Bonzai is ride made by Fabbri. It’s basically the second generation of their hugely popular Kamikaze ride. I’m sure that just about everyone has seen a Fabbri Kamikaze at some point as at one time it used to be the ultimate fair staple; it was thrilling, largely visible, and the most appealing factor to carnival operators was the fact that it racked on only one trailer. However, the Kamikaze’s popularity is waning now since the Bonzai was developed.

Bonzai consists of two arms and a center support attached to a large platform. A long row of suspended seats is at one end of the arm; on the other end is a counterweight. There are six sets of seats with 16 seats in total per arm (two seats on the two outermost sets and four each on the middle two.) In total the ride can hold 32 passengers. Kamikaze can also hold 32 passengers, but is much more cramped than the Bonzai. But it’s a big upgrade from the Eyerly Loop-o-Plane which can hold only 8 passengers per cycle.

The Ride

The riders get into their seats and are secured by a harness and a steel overhead bar which seems to be there simply as a backup in case the harness malfunctions. The arms then swing back and forth until they finally complete a full loop. That’s the ride really!

The arms turn at a brisk speed when going at full speed but riders still get thrown around a little since it’s not nearly fast enough to pin riders to the seat. When upsidedown, it’s not uncommon to get some long hangtime, especially if the ride op decides to stop the arms. What riders see during these upsidedown moments is definitely surreal; riders see their own riding compartments rightsideup (of course) but you also see the other arm and those seats (carrying passengers most likely) rightsideup while everything else is upsidedown.

Other Info

Bonzai has been copied by Zamperla (named ‘Hawk,’) but the original Kamikaze has been replicated by almost every company out there. The Kamikaze probably stemmed from the Huss Ranger, a large looping ride which was very heavy and not the most portable. Fabbri then made the Kamikaze to make a more portable and faster swinging version. The ride worked so well that the Skymaster was made, which is an exact copy made by ARM. Currently Mondial, Vekoma, ARM, Meisho and most likely many others have made their own Kamikaze rides.

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