Setting up the Gravitron Ride: 👽 Alien Abduction 

Visiting the carnival grounds to see how the Gravitron ride is set up. Watch them set up the Afterburner / Fireball Ride Next! ▶ ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qUkiMDjgfsg.html

I was lucky enough to operate the Grav in 1999. Many many many hours spent riding that ride. So many stories and memories. It is without a doubt my absolute favourite ride of all time. Rode it the first time when I was 10 and scared the life out of me, and I was hooked ever since. I’m 39 now and still managed to walk the wall a few months ago on one. Thank you very much for this video. As odd as it was to operate, I never saw the setup and tear down. I think my record for riding was getting on early in the afternoon and not getting off until we closed the fair that night. Operating wasn’t that long. Most people don’t realize, but operating it is a worse experience than riding it. You get used to riding it, but feel pretty messed up operating for a long period, especially if you turn your head. Golden rule, never turn your head. Look with your eyes, but never turn your head lol. Thank you again for the memories. Gravitron for life!

Gravitron for ever! Absolutely my FAVORITE faire ride of all time. Back in the '80s our local (very tiny) fall carnival had one set up in the parking lot of a grocery store almost every year. The operator was awesome! He had a huge library of tapes and CDs and would play requests. We'd go on the ride probably 10 times in a row, listening to our favorite songs. Annoyed everyone else, but we didn't care. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Manowar, Aerosmith, Slayer, Motorhead, then finish the night out with some Y&T and Journey. F**kin' rocked! So loud your years would ring. We were all deaf by the time it was over. They'd let you climb all over the thing, too. Getting your rearend on top of the head rest and putting the back of your head against the canvas was a right of passage. Other feats of courage were getting to the center rail at full spin, and the vert stand off the seat (standing perpendicular to the seat, flat out over the floor.) I'm 45 now. A few less of us than before. 😟 But the county fair has one. They don't play music anymore so we have to bring in some headphones and rock out that way. They also don't let you do any stunts anymore ... so we wait until our last ride incase they kick us off. 😎 Thanks for the video. I always wondered how they set it up.

Let’s take this time to thank RU-vid for letting people post behind the scene videos of things we wouldn’t normally see in depth on television!

This is so great. I really appreciate what you do. I bet kids love this too! I know I would have loved to have something like this to watch growing up.

Back in '86-'87 I worked at Playland Amusement Park in Rye, NY. and operated "The Rotor". It was basically a spinning drum that could hold about 12 people. When working at night, I'd get them spinning and sticking to the wall, then I'd shut the lights and drop the floor and turn the lights back on and they'd see that they were suddenly 4 feet higher than the floor. One time, I had people screaming so much that the managers came running over because they saw the long line of people waiting, and heard the screams and thought there was a huge fight going on. lol We'd get bus loads of kids from NYC coming in and after my helper closed the door, I looked down from my seat and told her "Okay hand me the hose. I'll start filling this up." One girl freaked out and started screaming "NO! I can't swim!" She turned to her friends and yelled at them "You didn't tell me they fill it with water!" lol Her friends were laughing at her because they knew I was joking and that the girl believed it was going to fill with water. 🙂 My favorite ride to operate was the Bumper Cars. I'd create games for the riders. I'd have the red and blue cars team up against the green and yellow cars, then during the ride, I'd switch alliances. Red & Yellow vs Blue & Green etc. One time, there was just one yellow car so I said "Everybody...........get the YELLOW CAR!" lol the kid in the yellow car was mortified. He simply yelled "NOOOO!" When the ride was over, they'd all run out, come back around and get back in line to ride again. I had the longest lines in the park.

My all-time favorite carnival ride growing up, especially when you'd get a ride operator that didn't care about safety and let us do whatever while it was spinning. Good times. Never realized how incredibly complex it is. Very cool. Glad to hear they're still making them for newer generations to enjoy 👍

Netflix should do a doc on these rides . They do a doc on everything. There must be so many stories about the Carnival roadie.

I love how these nuggets fold apart like a Lego set. Loved them since childhood and it’s awesome finally learning how they’re made!

Always impressed how these rides pack up into trailers and the amount of abuse they can withstand.

Words can not describe how much I loved this ride as a kid. From the mid 80's, until probably the early 90's I rode the hell out of this. I can smell it (always had kind of a oil smell) and can hear the 80's hair metal playing, great times. Seeing this video makes me want to go on one so bad lol. Very fascinating how its assembled.

