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Flat Rides to Look Out For

What is and is not considered a flat ride is far more vague than the criteria surrounding roller coasters and dark rides, but there are some iconic flat rides you can find at almost any park. 

The Drop Tower

I start with this flat ride because it is, without a doubt, my favorite type of flat ride. Though completely safe, drop towers have a knack for scaring off guests. I know multiple people--my mother among them--who will ride every attraction at the park, except the drop tower. 

Drop tower at King's Island
Image: King's Island

The definition of the drop tower is in the name. It’s a tower that drops you. The typical flow of a drop tower takes riders to the top of a structure before dropping them, but many drop towers do the opposite, launching riders from the bottom and letting them fall gradually back to the station. Some famous classic drop towers include the triplets, Hershey’s Tower at Hershey Park, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, and Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom at Six Flags Great Adventure, the world’s tallest drop tower (415 feet/126 meters) as of January 2021, found within the track of Kingda Ka. 

More unconventional drop towers exist and are growing in popularity. Lex Luthor Drop of Doom is more of a quarter-pipe shape that allows guests to fall down the side of it like a steep slide. Falcon’s Fury forces riders to face the ground before letting them drop. Apocalypse at Drayton Manor is an ever-terrifying standing drop tower. These flat rides intimidate and delight with a minimal surface area that cannot be beat. 

The Star Flyer 

ICON Park's Starflyer
Image: ICON Park

The star flyer, though far more relaxing than the drop tower, maintains a similar shape. On these attractions, seats typically attached to chains spin around in circles as riders are gradually lifted into the air. The largest star flyer in the world is found at ICON Park, but other notable models are found at Cedar Point and the Six Flags staple, StarScreamer. 

Frisbees, Pendulums, and Swings 

Classic boat ride
Image: Huss Park Attractions

Pendulum rides, as the name would suggest, mimic the swaying motions of a pendulum. Most, not all, rock riders back and forth until they are upside-down, then send riders swooshing through a few complete rotations. These rides are incredibly common, as well as their cousin model, the frisbee. The frisbee does everything a pendulum does, while also spinning a circular car for a double-spinning sensation.

Another variation on this ride can be found in the Larson Looper, which actually follows a track for its entire duration. 

Swings, like S&S’s Screamin’ Swing, are my personal pick of these style of rides because you get the falling sensation and adrenaline pumping while pressing pause on the at-times nauseating spinning. These rides typically don’t go upside-down and allow the air to whoosh through the riders’ hair and clothes. Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s new-for-2019 Finnegan’s Flyer is a personal favorite of mine when I need a break from the more intense thrills. 

The Classics 

Disney's Magic Carpet Ride
Image: Disney

Now for the classic carnival rides that can be found at various parks: your ferris wheels, your carousels, your Dumbo/Magic Carpet/fill-in-the-blank flyer, your Teacups, and plenty--plenty--more. There are more to come, too. Though flat rides typically cater to the classics, manufacturers are pushing the limits on what flat rides can accomplish. 

In a theme park industry that is innovating as you read this, flat rides are something so reliable, so attainable, and so accessible, that they’ll never dim from the landscape. 

Yeah, they’re filler, but isn’t that the best part of the Oreo?
 

 
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