not sure who came up with the alternate name of "Devil's Hole" but that one is the most lame on the entire list. FYI, you can google websites that sell or rent these rides both new and used. It's an interesting read. Not suprisingly a big factor in selling or renting them is "number of riders per hour", which is obviously important for profit sake. As a kid I would have never thought of the business side of it.
@@paulsmith5611 OK, I exaggerated a bit. :D It was more of a party trick than a feat of strength, but it never failed to impress everyone else who didn't know how to do it. So I guess I'm spilling the beans here.
You had to be positioned and ready before the ride even started; leaning forward as the ride accelerated so you were flat on your face on the floor. Then you could inch your way to the center. Less centripetal force towards the center, of course. Then after you grab the center rail you can stand up and show off, watching other people trying to do the same but failing.
Similarly for vert standing. You don't do it after the ride has spun up, that'd be extremely difficult. You do it while it spins up, carefully walking backwards and leaning forward as the ride spins up. But you have to be careful with the seat moving, because it'll slide up.
So there's still some skill and timing involved.
@@olepigeon love it, guess i gotta visit a state with fewer restrictions for a faire 😅Certainly wouldnt be allowed here in the UK 😴
@@SteampunkSammy It's not technically allowed here in the U.S. either. That's why you do it on your last ride of the day incase they feel the need to escort you out of the faire. :)
@@olepigeon Wow that's pretty cool. I never thought of that or had the balls. I could see the back rest moving up the wall and putting you in a bad spot!
Back in '86-'87 I worked at Playland Amusement Park in Rye, NY. and operated "The Rotor". It was basically a spinning drum that could hold about 12 people. When working at night, I'd get them spinning and sticking to the wall, then I'd shut the lights and drop the floor and turn the lights back on and they'd see that they were suddenly 4 feet higher than the floor. One time, I had people screaming so much that the managers came running over because they saw the long line of people waiting, and heard the screams and thought there was a huge fight going on. lol
We'd get bus loads of kids from NYC coming in and after my helper closed the door, I looked down from my seat and told her "Okay hand me the hose. I'll start filling this up." One girl freaked out and started screaming "NO! I can't swim!" She turned to her friends and yelled at them "You didn't tell me they fill it with water!" lol Her friends were laughing at her because they knew I was joking and that the girl believed it was going to fill with water. 🙂
My favorite ride to operate was the Bumper Cars. I'd create games for the riders. I'd have the red and blue cars team up against the green and yellow cars, then during the ride, I'd switch alliances. Red & Yellow vs Blue & Green etc. One time, there was just one yellow car so I said "Everybody...........get the YELLOW CAR!" lol the kid in the yellow car was mortified. He simply yelled "NOOOO!" When the ride was over, they'd all run out, come back around and get back in line to ride again. I had the longest lines in the park.
Seems like you had just as much fun as the kids. 😊👍
Thank you for this(:
@@jessespad I probably had more fun. Plus, I was getting paid for it. 🙂
Six Flags in NJ had one of those too. I think I remember the waiting area you could see down inside it.
@@filanfyretracker Yeah. People looked down into the drum. The operator sat at the controls a little bit higher, and the helper let people in and out, and hosed down any puke.
I’m so grateful for this tutorial because I was having trouble setting up my new Gravatron in the back yard! ❤
Always impressed how these rides pack up into trailers and the amount of abuse they can withstand.
First time on it, the operator played the song I want you to want me by Cheap Trick. Not sure why, but it was the perfect song for the ride and that was in around 1995 time frame. I miss those days.
I used to restore some of these rides as a fiberglass tech and artistic painter back in the 1980s while completing my collage education. Conklin Midways, 1986 to 1989. What a way to spend my winter weekends. Best job any young adult could ever have
This was really interesting. Thank you for sharing it. I am a software engineer but I love all sorts of engineering and it is fascinating how the manufacturer came up with the design on how to make this compact enough to fit on a single truck but safe enough to be setup and torn down as often as it is.
this really amazed me because it stayed on the truck
A Starship 2000 variant of this ride ran at Funtown Pier in Seaside Park NJ for many years. The ride was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy along with the rest of the pier. I recall it as being one of the more popular rides they had back then. Good times…
Sandy damaged so many rides (among other things)
Crazy that people manage to make money operating these things. I’m thankful for all the people it takes to make a carnival come together. Thanks for sharing behind the scenes!
