Brass ring Merry-Go-Rounds.

[Alan]

Brass ring Merry-Go-Rounds, whats the deal with those? I have heard about them, but, what are they about.

[ebl]

In the olden days, if you could grab a brass ring from the dispenser, you got a free ride on the carousel. (Of course, you "paid" with the ring by turning it back in.)

 

Personally, I've never ridden such a ride, so I don't know how hard it is to snag one, but that's what they were for.

 

Eric

[knowit]

Knoebels in PA still has a free admission pay as you ride policy. They have a brass ring on their merry go round. old fashioned, but fun none the less

[ebl]

I think the carousel at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk has the brass rings, too, but I have yet to ride it.

 

Eric

[astroworldfan1]

Astroworld had one, it is now being restored. I don't remember ever grabbing the rings on it.

 

-Tatum "That was a long time ago"

[OldJJman]

I think the carousel at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk has the brass rings, too, but I have yet to ride it.

 

Yes it does. You can collect rings as you go around, then throw them back into a clowns mouth. IIRC, you get a free ride if you make it.

 

It's actually a lot more fun trying to see how many rings you can get on one pass. I've got three several times, but never the elusive "four". It makes the ride a lot more interesting!! Also, kinda dangerous!

 

On the one at Knoebel's, you're lucky to get 2 on one pass. The spring on their ring dispenser was quite tight, so you really had to grab the rings hard even to get the one sometimes.

 

 

JJ

[Tmcdllr]

The one at SCBB is really neat. Sit on the outside, grab a ring from the dispenser, toss it into the clown's mouth and the eyes light up and a bell rings. I believe the carousel is from 1910, not sure. I do know it is older than the Giant Dipper there. The other thing about the carousel is it still has the old time automated mechanical music system which you can see thru glass and sounds quite good. Don't know if that is original or was added later. The brass ring tossing adds a fun 'spin' to the ride.

[Gav]

So where is the 'dispenser' located on the carousel? Anybody got any pics of the device, I'm having a hard time visualising how it would look.

[jmicha]

They are on the outside of the ride. It looks like an arm and a ring sticks slightly out of the end closest to the ride, and you grab it as you go by. The merry-go-round on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts has brass rings for free rides. I remember every year my family would camp on the Vineyard and we would always try to win the free ride, yet I never won. My older brother would always be the one to get the brass ring, but I was never so lucky. I do, however, have one of the souvenir brass rings that you could buy in the gift shop. Gosh, those were the good old days. Go to the beach in the morning, to the town to eat at night, go ride the merry-go-round, play the gator-smash game, and sit around a fire at night as a family.

[Tmcdllr]

^That sounds like good times and great memories...*misty eyed*

[Sean Menefee]

So where is the 'dispenser' located on the carousel? Anybody got any pics of the device, I'm having a hard time visualising how it would look.

 

Here are a few of my photos of the 1911 Looff Carousel at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. These should help you get a better idea of how this awesomely dangerous ring toss works:

I've almost mastered the art of the underhanded toss of fury into the evil clown's mouth.

I've drawn a red circle that shows what the ring would look like sitting at the end of the dispenser.

[Sean Menefee]

Sorry about the double post but one more close up for good measure:

I'm honestly not much of a carousel fan, but this classic version is a lot of fun because of its ring toss feature. Did I also mention how much I love SCBB folks? The park/town has really played a large part in my childhood and current life, and it's always nice to see old time additions like this hang on through the decades.

[Alan]

You have to get it in that tiny little hole? Looks very difficult.

[ElToroGirl84]

Being a huge fan of carousels I was rather surprised to hear few do the brass rings anymore or rings at all. It really turns the ride from just for little kids to being for everyone. I know on the boardwalk down at ocean city NJ(wonderland pier) they often will do this if they get a full carousel. I certainly remeber watching family members grabbing rings from the outside horses(I was a fan of the moving inside ones so I never particapated). They don't have a cool place to throw them back though, usually a ride op would have you throw them back into a basket, no brass ring for a free ride though. I actually used the carsouel as my theme for my senior project in art school.

 

P.s. new member here also, this being my first post. *waves hi*

[timberskara]

While I've only been on the one at Knoebels, I, too, love these carousels and wish there were more around.

 

This thread made me remember that there's a decent song by Dispatch called "Flying Horses" that talks about "stealing" the ring from the flying horses. Give it a listen if you're interested!

[Big Mike]

I got the brass ring, not once, but twice last time I was at Knoebels

 

I will have to dig those pictures out!

 

 

Peace, Big Mike

[Revolucion]

The carousel at Balboa Park in San Diego (outside the zoo entrance) still had a brass ring dispenser fifteen years ago.

 

According to Wikipedia it's still there:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_ring

[mayberry21]

Ahhh...brass rings...

 

I've been going to Knoebel's my whole life and I just caught the brass ring for the first time about 2-3 years ago. In fact, I still have the free ride ticket I wish there were more brass ring carousels. It's an absolute classic.

[Big Mike]

I kept my free ride tickets too!!

 

 

Peace, Big Mike

[natatomic]

They used to have one on the carousel at Dollywood (it was my home park back then), only the dispenser was shaped like a fish. The last time I remember it being there, I think I was only 6 or 7 years old. I tried so hard to get just ONE ring (the "big kids" in front of me got one just about every time they went around), but I was too small to reach.

 

I had a growth spurt later that year, but by our next trip, the brass rings were gone. Thanks Dollywood. Thanks for crushing my hopes and dreams.

 

[Mr Stratosphere]

 

 

I found these pictures of the dispenser at Knoebels. I really liked this great touch, I still have yet to catch the brass ring though! But that give me an excuse to ride again lol!

 

John

[mayberry21]

That ring dispenser is a buggar, just for the record..! I've jammed and bruised and scratched my hand off that thing so many times. Took me years to finally master it.

 

It always made me wonder why there are hardly any remaining...

[jmicha]

I'm pretty sure there are so few left because the parks would constantly have to replace the rings as people would take them as souvenirs. For some reason, the number 50,000 a year pops into my head from a show on Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. That's a lot of rings to be replacing every year, and with the way most parks operate, it doesn't surprise me that the only ones remaining are located at smaller, more family-oriented parks.