The Himalaya is a type of ride made by many companies such as Mack, Bertazzon, Wisdom, and Reverchon.

A good Himalaya is half ride and half show in my opinion. A Himalaya with no flashing lights, loud music or elaborate backdrops isn’t all that great. But if you add all those in, it makes for great ride! The Himalaya is composed of X number of cars each having a tire in front of them that rides along a steel strip which acts like a track. The cars are fitted with padding and a lapbar; most Himalayas now have seat belts as well.

There are many different Himalaya variations made by various companies, the major ones are:

• Bertazzon: Musik Express, 20 cars
• Mack: Musik Express, 20 cars
• Wisdom: Himalaya, 22 cars
• Reverchon: Himalaya, 24 cars

The Ride

A ride on a Himalaya isn’t very elaborate as far as movement; the cars travel around the center and navigate a couple of dips in the process. The ride depends on how fast the operator is willing to go. You usually get a pretty swift ride on the Himalaya rides at fairs and carnivals and a slower ride on the amusement park versions.

To see how operation effects these types of rides, lets compare two different Musik Express rides, the MAck model that used to graze Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ and the Bertazzon model at Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, NJ.

The Musik Express that was at Six Flags Great Adventure until the 2008 season was like a neutered version of the ride. The lights on the ride worked for the most part but they didn’t flash wildly like some others. There was no backdrop on this one meaning that there is no ‘tunnel’ section. The music on this ride wasn’t all that loud, or not playing, and even if it did the roaring of the ride would drown out the music for the most part. The ride was also run at a moderate speed and didn’t go backwards. It was a good ride when you wanted a break from the coasters but it wasn’t very thrilling at all; it was a family ride basically.

The Musik Express at Morey’s Piers is loud, bright and obnoxious in appearance. The lights dim down at certain parts and flash wildly when the ride hits top speed. This ride also uses a siren during the high speed parts. This particular Musik Express used to have a backdrop featuring Judas Priest which was an interesting modification (the backdrop is now animated sea creatures playing instruments.) The music on this thing is loud with lots of bass. Aside from a few sets of lights that do not work, this ride is in great condition. The ride travels forwards and then in reverse giving a slightly longer ride. The speed is fast but not blistering fast like some of the Himalayas that make their rounds at fairs.

Here’s a video of the Morey’s Piers Musik Express:

Musik Express – Wildwood, NJ from The DoD3 on Vimeo.

On both versions the ride operator doesn’t do the “if you wanna go faster let me hear you scream thing.” However the Morey’s Piers version has the ride op say little catch phrases as the ride is about to speed up. The ride operator doesn’t even run the ride from the designated booth at Six Flags.

Other Info

The Musik Express is one of those rides that can be customized as far as artwork, lighting, and overall appearance making some models extremely unique looking. Some other rides that are usually customized in a similar fashion are Breakdances, Miamis, and Matterhorns among others.

While surfing around, I found this neat little site called May’s Himalaya Fan Website; it’s a great place to find information and check out detailed photos of the older Reverchon Himalayas.

Video

Polar Express at 12th Street Amsuements in Coney Island, NY. I’m not sure who manufactured this Himalaya, but it might be an older Reverchon model.

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