KICK BOODIE! Possibly the Greatest Ride Ever Created.

[duncans108]

Hello, thanks for the reply! Our Church was Visitation in the Noth Dade area just east of US 441. My friend at the time lived right across the street so his parents knew how much we loved this "ride" and carnival they let me sleep over all week so we could watch them set it up.

 

I think this is a new mission for me and try to track this thing down! These were some of the best times of my life growing up and I would not think twice about bringing it back. Its carnival season down here now so I will start with that and some other resources I have. If the owner were true to his word when he told me it was the only one of its kind, it will be tough lol but we can do it. KICK BOODIE LIVES ON!!!

[scttmn31]

Wow. That is the king of unsafe rides. lol. Interesting concept for sure.

[Emiroo]

I've been wondering since this thread began:

 

Is "Boodie" pronounced like "Body" or "Booty"?

[jray21]

Wow, great thread! It's amazing how many great rides get left behind. I wish I was around to try it .

 

Also, that ride video with the worker was something else. How many injuries does that cause? Looks fun though.

[sccoasterfan]

I'll ride by there today and see if it's still there. The price of scrap got pretty high a year or two ago. It was probably about 2 years ago that I saw it. I'll let you know tommorrow.

It's funny that yesterday, I was telling a guy that I work with about this ride and he could not believe that you were able to kick people on a ride like that. Now days they yell at you for bouncing or swinging!!!! So he wanted to try to find a picture of it and he found this website. Pretty cool...

 

did u ever find out its whereabouts now?

[BeemerBoy]

I've been wondering since this thread began:

 

Is "Boodie" pronounced like "Body" or "Booty"?

 

"Booty," because you're essentially placing your feet at your partner's backside when you kick off.

 

 

 

 

Wow. That is the king of unsafe rides. lol. Interesting concept for sure.

 

How do you figure? Saying it "seems" unsafe, and straight out calling it unsafe based on verified accidents are two entirely different things. I never felt unsafe on it. Not even once.

 

In fact, to be perfectly honest, although I love 'em, there's a small part of me that is always more concerned about flyers. With the general motion and forces of the ride so similar, yet with more weight on the end of the lines (combined with the snapping), it makes a small part of my brain always question the structural integrity of the steel.

 

Sure, those fears are probably unfounded, but theoretically, it makes slightly more sense as compared to Kick Boodie.

[jray21]

^ I agree. The forces combined with the weight of the flyers is pretty scary. I also hate tilt-a-whirls for the same reason. It's only that one small cottling(?) pin that holds you in. I know it's safe, haven't heard of any flying off all these years, but the forces at work are pretty amazing on one small piece.

[raybon]

I can't believe there is a site devoted to Kick Booty! It is a legendary ride at our house. We too look for it at every fair/carnival we see, and have told our kids tales of Kick Booty. We went to school in Kentucky years ago in the late 80's before we were married, and rode Kick Booty with another couple at the Bourbon County fair. The guys talked the 2 of us girls into riding - we were both in front (the flyers). I seriously thought I was going to die, and my last moments would be spent flying into a neon Kick Booty sign while hearing 80's disco music. Everyone else (including our then boyfriends, now husbands) were having a great time.

We had to stop several times on the way home so the girls could throw up and I lay on my front lawn for 15 minutes before I could climb the steps up to my apartment. I have never seen a ride like this before or since, but we still keep looking.

[Kennyweird]

I also hate tilt-a-whirls for the same reason. It's only that one small cottling(?) pin that holds you in. I know it's safe, haven't heard of any flying off all these years, but the forces at work are pretty amazing on one small piece.

 

Cotter pin. You were close, though.

 

I doubt there are any significant forces on the cotter pin. If I remember correctly, it's just there to prevent the cars from accidentally coming up and off their pivots.

[supertrooper]

We went to school in Kentucky years ago in the late 80's before we were married, and rode Kick Booty with another couple at the Bourbon County fair.

 

That's the same place I rode it.

[Kick Boodie Fan]

Love, love, love this ride! I followed the ride around South Florida back in the early 90s. I would ask the ride owner where he was going next and would follow him. I eventually missed him and didn't know where he was going next! Haven't seen him since. My now-husband and I were definitely NOT meatballs!! I rode it with several of my friends but only my husband and I were able to get back together EVERY time. We hated when the ride had to stop to let the "meatballs" get back together before starting again. I look for that ride at every small carnival but have never seen it.