Worked at an amusement park that had a park model of these. There's a window in the door that houses a camera so the ride operator can line up the door with the stairs. The park used to let us bring our own tapes to play in the saucer as long as it had no profanity. One guy used to play Elton John or Barry Manalow. Not a lot of fans when he worked it. 😂 This was pretty cool to watch. Great information on the set up.

I’m so grateful for this tutorial because I was having trouble setting up my new Gravatron in the back yard! ❤

I worked this ride at Maple Leaf Village Niagara Falls Canada in the late 80's early 90's. The operator spins with the ride and surprisingly doesn't get sick. You and the ticket taker took turns - assuming they could stomach the spinning. It's one of the few rides where the operator is in complete control. After the shift at closing we'd go behind the panels and find change, cameras, and whatever else could fit into a customer's pockets. Thanks for posting this - brought back some memories.

Just amazing how this all fits onto a single trailer!

This was really interesting. Thank you for sharing it. I am a software engineer but I love all sorts of engineering and it is fascinating how the manufacturer came up with the design on how to make this compact enough to fit on a single truck but safe enough to be setup and torn down as often as it is.

Ah memories! Our county fair would contract Midway Rides and games from Utica NY. Me being in boyscouts and working both stands at the fair, we'd get free bracelets everyday. Befriended a ride operator, and got to operate the Himalaya and scrambler! Only 14 at the time but it was definitely fun for me. Setting up rides always fascinated me. From engineering the trailer to fit everything to the actual setup, to the 3 phase motors that drive these rides! Working as a ride operator was a dream to me before leaving NY. Even got the job as one at Darien lake, but already had plans to move sadly.

I love watching how these guys set up the rides, hope you continue to show as many as possible. Thanks to everyone who had a part in this. 💕

The gravitron is literally my fave ride. I remember when they used to have a dj in the middle, and some ppl would do stunts on the seats

THIS RIDE is at the top of my 90s fair/carnival memories! Especially when you factor in the 2 things that tie it all together; flashing lights, and pumping music!

The Order for Set-up and Break Down is extremely important to avoid extra effort. People need to keep in mind the Weather when assembling these. Thanks! 👍

Fondly remember this with my Dad going to small local carnivals. Originally was pretty scared of it but eventually went on and loved it since. Might've climbed toward the ceiling a bit but never did anything too rash. Definitely one of my favorite rides in memory and very cool to see the complexity in putting it together!

I love seeing how the parts are manipulated. Haunt builders could learn a thing or two. Thanks for showing us. Too cool.

Im actually impressed at how safe the ride looks and is being put together ..I wish the guys putting it together worked a little safer for themselves tho ..but its a tough businesses i see

I remember when this ride first came to my town. Inside had tv monitors you could watch music videos while riding. Don’t see that anymore.

It was cool to see one of the rides I grew up riding, being set up! Thanks for this and the explanations as well. Great video!

Just stumbled upon your channel by chance. And I have to say I am loving the content. From the setup of fairground rides to your restoration of the carnival rides. Fascinating stuff and really concise and interesting videos. Keep up the great work. From a fellow RU-vidr.

I have always loved this ride. Thank you for sharing. Definitely my childhood favorite.

Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.

Growing up in MT going to the state fair, I have a lot of memories of the Gravitron. Or as people affectionately called it, the "Puke Blender". Lol This and the Zipper were always the rides we ran to first. Didn't realize I needed to know about how these rides were setup, but this was actually quite cool! Fascinating video! Glad I stumbled upon your channel!

Randomly stumbled on this quality video. Always wondered how this stuff was put together but never looked into it.

Love the video. All my life I remember seeing her for the first time. Meyers Fair, (I think they was outta Florida), Early September 1989, Lexington, TN. Im pushing 40, and every year they come, I still go to bed with my ears ringing and just a touch of pleasant nausea after taking a ride in her. God bless you many crews over the years for operating, setting up and giving us all thrills safely. I appreciate y'all.

First time on it, the operator played the song I want you to want me by Cheap Trick. Not sure why, but it was the perfect song for the ride and that was in around 1995 time frame. I miss those days.

