Huss

We circle back to Huss, who, in 1994, premiered the Frisbee. The idea was this: what if we added a spinning element to a swinging ship? A massive 28-foot-wide circular gondola hangs from a 62-foot-tall structure. Like the Pirate, two drive tires swing the disk-shaped gondola up to 90° on each side while a separate drive motor spins the gondola independently of the swinging motion. Interestingly, the drive tires are not placed at the same height. When you look at one from the loading area, the right drive tire is placed more toward the center point of the structure and is used to start and stop the gondola at the beginning and end of the cycle. The left drive tire is higher and provides a lot of upward momentum.

Crazy Beach Party was a traveling Huss Frisbee that was purchased by the PNE Playland (Vancouver, BC) in 2004 and it ran there until 2021.

Capacity was massive on this ride, with 20 seats on each side of the gondola, placed on the outer edge. Guests are faced looking inside, thus allowing an easy and fast loading process.

In addition to many traveling versions delivered between 1994 and 1999-2000 to carnival operators worldwide, a permanent version was launched in 1995. The massive capacity of 40 riders per cycle appealed to parks with large crowds and Nagashima Spaland (Mie, Japan) opened the first permanent Frisbee installation in July 1995 . Everland (Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea) opened the second foundation attached Frisbee on January 20^th, 1996, called the Hurricane there.

In 1998, Huss started delivering the first of a massive five Frisbee order for Six Flags in the US and Germany. The Frisbee at Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, TX) was first in 1998, first installed where Boomerang roller coaster opened in the park entrance area, but quickly moved the following year to the Boardwalk area where it ran until 2015. The Pendulum at Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, NJ), the Tomahawk at  Riverside Park (now Six Flags New England in Agawam, MA), and the Tasmanian Devil at Six Flags Marine World (now Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA) all opened in 1999 and initially saw great success. Still, issues outside of the ride started occurring quickly.

An example of that was at Six Flags Great Adventure. The ride was often closed between 1999 and 2003 due to staffing issues at the park and a poor location where the ride was visible entering the park but hidden behind trees and other structures inside. After the 2003 season, the ride moved to Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, IL) where it was renamed the Revolution, and a much better location led to a further 19 years of operation.

Over at Riverside Park, later Six Flags New England, the ride was placed at the top of the hill the park sits on, close to the road. The ride was an excellent billboard for the park, but going to ride the attraction implied hiking up the hill to Crackaxle Canyon from the park’s main north-south path. This led to disappointing ridership, and finally, after the 2024 season, the ride was retired.

In 2000, Blazing Saddles opened at Warner Bros. Movie World Germany Bottrop, Germany. After the sale of the park along with the rest of the Six Flags European division in 2004, the ride along with the park was renamed the Side Kick at Movie Park Germany due to the loss of the Warner Bros. name and IP’s.

Around 2000, Huss launched the Frisbee XL. Whereas the standard Frisbee is 62 feet tall (18.5 meters), the structure of the XL version is 82 feet tall (25 meters). It can also swing higher, reaching an angle of 130° on each side and a height of 118 feet (36 meters) for the gondola. The Gondola was also modified to have riders face outward. Pictures come from three Korean blogs:

https://blog.naver.com/ok20200/221448714899

https://billnote.net/843

https://blog.naver.com/jrlonely21c/220786925234

Tongdo Fantasia/통도환타지아 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea) is where the only known Frisbee XL was installed. FreeSwing was the ride name, and the park sadly closed due to COVID19 in early 2020 and never reopened.

In 2003, Paramount Kings Island (Mason, OH) installed the first Huss Giant Frisbee, called Delirium. The arm is 82 feet long, with the structure standing a little taller than that at 98 feet tall (30 meters). What is mind-boggling is the ride’s power, where that long arm is connected to an outside-facing 50-seat disk. That disk will quickly swing at a 120° angle, with riders reaching 140-141 feet in the air at its highest point. This immediately became one of the park’s most popular attractions, and other large parks worldwide took notice.

In 2004, Bobbejaanland (Lichtaart, Belgium) introduced the Sledgehammer, Europe’s first Huss Giant Frisbee. Over in Asia, both Fuji-Q Highland (Fujiyoshida, Japan) and Nagashima Spaland (Mie, Japan) introduced Tondemina and the Giant Frisbee in 2004. They were again massive successes, and soon, Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) and other Asian parks ordered more. Today, Huss Rides offers a 40-seat gondola in addition to the classic 50-seat disk.