Besides SFGAm, there are a bunch of really good "amusement" type companies in Illinois. I might as well start with one of the best.
WINDY CITY AMUSEMENTS
What makes it so great? The Predator and Zipper are located at these carnivals. I could ride these rides all day and night. Other favorites include Super Sizzler, 1001 Nachts, Swinger, Cliff Hanger, and playing for a short time the Spider.
They are selling the Spider and the Paratrooper.
http://www.windycityamusements.com/clas ... fieds.html
Their newest ride is X Scream which is bad. The company should stick to making Bumper Cars. It's trying to be like Revolution, but does a terrible job doing it.
It was packed in Palatine yesterday.
Rating 50/10 with best stuff. I love this carnival.
They have three carnivals, so you don't always get the best stuff.
FANTASY AMUSEMENTS
Their new ride is called Mega Drop which is a smaller version of the Giant Drop. The last time I was at a Fantasy event was in Our Lady of Ransom in Niles. This is was on opening day. Mega Drop was closed, the Screamer (like Kamikaze) wasn't even set up completley, and someone working on the Tornado. You are a carnival for goodness sakes, rides should be open or taken away if they don't work. They have 1001 Nachts, Tilt, Himalaya (what carnival doesn't), Pharoah's Fury, another version of CliffHanger, and medium ferris wheel. I don't think they have too many sets of ride because everywhere I go you see the same junk, I mean stuff.
Rating 2/10. Just not the same after Zipper, swinger, and some other rides have left.
SPECTACULAR MIDWAYS
Two events come to mind, Elmhurst fest, and St. Thecla in Chicago. My two favorite rides that they have are Music Fest (Haybailer ring a bell), and Crazy Surf (Trailblazer on steroids, not as high up) which is wild and crazy. They also carry FireBall (Ring of Fire), Inverter, Pharoah's Fury, a Gravitron type ride, and a ride that goes chew....chew....chew. (I can't think of another word.) I am kind of disappointed that they don't have the Zipper anymore (I think). They replaced with the Inverter. Inverter just doesn't compare. Tilt-A-Whirl is newer and junk. It is not the same like an older one (the excitement has left my body).
Rating 7/10.
ASA OR BLOOMSNESS AMUSEMENTS
I hate when carnvial companies get rid a lot of rides.
Rides gone: Kamikaze, High Roller, Typhoon (not rollercoaster), Musik Express, Huge and small Ferris Wheel, Chaos, CliffHanger (I think), Thunderbotl, and "Super" Sizzler (Fast Scrambler, backwards and forwards). Rides to replace include "Sizzler" (Fast, only forwards), Inverter, Matterhorn (Himalaya), medium ferris wheel, and eventually their new ride AfterBurner. I think it is probably made by KMG. This ride goes a lot higher than Revolution, and is something just like it.
On other notes:
When I was at the Glendale Heights Carnival in July two years ago, they debuted AfterBurner. When they finally were finished putting up the ride on the third day it was open, they took away the Inverter. What????
I also have seen them team up with another smaller carnival so they can fill the space and be at more carnivals in that week (This is not including fairs, I know that at a lot of big fairs, you have more than one company supplying rides).
They were in Arlington Heights this week. (I believe)
When the Yo-Yo is one of the best rides, I can't rank this a good carnival. There was a time when I could've.
Rating 2/10.
ASTRO AMUSEMENTS
I consider this the king of newer rides amusements in Illinois. Some of the firsts in Illinois have been Himalaya, Ring of Fire, Cliff Hanger (flying ride), Starship 2000, Spin Out (the claw) and the newest Orbitor. Two years ago at Riis Park in Chicago, the Orbitor was broke so they bought a new one. Both are great rides, but the older one was a little better. Newer rides need to be "worn" out to get the full satisfaction out of them. It is the same ride as the Predator at Windy City Amusements. Other rides include Double Shock (Never been on it, but it looks great), Pharoah's Fury (There's something special about this, first golden boat maybe), and of course Tilt.
Rating 10/10. When you have the best ride I have been on in the world (Orbitor, Predator, or Typhoon, same ride), you just have to give it a great rating. in my opinion #2 carnival in Illinois
ALL AROUND AMUSEMENTS
St. Priscilla in June was the last event I've been to. Kamikaze has replaced their Typhoon (Predator). Boo..Boo. Their newest ride is also the X Scream which is actually in the shop which I was told when I talked to a carnival worker. Right now, the best ride there was the Scat. Revolution on steroids, 10 times stronger. It doesn't have to swing back and forth though. They also have Himalaya, Bumper Cars, Pharoah's Fury, and the Cliff Hanger.
You can find the laziest workers in Illinois here.
Since they don't have the Typhoon
Rating 5/10, it's not the same.