Fantasy island a local park near me in NY had a permanent version of this ride called devils hole before the park closed. Good memories

Love these types of videos. Something you’d never even think you’d watch, but happy you did! Cheers 😊

My small town had an annual summer fair, and for a while we still were able to get a midway in. (25 years ago, damn I'm getting old). I was fortunate enough to ride on a gravitron one year and always went to the fair after that hoping it would come back. Never did, but the memory never left me! I got to experience a single person gyroscope years later and that was just as freaking cool! Thanks for your videos, you got a new subscriber.

Gravitron was always one of my favorites as a kid. I recently got a job helping to assemble a trailer mounted main stage for a fairground. It's neat to compare what I did for that to this setup. Thanks for the great video!

I have been on this ride dozens of times, love it. Never thought about how much time and labor it takes to set one of these up, very hard and monotonous work, I don't know if I could do it. Your videos are very entertaining and interesting, since the public is not allowed, near these rides when they're being set up or dismantled. I like the fact that you took time out with drawings and diagrams to describe how things are done. Thanks again

really cool to see all the smart and careful engineering decisions that these ride designers make. Really enjoyed the video!

Such a cool channel. I’ll be watching all your videos this weekend! Glad I stumbled on you sir! Always fascinating to me how they so efficiently transport and assemble these rides.

This used to be my favorite ride at fairs. It was the one I started with and the one I finished with. The last night of the fair the operator always opened it up to it maximum speed and ran it a little longer than the normal ride as the crowds had mostly went home except us die herds wanting that last ride on the Starship 2000. The operator would toy with us and say it was "worn out" and would barely go and one of us would always yell something at him like "Sure, open it up and quit holding back" or the one I used, "Kick this Mule!" and they did. They would shut the lights of and come to a near stop and then power it up, turn on some hard rock music and by the time the lights were back on we were in G-force heaven. Sometimes, though it was dangerous, they would get out of the "cab" and walk the rail or join us on the wall saying no one was driving (but you could see a remote brake control or a radio on his side to get the ride stopped if needed). Ah he fun times.....sadly I can no longer ride this great ride due to medical issues but oh the memories.... thanks for this awesome video of how my favorite ride i set up.

These are really GREAT videos!

Crazy that people manage to make money operating these things. I’m thankful for all the people it takes to make a carnival come together. Thanks for sharing behind the scenes!

I used to work at Wisdoms as an electrician, I've helped build/wire/troubleshoot many of these. Thanks for the nostalgia!

I just wanted to let you know that I think this kind of content is just wonderful! I only got to see rides unpack once in 1992. I got to see this machine and the sky wheel go up. So please keep posting vids like this and I love your backyard project as well! Thanks.

hopefully you make more of these video's, well documented and love that you are showing all the rides of my youth, brings back good memory's. thank you.

So awesome to see how these are set up. Subscribed and looking forward to more videos..

Loving your ride setup videos, please keep them coming!

I used to restore some of these rides as a fiberglass tech and artistic painter back in the 1980s while completing my collage education. Conklin Midways, 1986 to 1989. What a way to spend my winter weekends. Best job any young adult could ever have

Mega cool how the Gravitron gets assembled & yes one of my super mega favourite ride & best ridden at night & good tunes too! 🙂🙂 Gravitron forever! 🙂🙂

This was another fascinating video. Thanks for sharing! I had to chuckle at the “Max Ride Duration = 2 minutes” on the ride plaque. I swear some carnivals I have seen this at have run the ride far longer than that! (I couldn’t survive one minute on a Gravitron these days…)

Loved the video! I used to travel with Butler Amusements back in the day and have fond memories of the experience! It was always amazing to me how quickly and efficiently the rides went up and came down. I was a jointy, so wasn't involved in that except as occasionally helping as time permitted... Subscribed!

This was always my favorite. I loved when the operator would talk and bump the radio inside on like the peak of a Friday night 😅

I used to love operating the gravitron for Majestic when I worked for them back in the 90's.

Always been one of my most favorite rides

I remember riding this as a kid pretending we were going through some epic training thing like a centrifuge lol. Thanks for entertaining my inner child for a bit showing how it works.

Very interesting! Thank you for sharing.

My favorite ride. I can ride it over and over. It doesn't bother me none. Reminds me of my childhood. The 90's with friends. I'm gonna have to go find one so I can ride it.

This was so cool to watch!!

Brings back so many memories

Whoever invented this, was genius!

my ALL time FAVORITE ride!!!!

What a great video. I used to setup and teardown a Gravitron for a company years ago. I used to set it up with one other guy in 3 1/2 hours and we would have it down in 2, lol. Subscribed and look forward to seeing what you have.

