Lee Ulrich Eyerly was an American civil aviation pioneer and amusement ride manufacturer. Eyerly helped found Salem Oregon's McNary Field, built the Flying E Ranch in Wickenburg, Arizona and invented several amusement park rides including the Loop-O-Plane, the Roll-O-Plane the Fly-O-Plane the Rock-O-Plane, and the Octopus.
A pirate ship is a type of amusement ride based on pirate ships, consisting of an open, seated gondola which swings back and forth, subjecting the rider to various levels of angular momentum. A variant where the riders must pull on ropes to swing the ride is known as a swing boat.
Lakeside Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado, adjacent to Denver. Opened in 1908, it is the oldest amusement park in Colorado still operating in its original location, and is the lone remaining American amusement park to have had the name White City. The park, comprising nearly half of the Town of Lakeside that it was responsible for creating in 1907, features the landmark Tower of Jewels.
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 1907, it is California's oldest surviving amusement park and one of the few seaside parks on the West Coast of the United States.
The swing ride or chair swing ride is an amusement ride that is a variation on the carousel in which the seats are suspended from the rotating top of the carousel. On some versions, particularly on the Wave Swingers, the rotating top of the carousel also tilts for additional variations of motion.
The Zipper is an amusement ride designed by Joseph Brown under Chance Rides in 1968. Popular at carnivals and fairs in the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand, it features strong vertical G-forces, numerous spins, and a noted sense of unpredictability. Chance Rides had manufactured the ride continuously from 1968 to 2001. In 2015, Chance built a Zipper for Skinner's Amusements. Since its debut, 222 models were produced. Only one of these was specifically designed for an amusement park, Galaxyland, at the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. However, it was eventually removed due to frequent breakdowns as this ride was not designed for full-time operation.
The Giant Dipper is a historic wooden roller coaster located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. The Giant Dipper, which replaced the Thompson's Scenic Railway, took 47 days to build and opened on May 17, 1924, at a cost of $50,000. With a height of 70 feet (21 m) and a speed of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h), it is one of the most popular wooden roller coasters in the world. As of 2012, over 60 million people have ridden the Giant Dipper since its opening. The ride has received several awards such as being named a National Historic Landmark, a Golden Age Coaster award, and a Coaster Landmark award.
Fascination is a game commonly found in North American amusement parks, boardwalks and arcades. The game is a redemption game, in that prizes are often won for playing the game. The game dates to 1918, with the first location opening at Coney Island, NY. It became popular during the 1920s and spread quickly from coast to coast, as evidenced in pictures of Chutes at the Beach in San Francisco, a park that operated from 1903 - 1928. Over a century later, there are still a handful of locations that are in operation, mostly in the Northeastern US.
Laffing Sal is one of several animatronic characters that were built primarily to attract carnival and amusement park patrons to funhouses and dark rides throughout the United States. Its movements were accompanied by a raucous laugh that sometimes frightened small children and annoyed adults.
The Octopus is a type of amusement ride in the shape of an octopus. Six to eight arms attached to a central axis of rotation and move up and down in a wavelike motion via a counter rotating eccentric, while cars at the end of the arms, either attached directly to the arm or fixed on spinning crosses, spin freely or stay in place, depending on the exact type of ride. Each Octopus ride has the arms attached the middle of the ride. The middle or centric of the ride will move somehow. Most octopus rides require guests to be at least 42 inches to ride without an adult; smaller children must have an adult with them. This is a regular at the annual AGS and AHS fairs in Ateneo de Manila University
A Ranger is an inverting pendulum ride first manufactured by HUSS Machinenfabrik in 1981. Many of the design elements were later used in the HUSS Rainbow, and the term 'Ranger' has become synonymous with inverting pendulum rides. It was the first inverting swing ride designed since Lee Eyerly's Loop-O-Plane and set the standard for many other attractions using the inverting pendulum ride system, such as the Rainbow, the Kamikaze (ride), and the Inverter.
The Loop-O-Plane is an amusement park ride that originated in America. It was invented by Lee Eyerly and manufactured by the Eyerly Aircraft Company of Salem, Oregon, in 1933. The ride was immediately popular with customers and became a staple of amusement parks.
The Roll-O-Plane, also known as the Bullet is an amusement park ride that originated in America. It was invented by the Eyerly Aircraft Company of Salem, Oregon, as an updated and more exciting version of the Loop-O-Plane. The ride is commonly nicknamed the "Salt and Pepper Shakers".
Ghost Blasters is an interactive dark ride franchise, designed and created by Sally Corporation. The franchise includes many locations at various amusement parks throughout the United States and Canada. Riders on "Ghost Blasters" are equipped with laser guns, as the attraction travels through a themed "haunted manor". The goal of the attraction is to accumulate a high score by aiming and firing at lit targets.
Miracle Strip at Pier Park was an amusement park in Panama City Beach, Florida, owned by Miracle Strip Carousel, LLC. The original Miracle Strip closed in 2004 after 41 years of operation, but a new amusement park using the same name was resurrected and began with moving the carousel from its original location to Pier Park in March 2009. After the success of the carousel, the few remaining rides were purchased and moved as well, opening in March 2010. This retro park reopened with a few new rides, games and food vendors on a much larger 14-acre tract on April 18, 2014. The park closed in 2015. Many of the rides permanently moved to Lake Winnepesaukah.
Frank Hrubetz & Co., Inc. was an American manufacturer of amusement park flat rides. Established in 1939, the company was located near the Salem, Oregon airport. It sold both trailer-mounted and permanent model rides to theme parks throughout the world. Models included the Meteor, Paratrooper, Round Up, and Tip Top. In 1968, the company's estimated business brought in over $1.5 million and its plant space was 25,000 square feet. By the early 1970s, Hrubetz was selling 60 rides each year, making it the second largest manufacturer of amusement rides in the United States. They closed their manufacturing doors in 1992.
Fiesta Shows is a traveling carnival that entertains and visits over 60 communities throughout the New England region. It is New England's largest carnival.
Eyerly Aircraft Company was an amusement ride manufacturing company in Salem, Oregon, founded by Lee Eyerly in 1930. The company originally intended to design flight simulators for the aircraft industry but shifted to amusement rides after an early simulator, called Orientator, became a popular pay-per-ride attraction with the public. The company manufactured rides until 1985 and went bankrupt in 1990, following a fatal accident in 1988 on a ride built by the company.
Bulgy the Whale is a children's amusement ride manufactured by Eyerly Aircraft Company. It consists of eight whale-shaped ride vehicles traveling in a counter-clockwise rotation, similar to a carousel, while traveling up and down small hills. Although the Eyerly Aircraft Company ceased operation in the 1980s, there are still several Bulgy the Whale rides in operation. Some have had their whales repainted to resemble fish instead of whales, and others have had thematic pieces added, but the general operation and idea remains the same.