Worked at an amusement park that had a park model of these. There's a window in the door that houses a camera so the ride operator can line up the door with the stairs. The park used to let us bring our own tapes to play in the saucer as long as it had no profanity. One guy used to play Elton John or Barry Manalow. Not a lot of fans when he worked it. 😂 This was pretty cool to watch. Great information on the set up.
Haha, I remember they always played Black Sabbath or Metallica or AC/DC when I was a kid and went to the carnival, it was great so loud you couldn't think haha 👍
They were always playing Sabbath at my fair and when the door shut it always smelled like weed.
What’s wrong with Elton John?
I would play him along with Billy Joel, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, ect
@@patricknedz nothing wrong per se, just way cooler experience to have some a jam sesh while you ride in my opinion.
Words can not describe how much I loved this ride as a kid. From the mid 80's, until probably the early 90's I rode the hell out of this. I can smell it (always had kind of a oil smell) and can hear the 80's hair metal playing, great times. Seeing this video makes me want to go on one so bad lol. Very fascinating how its assembled.
@ Austin Lawler
That's *exactly* my memories of it from the same circa-mid 80s, circa-early 90s to mid 90s.
My hometown used to have 2 massive traditional festivals every year, at the same areas every time they came to town. The Gravitron they would bring was fucking bad-ass! They would be playing nothing but 80s hair metal with awesome lighting inside and out.
My friend lived literally right next door to a massive parking lot they would setup some rides on. His parents would get free tickets and bracelets for unlimited riding because some of the carnival employees would use their water to connect to their RV's and use their electricity sometimes with extention cords. So we would ride every single ride all night, every night. Always made the Gravitron one of the first to ride.
Good, fun memories with all your childhood friends and girlfriends!
This ride was always my favorite at our local fair in the 90s and early 2000s. I miss it. Really cool to see how to gets set up! I had never even thought about how all those rides get packed up to move to the next event!
Ah memories! Our county fair would contract Midway Rides and games from Utica NY. Me being in boyscouts and working both stands at the fair, we'd get free bracelets everyday. Befriended a ride operator, and got to operate the Himalaya and scrambler! Only 14 at the time but it was definitely fun for me. Setting up rides always fascinated me. From engineering the trailer to fit everything to the actual setup, to the 3 phase motors that drive these rides! Working as a ride operator was a dream to me before leaving NY. Even got the job as one at Darien lake, but already had plans to move sadly.
Just amazing how this all fits onto a single trailer!
That’s cool, I haven’t seen that ride set up before
Im actually impressed at how safe the ride looks and is being put together ..I wish the guys putting it together worked a little safer for themselves tho ..but its a tough businesses i see
hopefully you make more of these video's, well documented and love that you are showing all the rides of my youth, brings back good memory's. thank you.
More to come!
I have been on this ride dozens of times, love it. Never thought about how much time and labor it takes to set one of these up, very hard and monotonous work, I don't know if I could do it. Your videos are very entertaining and interesting, since the public is not allowed, near these rides when they're being set up or dismantled. I like the fact that you took time out with drawings and diagrams to describe how things are done. Thanks again
Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it!
Get real, the heaviest thing is the vinyl top. I've helped with this ride many times, everything is hinged, lite weight or on the hoist..
I remember when this ride first came to my town. Inside had tv monitors you could watch music videos while riding. Don’t see that anymore.
Whoever invented this, was genius!
Love the video. All my life I remember seeing her for the first time. Meyers Fair, (I think they was outta Florida), Early September 1989, Lexington, TN. Im pushing 40, and every year they come, I still go to bed with my ears ringing and just a touch of pleasant nausea after taking a ride in her. God bless you many crews over the years for operating, setting up and giving us all thrills safely. I appreciate y'all.
Fantasy island a local park near me in NY had a permanent version of this ride called devils hole before the park closed. Good memories
This was always my favorite. I loved when the operator would talk and bump the radio inside on like the peak of a Friday night 😅
THIS RIDE is at the top of my 90s fair/carnival memories! Especially when you factor in the 2 things that tie it all together; flashing lights, and pumping music!
I was born and raised in the carnival business 5 generations!
