Kiddie rides
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Kiddie rides are coin-operated rides for small children. Kiddies rides commonly appear in amusement parks, arcades, malls, hotel game rooms and outside supermarkets and discount department stores. Less commonly, they may also appear in other venues such as restaurants, food courts, grocery shops and auto dealerships. When activated by a coin, a kiddie ride entertains the rider with motion, depending on the ride type (miniature Ferris wheel, miniature carousel, track ride or stationary platform ride). Most rides include sounds and music, and some feature flashing lights, pedals, and buttons. Commercial kiddie rides often use simple but colorful equipment, with the driving mechanism usually hidden under vacuum formed plastic covers.
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[edit] Music
Many very old rides do not feature music. Also, some vehicle rides may favor engine sounds instead of music. However, on rides that do feature music, early rides (and many cheap modern rides) are equipped with simple ICs that play back one melody in repeat or a set of melodies in sequence before repeating. These have also seen evolution in the sense that the earliest musically-enabled ride played back only a single monophonic melody repetitively, while later ones play back multiple polyphonic melodies and may even include short sound/speech samples. Later rides may play back music from a tape deck, while the latest may have a solid state audio playback device akin to flash-based MP3 players. Usually the music chosen are generic children songs, while on licensed rides, the theme song for the character licensed would be used. However, in rare cases, rides that play standard pop music have been found, and for private rides, the owner may request a custom song of sentimental value to be programmed into the ride.
Many modern rides are programmed to play multiple melodies, alternating music each time the ride is used. The logic behind this is to prolong the interest of the child on the ride. The same logic applies to tape deck installed rides and solid state audio playback rides. However, some modern rides, in particular licensed character ones, are usually programmed to play a single piece of melody or song which is usually the theme song of the character's show. The reason behind this is that the theme song is usually associated with the character and that the ride may lose it's appeal if the song cannot be associated with the character. There also exists some exceptions where there are non-licensed rides that play only one particular tune (however the tune may be matched to the theme of the ride, for example a song about cars on a car ride), or a licensed ride playing a totally unrelated music piece (usually because the operator replaced the musical source of the ride with a generic musical source due to unavailability of a replacement musical source of the same kind).
There exist certain rides that does not emphasize the music, but plays a running narration or a story instead. They usually have a generic instrumental music piece running softly in background while the story is being told, however.
[edit] New advanced rides
Newer, more advanced rides usually do not start as soon as coins are inserted, instead prompting the rider, parent or guardian to press a start button. This is to provide time for the rider to seat him/herself comfortably before commencing the rides. These rides will also play a starting message before starting movement once the start button is pushed (some older rides might play a starting message once the coin is inserted, but this proved to provide insufficient time for the rider to prepare him/herself). Additionally, they may also play an ending message once the ride ends to let the rider know that it's safe to disembark. Other safety precautions commonly found in more advanced rides include allowing use of the start button to pause the ride so the rider can reposition him/herself or even disembark safely if he/she so desires, safety sensors that detect if anything or anyone is potentially obstructing the ride's movement and halt the ride accordingly until the obstruction is removed, overload sensors that stop the ride from moving if the weight limit on the ride is exceeded to reduce chances of overloading and damaging the motor and/or electronics of the ride, and a slow start/stop action as to not shock and frighten younger riders. The most advanced type known even has the ability to tune into an atomic clock and provide accurate time to the rider[1]. Many of these advanced rides would also accept multiple denominations of a currency (i.e. The same coin slot can accept 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents and dollar coins, making it unnecessary for the parent to go look for coin change of a particular denomination) or even have a paper note acceptor, allow the parent, guardian or rider to purchase multiple rides in advance, and award bonus rides based on the amount purchased, akin to many arcade games (i.e. award three rides if the parent inserts a dollar coin if a go on the ride costs 50 cents, giving the parent an extra ride if he or she should buy two rides)[2].
To attract attention, most rides occasionally flash their lights (if they have lights, many animal rides don't) and play a sound and/or music clip at set intervals, although it should be noted that many older rides as well as low-cost rides do not have an attract mode at all.
Some rides may, instead of playing songs, narrate a story. Others may feature a video monitor and/or provide limited interaction with the video displayed (see Kiddie ride/video game hybrid rides, below).
