DEL MAR
–
Teenagers with frightened faces lined up one recent morning, tickets in hand, to brave the San Diego County Fair's new ultrafast pendulum ride called Speed.
A procession of wobbly-legged passengers disembarking offered little comfort to those waiting to hop on one of the most intense rides in the Fun Zone.
“I'm scared,” a teenage boy confessed as the ride operator pulled the safety harness down over his torso.
The ride consists of a giant arm that swings four riders on either end into the air and then back to earth, somersaulting them twice with each plunge. The acceleration exerts up to 3.5 Gs, nearly the gravitational force a pilot might feel in a fighter jet.
David Saenz, 20, summed up the experience: “I left my soul on this ride.”
Speed is one of two additions to the fair's Fun Zone this year. While teenagers and kids at heart shrieked aboard the pendulum, a younger crowd squealed with delight on the slightly tamer Sky Flyer nearby.
Sky Flyer is much like a traditional carnival swing ride, with added altitude. Riders in two-seater swings are hoisted up a colorful 140-foot tower. Flags and ponytails flutter in the wind as the ride gains momentum, spinning around the central tower.
As it rotates, Sky Flyer sweeps riders above the noisy pop music and popcorn-scented air of the Fun Zone and treats them to a 360-degree view of the fairgrounds and surrounding cities. Before it begins spinning so fast that riders lose their bearings, one leg of the rotation offers views of waves crashing on the nearby beach.
“It's nice and cool up there, you can see the whole park,” said Ron Keyser, who took a spin with his 10-year-old daughter, Danielle, and her friend Nate Snyder, 13.
At the base of both rides, piles of sneakers and Vans slip-ons littered the ground. Many riders went barefoot to prevent passers-by below from taking a shoe to the head.
As a safety precaution, Speed has a height requirement, mandating that riders stand between 56 and 73 inches tall. The Sky Flyer attracts a shorter crowd, with a minimum height limit of 48 inches.
A whirl on one of the new rides is not exactly cheap. Both require six tickets, with each ticket costing 65 cents to 75 cents, depending on the quantity purchased. On certain days, $30 buys an all-you-can-ride wristband.
Not everyone was prepared to stomach the new thrill rides.
Roger Pryor of Oceanside said Speed was out of the question. His face formed an uneasy expression as he sat on a bench waiting for his daughter to buy tickets.
“At my age, I don't think my heart could handle it,” Pryor said.
Monica Unhold is a Union-Tribune intern.
