DBru Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Well, in 2001, HUSS introduced their new "Giant" rides. The idea was to make larger the thrill and capacity of already existing rides (such as topspin, frisbee, and jump). Kings Island (under the ownership of Paramount) was the first to try one of them out. They purchased a Giant Topspin, and placed it indoors as Tomb Raider: The Ride (now The Crypt). Paramount was apparently very happy with the ride, so they purchased other Giant Rides for other parks across the chain. The Giant Frisbees caught on quickly, and they are found at many major parks today. To start off this discussion, I'd like to ask: If KI was so pleased with their Giant Topspin, why were no others ever installed at different parks? I think TR:TR was really fun! How do prices compare to other Giant Rides? Same goes for the Jump 2... What are your feelings about the HUSS Giants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOVE SFKK Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I personally hate Huss Rides all together and I think that the giant frisbee (only one ive been on) is a joke. You can get muck better ride experiences on Moser rides which are available in the same models. btw ii thinkt the giant top spin never caght on becasue it doesnt offer a whole lot more capacity from the stardard and they are harder for parks to theme/place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemical_echo Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I really like the HUSS Giants that I have been on. I prefer the Giant Frisbee over the Mondail Revolution (Psyclone at Canada's Wonderland), I really enjoyed Tomb Raider the first time I rode it back in 03, and Sledge Hammer isn't too bad. It's really a shame nobody built the Land of the Giants, that would have been really cool. I also liked the look of their last un-built giant ride, and was hoping somebody would've built it so I could try it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Isn't Talcocan at Phantasialand a giant topspin (floorless)? And i could be completely out of the loop here but weren't HUSS is severe financial trouble recently? So comanys probably wouldn't want to invest in their products... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 ^Talocan is a Topple Tower, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong). And they were on the verge of filing bankruptcy many years ago, but LOTS of HUSS rides have been installed since then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 There are many theme park manufacturers who have filed for bankruptcy and survived. It's a tough industry to be in. One failed product can bring a company to it's knees. I really enjoy the giant frisbees. But Sledge Hammer (Jump2) I found to be pretty meh. It looks alot more impressive then it actually is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airtime&Gravity Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 ^^Nope, Talocan is a giant top spin. Tang-or and Timber Tower are two topple towers that are some of the most well known on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absimilliard Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I prefer the standard Frisbee or Afterburner to the Giant Frisbee... One reason why they haven't sold as many Giant rides is according to a few maintenance guys who posted on forums, Huss is horrible when it comes to after sale service. Weeks to get parts among others. Talocan is a floorless top spin, like the one at Knott's and Kings Dominion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I'm not really too sure why some of parks didn't catch on with the giant rides. I really kind of thought that they would be a hit, especially since Huss was pretty popular back in their day. I really liked their concept for "The Land of Giants" and was really expecting, maybe a European park, to pick up the rights to it. I really think that in the end, the giant rides weren't that much different than the smaller versions, which were losing popularity, and Huss didn't come up with any new rides or features, other than bigger versions of their old designs. I would have really thought that Cedar Point would have jumped on the giant Huss ride idea since they always want things that are bigger and "better". I'm still really surprised that they never got a top spin, and would have thought they would have jumped on the giant top spin idea like they did with MaXair, or even the mega version of the Screamin' Swing. So like I said, I'm kind of surprised that the giant rides never caught on, but I can definitely see why they didn't. Why spend more money and take up more space for a ride that pretty much gives a similar ride to the smaller versions, and doesn't really boost capacity by a considerable margin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 maXair seems to go down very often at CP. I've seen it for multiple days on many occasions. I had it's last day of operation in mid-August during 2007. