Most carnival attractions, like the Tilt-A-Whirl or the aforementioned drop tower, are flat rides, but they can also be played up into more themed attractions (think the renowned Teacups that are almost synonymous with a trip to Disney Word).

To put a black-and-white definition on it, a flat ride is a type of amusement ride that uses power (unlike most roller coasters, which operate on gravity and momentum) to spin, shake, and drop riders. They may not be the first thing you think of, but the absence of their presence would undoubtedly be felt in any variation of the theme park, amusement park, fair, or carnival. But to imagine a theme park without flat rides would be to imagine a sundae without a cherry, a Christmas dinner without fresh-baked bread.

They typically don’t draw much more than a twenty minute line and aren’t the household rides for your Cedar Points or Disney World. Flat rides are cheap thrills with small footprints. The flat ride-the drop tower, the Enterprise, the ferris wheel, the Screamin’ Swing-fills in the empty space found on the midway. The Beloved Filler Image: Huss Park Attractionsīetween roller coasters and dark rides, between churro stands and souvenir shops, the flat ride finds its turf. But there is one type of ride so integral, so thrilling, so ingrained in the history and future of amusement parks, yet so often pushed aside. Later we talked about dark rides, the immersive, well-themed, AC-blasting story-driven side to amusement attractions. In our first feature of our How an Idea Becomes a Ride trilogy, we explored roller coasters and the blood, sweat, tears, and decisions that go into their inception.

Carnival definition flat character