 

Hey Duncans108 - we must have been riding Kick Boodie at the same carnivals!! I rode it in the early 90s and was definitely addicted! My now-husband and I were definitely NOT meatballs! We hooked up every time. I used to ask the owner, I can't remember his name, where he would be the following weekend and would go whereever he was. I remember going to Miami a couple times but then I lost track of him because I couldn't make it one weekend. I haven't seen him since. The last time we talked he mentioned having to modify the seat because a girl got her finger crushed. I guess it was pretty dangerous but it was the best ride ever created! I look for that ride at every small carnival, even today.

 

MOD EDIT: Combined posts. Please use the Edit button, no need to double post. Thanks!

[RideOpMarcus]

Quick question before this thread falls away.

 

I'm actually doing a research paper on legendary rides from days past. If there is someone available, I'd just like to confirm my understanding of how this ride operated is correct.

 

-You take a seat as a kicker or kickee with a partner

-You remain attached as the ride begins and goes into full motion

-At some point the ride op yells, "KiCk BoOdIe" and the kicker kicks

-Then both people twist, lean, or use some object to connect with their partner and remain so until the ride stops to show their victory.

-I'd also like to know if I'm correct in assuming from the pictures that the kickee chair usually faces forward, however in reconnecting with the kicker the kickee chair's usually is twisted and most often the two are connected facing each other.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[BeemerBoy]

^ That's all pretty much correct.

 

-Then both people twist, lean, or use some object to connect with their partner and remain so until the ride stops to show their victory.

You are correct that the "team" of riders twists, leans, and grabs for whatever they can in an effort to reconnect. It should be clarified that by saying "some object," the idea behind that is meant to suggest whatever is attached to the rider (i.e. a wristwatch, a shoelace, etc.). Nothing loose, such as a purse, or camera strap, etc., were permitted while riding.

 

Generally speaking, riders would mostly be able to reconnect by means of hands, feet, or the chair itself. It was the rare instances where someone would luckily grab a shoelace and be able to hold on for dear life.

 

Also, there were, on average, about four times that the operator would say "Kick Boodie" during the ride. Call them "levels" if you will. In other words, the first level was the novice level, and you'd have to be absolutely pathetic not to reconnect during this one. The operator referred to those who couldn't as "meatballs."

 

On the rare occasion that a team of riders failed at this level, he would sometimes slow the ride down and give them another chance before continuing on to higher levels. Think of it as a "do over."

 

If you failed at any level, it was impossible to reconnect as the ride continued in motion. Therefore, in other words, at any particular level, you only got one chance to get reconnected. If you succeeded, you held on until he yelled "Kick Boodie" again. If you failed, you were doomed to swing alone for the duration of the ride.

 

You also opened yourself up to the ridicule of your friends watching you from the ground.

 

-I'd also like to know if I'm correct in assuming from the pictures that the kickee chair usually faces forward, however in reconnecting with the kicker the kickee chair's usually is twisted and most often the two are connected facing each other.

Basically, each chair was free to spin the entire 360 degrees. When the kickee was launched forward, you both had free range of motion, which is what made the ride challenging.

 

As the chairs rotated around the center axis (like the earth around the sun), you fought against both centrifugal force, and the chair's ability to turn 360 degrees. Therefore, in an effort to reconnect, you never knew which way you'd be facing as your partner swung back towards you, thus creating a sometimes very difficult reconnection.

 

This is why the chairs were designed to allow the maximum exposure and free range of motion. You needed to be able to constantly twist back and forth while leaning out and grabbing for your partner. Many times you'd only have a split second or two to locate and grab onto your partner, or their chair.

 

Of course, then, you not only had to grab onto them, but you had to have the strength and the agility to methodically spin the kickee's chair around in order to be in position to once again kick at the next level. As the levels got higher, it was tougher than it sounds due to the force exerted on the swings.

 

It sounds funny, but it actually took some skill to master this ride. It's also what made it so addicting - no two rides were ever the same!

 

I hope that helped a bit.

 

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

No problem at all. Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.

[Kick Boodie Fan]

I came across this picture of the Kick Boodie ride:

[cfc]

^I came across it in the first post of this very thread: http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=177018#177018.

 

Please review previous posts.

[robbalvey]

^ I think he meant the second photo. I fixed it for him.

 

--Robb

[robbalvey]

Here's another photo I found that was labeled "Kid Kick Bootie." Was there a junior version of this ride???

[BeemerBoy]

^ Woah, I've never seen or heard of that before. While there doesn't appear to be any actual kicking going on, it's definitely cool for the little ones to have something similar.

