Matt C.
  •  Matt C.
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Thursday, July 29, 2004 10:39:47 PM
Long time friend Scott flew in from Little Rock Arkansas this week to visit a few of the shows in the Chicago and Indiana area.

Tuesday, Ryan, Scott, Bruce and I visited Jessop Amusements just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. Jay Jessop has a great little show with some older but well kept pieces of eqipment. His recently refubished Scrambler is outstanding as is the tilt! Unfortunately, we did not run into Jay Jessop that day. Ride lineup:

Ferris Wheel
Otterbacher Bumper Cars
Tilt
Scrambler
Carousel
Swing Ride
Slide
King Tug Boats
King Train
Spin the Apple
San Antonio Kiddy Wheel

Our next stop was Eberle Amusements also just outside Indianapolis. Eberle's equipment looked fantastic, and they also booked in pieces from Belle City and Christiani (proper spelling?) Anyway, nice little fair. Lineup:

Ring of Fire (BCA)
Scooter (BCA)
Yo Yo (BCA)
Racing (BCA)
Tilt (Eberle)
Roll O Plane (Eberle)
Scrambler (Eberle)
Eli Wheel (Eberle)
Chance MGR (Eberle)
Bumper Boats (Christiani)
Dark Ride (Christianai)
Fun House (Christianai)
Go Gator (Eberle)
Kid Town (Eberle)
Kiddy Eli Wheel(Eberle)

The next stop was Drew Expositions at the Marion County Fair. What a beautiful show and such great hospitality was provided by Mr Jim Drew. Jim gave us a behind the scenes tour of their beautiful band organ as well as their state of the art office trailer. Jim and us chatted for atleast two hours in the office. The show does a great job at retheming rides and tries to keep things different then other shows. They retmemed their Kamikaze the Hammer, which has a Russian style theme to it. Their Larson Fire Ball is the only known Super Loop type ride that is painted in blocks of black and red and is also rethemed the Moon Rocket. Their customized KMG Fire Ball, called the Cyclops, features no backwall sceenery, but has steps on both sides of the ride to facilitate for faster loading and unloading and also makes the ride a centerpiece that does not necessairly need to be placed on the back of the midway. All in all, the show looked great and the Seattle Wheel looks impressive as always.

Seattle Wheel
Moon Rocket
Himalaya (Reverchon)
Tilt
Typhoon
Hurricane
Scooter
Sizzler
Cyclops
Hammer
Slide
Pirate
Tornado
AH Choppers
AH Bees
Tubs of Fun
Three Hamptons
Kite Flyer
Rockin Tug (brand new)
MGR
Sky Fighter

The next spot was Mid America Shows' second unit in Muncie Indiana at the Deleware County Fair. Unfortunately, the show closed down by the time we arrived, but did have a good visit with show office manager Sonya Schepman. The show looked great. Majors include:

Century Wheel
Scorpion
Thunder Bolt
Screamer
Tilt #2
Pharaohs Fury
Round Up
Infernal Combustion
Sizzler
Dizzy Dragons
Dragon Wagon
AH Wet Boats
Dinos
Kiddy Swings
Movie Magic
a few more kiddys...

Day number two we started with a visit at Fantasy Amusements in Dyer Indiana. The show looked good and we got some great photos. Lineup includes:

Tilt
Himalaya
Scooter
Hampton
Fun House (rethemed cuckoo haus- looks nice!)
Pharaohs Fury
Century Wheel
Super Shot
Kite FLyer
Dragon Wagon
1001 Nachts
Slide
Pumpkin Patch (bought used- used to belong to Murray Brothers Inc of Cincinatti)
Big Trucks

Next stop was All Star Amusements unit two at the river oaks mall in Calument City Illinois. The show looked good, and had some additional rides bookd in by Rick Haney and a few rides from the now defunct Miller Amusements. Highlites:

Slide (Haney)
Wind Jammer (Haney)
Crazy Surf (hANEY)
Satori Kiddy Wheel (Haney)
Dizzy Dragons and Berries (Haney)
Pharaohs Fury
Sizzler
1001 Nachts
Go Gator
Hampton
Big Witch (Old Miller Amusements)
San Antonio MGR
Tornado

Next was All Star unit 1 in Hammond Indiana. This was a new spot for the show looked great. Jeff Blomsness puts on a good show and keeps his equipment in top notch shape. He also makes great use of custom show flags placed in just the ride places. Lineup:

Matterhorn
Slide
Slide #2
yo Yo
Gravitron
Century Wheel
Tilt
Spider
Scooter
Afterburner
Badlands 4x4s
Hampton
Carousel (3-ab)
Bears/Pumpkins
Circus Train
Family Swings (Zamperla)
Dragon Wagon
Dinos/Elephants mini jet
Boat Ride
Looney Airport
Dizzy Dragons

The next stop was Cumberland Valley Shows at the Porter County Fair in Valparaiso. The show has improved big time since we had last saw them. All of the equipment was painted brightly, kept clean, and for the most part bulbed (was day time so I couldnt get an acurate bub count for Pinetar or Ohio Ron - [;)] ). The show was laid out perfectly. If you looked down the west end of the midway, you could see the Giant Wheel and Wave Swinger framed perfectly by the Space Loop (ring). Lineup:

Giant Wheel
KMG Feuer Ball
Scooter
Starship Exodus
Ali Baba
Zero Gravity
Space Loop
Cliff Hanger
Mardi Gras
Wave Swinger
Toon Town
Tilt
Sizzler
Tornado
Himalaya
Zachini Dark Ride
Moon Buggy (owned by Zachinni)
Eli Kiddy Wheel and Scrambler
Balloons
Dizzy Dragons
Carousel
Jumping Jumbos
Fun Slide
Orient Express
more..

Keep up the good work guys!

The last and final stop for the day was at Mid America Shows in Goshen, Indiana for the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. This is probaly the largest county fair in the state of indiana. The show looked great and is contineously growing as usual. The new skate board from Zamperla was there. It is a unique and very well themed ride that I believe is geared for families and younger teens. We visited with Josh for awhile and grabbed some food with him on his breaks from the Freak Out. Katie was busy as usual, and for most of the time she was seen working in the dog house or on the deck of the Top Spin. The Top Spin was repainted since Orchard Lake on Memorial Day. The once blue arms are now cream and will eventually have some sort of design or decal on them. We also got a personalized tour of Cliffs impressive mobile shop. Line-up:

Top Spin
Cliff Hanger
Tinsel Town
Alpine Fun House
Ghost Pirates (Jim P.)
Arabian Fun Hose (Jim P.)
Experience (Jim P.)
Zipper
Tornado
Scrambler
Musik Express
Sling Shot
old Pugh Mini Indy
Scooter
Tilt
Giant Wheel
Freak Out
Ring of Fire
1001 Nachts
State Fair Fun Slide
Denzel Carousel
Raiders
Skate Board
Orient Express
Toon Town
Fire Chief
Flivver (Tilton)
Three Hamptons
Other kiddys....

Day three I picked Scott up from his hotel and headed into downtown chicago to visit Astro Amusements at Fiesta Del Sol. The show looked outstanding as always and was set up on a city street (Cermak) and a grass/gravel field. We chatted with Bernie Mallins (BTE) and Steve Thebault for several minutes. Super nice guys as always. Line-up:

Double Shock
Pharaohs Fury
Cliff Hanger
Eli 16
Gravitron
Himalaya
RIng of Fire
Fun Slide
Construction Zone
Spider Mania
Carousel
Hampton
Orient Express
Tilt
And another kidddy or two..

We then fought traffic and headed to Oak Lawn to visit Spectacular Midways. This had been the first time that I have seen the entire show this year and they are looking good. They were working on some lighting projects and touchups to the equipment on the road. The Driskills are great people and care greatly about their operation. Line-up:

Music Fest
Dragon Wagon
Infernal Combustion
Zendar
Hurricane
Tilt
Zipper
Pharaohs Fury
Fire Ball
Inverter
Scooter
Carousel
Monkey Mayhem
Rainbow Rock
Frog Hopper
Wind Jammer
Castle Mania
Fun Slide
SA Kiddy Wheel
Hampton Cycle Jump
Hampton Wave Runner
Turbo Force

Next we stoped in Hampshire Illinois to visit Windy City's 1st unit. They didnt have all of the first unit rides up this week due to a near circus jump for next week and lack of space. Everything looked great as usual:

Tilt
Swinger
Round Up
Wacky Shack
Raiders
Eli 5
Pharaohs Fury
Fire Ball
Carousel
Dragon Wagon
Tiger Bounce
Peter paul
Mini Enterprise
Dizzy Dragons