Thanks for the step by step guide, I had one sitting in my backyard for years and had no idea how to assemble it

Thank you so much for posting this! I've always wondered how these spinning UFO rides get set up. It's my favorite carnival/fair ride since I was a kid and that I still ride as a 37 year old lol.

Hey Pete loving the vids! Didn't realize how much time and effort it takes to actually start up a ride. Cheers for the video. My country calls this one the "Vomitron" knowing most people get pretty nauseous

Loved this ride as a kid,, best by far

I love this ride!

Highly interesting video that is different and informative. I love seeing things like this. Great video! Going to go watch the Himalaya vid now.

Appreciate it Pete

I used love riding this when I was much younger. But now there is now way I will ride it.

Great video thanks for sharing it with us

I LOVE THIS RIDE! The Gravitron is one of the best flat rides.

LOVE this! I've wondered about how these rides get set up ever since I was a little kid. We went to the Jacksonville Fair a couple weeks back and I kid you not, I was looking at the Gravitron thinking "i really wonder how all of this gets put together"

Favorite ride of all time!

This ride plus Prince-Let's go crazy, was my childhood. :)

I was born and raised in the carnival business 5 generations! Interesting video, a little information on the brakes the control is a old semi truck manual trailer air beak handle on the steering column that is no longer used in semi's and hard to find we had ours break during a Saturday at the Georgia national Fair in perry and I finally found one in Atlanta at the peterbuilt dealer ! I don't know if you are familiar with the international independent showman's association in gibsonton Florida, we have a great museum of the carnival there?

Ten second in and I'm reminded how old I am. I remember when this ride was introduced.

I used to ride the Gravitron every year at the York Fair. Til one time I sat up, mid ride, and blacked out. Then my buddy Devin used to roll around with Majestic Miday setting the rides up. He showed me how they are made and assembled.... I feel I'm better off not getting on it anymore. lol

Man this takes me back The gravitron was def one of the favorites among all our friends We use to get dropped off by our parents at the yearly summer carnival back in late 80's What a time to be a kid

wow what a great video. i always wonder how they put them together. thank you for this

I think showing how these rides are assembled on location is where your channel will benefit from more videos. Im definitely interested!

Super interesting! Thanks!

Fascinating, thank you! And maybe it's just me, but I think that having a close look/tour of the control panel would be super interesting as well.

How cool, it's pretty neat the way it all folds up like that, like carnival ride origami.

I love this ride. Definitely in my top 3, maybe top 2.

These Video Rocks! I Never get to See this done so this is Interesting.

Without a doubt the best amusement park ride EVER!!!👑👑👑

We had one of these at the park that I worked at. Grease day was always fun on this ride. With 45 seats/sleds and each one of them having 6 or 8 little roller bearings (I can't remember now) to grease you were in there for a while. But hey you could at least bring your favorite cassette tape and play it while you were doing that LOL. Another great video Pete.

I really want to design thrill rides. Something about them just holds such a dear place in my heart.

My family owned Golden West Amusements setups and slouw was my favorite times on the road

Cool video. I remember riding this as gravitron in the 80’s

by far the ultimate and best ride EVER at any carnival and idc who says otherwise

sweet video thanks

this was so fun

Nice to see Majestic Midways!

Great fair ride set up video very informative lovley piece i love this theme.

Neat. I was a carny back in I think 88'/89' and was top man on the Chance rides giant gondola wheel, which means I did all the high work along with another man during setup and slough, and not that I was da' bossman. The ride is just over 100' tall and sits on three 53 foot trailers, a fourth has the generator and a dry van trailer to haul scenery and hardware. Generally it was a 2 day set-up but on occasion we had to do a straight - through to make an opening which could be 15 to 20 hours from staging to complete. Tear down went much faster and with a good crew could be down the road in 6 hours. If you get the chance, you should do a video on it, I think people would like to see the operation, it really is incredible. (I would just for the memories).

Great video! I cracked my head open on this ride (starship) and had to get 6 stables at the ER as a kid lol. They had huge ass blown out speakers and would be blasting hip hop or EDM and of course me being like 8 years old and all the older kids climbing up and around I followed... Got stuck, seat went up and bam my head hits a metal bar and starts bleeding lol

That was always my favorite ride including the Himalaya! Great video…Subscribed 11*25*22 👍🏼