Teacups, or spinning teacups, is a type of
amusement ride characterized by
teacup
A teacup is a cup for drinking tea. It generally has a small handle (grip), handle that may be grasped with the thumb and one or two fingers. It is typically made of a ceramic material and is often part of a set which is composed of a cup and ...
-shaped spinning vehicles atop a turntable-like floor, which may also spin.
Design
Typically, each set of six teacups has a center bearing mounted underneath, similar to a car wheel bearing mounted on a circular floor capable of turning 360°. The circular floor of the cup sits on a larger turntable-like floor. This is driven by a motor through a starting device; the ride when started spins slowly and then speeds up as the operator applies more power. When in operation, the ride operator spins each cup while the turntable spins the entire ride base. They are driven by a motor fixed to the base in either the middle or the outside. The motor fixed in the middle has a gearbox which changes direction as well as the correct ratio for the desired speed. The motor fixed on the outside again has a gearbox but is attached to a small rubber wheel which sits along the rim under the platform.
History
Among the earliest and best-known versions of teacups ride is
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's
Mad Tea Party, which was introduced when
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
was opened in 1955. The ride was developed by Karl Bacon and Ed Morgan of ride-design company
Arrow Development.
Versions of this ride would also be installed in Disney's Florida, Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong parks,
and many unaffiliated manufacturers and amusement parks would install their own versions.
See also
*
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
's
epicycle
In the Hipparchian, Ptolemaic, and Copernican systems of astronomy, the epicycle (, meaning "circle moving on another circle") was a geometric model used to explain the variations in speed and direction of the apparent motion of the Moon, ...
model of the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
has been likened by physicists to the spinning-teacups ride.
*
Marauder's Mayhem - a similar kind of ride at
Alton Towers
Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often shortened to Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton, Staffordshire, Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments, Merlin Entertainments Group a ...
in Staffordshire, England
References
Amusement rides
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