From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
Flying Scooter ride at Kings Island, Ohio
An assortment of rides at the
Royal Melbourne Show
Rollercoaster "FX" in MoviePark Germany
Amusement ride in Oak's Park in Portland, Oregon
Breakdance Ride,
Royal Melbourne Show 2005
Dodgem Cars,
Royal Melbourne Show 2005
An amusement ride is any number of devices found at Carnivals or Fairs and amusement parks meant to appeal to various senses of the rider.
[edit] Types
[edit] Amusement park rides
Larger rides, normally only found in amusement parks
- Corkscrew roller coaster.
- Dark rides
- Drop towers
- Enterprise
- Ferris wheels or Big wheels
- Frisbees
- House of mirrors
- Log flumes
- Megadrop
- Motion platforms
- Observation towers
- Roller coasters
- Shoot-the-Chutes
- Sightseeing trains
- Top Spin
- Train rides
- Tumble Bug
[edit] Carnival or Fair rides
Traditional and transportable rides found at Carnivals/Fairs, many of which may also be found in amusement parks
- Breakdance
- Bumper cars or Dodgems
- Carousels or Merry-go-round
- Chair-O-Planes/Swing Carousel/Wave Swinger
- Cliffhanger/Kite Flyer/Fly Away
- Dive bomber
- Evolution
- Freak Out
- Funhouses
- Ghost train
- Gravitron/Starship 2000
- Saturn 6/Hurricane/Downdraft
- Helter Skelter
- Jump and smile
- Kamikaze
- Kiddie ride
- KMG Afterburner (Fireball)
- Matterhorn/Flying Bobs
- Orbiter
- Octopus/Monster/Polyp/Spider
- Paratrooper
- Reverse bungee
- Ranger
- Rock-O-Plane
- Rotor
- Round up
- Scrambler
- Simulator
- Spin Out
- Super star
- Swinging gyms
- Tagada
- Tilt-A-Whirl
- Train rides, "kiddie ride" type
- Twist
- UFO
- Waltzer
- Wipeout/Trabant
- Zipper
[edit] Amusement ride manufactures
Most new amusement rides are innovations of one of the major amusement ride manufactures, and in fact many ride types are virtualy brand names for particular product line.
From time to time, individual rides are manufactured or reproduced by large engineering companies, but the major manufactures in the history of amusement rides are:
- Aero Affiliates (USA)
- AMECO (USA)
- A.R.M. (UK) - Turnagain
- Bakker
- Bembom Rides (UK)[1]
- Bennetts (UK)
- Bertazzon (Italy/USA) [2]
- Cadoxton (UK)
- Chance Rides Manufacturing (USA)[3] - Chance Morgan
- Church (UK)
- Dartron Industries (USA)[4]
- Eli Bridge (USA)[5]
- Lee Eyerly (USA)
- Far Fabbri (Italy) - Megadrop
- Gravity Works, Inc (USA)[6]
- Great Coasters International (USA)[7]
- Edwin Hall (UK)
- Hayes Fabrication (UK)
- Hindustan Amusement Machines (India)
- Hopkins Amusement Rides (USA)[8]
- HUSS Maschinenfabrik (Germany)[9]
- Hrubetz
- Intamin AG (Liechtenstein)[10]
- Ital International (USA) [11]
- Jacksons (UK)
- Caspar Klaus (Germany)
- KMG (Netherlands) - Kermis Machinebouw Gaasendam[12]
- L & T Systems Amusement Rides (USA)[13]
- Lang Wheels (UK)
- Larson International (USA)[14]
- Lusse Company (UK)
- Mack Rides (Germany) [15]
- Maurer Söhne (Germany) [16]
- Maxwells (UK)
- Mondial Rides (Netherlands) [17]
- Moser Rides (Italy)[18]
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- Norson Power (UK)
- Premier Rides (USA)[19]
- Protech
- Pollards (UK)
- PWS (UK)
- Reverchon Industries (France)[20]
- Rollercoaster Corporation of America (USA)
- Ronald Bussink Professional Rides (Switzerland)[21]
- S&S Power Inc (USA)[22] - Arrow Dynamics
- Safeco (Spain)
- Sally Corp (USA)[23]
- Sartori Rides Int'l Group (Italy)[24] - Claudio Sartori
- SBF Rides (Italy)[25]
- Anton Schwarzkopf (Germany)
- Sellner Manufacturing Co (USA)[26]
- Smart Amusements Co (Australia) [27]
- Sobema
- Soli s.r.l. (Italy)[28]
- Sonacase (UK) [29] - Monty Hammond
- Soriani
- Joe and Perrin Stevens (UK)
- Sywell Fabrications (Britain) - Henry Thurston
- Technical Park (Italy) [30]
- Thrilltime, Inc
- Tivoli Enterprises (UK) - Richard Woolls
- Top Fun (Italy)
- Traver (US) (bought by Ralph E. Chambers in the 1930s)
- Vekoma (Netherlands)[31]
- Wards (UK)
- White Water West Industries (Canada) [32]
- Wisdom Rides (USA)[33]
- Zierer (Germany)[34]
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[edit] Carnivals
A U.S. Carnival is a made up of amusement rides, food, games, and other things that comes to town. There can be special booths, and appearances by different people (Radio Station DJs) along with some musical entertainment. They aren't as big as a State or County Fair, but they are just as fun.
There are many different carnival operators in the world. Most carnivals are not made up of just one operator. There is a carnival owner who usually owns the majority of the rides and possibly a few special interest items (i.e. food wagons or games), there are people who "book" rides in with a carnival that pay the owner a percentage of what the ride grosses.
There are also concessionaires who run food wagons or games. You may have 1 or 30 or more concessionaires and book ride owners along with the owner to make up a modern day carnival. Most of the "committees" (the people the owner books the carnival with) usually just know the carnival's name and assume it is all the same company.
Many carnivals are so big that they actually have "units" that go around from town to town. The units may have 6 or more major rides each, and they can be in many places at once. So, NAME (Astro Amusements) can be in Illinois and Wisconsin during the same week.
[edit] List of Carnivals
Here's a List of Main Carnival Operators (Please Help Expand List):
- All Around Amusements
- American Traveling Shows
- Amusements of America
- Butler Amusements
- Davis Enterprises
- Fantasy Amusements
- Great American Rides
- Helm and Sons
- K & B Amusements
- NAME Operates Former:
- Astro Amusements
- All Star Amusements
- Farrow Shows
- Conklin Shows - One of the oldest and world's largest traveling company. Operating out of Canada has one of the largest fleets of rides, and various midway games.
- Mid-America Shows
- Paul Maurer Shows
- Paradise Amusements
- Ray Cammack Shows
- Shamrock Shows
- Smart Amusements (AUS)
- Spectacular Midways
- Strate Shows
- Wade Shows
- Wilson Family Shows
- Windy City Amusements
- World's Finest Shows
[edit] See also
- Amusement park
- Architectural structure
- Funfair (US State or County Fairs)
- Closed rides and attractions
- Roller coaster
- List of Amusement Parks
[edit] References
[edit] External links