Interesting video, a little information on the brakes the control is a old semi truck manual trailer air beak handle on the steering column that is no longer used in semi's and hard to find we had ours break during a Saturday at the Georgia national Fair in perry and I finally found one in Atlanta at the peterbuilt dealer !
I don't know if you are familiar with the international independent showman's association in gibsonton Florida, we have a great museum of the carnival there?
I always remember passing through this ride as a child. I was scared to ride I thought i was going to get sick on it. One of my friends dared me to get on it and so I did and liked it. I'm 43 and my children get on it with me.
Randomly stumbled on this quality video. Always wondered how this stuff was put together but never looked into it.
I used to work at Wisdoms as an electrician, I've helped build/wire/troubleshoot many of these. Thanks for the nostalgia!
Thanks for the step by step guide, I had one sitting in my backyard for years and had no idea how to assemble it
It was cool to see one of the rides I grew up riding, being set up! Thanks for this and the explanations as well. Great video!
My parents stopped at a roadside little carnival and I think I was 12, I was the only customer on the Gravitron and the operator said that I can do anything I wanted to try and he gave me a extra spin. He was a cool dude.
Fascinating, thank you! And maybe it's just me, but I think that having a close look/tour of the control panel would be super interesting as well.
Growing up in MT going to the state fair, I have a lot of memories of the Gravitron. Or as people affectionately called it, the "Puke Blender". Lol This and the Zipper were always the rides we ran to first. Didn't realize I needed to know about how these rides were setup, but this was actually quite cool! Fascinating video! Glad I stumbled upon your channel!
I grew up across the street from our county fairgounds as a kid. Every July me and my friends would be in awe of the carnival workers setting up the rides, and it was actually more fun for us than actually getting to ride the rides. This one here I first rode in the 80's when I was like 10 or so (85-ish), the carival worker was blasting Boston- very appropriate music for this ride, lol. One of my friends puked all over himself and we had to go home.......few hours later we were right back in there spinning ourselves dizzy to Metallica, AC/DC or whatever the operator was blasting on their speaker.
Yay! I’m now a certified Gravitron carni operator.
Good luck with your new career. lol
I used to love operating the gravitron for Majestic when I worked for them back in the 90's.
I love seeing how the parts are manipulated. Haunt builders could learn a thing or two.
Thanks for showing us. Too cool.
I just wanted to let you know that I think this kind of content is just wonderful! I only got to see rides unpack once in 1992. I got to see this machine and the sky wheel go up. So please keep posting vids like this and I love your backyard project as well! Thanks.
Loved the video! I used to travel with Butler Amusements back in the day and have fond memories of the experience! It was always amazing to me how quickly and efficiently the rides went up and came down. I was a jointy, so wasn't involved in that except as occasionally helping as time permitted... Subscribed!
This used to be my favorite ride at fairs. It was the one I started with and the one I finished with. The last night of the fair the operator always opened it up to it maximum speed and ran it a little longer than the normal ride as the crowds had mostly went home except us die herds wanting that last ride on the Starship 2000. The operator would toy with us and say it was "worn out" and would barely go and one of us would always yell something at him like "Sure, open it up and quit holding back" or the one I used, "Kick this Mule!" and they did. They would shut the lights of and come to a near stop and then power it up, turn on some hard rock music and by the time the lights were back on we were in G-force heaven. Sometimes, though it was dangerous, they would get out of the "cab" and walk the rail or join us on the wall saying no one was driving (but you could see a remote brake control or a radio on his side to get the ride stopped if needed). Ah he fun times.....sadly I can no longer ride this great ride due to medical issues but oh the memories.... thanks for this awesome video of how my favorite ride i set up.
Man that sounded like wicked fun times!!! thanks for sharing your story and take care...cheers from Canada :)
Great story, thank you.
Loved this ride when it came to the Grand Forks county fair. Must have been '92 or '93. Me and my buddies went at least a dozen times.
I LOVE THIS RIDE! The Gravitron is one of the best flat rides.
This ride is in Suomen Tivoli in Finland
Tosin paljon harvinaisempi malli. Samaa mallia ei enää valmisteta. Ainakin se kasataan lähes samalla tavalla.
really cool to see all the smart and careful engineering decisions that these ride designers make. Really enjoyed the video!
