When I go to an amusement park, I usually head straight for the roller coasters. But sometimes I need a break from coasters. Luckily, there are a lot of other rides at my favorite amusement parks to choose from. One type of ride that I've taken a real liking to is called a "frisbee" ride. Actually, I really like the "giant frisbee" rides. Frisbee rides are great, but in the world of thrill rides, bigger is better and giant is best!

So far, I've been on two giant frisbee rides. The first one is called MaXair, which is located at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, OH.

The MaXair ride at Cedar Point Amusement park.

The second giant frisbee ride that I've ridden is called Delirium, which is located at Kings Island in Mason, OH.

The Delirium ride at Kings Island Amusement park.

A frisbee ride gets its name from the fact that riders sit on a disc shaped gondola that looks like a frisbee and that spins like... yes, you guessed it... a frisbee! MaXair and Delirium are designed by Huss Park Attractions.

There are lots of different types of frisbee rides at amusement parks around the world. Some are big and some are small. Riders can sit facing inwards on some and outwards on others. Gondolas can have a floor or they can be floorless. And there are gondolas that don't really look like frisbees at all. You can read about the different types of frisbee rides on the Frisbee ride page on Wikipedia. All of these variations are very nice I'm sure, but I'm going to focus on the giant frisbee rides... because they are giant!

You might think that the spinning motion of the gondola is disorienting or can make you dizzy, but the rotation is purposely slow at about 8 rotations per minute, so most people shouldn't feel dizzy or get nauseous. I say most people, because one time when I rode Delirium, the kid next to me lost his lunch. He and his friends thought that was absolutely hilarious, but that's a story for another article. I've ridden giant frisbees a number of times, and I don't recall seeing anyone else have that problem.

The "Frisbee" shaped Gondola of Delirium.

Actual frisbee's fly through the air and I'm happy to report to my fellow thrill seekers that giant frisbee rides do the same thing. Well sort of. While the gondola spins, a giant pendulum arm swings it back and forth, getting higher and higher and higher. Once the ride gets going, riders find themselves being rocketed up to 140 feet in the sky and then plunging back to earth, over and over and over. That's like shooting up to the top of a fourteen-story building!

MaXair starts to swing at Cedar Point Amusement Park.

And hold on to your hat, because the swinging pendulum reaches speeds of up to 70 miles per hour (110 kilometers per hour). Interestingly, King's Island describes the Delirium's top speed as up to 76 mph. They must have ordered the ride from Huss Park Attractions with an optional flux capacitor :) Speaking of hats, on my last visit to Kings Island, the ride operators were letting people wear hats on Delirium. You might not want to do that as I saw more than one hat floating down from the sky while the ride was in motion.

Is there a feeling of weightlessness at the top of the giant pendulum's swinging motion? Well, yes there is! In fact, riders experience zero G at the top of the pendulum arm's arc, then feel negative G's on the way down before the ride delivers 4.5 G's at the bottom of the arc.

Delirium's giant pendular arm at its highest point.

There's something else going on at the pendulum arm's highest point. Because the arc of the swinging pendulum arm is 120 degrees in each direction, riders will start to go upside at the top. Neither Delirium nor MaXair fully invert riders, but you'll feel the sensation of inversion as you near the top of the arm's arc.

Because you're both spinning around in a circle and swinging back and forth, your view is constantly changing. Well, that's if you're brave enough to keep your eyes open! Sometimes you're shooting face first up into the heavens and sometimes you're watching the ground getting closer and closer at an alarming rate as you plunge downward. And other times, you're moving backwards, unable to see where you're going. I wonder which is more terrifying? But don't worry, there's an over-the-shoulder harness that will hold you firmly in your seat.

Looking straight up at MaXair riders 140 feet in the air.

You can tell that giant frisbee rides are huge monster machines while you're waiting in line to get onboard. You can hear the deep whirring sound that the 85 feet (26 meters) tall monsters make as it works hard to catapult riders up into the sky. The Delirium's queue takes you right under the swinging gondola where you feel a strong gust of wind in your face as the massive steel pendulum arm swings the gondola overhead.

The impressive motion of the giant machine is just as fun for spectators to watch as it is for thrill seekers to ride. OK, that's not really true - riding it is WAY more fun than watching it, but the one person in your group who is afraid to ride it will have something amazing to watch as you wiz by screaming at the top of your lungs!

Delirium starts to slow down at the end of the ride.

I enjoyed riding both MaXair and Delirium. They were both exciting breaks from the roller coasters. I only wish that the ride time was more two minutes long. Well, that and it would be awesome if the frisbee gondola swung up and over the top of the structure for a full loop of course :)

Watch the Videos

As I mentioned in the article above, giant frisbee rides like Delirium and MaXair are fun to watch. You can see each of these rides in action in the videos below. And it's amusing to see the nervous riders swing their legs and then here them scream with excitement! After watching the videos, ask yourself - you will be a rider or a spectator? :)

Click to Watch the MaXair Video