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It should be operating in 2013 according to the Gold Medal Shows website.

http://www.goldmedalshows.com/comingsoon.html 

Scarlett Butler

"I used to have a handle on life, but then it broke off."
Originally Posted by: flamo 

Pete, big pieces like that don't always win big money. Most are flash pcs. Skydiver being one. Some fair boards are impressed with those pcs. They are eye catchers and tend to draw people to the midway. People may not ride it but ride something less spectacular. Its more a case of if a show can afford it. And help does have something to do it.




that is correct Flamo. Look at PGAM's diver. I do not know if it wins any money but it is a great advertising piece. Light show is outstanding and it will catch possible patrons eyes and bring them on the grounds to see what else is at the location. Same with shows that have converted their giant wheels to LED light shows but they are not making divers and true giant wheels anymore. Expo is a nice wheel but does not have the height.
Originally Posted by: JustinJames 

Ironically, McDonagh's Toboggan usually placed in the top five at thier fairs up against rides like the Bobs and such. Just sayin...




I loved running the Toboggan. It won money, I think they just had too many problems.
Ride the Zipper?
Originally Posted by: JustinJames 

Ironically, McDonagh's Toboggan usually placed in the top five at thier fairs up against rides like the Bobs and such. Just sayin...



Most spots the Sky Wheel did very well also. It depends on the spot....in the midwest rides like the Sky Wheel do very well, but down south, not so much. A ride like a Sky Wheel is a ride to draw folks to a carnival; you're driving down the road and see the Sky Wheel standing tall, or at night brightly lit, and you know there's a carnival there, many folks get excited and either stop or come back. Committee's usually love rides like that, it still today is a spectacular ride, whether it makes money or not. Sometimes just the fact it draws folks to the midway is good enough for the show, and makes it worth moving. You do have to have a capable crew though, that much is absolutely true, and with the help shows tend to get today, it does get harder and harder.

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." -- Mark Twain
Originally Posted by: Pete 

Prime example of what I was saying. The ride is still popular with the customer and has been copied (sort of) by Hampton, SBF, Sartori and others. You can buy a new one right now. Almost any successful ride that has ever been built has a version of it still being built by some manufacturer somewhere, the ones that are no longer successful (for any number of reasons) are not being built. Next time you are playing around on the computer see if you can find somebody building a Toboggan!




P.S. The Bulgy doesn't fit in the old and forgotten category as there are still plenty of the original rides out operating now.


Ironically, McDonagh's Toboggan usually placed in the top five at thier fairs up against rides like the Bobs and such. Just sayin...
Originally Posted by: jimb 

Billy, What about the bulgy-the-whale?LOL


Prime example of what I was saying. The ride is still popular with the customer and has been copied (sort of) by Hampton, SBF, Sartori and others. You can buy a new one right now. Almost any successful ride that has ever been built has a version of it still being built by some manufacturer somewhere, the ones that are no longer successful (for any number of reasons) are not being built. Next time you are playing around on the computer see if you can find somebody building a Toboggan!




P.S. The Bulgy doesn't fit in the old and forgotten category as there are still plenty of the original rides out operating now.
Billy, What about the bulgy-the-whale?LOL
Originally Posted by: c21shows 


I think the SW had fluorescent’s, right?

Yes, Green and Yellow when they were on Royal.
Originally Posted by: Pete 

I am a huge fan of older rides, but I also understand that there is a reason that rides are "Rare, old and forgotten" Please understand that this is not a knock on this particular ride or its owner and I hope to see it in full glory some time in the near future, but in most instances the rides that you no longer see on the modern American midway are gone because they A: don't win a quarter B: are to hard to move with the crew we have available now C: don't impress the fairs that we play.
Age is not a great barometer as some rides older than this are still going strong IE: Tilt A Whirl, Scrambler, Wheel, octopus/ Spider ETC., the big difference is that these rides are still popular with the customer and not just us "fans".


Pete, big pieces like that don't always win big money. Most are flash pcs. Skydiver being one. Some fair boards are impressed with those pcs. They are eye catchers and tend to draw people to the midway. People may not ride it but ride something less spectacular. Its more a case of if a show can afford it. And help does have something to do it.

I'm there, Old, Tired, Broke and Henpecked
Originally Posted by: Skywheelrider 

You're welcome, and yes, this is absolutely the correct forum for this topic. That's a great group, lot's of great photos and discussions on rare, old, forgotten rides and shows.




I am a huge fan of older rides, but I also understand that there is a reason that rides are "Rare, old and forgotten" Please understand that this is not a knock on this particular ride or its owner and I hope to see it in full glory some time in the near future, but in most instances the rides that you no longer see on the modern American midway are gone because they A: don't win a quarter B: are to hard to move with the crew we have available now C: don't impress the fairs that we play.
Age is not a great barometer as some rides older than this are still going strong IE: Tilt A Whirl, Scrambler, Wheel, octopus/ Spider ETC., the big difference is that these rides are still popular with the customer and not just us "fans".