The History of the Ferris Wheel

In 2013 the Ferris Wheel, otherwise known as Big Wheel, celebrated its 110th birthday!! This a monumental achievement and one that we feel should be recognized!

Potentially one of the greatest inventions of all time, the Ferris Wheel was invented by George Washington Ferris, a civil engineer from Illinois, way back in the 1890’s. The very first Ferris Wheel was manufactured for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, costing approximately $300,000.00 to build.

The George Washington Ferris Wheel is still the largest wheel ever built, weighing roughly 1300 tonnes. Which in other terms is about a tenth of the weight of the Eiffel Tower - and we all know how big that is!

Standing over 25 stories high and holding over 1400 passengers, the very first Ferris Wheel was a thing of beauty and something to be marveled at. From the very top of the ride, passengers could see for 50 miles and it took approximately 20 minutes for the enormous wheel to make one full rotation.

After the Chicago World’s Fair, the George Washington Ferris Wheel was taken to the 1904 St. Louis Exposition for thousands to enjoy and witness it in it’s entirety.

Once the St. Louis Exposition had finished, the wheel was returned to Chicago and dismantled because it was just too expensive to keep the wheel in operation. The metal from the Ferris Wheel was used to build a large ship, the U.S.S Illinois, during World War I.

The Ferris Wheel we use today is much smaller and far less impressive but still provides hours of magic and fun for all who come to ride them! Old Tyme Funfairs use only traditional fun fair rides and modern stalls, and offer all of our services for hire.

If you would like to make an inquiry into hiring our fair ground rides for a special occasion, or large town event, you need only call us. One of our friendly ride managers will be able to help you and discuss your requirements with you today! Thanks for reading and we hope you have learnt something new!

May, June, Farming and Funfairs!

Well it’s been a hectic couple of months and Old Tyme Funfairs are still recovering from what was our busiest May/June period for a long time!

May saw our preparations come to a close as we made the journey over to Windsor for the Royal Windsor Horse show. This annual event is widely recognised across not only Britain but large parts of Europe too, so it’s one of the events we eagerly wait for, as Windsor brings together people from all corners of the globe. Horses and Jockeys get the chance to showcase their talents and compete in various different events, such as dressage competitions and show jumping too. We caught glimpses of the magnificent beasts as we always do and thank Windsor for letting us attend the show! Roll on 2015!

We barely had time to recover from the Royal Windsor Horse Show before we made the short trip over to Bedford for one of our favourite international events - The Bedford Kite Festival! This year we saw Chinese dragons, floating fairies and gliding pigs! - We guess pigs really can fly!

While the Bedford Kite Festival was in full flight we had other members of our large team attend the Surrey County Show on the 26th May which gave us the opportunity to meet some incredible people and enjoy an incredible line up. Despite copious amounts of rain, Surrey was still buzzing as hundreds attended with their entries for livestock, horses and donkeys, floristry, bees and honey, dog classes and poultry shows. Upwards of 40,00 people attended the show, which meant hundreds of children got to enjoy our rides and stalls alike. A massive thank you to Surrey County Agricultural Society for having us. You put on quite a SHOW!

With barely a day to catch our breaths, we then travelled to Suffolk for Suffolk Show 2014, which proved to be a massive success as always, as people flocked to see the animals, talk to their owners and climb on the agricultural machinery. Children that is. The new Farm Discovery Zone really achieved its target to gain more interest and it was continuously filled with people who wanted to try the activities and learn more about farming and food! Our rides were extremely popular at Suffolk Show too, as the attendance of children was incredibly high, probably due to the great attractions and lovely animals. We love you Suffolk!

At this point in time we were rolling into the start of June and had a few days for which to clean up our rides, perform maintenance checks and prepare ourselves for a busy few days of action in Cornwall. As we hit the 5th of June, gates opened early for the Royal Cornwall Show 2014, which played host to great farming and shopping action. We love going to Cornwall, taking in the fresh air and experiencing the true farming action. We always learn something new and get a great insight into the world of farming and Cornwall too. We’d like to say a warm hearted thank you to the organisers of the show who continue to support us and have us at the show! Without you, our calendar year would feel a whole lot different! Without you, we wouldn’t get to see Titan the Robot!

