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.
Their
brochure became to theme parks and fairs what the bible had become to
Christianity with a portfolio of rides that were to become staples in
every imaginable respect. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some of
their most important contributions to history:
The
Pirate Ship: I bet there are more parks with the Pirate Ship than
those without. Huss themselves describe the Pirate Ship as “one of the
most successful and popular amusement rides of all time”, a popular
family ride that debuted in 1978.
Not
to be mistaken for salesman spiel, the statistics speak for themselves.
Alton Towers, Port Aventura, Pleasure Beach Blackpool, Chessington World
of Adventures, Drayton Manor, Oakwood, Holiday Park, Bellewaerde...
well, you get the jist – most parks have Pirate Ships, and the chances
are that if they do, it’s a Huss model.
The
Enterprise: While it was in fact Anton Schwarzkopf who designed and
built the first Enterprise, Huss are responsible for tens – maybe
hundreds of Enterprises, the first of which opened in 1972.
Don’t
let the unreliability of Thorpe Park’s recently replaced Zodiac fool
you – many Enterprises approaching 30 years old still operate in theme
parks and fairs around the world.
There
are 25 Enterprises in the USA alone, for example.
The
Top Spin: While Huss can’t take credit for the Enterprise, the Top
Spin is a result of their own hard graft. Although many other
manufacturers including Mondial and Fabbri have entered the Top Spin
arena with their own takes on the ride (Rollover and Space Loop
respectively), Huss’ version while the most expensive has remained the
most popular in the world.
Not
only do German showmen swear by them, many have also appeared at large
European theme parks such as Chessington (Rameses Revenge), Alton Towers
(Ripsaw), Walibi World (Excalibur) Movie World (Lex Luthor) and Movie
Park Germany (NYC Transformer).
The
Breakdance: Offering Germans the closest to a continental equivalent
of the British Waltzer, the Breakdance is – if we haven’t told you
enough times already – absolutely phenomenal. Theme park offerings of
the Breakdance are limited, and shine a rather gloomy light on this
amazing ride. For example, Alton Towers’ Dynamo – along with Walibi
World’s El Toro, Chessington’s Rodeo and PortAventura’s Crazy
Barrels – were comparably lousy.
Riding
a theme park Breakdance is like trying to imagine the majesty of a lion
in native Africa while looking at it in some stuffy Chessington
enclosure. Ride a Breakdance at a German fair and it will change your
life. No ride on earth makes such energy and power look so effortless. Continues...
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