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 How many parks actually need a top spin that can hold 70 people? How many parks already had a normal top spin before this hit the market? How many parks can afford to spend that much money on a flat ride (when there are coasters/water rides/etc. that cost just as much or less)? Seems to me like there is a very limited market for a giant top spin, and there in lies the problem. The giant frisbees on the other hand? Hit the market at the right time. Nobody had a floorless swing ride prior to 1998 (or whenever it was that the afterburner exploded in popularity), so there was/is a bunch of parks looking for their obligatory floorless swing ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 ^ That is almost kind of the point that I was trying to make. There really wasn't a market for them, however, I would have thought they would have been a little more popular than what they were. I kind of figured that Cedar Point would get a giant top spin since they didn't have a normal one, and maybe parks some big parks like Great Adventure or another decent sized Six Flags park would have gotten something else (although, we know how Great Adventure is with their flats). Basically, those are the only places that would really need a large capacity, and actually be willing to blow cash on a ride. Look at some of the opening day pics from King's Dominion. Attendance was very light that day, as I'm sure it will be for a while at the beginning of the season, and "Drop Zone" had maybe 10 riders on it at a time. That is a lot of empty seats. Sure, it probably runs close to capacity during the summer months and the peak of the season, but about half of the season it barely has ridership I'm sure. That is kind of a waste of seats. They could have gotten a couple of smaller flats with the same combined capacity of "Drop Zone", been able to dispurse the lines a little better during the summer, and still kept the same amount of ridership and throughput I'm sure. However, having a huge tower like that is a big draw. I guess it is just give and take. You can't really criticize them for making a purchase like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterlvr_nc Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 ^ The three times I have been to KD I have always seen a line for drop zone (except in the mornings of course) so i dont know what your saying with that, I can see it being a waste at another park, but at KD they fill it to capacity a lot of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Yeah, kind of a stupid statement on my part, but I was kind of saying that you can't fill things to capacity all of the time. However, if you think it over, they really could have gotten two rides for the price of one, or even less than that, which would have done the things that I mentioned. I know I'm getting nitpicky, but I'm just saying. Their attendance numbers are big, but not really huge. They are kind on the borderline of "A park that needs a ride with a capacity of 70+ per ride". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VivaLaVibora Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Why haven't parks bought the giant rides? I don't think that they taken off. In other words, they are spending a lot of money on a particular ride, and attendance hasn't significantly increased. I agree that Huss does have some problems, but yet you have to think that those are bigger than life rides. They are going to have some problems. I don't think any other American theme parks are going to buy that Topple Tower because of what happened to Dollywood. I always think of Huss as a relaxing ride company. The Condor, Troika, our Top Spin, Swing Around (is a little more thrilling), and to me the Giant Frisbee is kind of tame. The most intense ride I would say that I've been on would be the Huss Frisbee. It's a little intense, but there are a lot of rides that are way more intense than that ride. I rather have the more intense Scat. Someone said that the Huss Jumping, and I heard people say that Topple Tower are tame. So, I think of them as a relaxing ride company. I think Huss is a mediocore company. I'll rather go on a Chance ride anyday (Yo-Yo, Thunderbolt, Zipper, Chaos, Wipeout). I believe that Chance Revolution is really a KMG ride. They sell it through Chance because sadly Chance has lost it's steam. They even partner with Vekoma now, or they did. They sell those rides to. If you think the S&S Screamin Swing is something else, you should try the KMG Fireball / Afterburner / Cyclops or the KMG Freak Out. I didn't really feel the force on the swing compared to those rides. I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspellx5 Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Personally, I like most Huss Rides, but most of the ones I liked Huss has stoped making [Rainbow, Condor, Swing Around], but I do like Giant Frisbees. Maintanance wise, I too have heard they are a pain in the a$$ to deal with, when it comes to getting parts. When my home park, Great Escape, they needed a new part for their Rainbow, it was down all season, and when the part was recieved [near the end of the season], it turned out to not be right anyways, and the ride was recently removed completely, and now Great Escape has no thrilling flat rides at all. Otherwise, Great Escape has quite a few Huss rides [Condor, Pirate, Rainbow] On the GECentral Forums, there was talk about the last time Great Escape got a new flat ride, it was in 1994,[!!] and it was a Huss Pirate.Unless you could the 1000 not needed kiddie rides that have been added since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I kind of figured that Cedar Point would get a giant top spin since they didn't have a normal one, They probably aren't willing to run one intense enough to make it good. The top spin at Dorney I went on a few years ago was tame as can be. A top spin run in tame mode is about as lame as can be. And when they are run intense they practically tear themselves apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Tomb