I used to ride the Gravitron every year at the York Fair. Til one time I sat up, mid ride, and blacked out. Then my buddy Devin used to roll around with Majestic Miday setting the rides up. He showed me how they are made and assembled.... I feel I'm better off not getting on it anymore. lol
This was another fascinating video. Thanks for sharing! I had to chuckle at the “Max Ride Duration = 2 minutes” on the ride plaque. I swear some carnivals I have seen this at have run the ride far longer than that! (I couldn’t survive one minute on a Gravitron these days…)
I have had a couple of rides last close to ten minutes in these.
wow
Neat. I was a carny back in I think 88'/89' and was top man on the Chance rides giant gondola wheel, which means I did all the high work along with another man during setup and slough, and not that I was da' bossman. The ride is just over 100' tall and sits on three 53 foot trailers, a fourth has the generator and a dry van trailer to haul scenery and hardware. Generally it was a 2 day set-up but on occasion we had to do a straight - through to make an opening which could be 15 to 20 hours from staging to complete. Tear down went much faster and with a good crew could be down the road in 6 hours. If you get the chance, you should do a video on it, I think people would like to see the operation, it really is incredible. (I would just for the memories).
I have always loved this ride. Thank you for sharing. Definitely my childhood favorite.
This ride plus Prince-Let's go crazy, was my childhood. :)
I love watching how these guys set up the rides, hope you continue to show as many as possible. Thanks to everyone who had a part in this. 💕
Always been one of my most favorite rides
Fondly remember this with my Dad going to small local carnivals. Originally was pretty scared of it but eventually went on and loved it since. Might've climbed toward the ceiling a bit but never did anything too rash. Definitely one of my favorite rides in memory and very cool to see the complexity in putting it together!
My favorite ride. I can ride it over and over. It doesn't bother me none. Reminds me of my childhood. The 90's with friends. I'm gonna have to go find one so I can ride it.
Was a gravitron operator in the early 90s until 2007 ..I don’t miss racking and unracking the walls especially when it’s new and the floor pins are still tight .. it required using an arm and a leg sometimes.. also the sign and the canvas top were a nightmare.. that’s cool that the newer version has a hydraulic sign, the older models was 4 guys to lift it.. also you touched on how you’ve seen the wall panels staggered from side to side.. the reason being is it balances the ride… the small motor used during setup has a tendency to drift if the turntable isn’t balanced when changing directions.. as for the seats or couches as wisdom calls them , the center couch folds out all the way to the railing and you push the rest of the rack out and there is a bracket that keeps the couches in the vertical position.. the center couch is also pulled out when someone loses objects.. I’ve found wallets phones money more that say the zipper ..
fun fact though is the turntable was first used on another wisdom ride called the magic carpet which later became wisdoms Aladdin .. I think the magic carpet came out before the gravitron but I was just a wee carny in training.. I do remember driving with my dad from NY to wisdoms factory when our magic carpet was refurbished around 85 .. thank you for your awesome videos and the fact that you use proper carny terms like sweeps rim irons , I was really impressed with you calling the bars on the zipper k bars , cuz that’s what they are .. lol keep up the good work .. also as someone who has built racks for rides, mostly mangels kiddie rides, the way you are learning for your own ride is the way I would go about it… good luck
My family owned Golden West Amusements setups and slouw was my favorite times on the road
Hey Pete loving the vids! Didn't realize how much time and effort it takes to actually start up a ride. Cheers for the video. My country calls this one the "Vomitron" knowing most people get pretty nauseous
Gravitron was always one of my favorites as a kid. I recently got a job helping to assemble a trailer mounted main stage for a fairground. It's neat to compare what I did for that to this setup. Thanks for the great video!
Love these types of videos. Something you’d never even think you’d watch, but happy you did! Cheers 😊
I haven't been on a Gravitron ride in years! Been too fraggin' busy with work to do so. Maybe go on one next summer.
I dig the gravitron rides that were stationed at a non moving amusement park...the roof was pure solid..no tarp...so during the day...pitch dark and no sun beaming through..
Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.
Nice. My favorite carnival ride, first rode 1988 NYS Fair, Sweet Child o' Mine playing.
I would say you hit the sweet spot for that ride and music combination.
How cool, it's pretty neat the way it all folds up like that, like carnival ride origami.
