Have you ever been to an amusement park or carnival and see a ride that simply pushes every limit you thought couldn’t be pushed? Rides that look so intense, nauseating, or just downright torturous that you can’t believe anyone would actually ride them…and enjoy them? I know I have! Here are the five carnival rides that I think fit the bill of being the most ‘insane’ out there.
5. Storm (Wisdom)
It’s not too often that I’ll come across a ride that I won’t ride again. Storm, however, is one of the few that I may not ever ride again! Storm is basically a modern version of the Hustler/Tempest ride. The movements of all three rides are nearly identical, with the Storm’s components being upgraded a bit; for instance, Storm allows riders to board all at once and has a better safety mechanism.
While the Hustler or Tempest have cars that can spin freely, Storm’s cars spin mechanically. They don’t spin too terribly fast, nor does the main platform, as a matter of fact, the arms that hold the cars only spin at a moderate rate as well! The thing is that all three spin in the same direction, making the G forces horribly intense! Riders basically partake in a whirling dance of doom on three axes.
The lone Storm ride I had was at the New Jersey State Fair in 2008. When the ride was up to full speed, all I could see were the people sitting across from myself with everything around the car as a giant blur. If the ride lasted for 30 seconds, slowed down for a bit and then sped up for another 30 seconds, the ride would have been fine. Instead we got a full two minutes of crushing G forces and spin cycle-like rotation; as an added bonus, the ride was in full sunlight on a 90+ degree day with high humidity! My cousin and I felt like total crap after a ride on Storm!
Another ride that can probably be lumped together with Storm is the Huss made Take Off, which spins in a similar fashion to Storm minus one axis. Take Off also has the ability to rise up to a pretty steep angle and spin in opposite directions and such. The large ride vehicles on Take Off can also spin at an incredible rate, much faster than Storm’s vehicles, providing some very high G forces.
To sum it up: Storm, and subsequently Take Off as well, make it on the list for having prolonged periods of high G forces.
Below is a video of Storm taken by myself!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dct8-ARIP4
