Pinetar
  •  Pinetar
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009 1:24:23 PM
Mike is asking from the perspective of a fan, not that of a showman. i don't think business details are of interest here.
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DickHefner
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 2:33:31 PM
I would think that having the kiddies and the Keys up to the front with the joints, with the intermediates/majors the the back(on an enclosed midway) would work best, as whole familys show up they vvisit the joints on the way looking for the ticket box, which is near the kiddies, they buy thier tickets,mom and dad take the younger kids through kiddy land while the older kids head to the back of the midway(where they are basically the whole duration of their stay.

on the other hand, playing a parking lot i would think that(considering how much space you have, or dont have) as long as the wheel and MGR are close and all other classes of rides are grouped together....okay i lost my train of thought.

i can picture it in my head , but im not articulate enough to put it in words.
In memory of Kenny Maple Jr 1973-2010
skydiver77
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 3:12:16 PM
I have an HO Scale layout of the classic Myrtle Beach Pavilion amusement park in the works for later. So the layout of the Pavilion will be in a circle. That's how the rides at the Pavilion were laid out. The Herschell-Spillman Carousel was at the very front of the park across from the Pavilion arcade building / boardwalk area. Some rides will be static, while others will operate. Boy, am i going to have fun finding a Faller Rainbow! LOL, rare as hen's teeth now, that it's discontinued. The Thunder Bolt and Siberian Sleigh Rides will be done up off of the IHC Thunder Bolt. I don't know how i will, but i plan on making the Caterpillar ride off of a Faller Musik Express or the Jungle Train. The Jungle Train has more of that Caterpillar theming going on. But as for a working green canopy to cover the cars while going in reverse, that would be teedious and tricky at the same time!

Anyway, back to topic, my Pavilion layout will be circular or horseshoe-like, with the rides arranged like they were at the original Pavilion area in Myrtle Beach. It will take me half a year to a year to complete it, or more. That stuff will require lots of money too, no doubt! I am doing up the Pavilion when the CorkScrew coaster was there. A coaster builder website told me they could make a static HO scale CorkScrew for....600 bucks! [:0] And i thought Don's rides were high dollar! LOL But, you do get what you pay for with Don's rides and the more expensive models. Well worth every cent, because they look true and dead-on to the exact ride! As does Warren's rides do too, even if they are static, they still look Great![8D]

~Ben
rideguy52
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 4:57:43 PM
i could really care less how its setup to a point... i HATE dead space personally, I love fence to fence rides. I have a model midway and I set up in various corners and low traffic spots in the house and basically if i can fit a ride it goes there. Kiddie or adult. I do ovals horseshoes etc. I try to keep kiddie land together but if i have an outside space open and no adult ride will fit but a kiddie will, ill put it on the outside. People walk around hte midway anyway, well here anyway at most events and then go back and buy their tickets to see how many they need. I was at one fair this year just a few weeks ago, there was 40 feet approximately of dead space between a himalaya and zipper and there were 4 game trailers on the inside of the midway that were not being used, and only a total of 6 games open on the midway of 22 rides. Personally I didnt like that. Our fire company carnival, the rides are setup in an an L shape as follow:
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They usually put Starship as the backdrop, long and skinny and then paratrooper or Hurricane on one of the corners and games lineup down the whole left side. (x marks where the rides are at the flat lines and brackets i made to cover the outline of how the rides are setup.
with-it
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009 5:10:28 PM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by Pinetar

Mike is asking from the perspective of a fan, not that of a showman. i don't think business details are of interest here.

Right....I think most of the guys here anymore would like all the big rides up front so they don't have to walk too far or past those annoying games where they are hasseled as they walk by.....
britt
  •  britt
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009 6:26:55 PM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by Ridee-O

[8D]Merry-go-round up front no matter how the rest of midway is laid out



and giant wheel at the end. seems to make it look larger.
mikecroaro
  •  mikecroaro
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009 6:35:10 PM
Hi Folks:

My question was aimed at owners and lot men who lay out the lot. I imagine some shows like the island in the middle so they can hide generators and misc. equipment "inside". And then theres no electric cables running from the center out to the generators. Sometimes however, when you look in between the rides in front of you, you see the bakcs of the other rides, such as the back of a Zipper.

With a single row down the middle, the midway seems more spacious and "clean". Instead of walking around the island you can cut in between rides easier to get to the other side. You can also see the rides on the back end easier. On the other hand, any generator in the middle will now be present. If the generator is behind the back line then you have cables running accross the walkway. Misc. equiment can't be hidden.

Below is a live example of the rides single file down the middle.

http://www.flickr.com/ph...n/set-72157609307817672/ 

Will all this typing I feel like I'm a clone of Rainbowben.[:D]

Mike
IndianaTED
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 8:11:25 PM
I always like going to a spot where the midway is set up in an area that has challenges. For example, a grass lot with some elevation changes (nothing major), and trees. And that pretty much describes the lot that hosts our local 4th of July Celebration. Oh, did I mention that it holds water too? Yeah, the last couple of years it has been quite swampy, just ask Kadoty.

