Midway Carousel

I know that all of the rows used to go up and down and I never quite figured out the reasoning for making the outer row stationary. Could they just have wanted to give people a choice of a stationary or moveable horse or is it somethig deeper?

The outer row was probably made stationary so that people would have a choice. Than again, it could have also been part of CP never ending obsesion with saftey. Someone probably just said that if the outer rows wer moving, than someone might have a better chance of falling off. Oh well.

-------------
Monster Ride Host for 2 Years
3 Years Total @ CP

If safety was the main concern then they could have just added orange seatbelts to all the horses :)

If safety were a concern, they probably wouldn't have Cedar Downs designed the way that it is. If I've ever felt like I might fall off any carousel, it was while I was riding on the outside of Cedar Downs.

-------------
...and enjoy the rest of your day at Cedar Point, The Am-aaaa-zement park!

Natas, I've wondered about that on Cedar Downs. I've worked it, and we had a woman that was falling off -- we hit the emergency stop button, but it doesn't stop the ride quickly enough. Truth be told, I didn't notice it slowing any faster than normal. She was okay and everything (didn't fall), but it does seem as if the ride is somewhat unsafe, what with the safety craze and all.

-------------
***************
Disaster Transport '97 Crew
Iron Dragon '98 Crew

I have heard that the Midway Carousel is missing a row of horses. If you look carefully at the sweeps, you can see where the crank arms may have once extended to the outer row, and obviously the outside row horses are all in jumping positions.
The thing about it is, if the carousel used to have another row, then that row must have been right on the edge...or the platform is smaller than it originally was. Now, it is very possible that the rounding boards were replaced...

The question is, when did this happen? Prior to the carousel's relocation in 1994, it had AstroTurf on the floor and flourescent lights on the sweeps...and by that time, the outside row of standing horses (if they ever existed) was gone. Hmmm (Dave grabs his copy of the Francis book) On p.157 (1995 edition) there is a NAPHA photo which shows the present outside row jumping horses. I can't tell if they are rigged to go up and down or not. And the Tedaldi photo (p.139) does not show any horses at all.
What I notice both today and in the NAPHA photo, is that there are vertical tension rods in-line with the horses, which may well have been standing-horse positions originally. That same photo seems to suggest that the outside row horses may have been fixed at that time; note that the riser poles are in fact vertical, not angled forward or backward.
It seems to me that there is a very good chance that the conversion of the fourth row may have been done to conceal the fact that the outside row was removed...and it seems very possible that the changes took place before the carousel arrived at Cedar Point in 1946.
Walt? Pete? Any other historians out there with better sources than I have here?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
(BTW: General concensus is that "safety" belts on carousel horses are more danger and trouble than they are worth, hence CP doesn't have them.)

Please see a discussion on the Midway Carousel in the "flat ride discussion thread".
No, the carousel NEVER had five rows.
Yes, at one time ALL 60 horses went up and down.
While the ride was at CP ALL THE HORSES WENT UP & DOWN...the change took place around the time of the carousel being moved to its current location.

Okay...

I know for certain that the outside row horses were non-up-and-down long before the carousel was relocated in 1994. I distinctly remember that, "The outside row horses do not go up and down" was part of the loading spiel when it was still in the old building. I don't know about the mysterious fifth row that Tim insists was never there. I say 'mysterious' because the first time I ever heard about it was on a visit to the Merry Go Round Museum in Sandusky. Then tonight, I found a mention on a web page:

Sixty horses and four chariots, four abreast, adorn the 57-foot turntable. Traditional melodies are filtered from a beautiful Wurlitzer #153 band organ. While all the horses on this machine originally were jumpers, the exterior row was made stationary in the mid-1980s. A row of empty posts near the edge of the platform were once graced with standing figures, making it a five-abreast carousel.


(source: http://www.themeparks.com/cp/carousels.htm )

Of course, it is not lost on me that the passage contradicts itself, first noting that the ride had all-jumping figures, then stating that it had standing figures. And there is that photograph I looked at last night, which clearly showed the empty poles at the outboard edge of the ride. The web page goes on to mention that the rounding boards and inner crown were rebuilt in 1964, which would be the year after the park bought the machine from the concessionaires who brought it to the park in 1946.

So the question is, if the machine *never* had five rows, why do some sources say it did? If it did, when did it change? (My guess is that if a fifth row ever existed, it vanished after either 1945 or 1963). Has anyone seen a photo of the machine running at Revere?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

My guess is that if you could catch the brass ring at any time during the carousel's life then it had a fifth row

-------------
Remember, line jumping is NOT a sporting event!
*** This post was edited by Magnum 1989- on 10/23/2000. ***

Getting "volunteered" to run the Midway Carousel and Cedar Downs 3 weeks ago
the 1st part of the speel IS "the outside row of horses do not go up and down"
noticing that NO one was paying attention, when I would have to walk around and check things before I started the ride, I would mention to the people on the outside row of horses that they didnt go up and down and it never failed that the people would get off them and move. Which proves that people dont listen to the speels....
Also I paid attention to the carousel it really is a mess and could use a rehaul big time, the music is pathetic, it needs to be painted and even the horses are starting to look bad.
Wonder if its on CPs "have to fix" list for this winter or not??

-------------
Welcome back Raptor riders-how was your flight??

Here is a photo, but I am not sure it is the correct machine. Revere had several carousels so it may not be the right one, but it looks close. Remember that CP rebuilt the decoration rim of the midway carousel in the early 60s.

http://www.reverebeach.com/new/hist2.htm

I had to clean the Midway Carousel one year before opening day, and what a mess! We scrubbed and scrubbed, and then went to polish the poles -- we ran out of polish, and never did get any more, so the whole season the poles weren't completely polished. While I'm sure 99.999% of the guests didn't notice, I think it would have been much better if we'd had the materials (and the time!) to finish the job correctly.

-------------
***************
Disaster Transport '97 Crew
Iron Dragon '98 Crew

My girlfriend, who seems to know more about carousels than anyone I have met before, claims that there was a fifth row at one time. The story she gives is that the horses were stolen one night due to their amazingly high dollar value. The fact that those horses are hand-carved and each one is unique makes them pretty much priceless.

-------------
James Draeger
'00 CP Trips: 23
C G & C P

When did hand carved carousel horses become so valuable? I know that as late as 1972, a carousel that used to operate at a small park near where I grew up was sold for 68,000, that is for the entire carousel, including all the hand carved horses. That was considered an enormous price for a carousel at the time. Nowadays a single horse can go for several hundred thousand. The general consensus seems to be that if the machine ever had a fifth row, then it was removed pretty early on. Maybe before 1946 when it was brought to Cedar Point and certainly before 1964. Where individual horses really that desirable then?

they are absolutely valuable and it is probably because it is a lost or soon to be lost art. as a former art major who had to carve in many media for class, let me tell you it is TRULY difficult to create something so beautiful and life-like out of a block of wood. heck, i couldn't even come CLOSE to that, even now. besides, how many new carosels are actually being built nowadays? not too many and if they are, the horses are fiberglass and are cast and molded. i want to someday own a carosel horse, full-size from an actual operating machine, but it probably will never happen with the small supply and outrageous prices. there's a few on the Midway Carosel i would like and the Columbia at SFGAm has AMAZING horses and other animals too. probably one of the last "classic" carosels ever built.

-------------
--servo, For whom the off-season started on June 7th, 2000 at 12 noon...