Through its first year, the ride was gradually restored to its former glory, and by the end of the year, the ride looked sensational. It was during this period that the ride's appearance deteriorated somewhat.įor 2006, Top Buzz 2 was sold to the Yorkshire-based Crow family. Ayers briefly toured the ride, mainly around the south of England, before putting it into Margate's Dreamland until the end of 2005. Top Buzz 1 went to World Carnival proprietor Billy Stevens, while Top Buzz 2 was sold to London showman Harry Ayers. However, Hall's business interests eventually shifted towards the newly formed World Tourist Attractions, operators of the Ferris Wheels that have operated in several city centres around Europe, and so both Top Buzzes were eventually sold to other showmen. However, Hall soon set to work, and over the next few years, the ride acquired new signage, which bestowed the name Top Buzz 2, a new backflash, new lighting, and a whole new platform. While Top Buzz had come to be known as one of the best-looking Top Scans in the world, the Spanish ride was anything but. To replace the ride at home, Hall found and bought "Extreme", an earlier model Top Scan that had been touring in Spain. In early 2002, Top Buzz was one of several European rides to go to China and appear at Billy Stevens' "World Carnival", where it enjoyed such success that Hall decided to keep it on the World Carnival tour for the rest of the year. The ride was phenomenally popular, and made a huge impression everywhere it went, both in the UK and other parts of Europe. The story here begins with Nottinghamshire showman Elliott Hall, who debuted the original Top Buzz in 1998, again at the Leeds Valentine Fair. Top Buzz 2, on the other hand, has had a less privileged upbringing. Indeed, the various owners have added touches of glitz and glam that make Space Roller unique, such as the powerful 'Space Lights' that floodlight the platform and backflash, and the very eye-catching neon above and below the centre of the star of seats. In this respect, the ride has been very fortunate, as the Kinzler, Maier, and Mellors families are widely regarded as being among the very best in their respective countries when it comes to ride presentation. When the ride made its UK debut at the 2006 Leeds Valentine Fair, it looked as good as new. After a brief spell under French ownership, the ride came to the UK in 2006, courtesy of James Mellors Amusements, probably the most famous and highly regarded fairground operator in the UK.Īlthough the ride was eight years old by the time it came into Mellors' ownership, it did not show. After a few years, the ride was sold to the Maier family of Switzerland. Space Roller debuted in 1998, and was originally operated by the Kinzler family of Stuttgart. Take a deep breath, as with both being on their fourth owners, the story isn't short, especially when we throw in the reason behind the numerical suffix buried away in the corner of the Top Buzz 2 logo. The speed and direction of the main arm and the star are both at the mercy of the operator, meaning that a lot of combinations of movement are possible.īoth Space Roller and Top Buzz 2 have quite colourful histories, so let's do a quick whistle-stop tour of how each came to be in the UK. The ride takes the diagonal main arm, previously seen on the Mondial Inferno, and adds a 6-spoked spinning star of seats, each row taking 5 passengers and able to flip freely throughout the ride. A fast powerful ride, and very versatile, the Top Scan produces some of the greatest G-forces of any ride ever built. While Mondial has been responsible for a whole series of tremendous rides both before and since, it would be fair to say that the Top Scan is still the ride that defines the Dutch firm's reputation. Well, skip forward to the present, and not only do we have a Top Scan touring our showgrounds, we have two Space Roller, owned by James Mellors Amusements and Top Buzz 2, presented by Crow Amusements International. Here in the UK, we did our familiar impressions of Oliver Twist, looking at all the fun the European fairgoers were having, never thinking that we could possibly have one of our own. It only seems like yesterday since we first heard rumblings of a new fairground ride from Mondial that, even then, seemed destined to take over the world. I just can't believe the Top Scan has been with us for an entire decade.
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