Bronze Age Babies: Who's the Best... Carnival Ride?

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Who's the Best... Carnival Ride?

13 comments:

J.A. Morris said...: Tilt A Whirl.; October 2, 2014 at 7:05 AM
Anonymous said...: I always liked the Dodgems but it was annoying how some people would deliberately crash into other cars obviously not understanding what "dodge 'em" meant. In Britain they are also called "bumper cars" which doesn't help.; October 2, 2014 at 7:09 AM
Anonymous said...: My vote goes to the Enterprise. Always loved taking a ride on that thing at the Oregon State Fair every year, and I still remember how thrilling, and terrifying, it was the first time I rode it when I was about 10 or 11 years old: it started zipping around really fast horizontally, and that was exciting enough, but then the thing unexpectedly (for me, anyway) flips up at an almost 90-degree angle. I was too scared to even scream, although at the same time I was impressed with the view when it reached its highest point.

Otherwise, I like a good roller coaster, and my personal favorite was the old wooden one in Santa Cruz, CA, the Giant Dipper.; October 2, 2014 at 7:35 AM
Anonymous said...: Oops, apologies if the dodgems don't count as "carnival rides" - I suppose they wouldn't.; October 2, 2014 at 8:49 AM
david_b said...: Can't do 'em, refuse to do 'em. One reason I'm not an astronaut.

The C-130 combat roll into Baghdad's typically enough for me.

Straight dive down, when you least expect it.; October 2, 2014 at 8:51 AM
Doug said...: Oh, no, Colin -- I've seen bumper cars at most fairs and carnivals. Very common here in the States.

I'll go with J.A.'s suggestion of the Tilt A Whirl. Loved that when I was a kid.

I am not, however, a rollercoaster fan. If there's one sensation I do not care for, it's falling. I can take a log ride that maybe only drops about two stories, but higher than that... no thanks!

Doug; October 2, 2014 at 8:52 AM
J.A. Morris said...: I'm not a rollercoaster fan either, for the same reason Doug said.; October 2, 2014 at 9:40 AM
Anonymous said...: I always loved the swings. You would sit in it and it would start spinning in a long circle. You could rock your legs and try to reach the swing in front of you or the one behind. If you grabbed the chains, you could start pulling yourself side to side. If you got too crazy with your rocking the guy running the slide would yell out, "Stop f**king with the swings"! Too fun.

The Prowler (are we gonna let the elevator bring us down? Oh No, Lets go.....); October 2, 2014 at 9:53 AM
Martinex1 said...: I am a fan of the old Ferris Wheel. There is something about the feel of just going over the top. It always seems higher and a bit faster while riding it. It is simple but I like it. I love Bumper Cars. It seems like there is one car that is stuck and won't move- don't get in that one! Used to love Tilt O Whirls - but as I got older it made me queasy. Just recently rode the Tea Cups at Disney World with my kids and got the same sensation; I think I will steer clear of that now. Somehow I grew out of spinning.; October 2, 2014 at 10:00 AM
Doug said...: Martinex, the key to the Tea Cup Ride is to fix your eyes on the person across from you -- I mean fix 'em hard! You will feel stationary, but you can really spin the other folks in the ride right under the table! Did it to my oldest son a few years ago at Disney World.

I am a sadist, I guess...

Doug; October 2, 2014 at 10:03 AM
Martinex1 said...: Ha. Hilarious. I think my nine year old turned the tables and did that to me. I was busy looking around and he was focused. Sad when the scariest ride for me is a spinning teacup.; October 2, 2014 at 10:25 AM
Steve Does Comics said...: I can't see a ghost train without going on it.

I've only ever been on one roller coaster, a thing called The Grand National in a place called Blackpool. It was enough to put me off them for life.; October 2, 2014 at 11:03 AM
Humanbelly said...: Now, there's a big, big, BIG difference between whatcha call yer "carnival" ride and whatcha call yer "theme park" ride, see. Carnivals and parking lot rides and fair ground rides all have that whole extra layer of fear generated by their portable nature coupled w/ poor maintenance and questionable on-site installation. Nothing like seeing a madly-careening Tarantula ride's legs bounce around on the precarious stack of 2x4's it's resting on, "anchored" into the dirt w/ an aluminum tent-stake attached to a piece of swingset chain.

All that aside, though-- I was never, ever able to get past the HORRIBLE vertigo-induced nausea brought on by anything rotationally faster than a merry-go-round. And, really, pretty much all carnival rides are some variation on a spinning-theme. Although the Wave Swings (mentioned above) are somehow a nice antidote for that.

I loved the colorful, gaudy paint, and I TRULY loved how all those rides looked when lit up at night-- but man, I could nae' ride a-one o' them.

Roller Coasters (at theme parks) are another matter. I do find them quite thrilling and enjoyable-- although often physically painful. The Big Bad Wolf @ Bush Gardens/Williamsburg is an enormous all-wooden coaster that just beats you the heck up by slamming you around in the car. It's hard to surrender to the thrill when you're busy going "Agh! My shoulder!! AGHH! My thigh!!!"

HB; October 2, 2014 at 12:28 PM

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