rodler
  •  rodler
  • 76.1% (Friendly)
  • Ride Supervisor Topic Starter
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 3:21:50 AM

I find it hard to believe with all the big fancy rides being built in Europe that they have not attempted to build an up to date model of the sky wheel. Does anyone believe we will ever see something like this in the future? If not what do you think would be the reason?
RodB
Jackpotter
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 4:38:34 AM
Nope. It won't provide near the thrill or the "dazzle" of the big European rides. Compared to what we are seeing over there, it's a small piece and most of the people who would be at the carnivals there would consequently look at it as a boring ride.

I love the ride. I love riding one and watching one. A beautiful piece. It's just "not enough" for the Europeans whose rides dwarf ours.
massachusettsman
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 5:41:26 AM
i could see a company over here making a 1 trailer version in the future
cny_chris
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 6:39:58 AM
Doubtful. Then again, replace the seats with Zipper tubs... then you'd have a thrill ride. [}:)][:D][;)]
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." - Lao-Tsu

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King Jr.

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." - Robert F. Kennedy
mcarnyforlife
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 6:41:45 AM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by cny_chris

Doubtful. Then again, replace the seats with Zipper tubs... then you'd have a thrill ride. [}:)][:D][;)]

diver tubs would be cool, too
violence is the last refuge of the incompetent....AYN RAND
SideWinder
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 8:17:04 AM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by massachusettsman

i could see a company over here making a 1 trailer version in the future



NEVER HAPPEN
skydiver77
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 4:31:22 PM
I thought there was an updated ride of the Sky Wheel already....the Rampage. I have never seen a Rampage in person, and would Love to ride one! It looks fun with your legs dangling from the seats like on a Paratrooper. But, i bet the Rampage is not as high as a Sky Wheel is it?, yet, from looking at it, it looks like it's faster in speed than the Sky Wheel is..that's just a guess. Is it the same speed as an original Sky Wheel or does it go faster?

~Ben
warren from orlando
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 5:34:16 PM
The one of a kind Chance Tumbler came as close as anyone else has done to make a hybrid of the sky wheel and the sky diver. Of course, that gigantic structure was strictly a park operation and it didn't last that long. Not even Huss could have made that thing portable, no matter how many loads it took.

From my point of view, the problem with new ride design is that there are only a few things that can be done - go around in circles in various configurations, go up and down in various configurations, and that is that. Add the rare ride that can go up and down and around in circles while having ride vehicles spin on an axis and you still have a limited number of axis of motion (16 if I remember correctly) that are functional and some are mutially exclusive.

Consequently, the only real option resides in the flash of the ride apparatus. A sky diving sky wheel would suffer from lack of thruput greater than the loading and unloading of the sky wheel or the diver. The result is the prevelance of himalaya type rides or anything that can be loaded on one stop to give a one minute ride cycle and a one minute load/unload cycles. I worked for ten years at a major non-Disney theme park and from my entertainment/special events position watched the ride and show operations employees struggle to meet 45 second dispatch times on major coasters and non flat loadid attractions.

Finding the balance between thruput, experience, and flash for portable rides is even worse. Thus the lack of modified sky wheel, sky diver, and even gondola wheel attractions.
warren from orlando
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 9:51:02 PM
Trey,
This is why I love the old classic rides so much. They really did not try to reinvent the wheel, they took what was there and did the best they could with that. The Everly O-Planes were true classics in their simplicity. Is a Huss Ranger, a Larson Super Loop, or some other go around in vertical circles any different from a Loop-O-Plane? Not really. The Ranger is big, heavy, difficult to move and complex. The Super Loop (fireball, ring of fire, etc) just puts the main boom on the outside of the vehicle with that inertia loop or whatever Larson is calling it.
Why not just build modern flying scooters, octopusi, and such without requiring several hundred thiusands of dollars in lights, scenery, and sound equipment trying to hde the fact that the ride experience is the same.
When I win the five billion dollar lottery, I'll open my own show so that I can loose seven billion dollars in the first season just to make my dream of a classic midway comes true.
Scott
  •  Scott
  • 87% (Honored)
  • Operations Foreman
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 2:39:29 AM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by rodler


I find it hard to believe with all the big fancy rides being built in Europe that they have not attempted to build an up to date model of the sky wheel. Does anyone believe we will ever see something like this in the future? If not what do you think would be the reason?



In Italy there is a "Quad Wheel" but it's park model.

I think alot of showmen like the look of a sky wheel on their lot, but personally I think they don't want the headache of a 10 hr set up ride. That coupled with two trailers, and slow loading make it an easy choice to drop.

As for a one trailer Sky Wheel, they tried that (Rampage) it failed too.
flamo
  •  flamo
  • 87.94% (Honored)
  • Operations Foreman
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 5:22:21 AM
Rampage was no where near close to a Skywheel. After watching people pay $25 a head on rides like extreme2 boost and ect I wonder if changing the drive so the ride will go faster and changing the seats in the same style as power surge if the ride might make a comeback?
I'm there, Old, Tired, Broke and Henpecked
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