Florida (ewww Strawberry!) Festival - 2015

Strawberries are disgusting and I hate them so much but if they're gonna have a festival for them with a bunch of rides I really like.. I can forgive them, but only for a few hours or so... until I'm done at the fair.

Uh, the 2015 Florida Strawberry Festival in Plat City, Florida!

Celebrating 80 years in 2015

So I guess the farm animals are having a party?
(moo?!)

Ewww, although I guess its still a cake.
(but I wouldn't eat it... ew, strawberries)

Plants! Uh, in Plant City? Who knew.

Neat little wooden ride models.

CANDY LAND!
Yeeessssss!

And the amazingness that is Red Velvet Funnel Cake!
Sooo good (and messy)

And clearly, the greatest sport ever invented.

Love me some PIG RACES!
<3 <3 <3

The back side of Moo's?

Mr. Rooster?

Oh yeah, and a pretty massive Midway too!
(By mostly Belle City, and some independent booked pieces)

Over the day we took rides on all four Ferris Wheel variants found at the fair

Like the Mulligan Wheel, in Kiddie Land

The Eli Wheel!
(that I was sad didn't show up at State Fair....)

Chance Giant Wheel, on the Main Midway

And my love, the Sky Wheel!
And now a few overview photos... from those wheels!

Far end of the Main Midway

Kiddie Midway

Mid-Main Midway

Entering the ride area of the Fair, the KMG Freak Out was the first ride we passed..

Jeff sat it out, but I took it for a ride (as the only rider, ha)
It ran a pretty good cycle :D

We also rode the terrible Disk'O

I wasn't amused.... in fact, I pretty much hate the ride and find them boring and uncomfortable.
But I'd never ridden a portable model, at a fair at least.

I also hoped on the Spin Out, themed as 'Spin-A-Tron" and chrome plated.

Mmm, and I was sure to ride Space Roller a few times!
Love me some Monidal Top Scan.

<3 <3 <3
Yeesss! The SDC Galactica was back!
MoonRaker, its so awful but so amazing! I wish someone would make an updated model!

Bah, still after all these years... I've still not ridden Belle's Wacky Worm
(they have a 'No Adult' rule.. that only seems to be in play when I try and ride)

So we moved on to the Zyklon, only cycling a single car at a time for some awful reason!

We took 2 rides.. but due to the odd cycling process taking place today, didn't wanna waste more time in line....

Plus, I'd rather ride Magnum! Yaayyy! Monidal Shake! :D :D :D

This awful looking Swinger ride was new for both of us too, I'd never seen it before.

Don't know what its deal was... but it looked kinda Chance built?
It was pretty meh.. but hey, new for me rides?

There was also a Chance built Yo-Yo with a unique paint job.

And an old school Ring-of-Fire
(with the lap bar train!)

Crazy Mouse was down for the first part of the afternoon.. but we saw it running later in the day and made our way back over to ride it.

Woo, pretty ok spin mouse!
We also rode both dark rides at the fair, placed next to each other.

Random Dark Ride #1

Random Dark Ride #2

And before making our way back to Orlando... We took a spin on the Hurricane.
(one of the oldest rides I remember marathoning as a kid)

Oh, and there was a Zipper!... But it was skipped, since Jeff was still on probation.

Woo, the 2015 Florida Strawberry Festival, good times.
I really need to get myself back down to Miami Dade's fair... but until than I'll keep this as the second best fair in Florida (after State) Its always got such great rides and while this year it seemed the midway was lacking 2 or 3 things we've seen here in the past. Its still a pretty fantastic fair and I always look forward to its return.

Twitter Stuffs?
Pig Race! - Photo
Ride Video (via Vine) - Video

Woo, Amusement Related blog posts!

Hmm, somehow I never posted these....

Well, better late than never? maybe??
So... Whats better than working till 5am? Using a *free* day and going to the 2012 Florida Strawberry Festival!" (eww, strawberries!)

Sweet, I might hate Strawberries, but I love me some rides!

yaayyyyyy

Ok, so... Were just gonna skip past the Tractors and Cows and Pigs... and all the other crap and just get right to the ride photos.. and stuff.

OK, rides!

Brand new KMG Speeeeeed, it was closed most of the night... So I never got to ride it.

But the first thing I did ride was....

 The extremely clunky MegaDrop. I love me some drop rides but I don't know what was up with this one.. I even gave it second and third chances.. but it kept just being.... bad.

And it got worse when..

I found my first Zamp Nitro in seven years, closed, the whole night :(

Good thing the KMG Freak Out was open!

And it just kept getting better from there on out!

SPACE ROLLER

You've returned to my life, and I thank you so much for doing so.

Having been MIA at the Florida State Fair the past 2 years and seemingly dropping off the amusement-radar all together.... The amazing Mondial Top Scan has returned <3

And with my day made.. it was time to sample the rest of the rides on the fairly large midway.

Full sized Rev Spinner, hadn't seen this one since Santa's Enchanted Forest or the Meadowland's Fair  :)

 Simple and fun, worth a reride too, woo

<3 SKY WHEEL <3

Also something that was lacking at the Florida State Fair this year, making me have to ride it some 4 times here in Plant City (just in case :( ) Ah, one of my all time favorite classic rides. I still tear up sometimes at Fun Spot standing where it's Sky Wheel once was.

Hmm, now this one seemed like I'd seen it in a past life or something... Not just any ol' portable flume... but in fact one I had ridden nearly 10 years earlier!

Oh yeah, its Fiesta Fiasco Shows! And while it may have new logs on it now.. its still the same ride I just couldn't get enough of at Revere Beach back in 02 and 03 <3 

I didn't even know they still owned a flume!

(((Sun goes down now)))

Woo, rides at night.. with all their flashing lights and stuff.. yaayyyyyyyy

:O Magnum was here, and running pretty long cycles banging out TIESTO <3

Mondial Shake = :D :D :D :D

Crazy Dance = ...not so much

and while better than Wade's 'Twister' its still not a HUSS

 (although it ran a nice long cycle with multiple changes in speed to keep the cycle interesting)

Yo..................yo

One of the few rides left on the midway without LED's and it still looked great.

And now back to the negative. 

Anticipointment 101 right here....

My first Power Surge in 5 years... And I'm told the boom is broken.. So the main arm never rotated... meaning our whole ride cycle remained without a single inversion. One of the few rides Zamp makes right (and was original) and it wasn't even working right :'(

And with that the night was winding down with just enough time for a few more rides.

An overview shot from the Eli Wheel 

(a must have for any major Floridian fair it seems)

The nice and smooth ARM Vertigo

And of course I saved time for one last ride on....

Ah.....

Also,  EWWWWWW

 Oh hey, and Joey

 (cause I know you're the only one even reading this..... I'm about to go on a Dollywood adventure... So I'll send your box-o-crap once I get back from that... and stuff)