January | 2013 | Amusing the Zillion

Archive for January, 2013

Rare & Vintage: 1960s Chance Skydiver Car

Posted in Amusement ride, Artifacts, tagged carnival ride, Chance Manufacturing, Chance Rides, collectible, ride seat, Skydiver on January 21, 2013| 17 Comments »

Chance Skydiver Car. Neven + Neven Moderne, Hudson, NY

It’s sad when retired carnival rides go unsold or are broken up for parts. We can only hope the old cars find an appreciative new home. For $3,500, you can spin yourself silly in this restored Skydiver ride car being offered by Neven + Neven Moderne, an art dealer in Hudson, New York. “Has wheels (not attached), for moving. Can be mounted to spin, or can sit on wheels,” according to the item’s description.

Produced from 1965 to 1979 by Chance Manufacturing, the Skydiver was a Ferris wheel-like ride whose cars were equipped with a steering wheel that let riders do barrel rolls. It’s considered a classic by ride aficionados but very few parks and carnivals have Skydivers nowadays.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ1GWkL3TC4&rel=0

During its heyday, state fair midways featured as many as three Skydivers in a row for the flash. Coney Island had a Skydiver as well as Chance’s one and only double Skydiver, called the Tumbler. Both rides were owned and operated by the McCullough family, who had rides in Coney Island for more than 50 years.

If you want to ride, you can still find a Skydiver at Lakemont Park in Pennsylvania, Silverwood in Idaho, and at fairs played by the traveling carnivals Christiansen Amusements, Campy’s Amusements and Powers Great American Midway.

Music Video: Coney Island by Antje Duvekot

Posted in Music Video, tagged Antje Duvekot, Coney Island on January 20, 2013| 2 Comments »

This video of singer-songwriter Antje Duvekot’s “Coney Island” wasn’t shot on Coney’s beach but the dark beauty of the lyrics and the old footage pulled us in:

well the Empire State is gleaming
and it’s a perfect Friday night
hold me down
’cause I am feeling high as a kite
’cause I’m not living for the landing
tonight I’m living for the flight
don’t wanna capture the moment
i just wanna let it go by

’cause in a world so full of troubles
i think we’ve seen enough
and they’ll still be here tomorrow
when the sun comes up

The song is from “The Near Demise of the High Wire Dancer,” voted top album of 2009 by Boston folk station WUMB. Duvekot, a native of Germany, lived in Delaware, New York City and Vermont before becoming popular on Boston’s folk scene. “Her rise to prominence can be attributed to a paper plane voice fluttering through breezes with a reedy Irish lilt and keen lyrical sense of dignity and destruction,” says the Boston Globe in a review of her new album “New Siberia.”

Coney Island 2013: “Water Mania” Spin Ride to Debut at Luna Park

Posted in amusement park, Amusement ride, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island 2013, Luna Park, splash battle, SpongeBob, water cannon, Water Mania, water ride, Zamperla on January 18, 2013| 2 Comments »

Zamperla’s Water Mania to Open at Luna Park Coney Island in 2013

Last July, ATZ reported the news of Zamperla’s Water Mania, an interactive water ride that was under development and promised to open in Luna Park Coney Island. Alberto Zamperla had told Italian Wired about the new ride when the reporter asked what he was secretly working on. Now Water Mania is slated to make its world debut in Coney in May, according to a report last month in Park World. “The ride will feature a pirate theme with six four-seater spinning barrels on each of two rotating platforms, offering a total 48 passenger capacity,” says the amusement industry journal. “Each barrel will have its own motor, and riders will board from the outside of the platform without having to set foot in the water.”

Park World’s article “Splash Battle Continues” highlights the popularity of interactive water attractions from major ride manufacturers. Mack’s Spinning Tea Cups on Water debuted with a SpongeBob theme as Splash Bash at Blackpool in 2011 and will open this year at Etnaland in Sicily and La Ronde in Montreal. Also mentioned are Moser’s Corsair Battle and Preston and Barbieri’s Splash Battle.

Last summer, Zamperla debuted an interactive water ride called “Mediterranea” at Minitalia Leolandia, a beautifully landscaped park in Italy formerly owned in part by the ride manufacturer. The pirate-themed ride features galleon style boats sailing under the flags of the four Italian Maritime Republics of the Middle Ages. Riders splash each other as well as bystanders with water cannons. This video of the ride recalls the pageantry of a tall ship parade.