Long before virtual reality, we used to visit amusement park attractions and try out some of their best rides. In fact, many people still remember their first ride on a much-raved-about attraction. They don’t really need to be the tallest or fastest in the world, but rather, something to remember our best memories by. Here are ten of the most iconic rides that live in our minds.
10. The Rotor/Gravitron
This ride was designed in the 1940s by engineer Ernst Hoffmeister. The Rotor features many versions in theme parks all over the world, but its premise is pretty simple. It involves taking a large barrel and revolving the walls of the barrel fast. The thrilling sensation of being pinned to the wall and unable to move practically teaches you physics in the most entertaining way.
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9. The Scrambler
The Scarmbler is also known as The Gee Whizzer and The Grasscutter. This thrilling ride was first produced in the UK back in 1959. It features an outward force in whipping motion that will make you feel like you’ll fly off in the parking lot. The original attraction of slinging riders around the oval is a rare sight, but it can still be found in old parks.
8. The Carousel (Merry-Go-Round)
This will always be the nostalgic ride in carnivals and amusement parks. They’re those wooden horses that used to function as horseback riding lessons for Turkish and Arabian cavalry members. But when crusaders returned to Europe, they brought the idea of the device with them. Since then, it has become a spinning attraction in France.
7. Bumper Cars
Bumper cars are a staple of amusement parks, having been present since the park’s early days. It was first made in 1914 and took its first whip on Coney Island. Kids loved the idea of bumper cars since they got to drive legally!
6. The Tilt-A-Whirl
In 1926, Herbert Sellner completed his design for the Tilt-A-Whirl and constructed one for his backyard. It involves several cars attached to their pivot points on a rotating platform. The cars are actually free spinning, but they could wildly spin once you add a force in the platform’s gravitational pull. Since then, Sellner Manufacturing Company has built over 1,000 rides and inspired several knockoffs.
5. The Cyclone (Coney Island)
This wooden coaster is a New York City landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. We all know that Brooklyn’s Coney Island is home to many iconic amusement parks. This particular ride was built in 1927, representing the golden age of wooden roller coasters.
4. Log Flume Rides
Log flumes were actually handmade, created by loggers to transport felled trees to the sawmill. Lumberjacks used to ride logs down, which inspired the ride we all love today. The first ride made was called El Aserrasero at Six Flags Over Texas in 1963. Passengers get to ride in a hollowed-out log and rush down to get soaked in water. Famous ones today include Disney’s Splash Mountain and Perilous Plunge at Knott’s Berry Farm in California.
3. The Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is one of Disney’s most popular and iconic rides. It even inspired a 2003 film starring Eddie Murphy! It’s a spooky ride that won’t traumatize kids at all. It’s also filled with hitchhiking ghosts like those that you experience in your local ghost train rides.
2. It’s a Small World
This is another of Disney’s iconic rides with a song that will be stuck in your head for days. It was actually one of the original rides designed by Walt Disney. The ride was originally created for the 1964 New York World’s Fair but was later rebuilt at Disneyland and became a staple at all Disney parks worldwide. The attraction features animated singing dolls that represent children from cultures all around the world.
1. The Ferris Wheel
Could there be anything more iconic than the Ferris Wheel? This ride made its debut at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. A year earlier, William Somers designed and built three wooden wheels in New York and New Jersey, which were 50 feet in diameter. Meanwhile, the original Chicago Wheel is at a height of 264 feet. After the exhibition, the wheel was dismantled and shipped to St. Louis for the 1904 World’s Fair.
