Oktoberfest 2003 – Page 6
Arguably the most impressive ride at Oktoberfest is Rudolf Barth's Olympia Looping roller coaster. The ride features 1250 meters of track, stands 32.5 meters high and its footprint is only 85 meters by 36 meters! The ride runs five trains, two of which can be seen in this picture (the center loop and the green loop). A train is dispatched roughly every 28 seconds. After one train reaches the top of the lift another speeds out of the station.
The photo on the left shows the coaster speeding through the fifth loop, shortly before hitting the brakes. One of the Olympia Looping's best features is the way in which the trains interact with the superstructure and each other. The second photo shows how the trains often fly by one-another at high speeds. First-time riders are shocked when they look out of the corner of their eye and realize that a loaded train is rocketing by at full speed only a few feet away.
The Goetzke family also owns this Huss Frisbee, which is run by Franz. It is a massive ride and even features a lighted "FRISBEE" sign atop the structure that spins to attract guests from across the fairgrounds.
Personal responsibility is dealt with differently in Germany. In the United States Michael Woods' Shake travels with a fence that is at the outer perimeter of the ride, or roughly where the black lamppost is on the left side of the picture. In Germany people are expected to know better than to walk into a ride while it is running, which is why guests stand only a few feet from an active ride deck, yet injuries occur infrequently on the German fair circuit.
The Break Dancer, a Huss four-table Break Dance, is also owned by Aigner. Ever since this type of ride was introduced in the mid-1980's it has remained a staple at Oktoberfest.
There were two Huss Top Spins on the fairgrounds this year, one of which was Top Spin Fresh (owned by Zehle). This ride has an amazing light package and water system with effects that beat most park installations. The towers on either side of the ride are filled with water and provide stability for the Top Spin as it sends its riders head-over-heels. As with most fairground rides this one is manually controlled and cycles that feature 20 or 30 flips aren't uncommon.
Working from left to right we see Münch's Wilde Maus, Dehner's Millennium, Schneider's Power Tower 2, Kaiser's High Energy, Bruch's Euro Star and in the foreground is the Gaus family's Playball.
Learn more about Oktoberfest
- Oktoberfest.De (the event's official site)
- Oktoberfest-Planner.De (a site about Munich with lots of info. on Oktoberfest, much of which we used to identify piece owners)
- AmusementRides.De (an overloading of the senses on European rides)
- Kirmes & Park Revue (the publication of the European fair & park industry)
