First things first, if you can say with a straight face that this ride doesn’t look like a little WT, then you are totally LYING! Like any good WTCR, this ride has been known to use solid colors, fluorescent light tubes and ugly padding in its decor. Scat also uses WTCR requisites such as tire drives, vinyl canvas, and the lack of substantial loading platforms or background scenery.

The ride itself is fairly simple, the platforms and boom rotate while riders are pressed against the walls due to centrifugal force. While loading one platform, the other hangs in the air on a slight angle, leaving riders to grasp onto anything in order to not topple over.

The Ride

First you board the platform and lay against one of the 12 panels. The setup is similar to a Round Up, however the panels are tilted back a bit, like on a Gravitron. The ride starts by having just the center hub spin, then the cars spin up resulting in the riders being pinned to the wall with incredible force.

As mentioned, the panels are on a slight angle, this inadvertently results in a slight upward motion when the panels and hub are aligned just right. I remember on one Scat ride, some kid next to me shreked “Oh my god it’s like trying to throw us off!”

Scat rides usually run with both the platforms and boom rotating in the same direction, however some will rotate the two in opposite directions for a short time before switching. On the latter, due to the total lack of centrifugal force, riders must grasp onto the grab bars or risk tumbling about the platform…well, unless you’re this guy.

Other Info

There is a ride called Scat 2 by Hi-Lite rides. I have absolutely no idea what the difference is between that and a normal Scat as the Scat 2 looks exactly the same as the original.

As for the name, the word scat is defined as “to go off hastily,” which seems to work until you take into account that scat is also a term for animal droppings. Despite this, most Scat rides retain their original name; although there is one owned by Kissel Entertainment that has been re-named ‘Surge.’ I kind of like that name actually!

Video

I have two videos here, first is of the Scat at the Mt. Carmel Festival in Berkeley Heights, NJ back when I had a bad camera! Make sure you listen for the peeling out sound of the tire drive…it’s kind of hard to miss actually.

And here’s a newer video of Scat from the same fair:

Scat – Venture Rides – Berkeley Heights, NJ from The DoD3 on Vimeo.

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