Other amusement parks include Santa's Village, Racing Rapids, and Kiddieland.
SANTA'S VILLAGE
They have one bad rollercoaster by the name of Typhoon. This ride bangs you from head to toe. Don't say that IW is a head banger, when you have the Typhoon at Santa's Village. The Galaxi was a better ride. The other coaster is great (Dragon). They have the best Himalaya compared to a carnival one. Snowballs, SFGAm balloons, and Yo-Yo are also good rides. Lastly, I can't say anything bad about the wire ride or chairlift.
Rating 8/10
RACING RAPIDS
I'm not one for waterparks, but I will say that this one is not that bad. in my opinion, the Go-Karts are the best. The tan slide is not too bad either, but the big blue slide makes me get water in my nose. The Lazy River seems to be getting and better each time I go. The special effects enhance the ride, especially the waterfall.
Rating 6/10
KIDDIELAND
Can you say Polyp, Polyp, Polyp, and Polyp? It is definetly my favorite ride at Kiddieland. It has to be the most underrated ride there. I've seen the commercial, and no Polyp. You have to give it some loving. For being a "kiddie" coaster, Little Dipper is pretty good. Dippin' Drop is another great ride. In case your wondering, you can also find this ride at Astro and Windy City Amusments. The cool design unlike Santa's Village Frog Hopper make it a favorite of mine. With thinking of this park, you have to go on the Scooters (Bumper Cars). These are some of the hardest hitting bumper cars I've ever been on. Is Kiddieland a kids park?? The Scrambler is another good ride. With it's red, white, and blue lights it whirls you around. It is slightly faster than the Hometown Fun Machine at SFGAm, but slower than SFOG's Scrambler. Lastly, I have to mention the Log Jammer (Logger's Runner), the Pipeline (indoor water ride), and unlimited fruit punch drinks. Yum... Yum....
Rating 10/10
Just in case your wondering
SFGAM Rating 10/10
So, if you think your bored, go to an amusement park or a carnival, because we have great ones in Illinois.
If you have any comments, news, questions, tips, please post.
ALSO, IF THERES A CARNIVAL IN YOUR AREA, PLEASE POST.
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Other Amusements in Illinois (Santa's Village July 31 TR)
29 posts
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Last edited by Ilovthevu' on August 2nd, 2004, 1:02 am, edited 3 times in total.
"I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
If you want anything remotely close or in the general 'goodness' of GAm in Illinois forget it, stick with SFGAm.
Yesterday, at Oakfest (4th of July Carnival at by my house) my friend payed the Carni- 5 bucks and we got to stay on the Zipper for 25-30min. We counted 79 flips. Hehe....gotta love the carni's.
 also, Windy City Amusements also owns the USA, a carni-style double inverter. I also wnt on that yesterday, and they left us upside-down for 23 seconds. My face turned beat red and my eyes began to water. 
Yeah, the orbiter is pretty amazing they had it at my local carnival a few years ago and last year. The carnival by my house is Windy City Amusmants. They are usually pretty good rides and running most of the time during the 4 day fest. Last years featured the Zipper, X Scream, Orbiter, some kite ride thing, Fireball, 1001 Natchs, Pharoh, and some other rides.
The fest is in August so I'll have to wait and see what rides are going to be there in a while. They almost always have the Zipper and that's really all I care about, the Orbiter is pretty good but Zipper is way better.
Car number 6. 7 front flips in a row. Up to 13 backflips
Your a lucky duck, riding Zipper that many times. You must have been on the smaller one though because I was in Palatine and they had the bigger one.
The smaller is also the newer of the two. I've noticed that for whatever reason backwards is always much better. You ride the Ring of Fire, and you know your going upside-down the same way everytime. Zipper, you have no clue. Carnival Listings Glendale Heights Camera Park, 101 E. Fullerton July 13-18 Itasca Washington Park, Irving Park Road (Downtown Itasca) July 15-18 "I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
The matteson fest was in my back yard 3 weeks ago, it included a Drop ride, Zipper, x scream, a gravitron, and a ring of fire, I got atleast 10 ride on each )
nothing like a grown man pushing little children out of the way, wearing a brcelet that cuts off circulation to my hand Around the world and back
Do you like X Scream? Revolution is better (not great), and Scat is the best of that type of ride. I know people say Delerium, but I never been on that so I can't comment on that.
"I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
Good times
Ahh, Spectacular Midways... I love that carnieval. I wanted to cry when they said that Zipper was gone. That was the best ride ever. once, nobody was in line so my cousin and I stayed in for a half hour. I remember getting banned for spitting on fireball. MEMORIES...
(That ride that goes "chew..." Is Hurricane. DO NOT RIDE IT!!! It wil leave you with a headache and sick. And I never get sick on rides.)