The last and final stop was Windy City unit 2/3 in Elgin for the Taste of Elgin. They were closed, but I figured I would take Scott by anyway to see the midway set up. They used third unit rides plus a few from the second unit as well as second unit games to make up the date. Most of the second unit rides were sent to Kankakee for pre set up due to a opening in the schedule. Layout came together well and everything was in good condition. This is the first year for the event. Lineup includes:

Tilt
1001 Nights
Zipper
Cliff Hanger
Tornado
Scooter
Eli 5
Speedway
three hamptons
SA MGR
Dragon Wagon
Tiger Bounce
Truckin USA
Fun Slide
Pumpkin Patch

Whew, and hour later and my fingers are exhausted! This concluded our show visits for the week. We had a great visit with Scott and had a excellent time taking him around to all the shows in the area! Thats all for now!

Matt Cook
Matt's Carnival Warehouse / Matt's Web Design
http://www.carnivalwarehouse.com 
http://www.mwdwebdesign.com 
rdcolles
  •  rdcolles
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Friday, July 30, 2004 2:58:11 AM
Matt, did Drew purchase the band organ new, or is there some history behind it?
orphaned
Friday, July 30, 2004 6:37:13 AM
WHEEWWWWWW!!!!!!!! CAN SOMEONE SAY MATT, TAKE A DEEEEPPP BREATH???? LOL Dang. Impressive three day excursion! I wish I was gonna get a chance to get to Indy to see Drew this weekend....it looked great two weeks ago when they were spotting pieces and setting up stuff before opening.
Scott
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Friday, July 30, 2004 7:48:43 AM
Sleep and Dreams is all I crave, I feel like I've traveled through the milkyway!

Matt, I can't thank you enough for all your kindness and hospitality! YOUR THE BEST! Ryan, Josh, Bruce, Katie, Cliff, and anyone eles I might have forgot... THANKS SO MUCH! I had a BLAST!

Jim Drew is a gift to the industry!

Mamatiger
Friday, July 30, 2004 12:19:41 PM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by Scott

Sleep and Dreams is all I crave, I feel like I've traveled through the milkyway!

Matt, I can't thank you enough for all your kindness and hospitality! YOUR THE BEST! Ryan, Josh, Bruce, Katie, Cliff, and anyone eles I might have forgot... THANKS SO MUCH! I had a BLAST!

Jim Drew is a gift to the industry!



You forgot one thing when you left LR, Scott...ME! [:(!]

LOL Seriously, it sounds as if y'all had a whole lot of fun! [8D]
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. --Mark Twain
Sue
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Saturday, July 31, 2004 5:29:08 PM

"Matt, did Drew purchase the band organ new, or is there some history behind it?"
I visited Drew last month in KY. It is a vintage band organ - I can't recall the year but it is very old and has been refurbished. It is gorgeous and sounds great.
rdcolles
  •  rdcolles
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Saturday, July 31, 2004 6:44:58 PM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by Sue


"Matt, did Drew purchase the band organ new, or is there some history behind it?"
I visited Drew last month in KY. It is a vintage band organ - I can't recall the year but it is very old and has been refurbished. It is gorgeous and sounds great.



Thanks for the info.

Guess I should explaing a little about why I was asking. I'm actually looking for the band organ which Happyland shows had here in Michigan. It of course was sold many years ago and I'd like to find out where it has gone.
Skywheelrider
Saturday, July 31, 2004 7:48:31 PM
Wow! Quite the trip, nice report, too! Say, how is the state fair trip planning coming? Gotta let me know what's going on, only one more week till my vacation! lol
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." -- Mark Twain
Matt C.
  •  Matt C.
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Sunday, August 1, 2004 9:48:34 PM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by Bryan

WHEEWWWWWW!!!!!!!! CAN SOMEONE SAY MATT, TAKE A DEEEEPPP BREATH???? LOL Dang. Impressive three day excursion! I wish I was gonna get a chance to get to Indy to see Drew this weekend....it looked great two weeks ago when they were spotting pieces and setting up stuff before opening.



LOL Bryan. I figured since I dont usually post trip highlites, that I would go ahead and take an hour out of my time to give you guys the lineups and brief reviews. Drew is definently a sweet show, and I would recommend everyone to see them.

Scott- Glad you had fun, it was a great trip and I was glad to have you. I cant wait til next time.

Chris- We're going to Des Moines, IA in two weeks. If you can make it over there, it is supposed to be one heck of a fair.
Matt Cook
Matt's Carnival Warehouse / Matt's Web Design
http://www.carnivalwarehouse.com 
http://www.mwdwebdesign.com