Hope to see you again next year in 2015! As we hope to see all of you!

DON’T FORGET TO PUT THE DATES IN YOUR CALENDARS BY VISITING THE WEBSITES WE HAVE LISTED BELOW!   

http://www.rwhs.co.uk

http://www.surreycountyshow.co.uk

http://suffolkshow.co.uk

http://royalcornwallshow.org

See you soon!!

From The Royal Windsor Horse Show To The Bedford Kite Festival

May is a busy busy time for us!

The year of Old Tyme Funfairs is always a steady one, until this point of the year when we sprint directly into organised chaos. Not that we’re complaining, we love this time of year, and what’s better is the sun has been shining gloriously over the past few weeks, putting smiles on everyone's faces.

On the 14th of May we had the pleasure of attending the Royal Windsor Horse Show which proved to be a massive success. The stands were packed and the horses looked in their prime as professional showman from all 4 corners of the globe performed in a number of different categories.

Unfortunately, we were busy manning the stalls and rides, so didn't have as much time as we would have liked to witness the beautiful horses in action, but what we did manage to see was a combination of technical excellence and sheer brilliance from everyone who participated.

One of our favourite events which we did manage to catch this year was the Alltech Grand Prix where a mixture of riders battled it out for the prestigious Kingdom of Bahrain Trophy. We were delighted when Robert Whitaker won as we had been following his progress throughout the show.

The crowds were as busy as they ever had been and we were very pleased to have been invited to the Royal Windsor Horse Show 2014. If we weren't too much trouble this year we would be thrilled to come back this time next year and experience what is sure to be another magnificent show.

If you enjoyed both our rides and the horses rides whilst at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, then please be sure to visit www.rwhs.co.uk where you can read up on all the events of the week and catch up on any of the events you might have missed. As well as this, Royal Windsor Hose Show have been uploading stunning images from throughout the show to their Facebook page which you can find at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Royal-Windsor-Horse-Show/141258379249206?fref=ts

Now that the Royal Windsor Horse show is over we will be turning our attentions to Bedford on the 24th of May for a 3 day kite show that brings together people from all over the world to compare and fly their fantastically designed kites. A lot of effort goes into not only designing kites, but making them too and we cannot wait to see some of the beautiful creations that people bring this coming weekend.

Thanks for reading our blog, and more importantly thanks to those of you who came to see us during the Horse Show! Maybe we will see some of you on the 24th of May in Bedford for the Bedford Kite Festival? We do hope so!

The Countdown Begins For The Royal Windsor Horse show

Less than 3 weeks to go!

With less than 3 weeks to go before the Royal Windsor Horse show kicks off, Old Tyme Funfairs have been making our final preparations to ensure all our stalls and rides are in prime condition ready for children and adults to enjoy. With a bit of spit shine and elbow grease, we have made sure every single carousel, stall and children ride is in tip top form.

The month of May is going to be a busy one as we prepare for a number of different events, first of which is the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

Kicking off on the 14th of May, the Windsor Horse Show is a prestigious event, that showcases talented individuals in various different competitions, with categories that include, International Jumping, Driving, Dressage and Endurance Competitions with three evening performances on Thursday 15th, Friday 16th and Saturday 17th May. Old Tyme Funfairs are attending the RWHS for the full 5 days that starts on Wednesday the 14th of May and ends on Sunday the 18th of May, and we can’t wait to see the talented individuals from around the world showing off their skills.

Although it’s not all play for us as we will be offering our rides and services throughout everyday of the event before packing up shop on Monday.

No rest for the wicked though and from here we will be moving onto the Bedford Kite Festival that kicks off just 1 week after the Royal Windsor Horse Show finishes, on the 25th of May.

