Sky Whirl downside

PGA ROCKS · Post by **PGA ROCKS** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:48 pm

I hear that Sky Whirl had a reputation for causing motion sickness. Did anyone here have that problem while riding? I never got sick (but I only rode like 3 or 4 times).

twixmix0303 · Post by **twixmix0303** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:28 pm

I could see how it would. It had much more of the up-down motion that tends to cause motion sickness versus just a horizontal spin. Plus, it was about 15 minutes long so it could get to even the toughest people.

PGA ROCKS · Post by **PGA ROCKS** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:34 pm

FIFTEEN MINUTES?! I don't remember it being that long.

Post by **steven** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:30 pm

Yes, a ride on Sky Whirl frequently could last around fifteen minutes.

It's true that many people experienced motion sickness on the ride. That always surprised me because, except for the little "kick" when a wheel started up, the motion was very mild. I have a tendency to get dizzy on many fast-spinning rides, but was never affected in the least by Sky Whirl.

Steven

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 3:59 pm

Wooow 15 minutes sounds like a GREAT ride

Great America Guy · Post by **Great America Guy** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 6:00 pm

I remember when we went for our 8th grade trip back in 1999. One guy in my grade (the one that liked to shoot his mouth off), threw up all over the car and the front of his shirt/shorts!! That was mere minutes after overhearing him say he could handle any ride in existence.

I remember passing by it and seeing it there, but I sadly never got to take a ride on Sky Whirl.

segerken · Post by **segerken** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 6:06 pm

The first season the park was open I was a sweeper in County Fair. We had a nick name for the Sky World and it was "Barf Buckets" for the reason described above.

My personally theory why was people would first ride the Turn of The Century a couple of times and get a queasy stomach. They would then go on the gentle Sky Whirl to give there stomach a rest. Then when the cage lurched while lurched while the arm started turning they would barf. I’m not sure if my theory is good, but it sounds good to me.

For a couple years I worked on the Log Ride. Every once in a while someone would get sick on it. I’m not sure why, but I think they were already about to barf before getting in the log. Anyway, here is the procedure we used to clean the log.

1) Stop loading the log
2) Get pixy dust (like cat litter) from a sweeper.
3) Sprinkle the pixy dust over the barf.
4) Let the log go around again.
5) Flood the log.
6) Let the log go around until fully drained.
7) Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the log is cleaned.
8) Start loading people in the log.

Now before anyone mentions the barf/pixy dust going into the flume. The flumes are divided into two independent sections. There are lifts between the two sections (1st lift & 2nd lift. The 1st lift is right after the log leaves the station. The 2nd lift takes the log up to the high part of the ride. All water in the flumes goes back into the lake at the base of the lifts. Do to the duck valve that each log has, they only drain while going up the lifts. Any water or what ever that drains out of the log going up the lifts flows down the lifts and ends up in the lake. The pumps that added the water at the top of the lifts are along way from the lifts. Thus, the water or what ever that comes out of the log never makes it back into the flume to be splashed on the people in the log behind the one being cleaned.

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:07 pm

Interesting, yet slightly disturbing, I enjoy posts with that sort of content just out of the ordinary tidbits.

redfishpaw · Post by **redfishpaw** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 6:37 am

One member of my family used to experience some motion sickness on Sky Whirl.

I worked on the Yankee Clipper for a year and I don't remember cleaning up anything like Segerken mentioned. I don't even recall if there was a procedure for it.

segerken · Post by **segerken** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 10:48 am

In the 2.5 summers that I worked on Loggers it happened maybe twice. I don't know if there was an oficial policy, but that was how we dealt with it.

m11stephen2 · Post by **m11stephen2** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:23 pm

There may be some hope for sky whirl http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=231

jonrev · Post by **jonrev** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:40 pm

Nope, that's a really old listing. It was scrapped years ago.

m11stephen2 · Post by **m11stephen2** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:43 pm

Yeah, Sorry!!!

pjm8071 · Post by **pjm8071** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:05 am

When I worked at the park we had a couple names for Sky Whirl. One Was ---- buckets. I left the first word out for obvious reasons, but I hear that vomit was not the only thing that was occasionally cleaned out of the buckets. My favorite name was Sky Hurl. I loved the ride but did occassionally get sick on it... I'm weak. I always found it relaxing that you could hear the ride operating from just about any position in the park, and always knew the season was just about to start when they would put the cabins back on after a long winter. I miss that ride

Tech Services 1 · Post by **Tech Services 1** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:23 am

pjm8071 wrote: . . . I always found it relaxing that you could hear the ride operating from just about any position in the park, and always knew the season was just about to start when they would put the cabins back on after a long winter. I miss that ride

That sure brings back memories. The sound of that ride was unique, and you could hear it all over the park.

I was never prone to motion sickness after the age of 11; I could take any ride they could dish out. Sky Whirl was just a long, relaxing ride. Then in my early twenties, I rode the Whirl again . . .and came THIS CLOSE to tossing my cookies!

That ride seemed to go on forever, and I was praying to get off before I revisited my lunch.
I think it was the gentle up-and-down motion of the cabins; very similar to a large ship on a slow-rolling sea.
It can get to the best of 'em, sooner or later.

PPG