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[History Buff]

The recent comments about TGS (The Giant Swing) being referred to as the barn swing has me thinking:  what other rides are there that people do not refer to by their given names?  While we don't refer to Fire in the Hole as the Bald Knobber ride, we seem to have given other rides more generic terms.

Some rides could be branded/named/themed better:

The American Plunge is called The Log Ride.

The Giant Swing is called The Barn Swing.

I doubt any of the Fireman's Landing or Grand Exposition rides are called by their names; most people describe what they look like instead of what they are named:  the balloon ride, the elephant (or Dumbo - ugh) ride, the big ships, the little ships, the teacups, the swings, the frogs, the dogs, etc.

Some of these might have been left unnamed, and most people wouldn't have noticed, but it's probably someone else's fault about AP and TGS.  AP was probably always known as the log ride, but since losing theming so badly it really is just a log ride now.  TGS should have been named something more specific, like Wilson's Barn Swing.  And while we're at it, where are the Wilsons?  Shouldn't all the operators be Wilsons?  Deeper theming would have branded TGS better.

What do you call some of these rides?

[Bigdog]

The actual name of the ride is "The Giant Barn Swing" but we've always called it the Giant Swing.

Others:  Thunderation is TNT.  Flooded Mine is "Shoot the Guns".

[Swoosh]

FITM = Fire in the Hole
FM = Flooded Mine (or Mine)
WF = Wildfire
TNT = ThuNderaTion
PK = PowderKeg
RB = River Blast
TGS = The Giant (Barn) Swing
AP = American Plunge (or Plunge)
FL = Firemans Landing
GE = Grand Expo (or Expo)
EH = Echo Hollow
Swings = Wave Carousel
OH = Opera House
RG or RGHH = Red Gold Heritage Hall

FOH = Front of House
BOH = Back of House
PTB = Powers That Be
GP = General Public
ACE = American Coaster Enthusiasts
TPR = Theme Park Review
MiG = Midwest Info Guide
CF = Coaster Force

WOF = Worlds of Fun
SF or SFSTL = Six Flags St. Louis

[HumphreyHawk]

Our family often fumbles around what to call all the different swing rides.  I'll hear "I want the ride the big swing"...."you mean the barn swing?"....."no the one that goes in circles?"....."The balloons?"...."no by the frog ride"....."Ohhhh...."

[Preachin_Bill]

I've never heard the American Plunge called the log ride.  Always refer to it as it's name or AP.

[sirwillow]

Running off of Swoosh's list of rides, I've put what we called them in caps while working in the park (this is attractions side, so other divisions might vary a little bit.  This is if we were using names instead of radio codes) A lot as you'll notice are the same.

FITM = Fire in the Hole- FIRE IN THE HOLE
FM = Flooded Mine (or Mine)- FLOODED MINE
WF = Wildfire- WILDFIRE
TNT = ThuNderaTion- THUNDER, TNT OR THUNDERATION
PK = PowderKeg- POWDERKEG OR VERY RARELY POWDER
RB = River Blast- RIVERBLAST
TGS = The Giant (Barn) Swing- BARNSWING (never heard it called anything else)
AP = American Plunge (or Plunge)- PLUNGE was what we always called it
FL = Firemans Landing- wasn't open my last year there. Before that was GEYSER GULCH or GULCH
GE = Grand Expo (or Expo)- EXPO
EH = Echo Hollow- EH or ECHO or ECHO HOLLOW usually the first 2
Swings = Wave Carousel- usually SWINGS, though occasionally you'd hear WAVE CAROUSEL
OH = Opera House- OPERA HOUSE
RG or RGHH = Red Gold Heritage Hall- RED GOLD (it'd through us for a loop when people would ask for the Heritage Hall because we never called it that.  It was always just Red Gold.  It's also what we called the employee parking behind it.)

He missed:
Outlaw Run- usually called by it's name.  There was a huge emphasis that it is NOT just Outlaw.
Frisco Line- TRAIN or STEAM TRAIN

In Grand Expo:
ELECTROSPIN
FROGS
BUGS OR LADYBUGS
GALLEON
REGATTA
TEA PARTY or TEA CUPS
WINGS or BUTTERFLIES (don't ask me on the second one)
ELEPHANTS

Gazebo area- SQUARE
Cave- MARVEL or CAVE
exit giftshop- MARKETPLACE or OZARK MARKET
HOSPITALITY HOUS or just HH
all the eating areas up the hill from the train would be grouped as BUCKSHOTS
theaters would be called by just their first names (e.g. BOATWORKS, DOCKSIDE, RIVERFRONT)
SALOON
HALF DOLLAR HOLLAR or HDH
CAROUSEL (never heard the whole name, especially not "Hugo and Mary's")

It's always fun to see some of the names that other people use or the abbreviations they come up with.  Especially those who don't know what something is called.

After I thought about it I can remember a few times that people asked where the Giant Swing was, but they sometimes meant the Wave Carousel (swings), and they were the minority.  It did happen, but if someone asked about the giant swing we'd have to ask to clarify which ride they meant and often pause to think about it because it wasn't a name that was usually used.  People who were familiar with the park, and especially those who worked, almost always called it the Barn Swing. 

On the train spiel if we used the name we'd say Barn Swing.  Mine was usually a variation of, "They just got done with a big ol' barn raisin' and as part of the fun they put a big giant/ol' swing right smack in the middle of that barn that'll take you up 70', drop you at 50 miles an hour, and make you scream like a little girl"

[Gilligan]

I always call it the log flume.  And, the Giant Swing is the barn swing. And, yup, the gazebo area is the Square.

[Dewayne]

Never thought we would need this thread.  I picked up what each abbreviation was pretty quick by using a map. Some I could not figure out because they were hard, so I messaged someone to help me out. Most of us figured them out pretty quick once we joined.

HB, I never thought of Wilsons farm that way, but you do bring up a great point. Where are the Wilsons, or is it just Mr. Wilson himself? There is no statue, cardboard cutout, or character in the area. Is he hiding in the farmers market all day? Also AP (until it is removed/updated) doesnt deserve anything other than a simple, bland name like "the log ride". The ride itself is so bland and boring without the theming anyway.

[shavethewhales]

FYI - many posts in this thread have been moved to the Construction & Rumors board under the future long-term speculation thread.