Carnival & Fair News

Len Soled of Rides 4-U is looking forward to being back on the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) trade show floor November 13th-17th. As usual, Rides 4-U will be putting up a big display for customers to browse at the show. “We will be exhibiting some amazing attractions this year,” says Soled. “We're very excited to head into IAAPA and have face time with our clients who have shown great continued interest in our products this year.”

The first of its kind — a trailer-mounted mini break dance ride sold to Blue Sky Amusements — will be displayed in the Rides 4-U booth. “We'll be displaying a brand new design of this ride. Michael Reiss, along with the Rides 4-U design team, came up with a music scene for the ride,” says Soled. According the Soled, the ride design is going to look sharp, giving it a unique and different feel. “This is a popular ride for us but the new theming sets it apart. We're excited to show it off.”


IAAPA trade show visitors have grown accustomed to seeing spinning coasters in the Rides 4-U booth. Soled reports that they will not disappoint at the 2023 show. “Of course we will have a spinning coaster displayed as always. This is one of our most popular rides for industry and it's going to a Family Entertainment Center (FEC) called Malibu Jack's,” says Soled. Malibu Jack's also placed an order through Rides 4-U for a new drop tower.

“We've taken over the market in drop towers,” says Soled. The Rides 4-U team is able to create different height and seating configurations on the drop towers to fit any look or footprint and customers can even choose a hydraulic or pneumatic design. “In this case, Malibu Jack's chose the hydraulic design,” says Soled. “Also, the majority of our drop towers do not require Non-Destructive Testing inspections because they are bolted together rather than welded together. This is a big savings opportunity for our customers.”

A brand new offering from Rides 4-U is the Evolux ride. It has a capacity of 12, with seats that all face outward, leaving riders' legs dangling. The ride has a unique action where the arm pivots clockwise and counterclockwise, allowing the arm on the ride to elevate. Vehicles go into a 180 degree angle giving passengers an airborne sense of thrill. “The first ever park model of this ride has been sold to Circuit of America in Austin, Texas,” says Soled. “We'll have designs and drawings displayed in our IAAPA booth.” Rides 4-U plans to put the Evolux on a trailer to create a mobile option for carnival customers.


Soled assures customers of his dedication to the carnival industry. “Of course we love our parks and FECs but we love servicing the carnival industry. For us, it's a sizable share of the industry market,” says Soled. “We love the people and we love to be creative with our offerings. We have no intentions of backing down when it comes to our mobile options.”

Overall, Soled reports great interest in the Rides 4-U offerings throughout the industry. At IAAPA, he looks forward to showing off some exciting new rides and hopefully closing some deals with clients.