Australian Amusement Fanatics

Does Australia have a waltzer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpOday57epE
If not, Why? They look like a really fun ride to me and the lighting affects and smoke machines make it look like a great ride.
If there is can you tell me what shows it does

As far as i'm aware we don't. Instead we have the Tilt a Whirls which IMO provide a decent enough ride.

I always thought a Waltzer was the same as a Tilt

but from the video it appears to be no undulations so what makes the cars spin

I can't imagine Australians laws allowing attendants to walk around on the ride like that

I think Tilt a whirls and waltzers are the same type of ride but waltzers go faster and they look 20 times better. Especialy at night. If undulating means it has hills then yes waltzers have hills.

Does anyone know the name of the song in the bacground or the genre because i like it

hi Tays, Waltzers are basically Englands answer to USA's Tilt-a-whirls. It is essentially the same ride with a roof, both have undulations although it's harder to see in that clip probably with the black track and all those lasers and smoke. Waltzers are very popular in the UK. there is rarely a carnival or pier amusement park without one. I can once remember a Waltzer in Australia, I'm guessing it was on some sort of lease deal because it soon dissappeared (probably back to the UK) - it was a very plain looking unit, it appeared at the Melbourne Show in the early 1990s.

some detailed history and photos of them in the UK
http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/history/rides/pnews.html

Would be great to see one of these here, they look insane and look like they go off of a night, like a real party/rave atmosphere. They take about 2 semi's don't they?

I am going to get one of these rides into australia Ony 30 grand + how much do u think shipping is. What other costs are involved in operating rides, how how o you get a ride into australia (how many steps do u have a go through, like legal stuff)

it's a very lengthy process to import a ride into Australia. First you need to make sure that the ride meets the Australian standards, make sure you can convert it to run to the Australian power standards. You have to have the ride registered which is a rather expensive process from what i've been told. Shipping would also be rather expensive. You'd need to be a member of the showmens guild to get your ride onto the majority of shows unless you went independent which is up to you. I'm not the person to talk to about the pros and cons of each either.

You also need to pay ground fees at each site you work on, staff wages, insurance (A KILLER), fuel and all sorts of other costs. It's not a business to enter lightly.

I've yet to see a Waltzer here in Australia. The only rides I have been on close to the Waltzer are the Spider at LPS, and the show-travelling Break Dance.

How long will you have to operate a ride for until you start making a profit with all those costs!

It takes most showmen several years to pay off a ride that's brand new. And the closest we have to a Waltzer is the Tilt a Whirl.

Waltzer is bigger and has more cars than tilt and is driven from a control box in the centre not on the outside,UK had waltzer before U.S,never been one in Aus and is nothing like breakdance.

Do you think carnival workers would be able ride the platform like in basicaly every waltzer video or would the safty rules be gay in Australia

I must've seen a Tilt with a roof on it in the 1990's and mistaken it for a Waltz.

Tayz surfin' the boards on a Tilt (or Waltzer) is one of the un-official perks of the job - flicking those cars with your hand at just the right time to give unsuspecting riders some serious G's

Officially... Nope, never seen it. I know nothing...

I would never ride the platform on the Tilt that I used to occasionally operate - it was painted steel, so became like ice with even the smallest amount of moisture, and the gaps would grow and shrink from big enough to fit a hand, to small enough to break every bone unfortunate enough to be caught.

One hand on the rail, the other spinning cars - that was the best way. That, or just spin them with the motor.

"Platform Surfing" is a huge OH/S issue, but it hasn't stopped people in the past from doing it. I have honestly not seen anyone doing it in the last year or so on the Tilt a Whirl that I normally see in QLD. And I know a few years back someone got fired for Platform Surfing on the Cyber Party. The closest I have ever gone to platform surfing is when unloading the ride. I have occasionally jumped on when the ride is slowing down to a stop, but not until it's almost fully stopped. But occasionally If I've unloaded someone of a politically incorrect weight from the top of the ride the platform has suddenly started to move quiet fast... and lets just say I had the bruise on my butt to prove it!!

...but I have always wanted to sit on the motor cover in the middle of the Cyber Party while it's spinning... would be quite fun But i'd rather not get fired

Ahhhhh the days when you would jump on and off a moving carousel without a care in the world, not like a tilt floor, but something you can not do today

my mate still doing platform surfing on clts tilt around victoria now they heading to north queensland and they never stop doing these

DeafShow wrote:my mate still doing platform surfing on clts tilt around victoria now they heading to north queensland and they never stop doing these

shhhh dont tell. OH@S will be all over it.

It's the same with jumping dodgem cars, I'm very suprised that we still do it and I'm sure workcover would be keen to make it a law that its not to be done. They'd just be waiting for one big incident and that'd be it. Alot of injuries there's no need to report for stupid sh** like falling off and getting bruised etc. But then again you've gotta be experienced and not go over the top with how you do it too, i.e knowing your boundaries...

Exactly... I mean me falling on my butt when the Cyber Party platform unexpectedly moved due to the weight shift was nothing short of hysterical. Yes it hurt but it was not something that you'd bother reporting as it's just a hassle. It was CLTS's tilt that I used to see the platform surfing on but I haven't in ages. The laws are just over the top here but yeah...

Platform surfing is what would make the job fun tho
I think that ever one platform surfs in the world accept for people in Australia

They wouldn't dare do it in America... it's Sue Central there!

Hurricane wrote:Exactly... I mean me falling on my butt when the Cyber Party platform unexpectedly moved due to the weight shift was nothing short of hysterical. Yes it hurt but it was not something that you'd bother reporting as it's just a hassle. It was CLTS's tilt that I used to see the platform surfing on but I haven't in ages. The laws are just over the top here but yeah...

clts's tilt they still do platform surfing same i do on these recenty at berwick show also cowes at phillip island xmas carnival there no ohs issues problem all perfect the owner of tilt is doing on platform surfing aswell! still the great fun doing these way