Out for a Spin : From the Zipper to Orbiter, Fair-Goers Get Carried Away on Heart-Thumping Rides

Daredevils, adrenaline addicts and future stuntmen--along with your neighbors, kids and spouses--are heading to the fairgrounds in record numbers in search of the ride of their lives.

Whether it’s a rip on the Zipper, a ricochet on the Orbiter, or a revolution on the Evolution, connoisseur thrill seekers are rating the rides. Which ride is the scariest? Which ride is the longest? How should you position yourself for maximum fear? Which ride leaves you closest to launching your lunch?

Here is the thrill seeker’s insider guide to the Ventura County Fair, and the ultimate judgment from those in the know--the ones with the all-day wristbands--about which ride will leave you exhilarated, breathless and ready to vomit.

“This is the best ride,” says Sheree Martin, 14, hair caught in her braces after a ride on the death-defying Zipper. “It’s the most adrenaline-pumping one.”

Justin Emahiser, 11, disagrees.

“It’s the Evolution,” he says, heading off for his umpteenth revolution.

The Ventura County Fair boasts 39 rides. And this year there are five of what those in the industry call “spectacular” rides: the Evolution, the Hi-Miler, the Grand Wheel, 1001 Nights and Creep Show.

Spectaculars are rides that are so big they require several trucks to move, and their capacity is so large they can reel in the riders. The more spectaculars the better the fair, say fair organizers, because they are what really draw the crowds.

And the crowds are out. This year’s ride coupon sales show that more people are riding more rides more often, said Teri Raley, Ventura County Fair publicist. Fair attendance is up 5.5%, the latest figures show, from 373,900 last year to 394,600 this year, and unlimited ride coupons are up 13% over last year.

The thing is, experts say, it’s not just which ride you go on, but how you ride it, where you sit, and when you last ate.

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Those taking a belly-dropping swing on 1001 Nights should sit farthest to the rear for maximum queasiness. And sit beach side, in case you get a food-rising impulse.

And if you do the rebel yell on the Hi-Miler, don’t sit in the front, where it looks most dangerous, sit in the back, says veteran rider Paul Randall, who turns 9 in September.

“I think the back is more scary because when the front goes down, it pushes all the pressure to the back and it lets you loose,” he says.

Sometimes, a wink at the carny will get you an extra 30 seconds--or faster spins. Although many of the newest rides are controlled by computers, human operators still can control them manually.

True aficionados say there are basic questions you should ask yourself as you plan your thrills: Do you want to be spun passively? Or do you want to interact with the machine?

Joey Filancia, 9, who just clears the height requirement if he combs his shock of surfer hair straight up, opts for interaction on the Gravitron. As the centrifugal force glues his tiny body to the wall, he shimmies up the seat, then lies sideways. Next to him a man with no teeth kneels on the wall like Spiderman.

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And on the Zipper, you can learn to control your spinning cage. Edward Shelton, the carny on the buttons, says Cage No. 2 spins the most. Sheree Martin and Alana Mitnick, 14, say they got their cage to spin six consecutive times.

“I like this ride, because you can control how scary it is,” Sheree says.

“Yeah. My mom fell out of one of these,” Alana says. “Well, she was hanging by the bottom of it. She’s really skinny. She slipped under the bar.”

Can this be true?

Fair officials insist every safety precaution has been taken.

No fewer than four groups inspect the rides to make sure they are safe--the California Fair Services Authority; state Division of Elevators, Trams and Portable Amusement Rides; the Ventura County Fair, and an insurance company.

And each morning carnies carry out a ride-readiness check, fine-tuning ball bearings and conveyor belts to make sure they are safe.

“There are more deaths on elevators than there are on portable amusement rides,” says Bob Snider, a safety consultant who oversees some of the inspections.

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But in the end, real thrill seekers say it isn’t about safety, it’s a matter of natural selection. Some people get sick. Others don’t. Only those with iron stomachs will survive. The iron-intestined are puzzled by the lily-livered in their midst.

“It’s not scary,” says Megan Chacon, 15, as she prepares for a ride on the back seat of 1001 Nights, a giant ship that swoops through the sky. “But some people barf. I don’t know why.”