Raider (TC) doesn't really have that much downtime, but then again, its program isn't that great. I think CP could greatly benefit from one though. The capacity is outrageous (in a good way!), and can you imagine how awesome one of those GIGANTIC things would look when its not in a box?!?! Speaking of The Crypt, does anyone know what's going on inside the box (scenery/program wise)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I kind of figured that Cedar Point would get a giant top spin since they didn't have a normal one, They probably aren't willing to run one intense enough to make it good. The top spin at Dorney I went on a few years ago was tame as can be. A top spin run in tame mode is about as lame as can be. And when they are run intense they practically tear themselves apart. I guess that is true, but they pretty much dumb every ride down at least a little bit. I would just think that they would do it has a capacity eater at the least. The ride at Dorney really has fallen from grace within the past few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VivaLaVibora Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 If they really made the Top Spins flip more, it could be more like the Zipper with pain. Instead, I consider it for a person that doesn't really like upside down rides. They can easily handle this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDumbFairy Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 When it comes to flips and such, its not really the ride thats the problem... its the way the place runs the ride.... I mean, if the operators (or in most cases in the US) management decides to set the top spin persay on a lame setting, its going to be a boring ride. But if they're allowed to fudge with it in manual mode, it'll be alot more interesting, at least. Or just allowed the operator to pick which cycle to use... it could be good. I also think the problem with alot of the Huss rides, is that if they're not balanced properly when operated, they can have some serious issues. How often do you walk by a US run top spin and see it properly load balanced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 ^^ That makes me think that there should be a giant zipper ride. Talk about scary! I like Delirium (KI) and TR:TR (The Crypt) is okay. When I worked there, though, it had a LOT of downtime. When you compare it to how often the smaller flatrides went down, it's insane. Even delirium had some major issues with downtime it's first 2-3 seasons. As for other giant HUSS rides, I think it's common knowledge how Dollywood felt after installing their Topple-Tower and it being down for a third of it's first season. There are good ideas in theory, and there are good designs in practice. It seems to me that HUSS needs to concentrate more on the latter. -James Dillaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspellx5 Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 I also think the problem with alot of the Huss rides, is that if they're not balanced properly when operated, they can have some serious issues. How often do you walk by a US run top spin and see it properly load balanced? Yeah I definitely think your right about that. Like the Rainbow that used to be at Great Escape, they would tell you to move to one side if there were too many people on one side, which makes sense, especially for that kind of ride. I've always wondered in the back of my mind everytime I'm on that, I wonder if the gondola really could tip over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDumbFairy Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 I also think the problem with alot of the Huss rides, is that if they're not balanced properly when operated, they can have some serious issues. How often do you walk by a US run top spin and see it properly load balanced? Yeah I definitely think your right about that. Like the Rainbow that used to be at Great Escape, they would tell you to move to one side if there were too many people on one side, which makes sense, especially for that kind of ride. I've always wondered in the back of my mind everytime I'm on that, I wonder if the gondola really could tip over? tipping would be a tough thing to do, but it'll definatley fudge the motor, and also give the electrical a run for its money (like screwing with its ability to find the position its supposed to be in at the end) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspellx5 Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 ^Oh Ok, I wasn't sure if it could or not. Great Escape's Rainbow has had all kinds of problems though, and for a few seasons has been down completely. I remember once while I was in line for it when I was maybe 8 or 9, it seemed like the cycle was going for way to long that what it normally did, and after about 15 minutes of just swinging back and forth, a maintanace guy came and did something to it, finally getting it to stop. It kind of scared me though, how long it was just swinging there, it was a good 15 minutes. I'm sure it was broken, and I read once that when it breaks, the operators are supposed to either e-stop or hit freewill, I think thats what it was called. If there really is a setting called freewill, thats probably what they did because it didn't seem like anything was controlling it, just gravity. Other than that, I love Huss Rainbows. But they all are disappearing . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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