Top Spin (ride)
The Top Spin is a thrill ride developed by HUSS Park Attractions, and is the generic name for a series of rides from other manufacturers that follow the same principle. The ride consists of a passenger platform suspended between two counterweighted arms. The arms are turned by motors, while the platform typically only has brakes that are engaged and disengaged at various points of the ride cycle. A typical top spin program runs the main arm motors while engaging and disengaging the platform brakes so that it will rotate in exciting ways. The minimum rider height requirement is 54 inches; maximum is 80 inches due to the seat and restraint design. The ride was debuted in 1990 with it proving an instant success with European fairgoers.
Ride experience
Huss has designed the ride so that park and carnival operators may choose one of eight preset ride "programs." Most last no more than two minutes and consist of several moderate-speed loops, flips, and face-down gondola "hangtime" before unlocking the gondola hydraulics and swinging the riders back and forth. Some Top Spin rides have the added feature of water fountains which are mainly used at the end of the ride sequence soaking the riders as they are slowly lowered face first into the un-escapable water jets. Cycles can be customized to include more intense repetitive flips and also be under manual operator control. Cycles may tend to be longer at carnivals. A world record was set with over 100 gondola flips during a cycle with a theme park model in Germany.Variations
- The original Topspin concept has two rows of seating with self lowering lap bars and rider spotlights.
- The Giant Top Spin is a larger version of the Top Spin, seating 77 passengers in three rows on the platform. Only one park in the United States featured a Giant Top Spin, The Crypt at Kings Island in Ohio. However, its third row was removed in 2008, reducing the capacity. The ride structure was still larger than any other. It closed after the 2011 season.
- The Suspended Top Spin is a floorless version of the ride that can hold 38 passengers in two rows back to back.
- The Top Spin 2 is a smaller version of the original, designed for showmen who require a ride that fits onto a single trailer. This version enables the platform to perform almost endless loops. This version tends to have telescoping drum supports to hold the main control arms.
In addition to this, various manufacturers such as Mondial, Moser, Vekoma, and Zamperla make an improved version of the Top Spin where each individual arm is controlled separately; this results in diagonal gondola inversions. Such rides are known by names like "Wind Shear", "Super Loop on Top", "Waikiki Wave Super Flip","Super Nova" and "Discovery".
Installations
The Top Spin was once a common ride at travelling funfairs, particularly in Germany. Over time, many of the travelling versions of the ride have been sold to amusement parks. Huss also makes several models of Top Spin specifically for static locations.| Name | Park | Location | Manufacturer | Model | Opened | Status |
| Wipeout | Dreamworld |  Australia | Vekoma | Waikiki Wave Super Flip | 1993 | |
| Rampage | Adventure World | Australia | Moser's Rides | Maverick | 2001 | |
| Buzzsaw Formerly Screamer | Walibi Belgium |  Belgium | Huss | Top Spin | 2001 | |
| Galaxy Twister | Galaxyland |  Canada | Moser's Rides | Loop On Top | 1995 | |
| Hell's Gate | Playland | Canada | Huss | Top Spin | 2000 | |
| Demon | La Ronde | Canada | Mondial | Roll Over | 2014 | |
| La Tornade | La Ronde | Canada | Huss | Top Spin | 1997 | |
| Riptide | Canada's Wonderland | Canada | Mondial | Splash Over | 2000 | |
| Top Spin | Fantasilandia |  Chile | Huss | Top Spin | 2004 | |
| Perfect Storm | Happy Valley Shenzhen |  China | Huss | Top Spin | 2002 | |
| Perfect Storm | Happy Valley Wuhan | China | Huss | Top Spin | 2012 | |
| Trojan Horse | Happy Valley Beijing | China | Huss | Top Spin | 2006 | |
| Kieputin | Linnanmäki |  Finland | Huss | Top Spin | 1994 | |
| NYC Transformer Formerly Riddler's Revenge | Movie Park Germany |  Germany | Huss | Top Spin | 1999 | |
| Talocan | Phantasialand | Germany | Huss | Suspended Top Spin | 2007 | |
| Gantu Top Spin | Serengeti Park | Germany | Huss | Top Spin 2 | 1995 | |
| Aqua Spin | Heide Park | Germany | Huss | Top Spin | 1992 | |
| Yukan Raft | Fort Fun Abenteurland | Germany | Huss | Top Spin 2 | 2013 | |
| Estrugensen | Xetulul Theme Park |  Guatemala | Huss | Top Spin | 2002 | |
| Top Spin | Vidámpark |  Hungary | Huss | Top Spin | 2004 | |
| EsselWorld |  India | Huss | Top Spin | 2012 | ||
| GiraVolta Formerly Top Spin | Miragica Gardaland |  Italy | Huss | Top Spin | 2015 1993 to 2015 | |
| Tomb Raider Machine | Movieland Park | Italy | Zamperla | Windshear | 2007 | |
| Double Rock Spin | Everland |  South Korea | Huss | Suspended Top Spin | 2003 | |
