Scariest Ride Ever?

By Jake • June 4th, 2008 • View Comments

The annual Portland Rose Festival is going on now, although Summer didn’t get the memo. You can see the carnival and rides along the western bank of the Willamette.

Chief among the rides is this monster, which looks even more sinister in this picture (courtesy of joshualane on Flickr), than in real life. It’s basically four seats on a basket welded onto each end of a couple hundred feet of steel that’s rotating a few hundred feet off the ground.

I’ve not been up close, so I can’t guess at the dimensions, but it’s taller than the bridge that’s next to it. Now, I love roller coasters and even those rides that drop you straight down 300 hundred feet. But this looks like abject terror for several minutes.

The buckets point your feet out as you rotate, so you’re upside-down for half the ride, spinning. Maybe I’m getting old, but you won’t catch me on that.

Thoughts? Maybe Eddie will check it out this weekend, if he heads to the Festival, and provide a video of his experience.


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  • The thrill ride at our fair growing up was always the Zipper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf8UWcqw4Dk&feat...) and then they added the Himalaya (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmoUuZB2TBk).

    I grew up 2 hours from Cedar Point and a 300 foot coaster so they pretty much bore me now. But nothing scares me like carny rides though. My cousin ran them for 10 years (small hands) and would tell me / show me how they put them together with whatever was laying around and left over
  • Yikes. Growing up in Pittsburgh, I spent a lot of time at Kennywood (w00t!), so roller coasters are no biggie. This Skyscraper looks like a disaster in the works.
  • Tim
    They look like they are really enjoying it
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLHNkSBBN3I
  • The commentary on that video is great.

    How'd you like be strapped in first, waiting at the top while they get the other two victims ready?

    Thanks, I'll pass.
  • Tim
    Hmmm ... its called the Skyscrpaer and I quote ...

    People were WOWed by this ride when it was last at the waterfront. Rising 200 feet into the air, this 60 mile per hour thriller spins riders in huge propeller like circular arc.

    http://jurassicjoe.com/pages.php?p=attractions

    60 mph? ... and throwing there puke into the milling crowds below and as far as a mile away ... sorry, a little gross but it paints a picture.
  • I'd probably do it if it came to Chicago or somewhere near where I happen to be at any moment. What's the worst that can happen? Nausea is a temporary condition, so it doesn't bother me that much (unless I'd be wasting good food or wine) :)

    Bring it on! (he says while squinting at the photo to figure out if he means it)
  • I think you'd pause in the presence of the beast.
  • No way dude! You won't catch me on those rides either. But, it's always fun watching other people do it.
  • If you go, get some video of those hardy souls going on and coming off that monster.
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