The Bedford Kite Festival plays host to some of the weirdest and wackiest kites that have been built all over the world, attracting people from all corners of the globe. We enjoy this event just as much as any other we attend, as well get to witness some stunning kite displays and meet people that have travelled miles just to attend.

Who know’s we might even give it a go ourselves?! What do you think of a Victorian Carousel Kite? - Might be a bit tricky to do.

 

To see what rides we will be taking on tour with us, go to: http://www.oldtymefunfairs.co.uk/old-tyme-rides.php

While you’re surfing the web, why not take a look at the Royal Windsor Horse Show and see what events they are hosting:

http://www.rwhs.co.uk/

Upcoming Events

Over the past couple of months Old Tyme Funfairs have been preparing ourselves for some prestigious events that are not far away from us. With the Royal Windsor Horse Show fast approaching we are delighted to inform you that the show will be flood free. There was some concern that over the recent months the high levels of water would create problems, but in more recent weeks the sun has come out to play and we are sure this years horse show is going to be as fun as in recent years! We can’t wait for the 14th of May!

May is sure to be a busy month for us as we are going to be attending 4 different festivals including the Royal Windsor Horse Show. After this we will be moving onto the Bedford Kite Festival where we had a lot of fun last year viewing kites from all over the globe, where we were pleased to meet kite flyers from America, Japan, Germany, France, China and even a member of the Bali Royal Family! The sun is sure to be shining and kites will be flying high in the sky which is something we truly enjoy watching, while kids and adults alike take breaks to enjoy our rides.

One of our favourite events of the year is the Surrey County Show which takes place on the 26th May and gives people the opportunity to view what real farming life is like. Combining entertainment, fun and food, Old Tyme Funfairs will be there providing traditional and fun rides for adults and children to enjoy throughout the day.

Towards the end of May and the start of June we will be moving onto the Suffolk Show and the Royal Cornwall Show which we will touch on more in our next episode, alternatively you can give us a call if you want to find out anymore about our upcoming events.

We hope to see you all on the 14th of May for the start of the Royal Windsor Horse Show!  

Getting Ready for Summer

Here at Old Tyme Funfairs we have been spending the winter months carrying out servicing on our vintage carousel to make sure it is in tip top condition for this years events. The vintage carousel is a very popular attraction and therefore we wanted to make sure it was looking as good as ever even down to a new coat of paint to ensure a completely genuine experience of a Victorian funfair and to make it look as good as new.

Our wonderful vintage funfair is already beginning to get booked up for this year and we will be making sure that we pay a visit to the usual country fairs that we attend to make sure we bring as much fun as possible to the event as well as allowing visitors to take a step back in to yesteryear and get a genuine Victorian funfair experience. We enjoy nothing more than seeing people enjoying all the fun of the fair and that is why we make sure that all our rides are as safe and taken good care of to provide a fun but safe experience for all involved.

Don't forget that our Victorian funfair is also available for private events and functions and make stunning additions to occasions such as weddings. The hire of our traditional fairground also proves to be very popular when it comes to corporate event, therefore if you are interested then make sure that you get in touch with us.

Happy New Year from Old Tyme Funfairs

Hello and Welcome to the brand new Old Tyme Funfairs blog. We would like to firstly start off by wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and the very best wishes for a very prosperous 2014. We are very much looking forward to this year and providing a wide range of entertainment across the UK in the form of our excellent traditional fairground rides which prove to be very popular with people young and old.

We love nothing more than travelling the country with our fairground and seeing the joy that it brings to people. You can enjoy all the fun of the fair whilst taking a step back in time and enjoying an authentic Victorian fairground which has been featured on ITV's Downton Abbey. We can provide fairground entertainment such as rides as well as side stalls not only for fairs and country shows but we also offer our fairground for special occasions such as weddings as well as corporate events.

If you are interested in booking our traditional fairground that consists of rides such as the very popular merry go round, then make sure you give us a call to discuss any questions that you may have as we would be more than happy to help.

Hope you all have a very enjoyable start to January

From all at Old Tyme Funfairs