Himalaya is a type of ride made by many companies such as Mack, Bertazzon, Wisdom, and Reverchon. They typically go under three general names: Himalaya, Musik Express, and Super Himalaya
Himalaya is comprised of X number of cars (depending on the model) attached to sweeps that radiate from the center. Each car is outfitted with a wheel underneath the carriage that rolls along a track. Several of these wheels are connected to drive motors, which act in unison to make the ride revolve. Riders are restrained with a simple lapbar. Many Himalayas today also use seatbelts as a secondary restraint.
The Ride
A ride on a Himalaya isn’t very elaborate as far as movement; the cars travel in a circle and navigate a set of hills in the process. A ride on Himalaya is really more about the atmosphere. Himalaya’s are commonly referred to as “music rides” due to the ride playing music and having a general dance club aura to them in order to draw in riders.
Along with music, many Himalaya rides will also feature lighting effects such as flashing LED or turbo lights, strobe lights, disco lights, and in some cases laser lights. Fog machines are also a popular feature as are bubble machines. In addition, a horn or siren is usually standard fare for these rides and is sounded when the ride reaches its highest speed.
Other Info
There are many different Himalaya rides made by various companies, the major ones are:
- Bertazzon: Musik Express/Super Himalaya, 20 cars – top speed of 13.5 rpm
- Mack: Musik Express, 20 cars
- Wisdom: Himalaya/Polar Express, 22 cars, 11.5 rpm
- Wisdom also had Arctic Circle, a larger Himalaya.
- Reverchon: Himalaya, 24 cars, 12 rpm
- Venture: Mini Himalaya, 14 cars
Other manufacturers include Soli, ARM, and SDC.
Himalaya is one of those rides that can be customized as far as artwork, lighting, and overall appearance making some models extremely unique looking. Most have a roof structure, while some have been modified to be open air, such as Oscar’s Amusement’s Reverchon model.
While surfing around, I found a neat little site called May’s Himalaya Fan Website; it’s a great place to find information and check out detailed photos of the older Reverchon Himalayas.
Multimedia
Here’s a collection of photos of each Himalaya ride model. I’ll add more as I get/find them!
Here’s a Bertazzon manufactured Musik Express formerly at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, NJ. It was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy, but they replaced it the next season.
This second video is of Polar Express at 12th Street Amusements in Coney Island, NY. This is a custom made Himalaya originally built in the 50s by a showman, and found its way to Coney Island sometime in the early 80s. The ride closed up in 2018 and was removed to make way for the Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park expansion. It’s unique in that it travels counterclockwise.
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34 Comments
i love this ride, but what songs do they play on it in 2009 ?
Well, from what I’ve seen, most Himalaya rides play either mid-90s techno, hip-hop, or old school rock. Whatever the person running it likes gets played I guess.
They had one at my local fair a year or two ago and the operator will play song with death or dyeing in the song. When I rode the song “Die young” by me$ha played. Lol
It depends what type of music the ride operator likes if i was a ride operator of a wisdom version Himalaya i would play Rock music.
Back in the mid through late 70’s, Himalayas all played Electric Light Orchestra- cranking so loud, you could hear it in the parking area 2 blocks away! Those were the best times to ride these beasts. The operators were NUTS and they did some pretty crazy & entertaining stunts on and off of the moving sleds. Thanks for the nostalgia. I’m ready to go ride one right now!! – JJ ’71
the late great johnny j alive and at large in the great state of Alabama. just being a little nostalgic. as I think back your right we really were a little crazy back then…thanks for the memories of lost times
p/s back then we were the only super Himalaya in America and we had 24 cars with a power supply designed by nasa.
It’s best to smoke a bunch of weed and ride it!
well it’s true I worked on the Himalaya that was on west 12th street, my name is Jessie and to me them were the best times I ever had me,andy,elliot,keda,david,tony,wayne,shatek, and the owners paul and his brother bob. befor them mr.singer owend it and that was back in 1969,I don’t where the ride is now but will say this.(if anyone is still around from the old days all I will say is this) DO YOU WANNA GO ONE MORE TIME. them were good times
Hello Jessie Iused to work in coney I worked many years with Mark and Ralph at the cavalcade bumper cars on surf avenue with Tommy his brother Henry and Eddie Morroco then I worked with Sandy Fitlin and his son Scott at the Eldorado Auto Skooter Ride by the way what happened to Elliot he was one of my homies back then do you have any contact information on him I would appreciate it GOD BLESS STAY SAFE
Scottie from Eldorado was one of my best friends. He got me into house and electronic dance music. I miss him, he was a great man.