[edit] Common kiddie ride models
- Batmobile
- Fire truck
- Helicopter
- Jeep
- Jumbo jet
- Miniature carousel
- Police car
- Police motorcycle
- Pony
- Schoolbus
- Stagecoach
- Train (usually stationary and not on a track, but train kiddie rides that move on a small track do exist)
[edit] Ride pricing
In the United States, the standard price for these rides is $0.25. The coin mechanism, however, can be changed to accept tokens or other currency. At one King Soopers grocery store, for example, the mechanical carousel costs 1¢ (one penny) to ride.
In the United Kingdom, most rides costs 50p a ride. Paying £1 on machines that support it would usually give the buyer 3 rides.
In Malaysia, ride pricing varies widely. In some grocery stores, rides go for as low as RM0.20 a play. In many grocery stores, small supermarkets and low traffic malls, it's usually RM0.50 a go if it's a base ride or RM1 a go if it's a carousel ride. At high traffic malls, large supermarkets and hypermarkets, a base ride usually costs RM1 a go while carousel rides costs RM2 a go. Many rides at high-traffic malls have a note acceptor as well for convenience. Sometimes it's normal to find a base ride in an area of the mall costing RM1 a go, while in another area in the mall another base ride costs only RM0.50 a go. Rides at amusement centers and some supermarkets run on tokens costing between RM0.50 to RM1 apiece, taking one to four tokens a play depending on the settings and the cost of the tokens. One local supermarket chain called Giant, however, offers free kiddie rides at most of their outlets. The rides on the chains' premises all have their coin mechanism replaced with pushbutton switches that starts the ride when pushed.
In Singapore where kiddie rides can be found in abundance outside shops in most areas, the rides usually cost S$0.20-S$0.50 a go, while rides at shopping malls can cost up to S$1 a go for base rides and S$2 a go for carousel rides.
[edit] Types of rides
[edit] Track rides
- Train ride, a small train on an actual track
Track rides are usually rides in a form of a train on a track. In most coin-operated train-type track rides, the coin mechanism on is on the locomotive unit of the ride and the ride can sit two to three toddlers. Usually, the ride is powered through a low voltage current passing on the tracks which the wheel of the vehicle is in contact of, but batteries are also used in some cases. Most versions of the ride usually can not carry older children due to the low voltage current used and its size, although bigger models that can carry older children do exist.
Track rides aren't necessarily restricted to trains. Animals track rides featuring Horses and Frogs have also been documented. Another type of ride that would classify as a track ride would be one with an elongated base, and the figure would pace the base, turning and moving in the opposite direction on reaching one end of the base.
[edit] Miniature Ferris wheel rides
These rides usually have a figure or safety cage where the child sits in and the ride moves in a clockwise motion at a moderate speed to (although usually relatively faster than) a real Ferris wheel. The child usually sits facing to the side or facing front.
[edit] Carousel rides
Another common type of kiddie ride one can usually find is the miniature carousel type. These rides are usually in the form of a small-sized carousel and many newer models have the coin-box on the main pillar in the center that holds up the roof of the ride, but older units have the coin box on a pole sticking out of the side of the ride. Most common designs accommodates either three toddlers or two older children depending on the design. Some can even support three older children, and there also exists units that only sits one child.
While most carousel rides feature the traditional carousel design with two or three figures for the riders to sit on or in, there exists variants where the riders sit facing inwards, akin to sitting at a table, instead of the usual pony direction, which the rider sits facing the side.
Carousel rides featuring licensed characters (see Character rides, below) are not common, but do exists. A Thomas the Tank Engine carousel ride is known to exist, as does one from a British/Australian kids TV show called Play School. Carousel rides featuring the characters from Wiggles and Hi-5 have also been documented.
In some amusement parks and shopping malls, carousel rides costs more to ride than normal rides due to the fact that more children can ride it at the same time.
[edit] Hydraulic rides
More commonly built by Eastern European kiddie ride manufacturers like ATM Italy, Hydraulic rides are kiddie rides situated on a hydraulic arm that rises the ride to a certain height and lowers the ride to the ground periodically while being played. Usually, the rider is given limited interaction with the ride in the form of up/down override buttons so the rider can instruct the ride to go lower if he/she starts feeling uncomfortable with the height. These rides are usually targeted at older children as the height can frightening to toddlers and infants.
