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Photo TR: Laura finds a StarFlyer!


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Yesterday I attended the opening day of CityFair, fka Waterfront Village, which is part of the Portland Rose Festival. (Although this year, apparently it's the "Roseless Festival" as the roses haven't had a chance to bloom yet.) I mostly wanted to ride the new StarFlyer, but I opted for a pre-purchased wristband just in case. Most rides were fairly tame, but I still had a good time!

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CityFair is located in Waterfront Park (I have no idea why it's called that). Here's a standard view.

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While waiting for the fair to open, I was treated to a private viewing of World of Color. Impressive!

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I was the first public rider of Vertigo, the StarFlyer. Here's an exclusive PRE-FIRST PUBLIC RIDE shot from my highly coveted spot in line.

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The ride is not thrilling in a typical "shocking" manner; more in a steady "I might actually die" kind of way.

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(Reasonable) proof of riding.

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Vertigo is mesmerizing. StarFlyers are highly conducive to compulsive watching and photography, even if most shots will be fairly standard.

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In case you didn't think the fair would have bumper cars. Either they were weak or I'm a worse driver than I thought.

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Hard to "Sea" Dragon

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Zippety-Zipper from the shelter of a food stand.

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Sometimes I think this particular Afterburner is weak; sometimes I find it strong. It wasn't especially great today.

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Weak magic carpet ride.

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Orbiter!

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The cars are hiding from the rain, exposing the bada$$ pentagram. Not surprisingly, the ride wasn't scary, although it did have 3-5 working "scares" plus rat noises and air puffs.

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ACEr Tuesday. I did this once or twice quite a few years ago.

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Scrambalah

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These rides are boring! I rode anyway.

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Kite Flyer, a tame family ride.

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Kamikaze. These rides are bada$$.

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My favorite ride, the Gravitron!

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It was still Gravitronning when I took this.

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The fair had this kind of Ferris Wheel. In fact, they had this exact one, which is why I was able to take a picture of it while I was there.

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Clown-Go-Round

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ZERO-GEEEEE! This ride reminded me that Round-Ups are actually good.

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My first portable Wave Swinger. Yo-Yos are much more exciting, but at least this was nicely themed and played calliope music.

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There were plenty of typical midway games. Is it bad that I almost immediately thought of a naughty caption for this one?

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CREDIT! I have ridden this twice as an adult and at least once as a child.

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Dramatic foreshadowing for what was to come later.

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Those tigers look...angry.

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Adorable tiny cars, which are in front of the fire station (as if that matters).

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A fire happened! Thank goodness the fire station was just across the street!

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Parts of the fair were still under construction.

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I used to ride these whenever I came across them!

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Aww, it's even Portland themed!

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...Is that Baby Bop?

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Bear Affair, not to be confused with the bare...never mind. FACT: I rode this (with 5 other people of varying ages).

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If you live in this teepee, don't expect to get your mail on time. ;)

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Mini-balloons!

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I SO want to rent out one of the full-sized, permanent versions of these. Those were AMAZING.

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There was lots of typical fair fare available. It took me quite some time to realize that a Fry Brick is...a brick of fries. Go me!

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FACT: I rode the merry-go-round. I am not good at carousel self photos, so here is a shot of just my horsey (plus some other horsies).

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Let's take a walk down the hallway, it's a long way, it takes all day...

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They had to call in the shovel brigade. Despite the shovelers and a few roped off areas, you basically HAD to contend with thick mud all day if you wanted to do anything here.

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Bouncy thingy for kids and skinny people. They also had a reverse bungee type thingy promoted to a wider audience.

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WTF

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Uh...aren't we in Oregon right now? By the way, can I count this snake as a credit? (That sounded creepy.)

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The police quickly arrived to take the bad naughty illegal snake into custody.

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Pretty kitty rocking the catwalk (which only exists in her imagination). Since she's in captivity, is she a servile serval?

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Handsome fellow. I bet he's tame as a housecat.

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I AM FULL OF #TIGERBLOOD! FEED ME YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS! (I saw him rear up twice. The keeper said the tiger doesn't like "strollers", which is probably just a nicer way of saying he hates children.)

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I got to be a clown helper!

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What an awesome well rounded fair, it certainly has most of my favorites! I especially loved the StarFlyer pictures, it looks like a great ride, not to mention mesmerizing. The rain keeping the crowds away was a bonus, or maybe it was the not allowed in Oregon snake, either way, glad you had a good time and that you got to ride your Gravitron!

 

Loved the report, thanks for sharing, I may be just a tad jealous!

 

P.S. Now I know why my mail hasn't come

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Tornados are only boring if you ride them with boring people.

QFT.

 

I agree with what everyone else is saying; that's a lot of attractions to offer. Thanks for sharing this, Laura!

 

And I'm also glad you finally got to ride a Gravitron, seeing as the one at the sketchy San Antonio carnival we went to was too busy hanging out in multiple pieces to operate...not that it would have mattered anyway, since I was too focused on my life flashing before my eyes when we rode the Zipper to really care about the Gravitron.

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These little carnivals are a ton of fun. We had one come through Hampton, VA for the Memorial Day weekend. It was a blast! Those little creepy, mobile coasters scare me more than any 300 footer ever could. You REALLY feel like you're going to die on those little things.

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Tornados are only boring if you ride them with boring people.

And that is my problem! But in general spinny rides are easily my least favorite of the "interactive" flats.

 

Thanks for the comments everyone!

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I wish we actually had good ghetto fairs here... the ones we have 6 rides and cost 30 bucks.

 

That Kamikazee is EVIL! I rode one at the state fair with a friend and I don't think either of us will ever ride one again!

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Nice TR. I also love these little city fairs.

 

Also, I don't think those Tornado rides are boring. I can get them spinning really fast to the point where I get disoriented, which almost never happens. I love disorienting rides.

 

Also(part 2), Orbiters kick @$$!

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^^That is a shame! Do you at least get to see the Hi Miler on occasion? I haven't seen any carny coaster in Oregon bigger than the Tiger Express, sadly.

 

I've grown to really like Kamikazes and other rides with lots of hangtime, like the Fireball/Super Loops. Plus, there are decent views despite the cage. I need to check out the Orbiter next time I see it, as I love them!

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