I remember there was a super hemi for a show I worked for it was a rebuild of an old theme park ride that was customized to be able to travel to the state fairs. And the best time was always when they start playing like heavy metal Slayer Pantera the faster the metal part of The Rock usually the crazier the operator and of course I get to know all the operators and I would sometimes ride it with just me and another operator or something like that at closing time and oh my God this thing could probably kill it I got beat up by it many great nights I loved it. What it was capable of just blew me away. Loved it.
I was one of the operators of the Morey’s Piers Musik Express during the 2009 season. She was my beloved baby!
I’m the newest operator for the Morey’s Piers Musik Express, and I love her already! Everything is controlled manually, so she’s a very fun ride to operate. I love it when I get a ride filled with enthusiastic people, especially. I miss the old Judas Priest backdrop myself; the underwater orchestra thing is a bit too cutesy for me.
Awesome, maybe I’ll see you on the Musik Express when I go down to Morey’s in August! The new backdrop isn’t too bad, I mean it fits the location I guess, but it kind of reminds me of Spongebob or something. lol
We were just there for spring beach jam 2011–I would love to know some of the playlists–they were fun!
The Musik Express at Six Flags Great Adventure was a much better ride in the 1980’s. Back then, the ride had flashing lights, a cool backdrop creating the tunnel effect in the back half, and the operators blasted AC-DC and Led Zeppelin so loud you couldn’t hear yourself speak. The ride also went backwards back then. At some point after I stopped working there (late 80’s/early 90’s) they stopped running it backwards. By the time I was taking my own kids there, they had removed the backdrop and stopped playing music altogether, making it the rather boring version that you describe here. But I’ll always have great memories of that ride in its better days!
I want to buy an Himalaya ride, I like the Reverchon and Mack brand, please contact me for information about one of thst rides..
deseo informacion sobre el himalaya musik expres que sew tienen en venta. Cuales son sus condiciones de financiamiento ???
si es posible mandeme informacion exaustiva, y su catalogo de juegos en venta.
Gracias soy propietario de juegos mecanicos en mexico ( Villagran, Guanajuato Mexico) Tels. 014111643082 fax. 014111650362 por favor contactenos.
no ha mandado la informacion requerida, habra algun incidente por el fin de año?
the ride is ok at the amusent parks but some stopped playin the music and the flashing lights and the back drop also,other than that i like it lol 🙂
your lovely Moreys Piers ride op from 09-10. I love Monique Musik Express to pieces <3
seems the Musik Express variety have smaller hills/dips…..the original Himalaya’s
I remember had the disco ball that was pitched 180 degrees to create falling snow effects, the tunnel had a stobe light, and the front portion had spotlights that would turn the cars green, red, purple and yellow. And there were always the tight sweater super shapely ski chicks painted into the scenery….Palasaides Amusement park had 2 at the same time, one was a “Super Himalaya” and the other one was jungle themed and called the Jaguar….when I first started driving back in’77 Coney Island had a very old Himalaya (with the painted on red letters), Music Express, plus a Cortina Bob
which was also a snow scene and very uncomfortable to ride because you sat with your partner between your legs and you would get tossed to the outer side of the car….(the only other model like this I’ve seen was in the mid 60’s on the Funtown Pier in Seaside Heights and I believe that one was called Sun Valley)..The Polar Express also seems like an antique version- the hills are steep, the back of one car fans in slightly to the car behind it, I believe these cars are made of wood, and they face counter clockwise….there was also one at CI called the Super Cat which had a double dip as opposed to the high pitched back, and a canopy would cover the riders when the ride was at top speed (Cat= Caterpillar)…Swiss Bob was also a well known snow themed ride, and a lot of fun to ride because of the lights, music and the speed. Each car bore the flag of a nation that would enter Bobsledding events, and the rides were always shiny and polished…very hard to find these days….Manufacturer was originally Edy Meier (SIC?) of Zurich who also introduced the Himalya
i still love this ride
I am so glad there is a fan site for these rides……they are such a big part of so many folks summer years growing up!! I for one, had to behave the entire summer to make one trip to Seaside Heights or Palasaides Amusement Park as a kid!…I envied the kids that went more than one time or visited several places so much!
The former Magic Isles amusement park that closed in the late 80’s had one but I’m not sure which company made theirs. They had a DJ in the booth that would play modern rock songs of that era. One operator/DJ loved to play “Freeze Frame” by the J. Giles Band every other hour or so. Very cool ride for a young teen especially at night with the lights came on!
