Round Up (ride)

A Round Up in operation at Stricker's Grove

Drive of a Round Up at a German fun fair

Round Up is an amusement ride consisting of a circular horizontal platform with a vertical cage-like wall around the edge. The platform is attached to a motor on a hydraulic arm. The ride starts out by spinning until the centrifugal force is enough to push riders against the wall. Then the arm raises the horizontal platform to a vertical position in which riders, instead of spinning horizontally, are now spinning almost vertically.

The ride spins for a predetermined cycle until an automatic timer releases the hydraulic fluid from the arm, causing the platform to return to its horizontal position. The operator may be required to manually control the spin of the ride such that the ride's exit aligns correctly with the exit gate. Most Round Ups require the rider to be at least 42 inches tall.

In the UK this ride is commonly known as the 'Meteorite' or 'Meteor'. The first such ride to arrive in the UK was with Rose Brothers in the 1950s and the ride came from Germany.

Although Hrubetz examples exist in the UK other common makes include Cadoxton and Sam Ward.

Zero Gravity

The new portable model, made by Dartron, is known as Zero Gravity. The lighting and appearance has changed and the ride has gone from tire rim drive to direct center gear drive, but its operation remains the same.

There are 70 Round Ups in the US, 40 in the UK, and 20 in Australia.

Locations

The Meteorite in action at Worden Park

Name	Location	Opened	Notes	Ref (s)
The Black Hole	Happy H Attractions		Located in Springdale and serving festival locations citywide
Bulls Eye	Camden Park		Located at 1 mile past the Wayne County border in West Virginia
The Milk Churn	Loudoun Castle
The Tornado	Six Flags Great Adventure
Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth	Six Flags Magic Mountain		1974 as Electric Rainbow, then Turbo, Gordon/Grinder Gearworks
Riddle Me This	Six Flags America
Zero Gravity	Canobie Lake Park		Replaced Round Up in the mid-2008 season.
Bamboozler	Worlds of Fun
The Revolution	Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Round Up	Tweetsie Railroad
Round Up	Lakeside Amusement Park
Round Up	Lakemont Park
Round Up	DelGrosso's Amusement Park
Round Up	Mark Lake Enterprises
Super Round Up	Idlewild Park	1986
The Eruption	Oaks Amusement Park
Super Round Up	Silverwood Theme Park
Super Round Up	Parque de la Ciudad
Round Up	Knoebels Amusement Park
Super Round Up	Coney Island (Cincinnati)
Super Round Up	Conneaut Lake Park	SBNO
Cyclone	Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
The Genie	Lake Winnepesaukah
Nemesis	Ulten Castle
Zero Gravity	Evans Midland Empire Shows, Inc.
Zero Gravity	The Mighty Bluegrass Shows
Zero Gravity	Windy City Amusements
Zero Gravity	Beauce Carnival
Zero Gravity	World's Finest Shows
The Cage	David Rowland and sons Fun fair
Super Round Up	J&J Amusements
Wave Rider	Classic Amusements (Canada)
Calkins Midway's Round Up	The Mount Horeb Summer Frolic
Zero Gravity	West Coast Amusements			[1]
Zero Gravity	Pacific National Exhibition

Past appearances

Name	Location	Opened	Closed	Notes	Ref (s)
Satellite	Kennywood	1957	1985	Later renamed Super Round Up, moved to Idlewild Park.
The Round Up	Frontier Village	1961	1980
Round Up	Hersheypark	1968	1977		[2]
Halley's Comet	Kings Island	1972	1979
Propeller Spin	Knott's Berry Farm	1976	1989	Situated in the park's former Roaring 20s Airfield section it featured a large propeller spinning in the center.
Pharaoh's Eye	Canada's Wonderland	1981	1987	Was removed to make room for Racing Rivers in 1988. It was located in Grande World Exposition Of 1890. Psyclone and Sledge Hammer sit on the Former site of Pharaoh's Eye and Swing Of Siam (now Swing Of The Century across from Crystal Arcade in Action Zone).Pharaoh's Eye was bought by an amusement park in South America after the 1987 Season.
Super Spiral	Martin's Fantasy Island	1993	2001	Located where Tilt-A-Whirl is. Removed due to age.
Super Round Up	J&J Amusements	Unknown	Unknown

References

1. "Zero Gravity". West Coast Amusements. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
2. "New Rides and Facilities To Be Found Found At Hershey Park". The Daily Mail (Hagerstown, MD). April 20, 1968. p. 6.

External links

• Dartron Rides
• Amusement Ride Extravaganza – Roundup