Anyway, from my amateur (f@nboy point of view), you have to have the "spectacular" ride of the midway at the back end. Next, the Wheel, or the tallest ride, has to be positioned so that it can be clearly seen from a distance, and preferably seen from a main highway leading to the site. Family rides can be positioned as to transition the midway from the kiddie rides to the bigger rides.

One thing that I think is equally important is what are you going to do for the games? People will find the food joints, but the games, again in my opinion, can be killed if not located at just the right spot. An example that I see here...for whatever reason, in this town, group participation games such as water race games or roller derby games aren't real heavily played. I don't know that anywhere on the midway is going to make them tons of money, but if you put them in an area of the midway that doesn't get the bulk of the crowd passing by them, they are dead. For that kind of game to have any chance at all here, it needs to be back by the "featured" rides.

We've had back-to-back rides down the middle with games lining the outside of the horseshoe here. And we've also had the last few years, back-to-back games down the middle with rides lining the outside. Both are good, but it really depends of the games/rides mix. Less games means rides on the outside.
I've never been "with it", just been an interested observer of carnivals for more than 50 years.
Johnny's United Shows..."A Family Tradition" and "All for Fun, Fun for All".
The carnival of my youth, which had roots that originated in my hometown.
chuck
  •  chuck
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009 10:28:05 AM
Flamo and Gary said it the best. All depends on what you have and how much real estate you have too play with. Also I would thing land slopes would factor into it. And most important, don't let the committee draw up the layout. You can tell the difference between a show layout and a committee layout. Leave the design to the amusement company

flamo
  •  flamo
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009 1:07:44 PM
Class example of how a midway shouldn't be layed out is the Texas State fair. multiple entrances, like or similar rides next to each other, identical joints sie by side.The Boost and Extreme2 were less than 50' apart. Windsurfer type rides side by side. Space is also a problem there. Mltiple midways no ryhme or reason to it. What it amounts too is lost money and ride owners not returning.
I'm there, Old, Tired, Broke and Henpecked
cny_chris
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 1:15:48 PM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by chuck

Flamo and Gary said it the best. All depends on what you have and how much real estate you have too play with. Also I would thing land slopes would factor into it. And most important, don't let the committee draw up the layout. You can tell the difference between a show layout and a committee layout. Leave the design to the amusement company





Bingo. While layouts can be grouped into one category or another, you have to work with what you're given for space. Most fairgrounds built the buildings, then shoehorned the midway into what space was left over.
"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
CONKO316
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 1:29:49 PM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by flamo

Class example of how a midway shouldn't be layed out is the Texas State fair. multiple entrances, like or similar rides next to each other, identical joints sie by side.The Boost and Extreme2 were less than 50' apart. Windsurfer type rides side by side. Space is also a problem there. Mltiple midways no ryhme or reason to it. What it amounts too is lost money and ride owners not returning.



sounds like the CNE lately. Last year had a Crazy Surf, Double Shock, Rainbow(Arm) side by side by side. A few other instances like that too....then again, CNE is basically POP territory, so in that regard, I guess it doesn't make as big a difference to riders..unlimited rides, you are going to go on everything a hundred times anyway haha.
UserPostedImage

Justin
Fabbri_Guy
Thursday, August 20, 2009 6:21:37 AM
Major rides on each sides, Any wheel in the front, kiddies in the middles games within the midway.


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with-it
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Thursday, August 20, 2009 7:52:09 AM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by cny_chris

Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by chuck

Flamo and Gary said it the best. All depends on what you have and how much real estate you have too play with. Also I would thing land slopes would factor into it. And most important, don't let the committee draw up the layout. You can tell the difference between a show layout and a committee layout. Leave the design to the amusement company





Bingo. While layouts can be grouped into one category or another, you have to work with what you're given for space. Most fairgrounds built the buildings, then shoehorned the midway into what space was left over.

If you want to see some horrible Midway layouts come to Ohio...With the exception of Lima I can't think of a Midway that is laid out somewhat correctly.... Also Center joint locs are non existant on Ohio County Fairs for the most part...There are a few that have them but not many.

You guys talk about the same type rides next to each other....Alot of Ohio Fairs have the same joints next to each other... Alot of time it's the same familys that do that to each other...They put thier Balloon Stores right next to the Brothers or Cousins oreven their Kids....Kinda f***ed up if you ask me...lol
2ndgencarnie
Thursday, August 20, 2009 8:27:44 AM
One thing I hate and have unfortunately seen too many times is when a show puts the joint line up with the backs of the trailers towards the parking lot/main entrance. When a car pulls in they dont wanna see a big white trailer blocking all the action. I for the life of me can not understand why people do that.