Back in the 80 s there was a carnival at the Masonic homes called the Masonic picnic. It was put on by the Masonic lodge they had a himalaya ride there and the operator Would play one of elo’s songs about once an hour . Can’t remember the name of that song for nothing .does anyone know the songs name?
Does any one remember a New Revechon Himalaya came to Coney Island in 1976, 1977 and 1978 on the corner of Stillwell ave. and the Bowery, behind Nathans Hot Dogs? Then it was replaced with a Revechon Matterhorn called the Disco Express 1979 and 1980. These rides at the time were the Newest Rides to come to Coney Island, Fantastic Lighting and a Spectacular Sound System, a nice Smooth Fast Exciting Ride.
I operated that Disco Express after it moved to Wildwood, New Jersey in the summer’s of 1982 and 1983. It was on Mariners Landing Amusement Pier (Pier was owned by Morey’s) and the ride either belonged to or was being leased by Tom and Jerry Amusements. It was located next to the wild mouse-style roller coaster. I have not been able to track that ride down and am left to assume it was either rebranded or junked. Nor have I had success in tracking down Tom and Jerry Amusements. I heard they were based in Florida, but that’s all I know. I can’t even find pictures of the ride when searching a variety of keywords.
If you know more about this ride, I would love to hear from you!
HI john IN 1983 I worked on the himalaya that belonged to Tom and JERRY. They ended up in Point Pleasant. Became very good friends with TOM (THEY WERE TWINS). sadly Tom passed in 1993 in Jupiter FlA .Dont know about Jerry. Great people.
I used to go to the small carnival in Florida when I was a 12 years old and I saw this ride named the ice storm and it looked liked the arctic circle from wisdom ride industries and I did some research and it the ice storm was from wisdom ride industries here is the link to the image
https://intermarkridegroup.com/images/used/major_family/wisdom_himalaya_4.jpg
My brother-in-law, Ronnie Guerrero owned the Polar Express at Coney Island. The ride was installed there in 1973. When I visited in 1974, Ruben Santos, the founder of the Homicides gang was the operator and DJ. My sister and Ronnie were there each day, selling tickets and managing the ride. What I remember most were the dancers in front of the ride, doing the Spanish Hustle. I have since learned that the ride’s music played a part in the development of break dancing, particularly the Fresh Kids who hung out there in the 80s. The ride apparently was moved to another Coney Island location and operated by Ronnie’s second wife Susan after his death in 2007.
The original crew on the Polar Express, was Jacko, Paul Bobby, Hippy,Severn Green Eyes, Melvin, Felix and Brian/aka Preacher. in 1974 Bobby, Hippy and Green Eyes were gone Rebel, Freddy,George and Bigman (Ruben) started working on the ride. You’re correct Bigman was the leader of Homicide Inc. Severn was the leader of the Brooklyn Brothers, Rebel was a member of the Devil Rebels and Preacher ran a crew within the Homicides known as the Homicide Brothers or HBz. I remember Ronnie, he was a cheap bastard and his wife at the time blonde hair always kind and friendly when speaking to me. Ronnie drove a green Eldorado and spent most of his time in the travel trailer behind the polar. we utilized one of the two tractor trailers, as a place to sleep, have meetings and fuck.
Willie’s was across the ally and the Polar was to the left of the Thunderbolt, the tunnel of love was also across and to the left of the polar. I worked there from 1973 until 1977 the year,I joined the Marine Corps. at the time of employment the polar was located on the Bowery between West 15th and 16th respectively.
Additionally: Mario and Caco worked there around 75/76 and were still there after my leaving. Ronnie I think was from Florida wish would explained the shirts he always wore. I started working on the Polar in 1973 I was 12 years of age and the Polar always drew the largest crowds
Wayne Thompson’s owned a R.Himalaya in the 70s-1986. His son Terry Joe Thompson,was supervisor and mudd, ran the Himalayan, Stork,Joyce, Ray Jay,Bruce and Shelly, Roy. Many more worked on this amazing Rivishon spelling..They were out of Tennessee. The Himalaya played Memphis Cotton carnival, midsouth fair, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas. Many many places won’t ever forget the good ole days, & rock and roll 🎶 played on that ride. If anyone knows any of these people give a shout. We’re on Goodind million dollar midways, a lot, and many many more. Carl Noerpers in St. Louis.