I would like to see them put up the super loop or chicago loop ride, that would be a neat one to be set up
by far the ultimate and best ride EVER at any carnival and idc who says otherwise
I used love riding this when I was much younger. But now there is now way I will ride it.
My small town had an annual summer fair, and for a while we still were able to get a midway in. (25 years ago, damn I'm getting old). I was fortunate enough to ride on a gravitron one year and always went to the fair after that hoping it would come back. Never did, but the memory never left me! I got to experience a single person gyroscope years later and that was just as freaking cool! Thanks for your videos, you got a new subscriber.
Ohh. My. God!
I have set up run and tore down a couple of earlier Gravitrons, one for Belle City Amusements, another for United Shows of America back in the 80's and early 90's, so much fun for a young guy in his twenties, the main drawback was the odor of old stale vomit inside those rides.
For the most part, the Gravy Train is still the same as then, though I see someone made a few improvements to safety, but apparently the idea I stated back then about having a screen on the rafters to keep people flying out never was implemented.
Thanks for the memories
I'm guessing TUMBLE BOARDS came to be because in the summer of 1985 someone took a tumble.
Yes, rowdy kids ended up behind the seats.
I really want to design thrill rides. Something about them just holds such a dear place in my heart.
This year there was a Gravitron Ride "Star Wars" in my hometown Wijchen in The Netherlands. I had not the time to film the build up, but I didn't realize it was going this way. Thanks for sharing this video.
I enjoyed riding gravitron carnival rides when I was a kid and quite a few years before I've been on one
Hey Pete
One ride I’d like to see set up is the large ferris wheel 🎡, seen mostly at large fairs, seems it takes 2-3 trucks to haul and support it during operation
Dude, where has this channel been the whole time??!!? This is awesome!!!
Great channel! How about a video on the " toboggan"roller coaster...
Mega cool how the Gravitron gets assembled & yes one of my super mega favourite ride & best ridden at night & good tunes too! 🙂🙂 Gravitron forever! 🙂🙂
Ten second in and I'm reminded how old I am. I remember when this ride was introduced.
I love this ride. Definitely in my top 3, maybe top 2.
morey's piers!!! i never knew my favorite childhood amusement piers were a part of history
This is the best series, please keep filming the setup of flat pack rides. Would you do the ferris wheel next please? Your videos are the best on this subject please keep up the amazing job.
Just stumbled upon your channel by chance. And I have to say I am loving the content. From the setup of fairground rides to your restoration of the carnival rides. Fascinating stuff and really concise and interesting videos. Keep up the great work. From a fellow UA-camr.
Cool video. I remember riding this as gravitron in the 80’s
So awesome to see how these are set up. Subscribed and looking forward to more videos..
What a great video. I used to setup and teardown a Gravitron for a company years ago. I used to set it up with one other guy in 3 1/2 hours and we would have it down in 2, lol. Subscribed and look forward to seeing what you have.
Glad to have you along!
Loved this ride as a kid
Very interesting, i didnt know anyone was posting vids on how carnival rides worked and how they are set up.
We have a big street festival in the fall and they bring in loads of these rides. I get to see them all folded up in a parking lot they wait at some days before the setup day. I dont take time to go down there and watch them assemble them. I guess i should do that some year.
The last time i rode a Graviton was long time ago, they had open top on the ones way back in the 80s, i didnt know they put tarp covers on them now.
Now that i think of it, the ride i was thinking of was kind of the same spinning but it lifted up and had the whole thing up on edge as it spun and it looked like a giant roulette wheel.
Cant recall the name of it.
I believe you are referring to the roundup
Great videos. Please do a film on a vintage Waltzer ride. Always my favorite.
I would love to but I’m not aware of any traveling in the United States.
LOVE this! I've wondered about how these rides get set up ever since I was a little kid. We went to the Jacksonville Fair a couple weeks back and I kid you not, I was looking at the Gravitron thinking "i really wonder how all of this gets put together"
Highly interesting video that is different and informative. I love seeing things like this. Great video! Going to go watch the Himalaya vid now.
Thanks so much !
Nice to see Majestic Midways!
I remember riding this as a kid pretending we were going through some epic training thing like a centrifuge lol. Thanks for entertaining my inner child for a bit showing how it works.