Roller coasters and their trainloads of screaming passengers hog skylines and get most of the glory. Spinning carousels with their majestic prancing steeds and lively band organs project auras of charm and nostalgia. Towering Ferris wheels, bathed in colored lights, sparkle against night skies.
Bumper cars, however, are housed inside buildings away from the tumult of the midway and typically get lost in the shuffle. The ride may not have the panache of other classics, but bumper cars have been essential attractions from the earliest days of amusement parks to the present. Getting behind the wheel of one is a rite of passage. No visit to a park is complete without landing a good ka-thunk or two.
