Best ride in the park?

I can't wait to hear the Kings Island fanboys start screaming and wailing (like a bunch of Banshees?) about how unfair it is that Cedar Point gets a Flying Scooter ride and Kings Island does not.

I know that a good set of Flying Scooters is not entirely familiar to many in the Cedar Point fanbase...the park has not had a set in my lifetime, and the portable version that Geauga Lake had was, quite honestly, not very good.

The Larson 8-tub model is not quite as good as the 10-tub Bish-Rocco classic (as Kings Island had, now at Carowinds). But once you figure out what the ride wants to do and you learn to control it, you can still get some amazing rides. The Flying Scooter is accessible to just about anybody, but with a little skill and a little practice it can be the most exciting, most frightening ride in the park.

This may be one of the best ride choices Cedar Point has made in years. I just hope it gets a decent cycle time.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I hope they make Lake Erie Eagle an early entry ride (brilliant name too btw, considering the resurgence of the birds in the area)! It was almost a ritual at Kings Island to take the first rides of the day on Flying Eagles in order to avoid the lengthy low capacity lines the ride would build up.

I've honestly never ridden one of these rides before, but I'm certainly looking forward to it.

:)

I've been looking up videos on the flyers. I'm still trying to figure out how to snap them. Anyone find a good video on how to snap them? I've only found off ride videos of people snapping them. They looked pretty wild and I can see how they could be terrifying if you let them be.

What exactly does it mean to "snap" one?

Snapping happens when a skilled rider slows a tub down enough to get some slack in the tub's cables. Then as the top of the ride continues to turn it pulls all the slack out of the cable(s) quickly, resulting in snapping sound and action as the tub speeds back up.

Generally, snapping only happens on the faster older Bisch-Rocco models of the Flying Scooters rides. It seems Larson has designed their version of the rides to be slower and not snap capable. On top of that, most parks (with the exception of Knoebels) will discourage snapping. Sometimes to the point of stopping the ride (Hershey).

As for how to actually cause a snap? You basically get a good feel for the ride and wind coming against your tubs "sail". Then you work your tub's momentum into a groove going higher and lower. I can't think of a better way to describe it.

Most of the time for me snapping just happens without my even trying. I've even scared the hell out of myself getting CRAZY VIOLENT snapping on the Knoebels version. Watch out for those cross-winds! ;)

So here is a video of snapping with the old style (Bisch-Rocco) in Carrowinds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnft3xk4ipI

That video was actually funny with the ride-op singing the love-boat theme song and encouraging people to 'snap.' Others have mentioned they (Carrowinds) encourages snapping. Is this normal or just during ERT?

Here is a video of a newer Larson International (assuming it will be similar to ours): Surfside Gliders @ Knotts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsIwEFIn68U - note the comment about no sudden movements in the beginning.

There is also one of Screamin' Eagle. Different management obviously but I assume similar operation and design: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-I9XpFCKHg

I couldn't find a good video of Lakeside Gliders @ Michigan's Adventure.

So I guess no snapping? But it still looks fun without the sound or the crazy out of control nature you seem to be able to get on the older style ride.

Oh man! I completely forgot about the Carrowinds Flying Scooters! When we rode the ride op was actually taking the crowds cheers into factor as a vote and allowing the "best flyer" to take a second ride without waiting in line again. I got a few double-rides that trip as a result.

Wow, I'm just surprised at how old that Carrowinds ride is. It was built in 1935 and it looks new. Does Bisch-Rocco still make flyers or are they no longer in business? On Wikipedia the newest it had from that company was the year 2000.

Alvin Bisch and and his partner, Ralph Rocco, produced the Flying Scooters rides between 1935 and the early 1960s. In 2003, Larson International bought the production rights as well as a working Flying Scooters model from Bisch-Rocco Amusement Co. with the hope of re-producing and selling the original Flying Scooters. As you can see it's proved to be a worthwhile investment for them.

The Flyer Addicts Anonymous group has a ton of information and history on theses rides...

http://flyeraddicts.wordpress.com/

I was a little skeptical about this ride being fun for adults. Now that I've read this thread I'm really excited.

Does a riders weight play a roll in how much movement the tub has, or is it just based on your skill?

This was one of my favorite rides at GL. I don't remember any snapping though. I hope this will be an early entry ride too along with Pipe Scream coaster ride!

They have this same ride at Michigan's Adventure and my husband and 3 year old son rode it and liked it. Seemed to be a popular ride there.

I don't think anybody from Kings Island is going to be whining about not receiving a Flying Scooter ride this season. They're all too excited (as well as I) about Banshee.

We are kind of upset that we lost ours to begin with, even Don (our PR guy) wishes we had them still..was somewhat a slap in the face...But yeh we're getting banshee...about to be the best invert I think hands down

Whenever I think of banshee I think of an evil spirit, death and horror. These clearly are not thoughts and/or feelings that should be associated with King's Island, a destination well known for being a family-friendly gathering place. True, God-fearing folk visiting and seeing the name "Banshee" will be immediately put-off, because they can't handle that kind of dark imagery. Matt Ouimet should change the name immediately to something like "The Ladybug."

I'm sure hoping you're joking. Beast, Bat and Monster don't exactly say sunshine and lollipops either.

And really, people who can't handle seeing a word in a public place probably shouldn't be out in public.

Sounds like Cedar Point 1996 all over again...

Scottyf said:
God-fearing folk visiting and seeing the name "Banshee" will be immediately put-off

Wait till they see their haunt post season :P

I'll chime in here. I grew up in Cincinnati, and way back when,I would literally go up to Kings Island on evenings after work, and just ride the American Eagle (the then-name for the flying scooter ride) for hours until the park closed.

With a light crowd, they wouldn't pair you with other riders, and they didn't discourage snapping. I got really good at it, and there were numerous times where other people on the ride would get really concerned, just because the entire ride structure would "crash" so loudly.

Needless to say I wasn't at all thrilled when they relocated the ride to Carowinds, but I'm glad to see Cedar Point get some scooters. Even if they don't snap like the older models, it's still a very fun ride.