Chance Rides

Chance Rides Manufacturing

Type	Private
Industry	Amusement ride manufacturing
Founded	Chance Manufacturing: 1961 Chance Rides Manufacturing: 2002
Headquarters	Wichita, Kansas
Key people	Harold Chance, Richard (Dick) Chance, Michael Chance
Products	Roller coasters, thrill rides, family rides, gentle rides
Website	http://www.chancerides.com/

Chance Rides Manufacturing is a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. It was formed on May 16, 2002 when the former Chance Industries Inc. emerged from bankruptcy. The main office and manufacturing facility are both in Wichita, Kansas.^[1]

History

Chance Manufacturing was incorporated in 1961 by Richard H. (Harold) Chance. Harold Chance had been involved in the amusement business since 1946 building small trains for the Ottaway Amusement Company. He designed a 24-inch gauge replica of the C. P. Huntington steam locomotive. That train, the C. P. Huntington, is the company's most successful product line.^[1] In 1970 Chance acquired the assets of the Allan Herschell Company. Chance also began producing Starliner Trams in 1967 under the subsidiary Chance Coach. Richard G. (Dick) Chance assumed control of the company and in 1985 formed Chance Industries, Inc. to serve as a holding company for Chance Rides, Chance Coach, and Chance Operations.^[1]

Chance today

For several years, the Chance Rides Manufacturing products were sold by Chance Morgan. In 2011 the Company reverted to the Chance Rides name and today encompasses Chance Morgan Coasters, Inc. and Chance Rides Manufacturing.^[1] On September 17, 2011, trade publication Amusement Today presented Chance Rides with the Golden Ticket Award for Supplier of the Year, in honor of the company's 50th anniversary.^[2]

Chance carrousels

Chance began selling carrousels (deliberately spelled with two 'Rs') in 1971 following the acquisition of the Allan Herschell Company the previous year. Chance modified the Herschell design giving it a more ornate style.^[1] In 1987 Chance purchased the molds and manufacturing rights to 62 carousel figures from competitor Bradley and Kaye. David Bradley had carefully reproduced prized carousel animals from famous carvers over the previous 20 years and new molds were cast at the Chance facility under the direction of David Bradley.^[1] These famous reproductions with spectacular detail have been included on Chance carrousels since the late 1980s. With the merger of the D. H. Morgan line of carousels, some of the unique Morgan figures have been added to the collection as well. Although fiberglass, the magnificent detail and menagerie of different styles of horses and other figures have become a trademark of Chance Rides carrousels.^[1]

Chance Wheels

The first observation wheel from Chance, the Astro Wheel, was sold to showman Don Franklin and debuted at the 1967 Iowa State Fair. It featured 16 cars with two passengers per car.^[3] The first park model, an 80-foot Giant Wheel, was built in 1975 at Valleyfair amusement park in Minn. It features 18 cars holding four passengers per car and is still in operation. The Century Wheel was introduced in various sizes in both park and portable models in the mid-1980s. In 2006 Chance started working with Dutch Wheels BV, a division of Vekoma Rides^[4] and Bussink Design GmbH to produce even larger wheels such as the Niagara SkyWheel which stands 53.3 m (175 ft) tall and features 42 air-conditioned cars seating eight passengers per car.^[5]

On October 19, 2012, Chance Rides announced a long term license agreement with Bussink Design GmbH for the exclusive rights to manufacture and sell the R80XL Giant Observation Wheel in North America. Chance Rides will market the R80XL, which is over 250 ft (76 m) tall, under an affiliate company, Chance American Wheels. The first R80XL wheel was manufactured by Maurer German Wheels in Munich, Germany, and will be delivered early in 2013; three more R80XL wheels are currently under construction by Maurer.^[6] The first U.S. version, built by Chance, is expected to be ready for delivery by the beginning of 2014.^[7] Chance Rides/Chance American Wheels will continue to manufacturer and sell R-60 wheels in North America under an exclusive license from Dutch Wheels BV.^[4]

Notable wheels include:

• The Great Escape Giant Wheel (1989)^[8]
• I-X Center Ferris wheel (1992) 125-foot (38 m) tall. It was the world's tallest indoor wheel when it opened.^[9][10]
• Hersheypark Ferris wheel (1996)^[11]
• Clementon Amusement Park Giant Ferris Wheel (1997)^[12]
• Niagara SkyWheel (2006)^[13]
• Myrtle Beach SkyWheel (2011)^[14]
• Seattle Great Wheel (2012)^[15]

Chance coasters

Chance Manufacturing's first roller coaster was the Toboggan, a portable ride in which a small vehicle climbed vertically up a tower then spiraled back down around the same tower. The ride was invented by Walter House of Amarillo, Texas, and Chance acquired the manufacturing rights and started producing it in 1969. The coaster was designed to be a carnival ride, fitting on two trailers, but several units were purchased by amusement parks where they were set up as permanent attractions. Chance built 32 of these units, two of which still operate at a permanent park.^[16] In 1998 Chance introduced the Big Dipper children's coaster. With the eventual integration of the D. H. Morgan line into Chance Rides, the company acquired all the track manufacturing technology from Morgan and has the ability to offer a variety of coasters. In 2006, Chance formed an alliance with Vekoma.^[17] Chance Rides represented Vekoma in North America and manufactured the steel track for select projects. On October 17, 2012 Chance Rides and Vekoma discontinued their agreement to produce rides together for the North American market.^[18]

Steel roller coasters

Chance Rides steel roller coasters currently in operation.

Current Chance rides

• 20' Carrousel^[1]
• 28' Carrousel^[30]
• 28' Double Decker Carrousel^[30]
• 36' Carrousel^[30]
• 36' Double Decker Carrousel^[30]
• 50' Grand Carrousel^[1]
• Aviator^[31]
• Alpine Bobs (also available in Rock and Roll/Swingin' Safari/Thunder Bolt themes)^[2]
• C. P. Huntington replica 24" gauge miniature train^[2]
• Century Wheel^[32]
• Electric Cars^[33]
• Family Coaster^[34]
• Freestyle^[35]
• Giant Wheel^[36]
• Hypercoasters 150 feet to 300 feet^[37]
• Hyper GT-X Coaster^[38]
• Observation Tower^[39]
• Pharaoh's Fury^[1]
• R60 Giant Wheel^[40]
• R80XL Giant Wheel^[41]
• Revolution 20^[42]
• Revolution 32^[42]
• Tramstar HD^[1]
• Tramstar LFT^[1]
• Unicoaster^[43]
• Wipeout^[44]
• Yo Yo^[1]
• Zipper^[2]

Past Chance rides

• Astro Wheel^[45]
• Casino (variation of the Trabant)^[45]
• Chaos ^[46]
• Falling Star^[1]
• Flying Bobs (originally by Herschell)/Thunderbolt (rethemed Bobs)^[45]
• Inverter ^[47]
• Music Fest (variation of the Flying Bobs) ^[48]
• Olympia Bobs (originally by Herschell)^[45]
• Pump-It Handcar^[45]
• Radar^[45]
• Rok-N-Rol (originally by Herschell)^[45]
• Rotor^[2]
• Sea Dragon (predecessor to the Pharaoh's Fury)^[1]
• Sidewheeler^[45]
• Skydiver^[1]
• Sky Wheel (originally by Herschell)^[45]
• Slingshot ^[49]
• Space Shuttle^[45]
• Star Fighter^[45]
• Suspended Family Coaster^[18]
• Toboggan^[45]
• Trabant^[2]
• Tumbler (a lifting, double-wheel version of the Skydiver- was known as Wheel Barrow. Only one built)^[45][50]
• Turbo^[1]
• Twister^[45]
• Wagon Wheel (variation of the Trabant)^[45]
• Wagon Wheeler^[45]
• The Zipper^[2]
• Zumur^[1]

References

External links

• Official website
• Chance Rides listing at Roller Coaster DataBase