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. Later we talked about dark rides, the immersive, well-themed, AC-blasting story-driven side to amusement attractions. 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.
The Beloved Filler
Between roller coasters and dark rides, between churro stands and souvenir shops, the flat ride finds its turf. The flat ride–the drop tower, the Enterprise, the ferris wheel, the Screamin’ Swing–fills in the empty space found on the midway. Flat rides are cheap thrills with small footprints. 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. 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 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.
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. 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). If a ride doesn’t work on a track, isn’t a water ride, and isn’t a dark ride, it almost certainly falls into the category of “Flat Ride.”
These rides are not-so lovingly thought of as filler to the park, and I don’t actually disagree with that prescription. I only disagree with the thought process that filler is a bad thing.
Why a Flat Ride?
If flat rides aren’t the most popular and renowned attractions, then why even have them?
One: they’re cheap. Relatively. While a roller coaster costs millions–count them–millions of dollars, even for basic and cheaper models (like a Batman clone, which, though cranked out by B&M for almost every Six Flags park, costs a pretty penny of $7 million), flat rides ask far less of their investors, more in the six-figure range, or less. Of course rules are made by exceptions, like Busch Gardens Tampa’s renowned Falcon’s Fury, which cost the park more than $5 million prior to its 2014 debut, or a used carnival ride, which–while maybe not the most reliable attractions–can be copped for less than fifty grand. But for the most part, flat rides are cheaper options for when parks are looking to expand but aren’t in the market for a larger investment.
Two: size. As mentioned in How an Idea Becomes a Ride: Roller Coasters, parks have a limited amount of space to work with when looking to make upgrades and additions. Take Cedar Point, for example, which operates on a literal island. Sometimes roller coasters and dark rides with smaller footprints can be sought, but the best option for parks with limited space is the flat ride. If your hometown park is packed to the brim but teasing an expansion to come, you can expect a flat ride in the near future.
So why flat rides? These cheaper and smaller investments pack a punch for thrill-seeking guests while keeping attendance dispersed throughout the park, rather than localized around more popular attractions.
Flat Rides to Look Out For
What is and is not considered a flat ride is far more vague than the criteria surrounding roller coasters and dark rides, but there are some iconic flat rides you can find at almost any park.
The Drop Tower
I start with this flat ride because it is, without a doubt, my favorite type of flat ride. Though completely safe, drop towers have a knack for scaring off guests. I know multiple people–my mother among them–who will ride every attraction at the park, except the drop tower.
The definition of the drop tower is in the name. It’s a tower that drops you. The typical flow of a drop tower takes riders to the top of a structure before dropping them, but many drop towers do the opposite, launching riders from the bottom and letting them fall gradually back to the station. Some famous classic drop towers include the triplets, Hershey’s Tower at Hershey Park, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, and Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom at Six Flags Great Adventure, the world’s tallest drop tower (415 feet/126 meters) as of January 2021, found within the track of Kingda Ka.
More unconventional drop towers exist and are growing in popularity. Lex Luthor Drop of Doom is more of a quarter-pipe shape that allows guests to fall down the side of it like a steep slide. Falcon’s Fury forces riders to face the ground before letting them drop. Apocalypse at Drayton Manor is an ever-terrifying standing drop tower. These flat rides intimidate and delight with a minimal surface area that cannot be beat.
The Star Flyer
The star flyer, though far more relaxing than the drop tower, maintains a similar shape. On these attractions, seats typically attached to chains spin around in circles as riders are gradually lifted into the air. The largest star flyer in the world is found at ICON Park, but other notable models are found at Cedar Point and the Six Flags staple, StarScreamer.
Frisbees, Pendulums, and Swings
Pendulum rides, as the name would suggest, mimic the swaying motions of a pendulum. Most, not all, rock riders back and forth until they are upside-down, then send riders swooshing through a few complete rotations. These rides are incredibly common, as well as their cousin model, the frisbee. The frisbee does everything a pendulum does, while also spinning a circular car for a double-spinning sensation.
Another variation on this ride can be found in the Larson Looper, which actually follows a track for its entire duration.
Swings, like S&S’s Screamin’ Swing, are my personal pick of these style of rides because you get the falling sensation and adrenaline pumping while pressing pause on the at-times nauseating spinning. These rides typically don’t go upside-down and allow the air to whoosh through the riders’ hair and clothes. Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s new-for-2019 Finnegan’s Flyer is a personal favorite of mine when I need a break from the more intense thrills.
The Classics
Now for the classic carnival rides that can be found at various parks: your ferris wheels, your carousels, your Dumbo/Magic Carpet/fill-in-the-blank flyer, your Teacups, and plenty–plenty–more. There are more to come, too. Though flat rides typically cater to the classics, manufacturers are pushing the limits on what flat rides can accomplish.
In a theme park industry that is innovating as you read this, flat rides are something so reliable, so attainable, and so accessible, that they’ll never dim from the landscape.
Yeah, they’re filler, but isn’t that the best part of the Oreo?
