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ParkHoppin’ with Paul Ruben
Wheel Wars
Big wheel keep on turnin’ Proud Mary keep on burnin’ Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river. – Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969
Have you noticed? Like the song says, not only are Big Wheels turnin’, but they’re getting bigger. And bigger, to the point we are now in the midst of a full-blown Wheel War. Just like the current Rollercoaster Arms Race, operators are now installing larger wheels in a seemingly never-ending search for wheely big bragging rights. It all began in 1893 when the 33-year-old architect and bridge builder George Washington Gale Ferris Jnr had an idea of immense circumference. Criticised for having “wheels in his head,” he was later commended for turning round mass entertainment and taking it to new heights at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The name Ferris became synonymous with the show’s centrepiece, the 263ft-tall (80m) Great Wheel. Since then, fun-lovers across the globe have turned skyward in homage to the device that takes riders to the apex. Ferris, long credited with inventing the wheel, was not, in fact, its original creator. The first wheels for pleasure probably evolved from the ancient water-carrying variety. These structures, documented as early as the first century BC, provided the blueprint for amusement. The rotating devices, holding a series of swinging receptacles attached to their rims, were originally used for the irrigation of fields. In 1620 the British traveller Peter Mundy described an early Turkish pleasure wheel including children sitting “on little seats hung round in several parts thereof.” He noted with astonishment that through the hand-cranked model turned “right up and down,” the riders
always seemed to remain “upright.” During England’s Saint Bartholomew Fair of 1728, perpendicular roundabouts were mentioned by contemporary poets and in 1803 manpowered wheels called Katcheli were recorded as a feature of festivals in Albania, Siberia, Palestine and the Orient. Although a fixture of European pleasure gardens, 19th century America had little exposure to the entertainment the wheel provided. Until Ferris’ wheel, that is.
While I’m happy to rotate in the quirky 150ft-tall (46m) Wonder Wheel at Coney Island in New York, pictured here, record-setting wheel building has accelerated in recent years. It was ignited by the appearance in 1997 of the 377ft (115m) Daikanransha in Tokyo. Then in 2000 came the London Eye at 443ft (135m), the aesthetics of which have gone on to influence many of the wheels that have followed. The Star of Nanchang, at 525ft (160m), was erected in the Chinese city of the same name in 2006, then came the 541ft (165m) Singapore Flyer in 2008. The Melbourne Star fell short of a world record, but set an Australian record of 394ft (120m) when it opened later the same year. And now, in 2014, the High Roller in Las Vegas, 550ft tall (168m) is expected to open later this year. Still on the drawing board, as well as several smaller but potentially impressive rides around the world, are the 625ft (190m) New York Wheel, the Dubai Eye at 690ft (210m), and Japan’s Nippon Moon, rumoured to exceed 800ft (244m). Earthquake resistant? We hope so.
As wheels grow in size, their appeal remains not just that of a thrill ride, but that of an observation platform. It’s an attraction the entire family can enjoy.
6 MARCH 2014
ALES-UK
British suppliers’ association celebrates 10 years
Left to right: ALES-UK secretary Gerry Robinson, new vice-chair and chairman Pauline Quayle and Tony Whittaker and outgoing chairman Terry Monkton
Super Bowl slide is a
winner! An eight-lane 180ft-long (55m), seven-storey-high slide sold by Rides-4-U to the National Football League (NFL) was used for four days recently during Super Bowl week in Times Square, New York City. It quickly became the most popular attraction in the 14-block NFL Village, where visitors could also perform their own touchdown dances, carry a football through an obstacle course and kick a field goal through NFL goal posts. The slide, which was the only paid-for attraction, was even more popular “than the New Year’s Eve ball drop” according to Rides-4- U’s Len Soled. All takings from the slide during its stay in the city were given to charity. The NFA now done with the attraction, it is destined for a permanent home at Pier Park in Panama City Beach, Florida.
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