As a child my favorite ride was the boomerang. My family would take a "bus ride" to Lake Hopatcong in NJ with other families and friends. They had a large Amusement area there one of the rides was the boomerang. You sat in the circular tub that was attached to Arms that's spun you around, as well as each tub spun individually. You started by sitting but by the time you were through you are on the floor of the tub, at some point the arm released you and you were thrown freewheeling right into a tunnel shaped like a boomerang as you went through this tunnel you're banging off the walls until you come out the other end. This ride flung you around like you were a rag doll, I remember my cousin when came out of the ride her lip was all bloody. I loved this ride, I went on as often as I could, the challenge was not to fall to the bottom of the tub to hang on to your seat.
I've always been prone to motion sickness, especially as a child. So I've never been a big fan of amusement parks or any rides that move faster than the merry-go-round. I enjoyed a ride on the Ferris wheel as a teenager, though.
I understand, I to started getting motion sickness later in life, unless it was calm couldn't even go on a boat.
I tried the roller coaster once it had speed and big drops, didn't handle it well, however I love watching it. It still was fun.
10 years ago, I celebrated my upcoming 65th birthday by riding every Rollercoaster in the amusement park (some twice and one 3X) including one that spun as it went (boy, THAT was a mistake!) That was my Rollercoaster swan song. The next year, my retina surgeon told me I could have Rollercoasters or I could have functioning retinas, but I couldn't have both.
The Merry Go Round was the only ride I would get on. I've never liked the rides, even the Ferris wheel. I always went for the games (throw darts at balloons, shoot squirt guns, toss coins, etc.) I recall one carnival where my little brother (maybe 5 at the time) talked our father into taking him on the Loop-o-Plane. When the ride was over, my father was fine but my brother was barfing on the parking lot.
I grew up in a small town in northern Idaho, and the only traveling carnivals that came through had just the basic rides, most of them for little kids, although there were usually rides like the Ferris Wheel, and the Octopus, with its whirling cars spinning around. The closest amusement part was 2 hours away, in Spokane, and it was a huge one that had been there since around 1909, called Natatorium Park. It had all kinds of rides, games, and attractions, but my favorite was the magnificent Looff Carrousel, which was specifically made for that park. The horses were all hand painted, with jewels on the saddle and bridles, the calliope organ had been made in Germany, and it was the most magnificent thing that I had ever seen ! When we went to Spokane, my mother would sometimes take us there before we went home, and it was always at night, when all of the bright lights were turned on, and the whole park was like a Fairyland. The park closed in the 1960’s, the carrousel was put in storage, and slowly repainted and reconditioned and now is the feature attraction at Spokane’s Riverfront Park. l
I love the dodgems, I remember as a child we went to a funfair and there were mini dodgem style cars for kids, we saw one of the workers lift a flap on the back of a car and flick a switch to credit the car, so obviously we did it through out our holiday and had free rides. (θ‿θ)
They are a lot of fun, we called them bumper cars, forgot all about them I crash into anything that was close.