Amusement Parks

Cedar Point had several versions of this ride until 1984. These photos are of the one I recall. It was my favorite ride in the 1960's. The Rotor was a spinning circular room with padded walls. When the ride is in mid-cycle the riders are stuck to the wall of the barrel by centrifugal force and the floor drops away from them. There were yellow lines on the barrel of the wall to indicate the level the floor is at during different points of the ride; the highest line is level with the floor when the ride begins. This allowed you to participate in much the same experience those carney motorcycle riders had when they operated the Wall of Death attraction at county fairs. The intensity of rides like these was more about awe & disbelief than about detaching a retina on a roller coaster.

The Round-Up was my favorite ride at the county fair. I never tired of the amazement of defying gravity, it was especially cool at night spinning around with the colored lights flashing over the midway. Amazing that there were not more detached retinas back then.