| Blast Formerly Excalibur | Walibi Holland |  Netherlands | Huss | Top Spin | 2000 | |
| Montezuma's Revenge | Avonturenpark Hellendoorn | Netherlands | Huss | Top Spin 2 | 1998 | |
| Waterspin | Duinrell | Netherlands | Huss | Top Spin | 1996 | |
| Hurakan | Tibidabo |  Spain | Huss | Top Spin | 1992 | |
| Lex Luthor's Invertatron | Parque Warner Madrid | Spain | Huss | Top Spin | 2002 | |
| Top Spin | Parque de Atracciones de Madrid | Spain | Huss | Top Spin | 1993 | |
| TopSpin | Liseberg |  Sweden | Huss | Top Spin | 1993 | |
| Rameses Revenge | Chessington World of Adventures |  United Kingdom | Huss | Top Spin | 1995 | |
| Ripsaw | Alton Towers | United Kingdom | Huss | Top Spin | 1997 | |
| Terror Rack | Pleasure Island Family Theme Park | United Kingdom | Fabbri | Tsunami | 1998 | |
| Tidal Wave | Flamingo Land | United Kingdom | Vekoma | Waikiki Wave | 1993 | |
| Top Spin | Astroland |  United States | Huss | Top Spin 2 | 2004 | |
| Cliffhanger | Lagoon | United States | Mondial | Splash Over | 2001 | |
| The Crypt Formerly Tomb Raider: Firefall | Kings Dominion | United States | Huss | Suspended Top Spin | 2005 | |
| The Crypt Formerly Tomb Raider: The Ride | Kings Island | United States | Huss | Giant Top Spin | 2002 | |
| Der Twister | Six Flags Fiesta Texas | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 1998 | |
| Firefall Formerly Texas Twister | California's Great America Geauga Lake | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 2008 1993 to 2007 | |
| King Chaos | Six Flags Great America | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 2004 | |
| King Kahuna | Kennywood | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 2003 | |
| Hang Time | Dorney Park | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 1998 | |
| Lex Luthor's Invertatron | Six Flags New Orleans | United States | Zamperla | Windshear | 2003 | |
| Quake | Kentucky Kingdom | United States | Vekoma | Waikiki Wave | 1992 | |
| RipTide | Knott's Berry Farm | United States | Huss | Suspended Top Spin | 2004 | |
| RipTide | Valleyfair | United States | Huss | Suspended Top Spin | 2005 | |
| Top Spin | Myrtle Beach Pavilion | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 2006 | |
| Shake, Rattle & Roll Formerly Avalanche | Elitch Gardens | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 1995 | |
| Splash Over | Adventureland | United States | Moser's Rides | Maverick | 2006 | |
| Thunderhawk | Worlds of Fun | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 2002 | |
| Twister | Darien Lake | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 2000 | |
| Twister | Lake Winnepesaukah | United States | Moser's Rides | Maverick | 2016 | |
| Twister | Six Flags Great Adventure | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 1999 | |
| VooDoo | Six Flags Discovery Kingdom | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 1998 | |
| Twister | Six Flags New England | United States | Huss | Top Spin | 1997 | |
| Monster Spin | Dragon Park Ha Long |  Vietnam | Huss | Top Spin 2 | 2017 | |
| Thor Thunder Spin Ride | IMG Worlds Of Adventure |  United Arab Emirates | Huss | Suspended Top Spin | 2016 | |
| Top Spin | Romon U-Park | China | Huss | Suspended Top Spin | 2014 | |
| Top Spin | Dreamland |  Japan | Huss | Top Spin | 1999 | |
| Top Spin | Wiener Prater |  Austria | ||||
| Vortigo | Etnaland | Italy | Moser's Rides | Super Loop on Top | 2013 | |
| Top Spin Fresh | Le Fleury |  France | ||||
| Top Spin Révolution | Europark | France | ||||
| Revolution | Parque de Atracciones de Zaragoza | Spain | Huss | Top Spin | ||
| Revolution | Atracciones Lorente | Spain | Huss | Top Spin | ||
| Galeon | Land of Legends |  Turkey | Huss | Suspended Top Spin | 2016 | |
| Terminator | Tir Prince Family Funfair | United Kingdom | Moser's Rides | Maverick | 1993 | |
| Miner's Revenge | Gold Reef City |  South Africa | Huss | Top Spin | ||
| Dokkaebi Wind | Seoul Land | South Korea | Huss | Top Spin | ||
| Top Spin | E-World | South Korea | ||||
| Waikiki Wave | Lotte World | South Korea | Vekoma | Waikiki Wave | ||
| Desorbitados | Parque de la Costa |  Argentina | Preston & Barbieri | Suspended Top Spin | ||
| Ekatomb | Hopi Hari | Brazil | Huss | Top Spin | ||
| King Kong's Spin | Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park | China | ||||
| Apocalipsis | Salitre Mágico |  Colombia | ||||
| Tornado F5 | Parque Diversiones |  Costa Rica | Huss | Top Spin | ||
| Tornado | Dunia Fantasi |  Indonesia | Zamperla | Windshear | 2007 | |
| Luna Swing | Space World | Japan | Vekoma | Waikiki Wave Super Flip | ||
| Huracan | Six Flags México |  Mexico | Vekoma | Waikiki Wave Super Flip | 1993 | |
| Top Spin | La Feria de Chapultepec | Mexico | ||||
| Top Spin | BenyLand | Japan | Huss | Top Spin 2 | ||
| Top Spin | Dream Park |  Egypt | ||||
| Top Spin | Luna Park Tel Aviv |  Israel | ||||
| Salto | Eram Park |  Iran | ||||
| Top Spin | Joyland |  Pakistan |