 

The last time we talked he mentioned having to modify the seat because a girl got her finger crushed. I guess it was pretty dangerous but it was the best ride ever created!

 

In looking at the above pictures, it appears as though the only "modifications" he made were padded hand grips, which would stand to reason, I suppose. While it wasn't often, you could potentially catch your fingers that way if you weren't paying attention.

 

Also, in comparing those two pictures (thanks for finding and posting that one by the way, Kick Boodie Fan [with the assist by Robb]), I see that the owner also added that mesh fabric stuff to the top part of the ride. At least, I can never remember it being there during the times I rode it.

 

 

I love seeing a growing number of people find this, and register with TPR just to post their memories!

 

Remember, please, if you have pictures or video of Kick Boodie in action, feel free to either post them in here, or contact me via private message with any information you'd be willing to share with us. Considering how little information there seems to be on this ride, your contributions would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks.

[Emiroo]

I've been curious: What type of music did the operator typically play while the ride was going? Were there any songs that made the ride more exciting than normal?

 

 

^^^^^ Kick Boodie...For JESUS!

[BeemerBoy]

^ Hmmm, good question. My memory is a bit sketchy on that one. I know that most of the time when it was at our school's carnival, it was sitting next to the Himalaya, which would always be blasting the "hair bands" of the day. So naturally, it was pointless to try and compete with that.

 

But the one or two years that it was positioned in the back corner of the grounds, I seem to remember him playing your typical top 40 stuff when he wasn't cutting in to yell "Kick Boodie," or call someone a meatball.

[robbalvey]

I like to make a point of bumping this thread about every six months or so, just because the ride is so freakin weird! I really have to think someone has more pictures of this ride out there! I seriously can only find *three* on the intire internets!

 

Crazy!

[coaster-crazy]

Made a quick search for "Kick Boodie carnival ride" and came up with this article.

 

http://articles.mcall.com/1988-11-06/news/2665163_1_rider-fair-settlement

 

The ride in the article from 1988 is called Swiss Swings, but is the exact same as "Kick Boodie." The first 2 pages have the main info on the ride. Apparently this person fell off and accepted $350,000 for insurance. This legal battle went on for 6 years, meaning that she would've gotten hurt on this ride in 1982. It was mentioned that the ride moved at 25 mph.

 

Here's an excerpt:

 

Altif tumbled from the Swiss Swings, dangling seats in which the rider spins at about 25 mph, on the evening of Sept. 4, 1982 - the Saturday before Labor Day. Before landing on the paved midway, she crashed into a bystander - breaking her fall and perhaps saving her life. The Swiss Swings ride starts with two riders in tandem - one rider holding the rear of the swing in front. As it accelerates to the blare of rock music, centrifugal force pushes the swings to about a 30-degree angle, the rear rider shoves the swings apart with his or her feet when the ride operator shouts "kick boodie" over an amplifier.

 

"Kick your partner when we tell you, catch 'em when they come back," Stagakes shouted the day after the accident. "Be a super kicker, do it again and again."

 

"There's no other ride in the country like it," charged Feeley. "No one encourages that kind of activity. They prohibit it."

 

Feeley said his research indicates that Stagakes still operates the ride at carnivals across the country.

 

At the time of the incident, Pennsylvania did not require the inspection of rides by a state agency. It was left to the ride owner, the midway operator and the fair's management to determine whether rides were in proper working condition.

 

Altif's misfortune, by underscoring the dangers of amusement park rides, may have helped bring about mandatory state inspection of amusement park and carnival rides

 

This could've marked the end of the ride.

 

~Nicholas

[fatdaddy]

Wow that looks like the lamest ride ever. Stupid me was riding the zipper when i coulda had my foot up my friends ass on a cable. Really, i forgot how funky carnival rides used to be back in the day, missing bolts and tie downs holding things together. Why they hell did our moms let us ride that stuff, not only that, but they gave us money for tickets. Anybody who rode that thing is way braver than me.

[cal1br3tto]

gahhhh...

I really enjoy this thread, but it makes me sad.

I wish someone could either a) Develop a similar ride that is legitimately considered safe, or b) Resurrect this ride and actually get away with running it.

At least I've got Gravitrons, Rock-o-Planes, ring carousels, and shooting dark rides! To me, anything that includes rider interaction=MAJOR WIN and is likely to become one of my favorites. Too bad this style has seemingly been lost.

[WFChris]

LOL does the sign really say 'KICK BOODIE....For Jesus?'