The Rotor is an amusement park ride, designed by German engineer Ernst Hoffmeister in the late 1940s. The ride was first demonstrated at Oktoberfest 1949, and was exhibited at fairs and events throughout Europe during the 1950s and 1960s. The ride still appears in numerous amusement parks, although travelling variants have been surpassed by the Gravitron.
Design and operation
The Rotor is a large, upright barrel, rotated at 33 revolutions per minute. The rotation of the barrel creates a centrifugal effect equivalent to almost 3 g. Once the barrel has attained full speed, the floor is retracted, leaving the riders stuck to the wall of the drum. At the end of the ride cycle, the drum slows down and gravity takes over. The riders slide down the wall slowly. Most Rotors were constructed with an observation deck.
Although Hoffmeister was the designer, most Rotors were constructed under license. In Australia, the Rotors were built by Ted Hopkins of Luna Park Milsons Point. In the United States, two main companies were responsible for production; the Velare Brothers and the Anglo Rotor Corporation. A dispute between these two companies was resolved when the construction rights to touring Rotors were assigned to the Velare Brothers, while permanent-standing Rotors (later becoming known as Chance Rotors) became the domain of ARC.
Australia – Three Rotors were built in Australia based on Hoffmeister's design. All had been demolished or destroyed by the 1990s, although a slightly redesigned Rotor was rebuilt for Luna Park Sydney in 1995, which is still in operation.
United States – Several Rotors have been constructed in the United States since the 1960s. Though most of these have since been demolished and replaced by other rides, there are rotors still in operation at some places, such as Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire ("Turkish Twist"), Frontier City in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ("Tumbleweed"), Sylvan Beach Amusement Park in Sylvan Beach, New York, Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri ("Finnish Fling"). Another Rotor, with an observation platform, appears at the yearly Puyallup Fair in Puyallup, Washington.
Adventureland (Known as "Silly Silo", active 1974–2013), Altoona, Iowa
AstroWorld (known as the "Barrel of Fun" 1971–1979), Houston, Texas
Boblo Island 1980s, Ontario, Canada
Cedar Point (1960s–1970s), Sandusky, Ohio
Coney Island (1970–1971), Cincinnati, Ohio
Conneaut Lake Park (known as the "Hell Hole" 1976–1992), Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania
COSI Columbus (1999–2011), Columbus, Ohio
Crystal Beach (1960s), west of Fort Erie, Ontario
Elitch Gardens(1989 to 1998), Denver, Colorado
Euclid Beach Park [1957 to 1969] [Cleveland], Ohio
Geauga Lake (1981–1999), Aurora, Ohio
Great Escape (1983-1990's) Queensbury, New York
Hershey Park (1970 to 1994), Hershey, Pennsylvania
Kennywood 3 different rides(1955–1958; 1960s; 1987–1994), West Mifflin, Pennsylvania
Kings Dominion Time Shaft (1979-1990s), Doswell, Virginia
Kings Island (1972–1982), Mason, Ohio
Lake Compounce (closed in 2010), Bristol, Connecticut
Lakeside Amusement Park (1990s–2005), Denver, Colorado
Fantasy Island (known as "Devil's Hole" active 1975 to 1993), Grand Island, New York
Old Chicago (1975–1980), Bolingbrook, Illinois
Old Indiana (80s?), Thorntown, Indiana
Pacific Ocean Park (1960–1967) Santa Monica, California
Palace Playland Amusement Park (closed mid 1990s), Old Orchard Beach, Maine
Playland Amusement Park (1970's) Ocean City, Maryland
Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park (1963–1983), New Orleans, Louisiana
The Pike (1960's-1979 opened as "Rotor", Long Beach, California
Six Flags Great America (Known as Cajun Cliffhanger, opened 1976 and closed in 2000 due to an accident when 2 girls were injured on the ride, Gurnee, Illinois.)
Six Flags Magic Mountain (1971–2008 "Spin-out" custom wood enclosure and observation deck), Valencia, California
Six Flags New England (Removed after 1998 season), Agawam, Massachusetts
Six Flags Over Georgia Was called the "Spindle Top" (Removed), Atlanta, Georgia
Six Flags Over Texas "Spindletop," (1967–1989), Arlington, Texas
Six Flags St. Louis (Known as "Tom's Twister" active 1972 to 2005), Eureka, Missouri
A famous scene in The 400 Blows depicts Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) riding a Rotor. Director François Truffaut is among the other riders.
The 2006 Film Candy's opening scene featured actors Abbie Cornish and Heath Ledger riding the Rotor in Sydney's Luna Park, while actor Geoffrey Rush watches them from above.
In the 1976 television series Charlie's Angels, the heroines capture a criminal by trapping him into a Rotor ride and turning it on; as such he became stuck to the wall and couldn't escape.
