Monster (ride)

Monster
Monster at Cedar Point in 2012
StatusDiscontinued
ManufacturerEyerly Aircraft Company
Vehicles24
Riders per vehicle1
Capacity24

The Monster is an amusement ride model manufactured by Eyerly Aircraft Company. The ride spins while moving up and down at a slow pace. Each car spins independently while large connecting arms move up and down in a circular motion. Riders may experience the feeling of weightlessness when going in the air and coming back down to ground level.

Different types of Monster rides

There are many different kinds of Monster rides. They include:

  • Eyerly Monster — The original ride model.
  • Klaus (S.D.C.) Polyp — Originally built in the 1960s by Klaus of Germany, this ride has five arms, with four cars attached to a spinning cross at the end of each arm. This variation of the Octopus differs from the Eyerly version in two key ways: the cars do not spin freely because they are attached to the side of the cross arm, and the operator can lower all the arms at once for loading, allowing all cars to be loaded simultaneously. Although the Klaus rides are not common, the design found moderate success in western Europe, with the most common manufacturers of these attractions being Bakker and CAH, both of the Netherlands.
  • Schwarzkopf Monster — This popular variant built by Schwarzkopf of Germany is similar to the Klaus Polyp, but its cars are able to spin freely on the cross, rather than being attached to the side. The ride has five arms, with either four or five cars attached to each arm. There have been three different models of Monster built by Schwarzkopf (with the most popular being the Monster III), but they all function the same. Sartori of Italy also makes a similar ride.
  • Looping/Suspended Polyp — Originally designed by Wieland Schwarzkopf (son of Anton Schwarzkopf), the Looping Polyp was similar to the Monster, but featured cars that could flip over as well as spin. The cars were also suspended below the crosses, rather than above. The prototype ride, called Sound Factory and built for German showman Kinzler in 1997, was the only Looping Polyp ever built, as the ride was plagued by mechanical issues and was pulled out of service just a couple years later.[1] In the late 2010s, Gerstlauer replaced the original looping cars with spinning cars for showman Aigner, who renamed the ride Parkour.[1] It currently tours various German Funfairs.

The Monster and the Octopus are two different ride models. The Monster has six arms, but has four seats on the end. The Octopus has eight arms with either one or two seats at the ends, and the Spider, which is an offshoot of the Octopus, has six arms with two seats at the end of each arm. In both ride models, the rotating arms are operated by electric motors where the seats are connected.

Ride locations

Monster at Cedar Point in 2003

These are not exhaustive lists.

Current

Former

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Schwarzkopf Coaster Net". schwarzkopf-coaster.net. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  2. ^ Webb, Craig. "Six Flags Cedar Point removes classic 'Monster' ride". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  3. ^ Jacques, Jr., Charles J. (1997). Hersheypark: The Sweetness of Success. Amusement Park Journal. ISBN 0-9614392-2-X.
  4. ^ "Hershey Community Archives: Chronology Database". Archived from the original on 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
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