Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This could be due to the design, having

acrophobia Acrophobia, also known as hypsophobia, is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort, that share similar ...

, or from hearing about accidents involving rides that are similar. For some, the adrenaline associated with riding amusement rides is part of the experience. They are common at most annual events such as

fairs A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

, traveling carnivals, and

circuses A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyc ...

around the world. Sometimes music festivals and concerts also host amusement park rides.

Types of rides

* Flat rides are usually those that move their passengers on a plane generally parallel to the ground, such as rides that spin around a vertical axis, like carousels and twists; and ground-level rides such as bumper cars. The term is also used to refer to amusement rides that are not classified as dark rides, rollercoasters, transport rides, or water rides. * In gravity rides, gravity is responsible for all or some of the movement where any vertical movement is not about a fixed point, such as

roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...

water slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, water chute, or hydroslide) is a type of Playground slide, slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at swimming pools or water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and ...

s and drop towers. * Vertical rides usually move their passengers in a vertical plane and around a fixed point, such as

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

and Skydiver. * As of the 2010s, some rides employ

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

Specific themes

* Dark ride * Bumper cars *

Haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...

Funhouse A funhouse or fun house is an attraction found in amusement parks and funfair midways, equipped with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, or amuse visitors. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fun houses are participatory attractio ...

Pendulum ride Pendulum rides are amusement rides based on the motion of a fixed pendulum. The Ali Baba (ride), Ali Baba, Looping Starship, and Pirate ship (ride), Pirate Ship are some examples. Description Pendulum rides are amusement rides based on the mo ...

* Rollercoaster *

* Drop Tower *

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

List of amusement rides

Literature

* Florian Dering: ''Volksbelustigungen. Eine bildreiche Kulturgeschichte von den Fahr-, Belustigungs- und Geschicklichkeitsgeschäften der Schausteller vom achtzehnten Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart.'' Greno, Nördlingen 1986, . * Karl Ruisinger: ''Kirmes Special. Karussells 1950er und 1960er Jahre'' (= ''Kirmes Special'' 1). Gemi Verlag, Reichertshausen 2005, . * Sacha-Roger Szabo: ''Rausch und Rummel. Attraktionen auf Jahrmärkten und in Vergnügungsparks. Eine soziologische Kulturgeschichte.'' transcript-Verlag, Bielefeld 2006, (Zugleich: Freiburg, Univ., Diss., 2006).

References

External links

Ride-Index.de
− Datenbank der Reisenden Fahrgeschäfte in Deutschland (''in German'')

* ttp://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/v/a/vac3/table.html U.S. patents for roller coasters and related rides {{DEFAULTSORT:Amusement rides * Entertainment lists