ASA once had a ride called High Roller. I went went with my brother to Spectacular Midways (three years ago), and we saw the Zipper broke. The motors wouldn't work right, so they must have sold it. Too bad, they didn't bu another one. They also have one of these chew rides at ASA. I forget the name, but I don't really care for that ride.
My Carnival Ride List 1. Predator (Orbitor, Typhoon) 2. Zipper 3. Chaos 4. Super Sizzler 5. Thunderbolt 6. Sizzler, Crazy Surf, Scat, YO-YO, Spider (I can't choose.) 7. Swinger, Cliff Hanger, Musik Express, Bumper Cars, Tilt-A-Whirl 8. 1001 Nachts "I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
they have September Fest Labor Day weekend in Scaumburg. It's nice, they always have Revolution Himalaya kiddie rides a ferris wheel and one random large ride. They have a nice arts fest and a Taste of Schaumburg. I give it a 9/10
Yes! The Typhoon...I love that ride! Rode it at our county fair last year. I hope it's back again this year, that thing is so fun.
We had astro amusments here in bartlett's 4th of july fest. We had the mega drop its cool but they hold you up there for like 5 min it sucks they also had the Tilt-a-Wirl. Orbiter i thought it was a cool ride.Gravatron and the spin out very cool.WE also have a canival sometime in august cant wait to see whats there.
I had those drop rides at carnivals they take and I'm not kidding at least a minute to get 50 feet up.
I went on a drop ride (Super Shot) at a carnival once back in April and it took about a minute to get to the top, and it drops right when it gets to the top.
I just got back from a Astro Amusement's Carnival at St. Bede's fest around here. The only really good ride they had was a Mega Drop....very expensive $5 for one ride and with 10 seats on the thing they were making $50 a drop!
Go Bulls!
Dave - SFGAmWorld Webmaster
I love the "kiddie" drop ride by Moser. It's a great ride even though it's "kiddie".
I know what your saying about the $5 thing. Music Fest (Haybailer type ride) at Spectacular Midways was this amount. The reason why this ride costs so much is because it's needs two trailers (most rides have one), and it takes 8 hours to put up. That is a long time to put up a carnival ride. All the other rides were cheaper. The Tilt-A-Whirl was $3. That ride (Mega Drop) was the new ride for last year. I'll check again at St. Stan's in late July to see if All Around Amusements still has the Typhoon. I doubt it. They probably sold it because they would get a lot for it due to it's popularity. The Kamikaze being quite old is cheap to buy for a carnival. I always wanted to know why they call the ride Zipper the name it is. I can only conclude two things why. The two circles on each side of it look like buttons and the arrows opposite of this (^) reminds me of when you un-zip something such as a jacket. "I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
I was at Vernon Hills Days yesterday and Windy City Amusements had the rides there, they had a roofless Super Loop manufactured by Larson called "Fireball". This thing went upside down 13 TIMES! Greatest inverting flat EVER! And I finally got to take on an Orbiter. Those things are is dizzying as Fiddler's Fling without the being flung into the side of the car. Genius!
So that would be 6 3/4 times forward and 6 1/4 times backward. I sounds like you don't like the Orbiter, or maybe you do because you say Genius. If it was Windy City, do you mean Predator instead? It would be great if they had two similiar rides (Predator and Orbiter), but as far as I know they don't. Give me a rating from 1-10. If I gave it a rating, it would be 1000/10 or maybe even better than that.
"I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
Fireball - 11/10 Predator - 11/10
Awesome, I can take 11/10.
I was at Glendale Heights Carnival on Saturday and I went on AfterBurner. It's not that the ride is really bad, it's just that the seat is so big that it hurts the area under my knee. I consider myself to be between five feet and seven inches to five feet and eleven inches. This ride is somewhat like Revolution, but goes much higher, and it doesn't spin continuously in one direction. On top of that, the ride was broke for sometime before I got to go on it. If I didn't have that problem (PAIN), I would probably give it (if it is at the I carnival that I bought a wristband I will ride it) rating. That is like a 4.5/10 rating. Inverter gets the same thing. Otherwise, I say forget it, 0/10 rating. http://www.allstaramusement.com/whatsnew.htm "I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
Does your height shift on you, Do you have Hydroulic ankles?  Around the world and back
Ha Ha. If I knew my exact height I would tell you. If they ever wanted to put that ride in an amusement park (I wouldn't), I would call it Claw. Why, besides the obvious, it would go with an Inspector Gadget themed area. Spin Out would be another one. It's just a thought.
How is Spin Out by the way, if you have ridden it before? "I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
After riding Cajun Cliffhanger (Spin Out can't be much different) theres not much to say except it spins really, really fast. Not something i'd ride again...
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