Octopus (ride)

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The Octopus is a type of amusement ride with a shape inspired by an octopus. Five to eight arms attached to a central axis of rotation move up and down in a wavelike motion via a counter rotating eccentric, while cars at the end of the arms, either attached directly to the arm or fixed on spinning crosses, spin freely or stay in place, depending on the exact type of ride. Each Octopus ride has the arms attached the middle of the ride. Most octopus rides require guests to be at least 42 inches to ride without an adult; smaller children must have an adult with them.

There are many different kinds of Octopus. They include:

• Eyerly Octopus — The original Octopus ride variant. This variant, built by the Eyerly Aircraft Company of Oregon, has eight arms, with one car attached to each arm. As the arms turn, they move up and down, and the cars can spin freely. The arms, much like the other Eyerly designs, have a fixed height at each point of the rotation, and cannot be lowered for loading. This means that the operator must load the ride one car at a time, advancing the ride to bring each arm in succession to the place where the arm is at ground level.
• Eyerly Spider — This ride is similar to the Octopus, but with only six arms, each of which has two cars on a spinning crossbar.
• Eyerly Monster — This ride has six arms like the spider, but with four cars per arm, making it a higher-capacity ride. The arms are attached to a spinning cross.
• Klaus (SDC) 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.

• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – Bill Hames Amusements
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – Camden Park - Huntington, West Virginia
• Octopus (Eyerly Octopus) – Conneaut Lake Park - Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – Elitch Gardens Theme Park - Denver, Colorado
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – Evans Midland Empire Shows
• Octopus (Eyerly Octopus) – Funland Amusement Park - Idaho Falls, Idaho
• Octopus (Eyerly Octopus) – Great American Shows
• Octopus (Eyerly Octopus) – Hydro Free Fair^[2] - Hydro, Oklahoma
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – Idlewild and Soak Zone - Ligionier, Pennsylvania
• Sea Warrior (Klaus [SDC] Polyp) – Indiana Beach - Monticello, Indiana (formerly at Kiddieland Amusement Park in Melrose Park, Illinois and Lake Winnepesaukah in Rossville, Georgia)
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – Lakeside Amusement Park - Lakeside, Colorado
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – Luna Park, Melbourne - Melbourne, Australia
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – North American Midway Entertainment - Farmland, Indiana
• El Pulpo (Eyerly Spider) – Parque Diversiones - San José, Costa Rica
• Piovra (Soriani & Moser Polyp) – PowerPark - South Ostrobothnia, Finland
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – River City Carnival
• Octopus (Vortex) – Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival - Indio, California
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – Shooting Star Amusements
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – South Florida Fair - West Palm Beach, Florida
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – Tom Evans United Shows
• Spider (Eyerly Spider) – The Terrortorium Haunted House & Amusements - Oxford, Alabama (formerly at Waldameer & Water World in Erie, Pennsylvania)

• Spider - Bell's Amusement Park: Spider model.
• Tarantula - Frontier Village: Operated from 1975 until the park's closure in 1980.^[3] Spider model.
• Spider - Lakeside Amusement Park: Removed in 2016. Spider model.
• Spider - Rocky Glen Park: A Spider also operated at the park in the 1970s.
• Octopus - Worlds of Fun: Removed in 2014 due to unavailability of spare parts. Octopus model.

• Monster (ride)

• One of the first Schwarzkopf Monster III's
• SDC Polyp

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Octopus (ride).

• Sartori Rides
• Emiliana Luna Park srl (ITALY)[1]