Australian Amusement Fanatics

Just wondering what people think will happen in the future do anyone think there will come a day when the old classic rides will be gone for good

By classics I mean the likes of
Round Up
Hurricane
Rok-N-Rol'
Tilt-A-Whirl
Theres probably more you could add to this

The one I can have seem to have diappeared that I think of are
Radar
Turbo (rumored to make a come back)
Octopus (think we all know the reason for this)
SkyDiver (was a regular in our area for years)
also a swinging ship and space shuttle


I would think other than the ever increasing cost of maintaining a older ride the fact the a lot of modern ride take less time a less manpower to setup and also popularity of the new rides

although Rok-N-Rol and Tilt-A-Whirl seemed to disappear for some time and seem to have made a come back

So given a few years and a major overhaul everthing can be new again

No I don't think the classics will ever disappear completely although the ones you mentioned are gone from our capital shows already. Showmen are aware how popular the older rides are and will continue to keep them as long as people keep on riding them. It's the big show societies who are responsible for the older machines not being present at the major shows as their carnival committees decide what comes and what goes.

ZIPPER = CLASSIC, STILL TRAVELLING, OVER 20 YEARS OLD
RAINBOW = CLASSIC, STILL DOING THE BIGGEST SHOW IN OZ, 19 YEARS
PIRATE = CLASSIC, 3 MODELS IN OZ, OVER 20 YEARS


do I really need to continue?

Also Tilt, about 4 models in Aus, still travelling

Rock N Rol-2 still travelling

Round Ups-More than 10 travelling

Yeh, i dont need to go on anymore

Yeah I know there still traveling now but they have been pushed out of the major shows and surely there will come a time when the the same happens to the likes of the newer rides like space rolla , speed , sky walker ,when even more modern rides appear

I go to shows where Young's Roc N Roll is always a regular and my local show Hawkesbury, has regulars like tilt a whirl, hurri, zipper, cha cha and sometimes a round up and sometimes the roc n roll. And Hawkesbury is the 2nd biggest show in NSW. Just because classics are getting pushed off the midway at capitals, doesnt mean that classics will go under. Yes we will keep getting new rides from overseas but the operators will still push to get their classic rides they own into shows. I know where your coming from Tooheyzz, i think most people have asked this question before in their life

Cheers
Top Gunner14

Furthermore, OFA Show Star are bringing in refurbished classic rides so we should see a lot more of them in the near future! The oldies will never disappear, I'm sure of it.

Thank god for that ben

There are rides that just keep on going, but it does get harder to find parts, service and maintain these rides, nothing lasts forever, there will be a cut off somewhere, modernisation, will also make older rides obsolete, rides will become easier to set up and operate, which will also bring a demise to older rides. These are my thoughts anyway.

some rides are just to easy, like a round up, cant beat a ride that can be put up or down in an hour, modern rides will probably never compete with that, same as sizzlers or an octopus, for hire work they are simply to easy and inexpensive to own, maintanance isnt to much, most engineering shops can make anything these days and at a reasonable price

On another note, you can't write a ride off simply because it isn't being manufactured anymore - quite often this is due to so many rides floating around on the world market - take Zipper for example - you may not see it advertised on the Chance Morgan website, but that is due to so many of them having already been manufactured (and still running well, with the right TLC and regular servicing)

Similarly with the roundup - but as of a few years ago it has now been re-vamped and re-manufactured by Dartron as 'Zero Gravity'

http://www.dartronrides.com/zero%20gravity%20pics.html

I hope over the next 10 years the amusement industry will see more classics being re-manufactured using modern day materials and designs.

Ben, what is OFA bringing in?

They are bringing in a Supaloop from China, and a UFO(not sure what sort of ride this is. This year, they have also bought in a couple of new inflatables, along with the skymaster and bought the Mad Mouse

isn't this UFO just a Trabant?,not very interesting if so.

The UFO was similar to the enterprise except you stand up and face towards the center

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_(ride)

I can't be sure but I think the UFO OFA are bringing in is the Chance version, not the Huss standup one that operates at Luna Park.

Another example of a remanufactured ride is the Hurricane which has at least two new variations to the original although I've heard they aren't quite as good. I'm yet to ride a Downdraft; I think they are fairly rare, even in the States where they are made.

Who remembers the chipmunk rollercoaster the traveled the circuit think it was operated by March Amusements not sure
I can really remember the hairpin turns at the top always thought it was going to go off the edge
Guess it was very much the same as other wild mouse coasters
What ever became of this ride ?? Someone once told be it return to USA

I found i photo of a Wild Chipmunk at Lakeside Amusement Park in the US
From my memory it looks very similar although it says its been there since 1955

I would'nt bet on OFA bringing in anything soon, guys from what I hear its just rumour.

UFO i think is just a trabant and it was at Newcastle and supa loop is a definate. It has a sign in one of their ticket boxes with all the prices for the rides on the back wall and supaloop was up there and the bloke who operates the skymaster confirmed they are getting one

It's been years since I last rode the Super Loops. Top Gunner, where am I going to have to go to get a ride on this classic of classics!!!! Do you know the shows it may travel... I've got to make some travel plans if this is all true. I'm interested in that UFO ride too, I do like the old Trabant.

Tooheyz, the Chipmunk (ex-March) is indeed in USA at a park. Photos can be viewed on rcdb.com via this link: http://rcdb.com/id573.htm

Thanks Zamperla those pictures bring back some memories would appear the car have had a bit of theming I remember those big rubber bumpers at the back of the cars which were needed more than once at our show with cars hitting each other a few times

Im sure itll do Newcastle show, OFA do their own shows and what i mean is that a show society gets them to supply the rides and sideshows for their sow instead of getting the Showmen's guild to do it. I dont know of any Vic shows they do, mostly NSW

no point bringing in these classics just for the NSW shows.... hopefully OFA can get their rides onto some of the vic shows too!

Yes huss, im sure they are finding all the shows that they can get the ground for too. And there is also no point bringing in new rides if they dont know how to look after and present their original rides well

Yeah the Chipmonk was an awesome coaster; I remember riding it when I was about 5! It was running at the Entrance on the Central Coast as part of an amazing carnival which featured all the classics, including the Wild Mouse which is now at Aussie World.