[edit] Base rides
This kind of ride is perhaps the most common type of ride and can be found pretty much anywhere. An animal or vehicle situated on a vacuum-formed base that moves up and down or side to side, or even both, when activated. Some would even move in a slithering-like motion. Usually, rides of this configuration have the motor hidden in the base of the ride. The coin box is usually located on a pole that sticks out of the base, but some units have the coin box on the figure itself, while others have the coin box integrated into the base. Some vehicle rides are integrated into the base and will appear to be sitting on the ground, while other vehicle rides can move on a forward-backwards motion. Additionally, some animal rides might have a motorless base, with the motor integrated into the animal figure itself. Some more advanced horse rides like those made by Falgas Spain have complicated mechanisms that alternate the ride between galloping and trotting motions.
[edit] Free movement (bumper car-like) rides
These kinds of rides are usually in the form of an animal or vehicle. Unlike a real bumper car ride commonly found at theme parks, however, the coin operated variant runs off batteries instead of drawing electricity off an overhead mesh, and one can ride it anytime and does not have to wait for the operator to start the ride for them. The downside is that they run off batteries, so there could be chances where you will lose your ride credits if you got on one with a flat battery.
[edit] Teeter totter rides
These rides are generally teeter totters for one player. A figure would typically sit at the opposite end of the ride. The rides moves on a gentle up and down motion mimicking that of a standard teeter-totter.
[edit] Swing rides
These are generally the rarest of all types, but they no doubt exist. The swing ride generally has the motors in the upper arm of the swing, and the suspension holding the seat are made of strong fiberglass. Currently, only one type of this kind of ride is known to exist at the moment: One modeled after Dorothy the Dinosaur from the Wiggles franchise.
[edit] Kiddie ride/video game hybrid rides
These rides are a hybrid of kiddie ride and arcade video games. The ride usually incorporate a video display and while the motion is synchronized to what's happening on screen, the ride will start and end following events on the screen. The ride is usually interactive and there are pushbuttons to allow the rider to interact with the on screen actions.
They are not to be mistaken for simulators, as unlike simulators, they do not provide accurate feedback to the action on screen. Furthermore, the game offered is time-based and the game will end at a set time, regardless of the outcome of the game.
A well known example of a hybrid ride would be the Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car ride and other waku-waku and wanpaku series of rides released by Sega Japan.
[edit] Character rides
In many cases, kiddie rides in the likes of famous cartoon characters or objects from TV shows or movies can be also found, usually at bigger shopping malls who can afford them due to the higher costs of purchasing one. A classic example would be the Batmobile ride mentioned earlier. One model looks like a miniature Batmobile on a stand, and occasionally flashes lights and plays a short tune from a Batman movie at set intervals.
Another example of a character kiddie ride would be a Clifford the Big Red Dog kiddie ride (Pictured on the right), manufactured by Jolly Roger Ltd of the United Kingdom and licensed by Scholastic UK. The ride costs around US$5000 if purchased new. It talks in a girl's voice (presumably the voice of Emily Elizabeth) and plays the theme song from the PBS Kids TV series when it's being ridden on. A button to make Clifford bark also exists on the ride.
Character rides costs much more than generic rides when purchased brand new. The higher costs stems from the royalty of the voice samples and theme song as well as character licensing fees.
Knockoff rides that feature figures that look like those of famous cartoon characters exists. Most commonly knocked off characters includes Pikachu from Pokèmon, Disney's Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, and Hello Kitty, to name a few. They are cheaper compared to real licensed rides, and are typically found at smaller establishments. However as the name suggests they are not licensed, and in certain areas with high intellectual property rights recognition, purchasers of knockoff rides can potentially get themselves entangled with legal complications. Furthermore, the ride figure might not be designed to look as close to a licensed character compared to genuinely licensed rides, possibly resulting in diminished recognition.
[edit] Kiddie rides and personal use
While kiddie rides are primarily used to garner extra income for commercial areas like shopping malls, supermarkets and amusement centers, like classic arcade game machines they are becoming increasingly common in homes in many developed countries, usually bought by game collectors and families who want to give their children an edge. This renaissance is being led by Denver-based Kiddie Rides USA, and have received coverage in many magazines including Time, Fortune, United Airline's Hemispheres, and on CNN.
Many of the rides are ex-location units which have been wrote off by the original owner, usually to make way for newer games or rides, and bought for a fraction of what they would cost brand new, either directly from the previous owner or over auction sites like eBay and various other online dealers.
Usually, older rides would be slightly modified in which the coin mechanism is replaced by a pushbutton switch to allow for free-play, while more sophisticated rides that have a mode switch would be set to be permanently on free-play. Some have even found it an innovative way of teaching their children to save by leaving the ride on standard operation mode.
