Like an ominous MacGuffin in a Stephen King novel of the era, a yellow and white dome stood out like a sore thumb at Seabreeze Park in the 1980’s. It was nestled between the funnel cake stand, the bumper cars, and our quaint version of The Teacups. With no way to see what was happening inside, passersby could only decide whether or not to enter its queue based on rumor, hearsay, or (in my case) assurance that it was not an “upside-down ride.” I remember not being particularly concerned because my friend Arthur didn’t seem particularly concerned.

The queue for The Gyrosphere, now long defunct, was four innocuous switchbacks, cruelly devoid of shade, theming, or any indication of what was to come. A short, hot, stuffy tunnel connected it to the geodesic dome that housed the actual ride. Inside the tunnel, you could hear the muffled sounds of what was happening to the group ahead of you. We still didn’t know what we were about to experience, but we kept our fingers crossed that it involved air conditioning.

It did not.

The inside of The Gyrosphere dome was a hot, dank melange of funnel cake sugar mist and teenager sweat. Several fans placed on the periphery of the dome made even a 10 year old wonder, “Was this made by, like, a hobbyist or something?” The low budget nature of the ride was underscored when you climbed into your ride vehicle at the end of a metal arm and it bobbed up and down a few times unnervingly. 

As for the ride, the Gyrosphere was apparently an off-the-shelf product known as The Scrambler. The outdoor photos you can find of the (very common) Scrambler ride depict a rather ho-hum “spin you around while rotating” experience. Under the dome of The Gyrosphere, however, it was completely different. It felt like you were being flung towards the shell of the sphere, often straight at an image of an eyeball, a monster, or a snake. (It’s possible the Gyrosphere actually had no images of eyeballs, monsters, or snakes, but it was stuff like that.) These were projected in muted neon colors by slide projectors positioned around the dome.

The Scrambler at Kings Island in Ohio. No dome? What were they thinking??

The trippy images and the motion were the core of The Gyrosphere’s psychedelic effect, but it was all activated by the music. Over the years, I’ve heard so many songs that I immediately recognized as, “Oh! This is the song from The Gyrosphere!” Pretty much any Joe Satriani song has Gyrosphere vibes. For a long time, I thought it was, “She Sells Sanctuary” by The Cult. I would have put money on it. I still probably would, even though every article, Reddit thread, and eyewitness report confirms that it was actually “Fire on High” by ELO. Despite The Cult’s apparent non-affiliation with The Gyrosphere, you can still get a mild psychedelic buzz by watching this 10 minute loop of Ian Astbury dancing.

Precious little is known about the origin of The Gyrosphere. A 1976 article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, which still refers to Seabreeze under its 1940’s-1960’s moniker of “Dreamland Park,” highlights the “scattered applause” that can be heard at the end of the ride. It also acknowledges the psychedelic aspect of the ride and places it far above the “dismal failure” of Seabreeze’s other psychedelic attraction of the era, The Kaleidoscope. The Kaleidoscope was apparently a slow dark ride with less effective lighting effects.

The entirely imagined narrative I’ll put forth is that The Gyrosphere was the singular vision of a Seabreeze employee who believed that geodesic domes were the buildings of the future. They believed that a few minutes of psychedelic spinning would open the eyes of the everyday Rochestarian to this utopian ideal, and that “Fire on High” was the key that would unlock the doors of perception to Western New York.

“Fire on High” was the fever dream opening track on ELO’s “Face the Music” (1975). Featuring only a few backwards lyrics at the top, the otherwise instrumental song is alternatingly haunting, religious, boroque, hopeful, mournful, classical, and energetic. The Gryosphere may have played an edited version of “Fire on High”. Bits of the intro resonate as “could have been heard on The Gyrosphere”, but when the song really kicks in at about 2 minutes and 45 seconds, that section screams “Gyrosphere” to me. 

In this middle section of “Fire on High”, the drums really stand out like punctuation at the end of each instrumental sentence. In fact, ELO’s drummer, Bev Bevan, routinely cited “Fire on High” as one of his favorites to play in concert. It’s also Bev’s voice speaking backwards at the top of the track. Listening to “Fire on High” now, every drum riff flashes me back towards a terrifying face projected on the inside of a hot dome.

I would love to believe that ELO’s Jeff Lynne was closely involved in this ride concept, or that he even rode it while passing through Rochester, with his trademark sunglasses and curly lion mane of hair. More likely, the closest it got to him was his lawyers, which may explain why The Gyrosphere went in a different musical direction in the 1990’s. 

Have you seen this obviously disguised man passing through Rochester? Please message me. (Image of ELO’s Jeff Lynne via Wikipedia)

There isn’t an obvious reason why “Fire on High” would have been chosen for The Gyrosphere. While it has a psychedelic vibe, there are plenty of other songs that are more classically psychedelic. One clue may lie in the opening backwards lyrics, which caused an uproar upon its release. The song was said to be satanic, and perhaps that mystique was alluring to the Chaos Imagineer who (I imagine) built this thing one night after the park was closed.

If a better rock-themed ride ever existed, I don’t want to know about it. Sure, there was the Nights in White Satin: The Trip ride at the briefly existing Hard Rock Park, but few have experienced it, and it’s unlikely that anyone has experienced both Nights in White Satin: The Trip and The Gyrosphere first-hand for comparison purposes. Disney World has announced that The Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is getting re-themed, and its psychedelic vibes were always low anyway.

As a ride on The Gyrosphere came to its end, the music would drop out and we’d only hear the sound of the hot breeze going past us as we came to a stop. There was no post-experience integration phase and no therapists were on hand at the funnel cake booth. Instead, you’d usually head over to the Fun House, where my sister claimed she successfully stood in the rotating tunnel until she was upside down. She was unable to replicate this feat. 

We almost lost The Gyrosphere in 1994, when a fire apparently melted the glue used on the dome. By this point, both The Gyrosphere and I had moved on anyway — me off to college and The Gyrosphere having swapped “Fire on High” for “Twilight Zone” by 2 Unlimited. I guess both The Gyrosphere and myself were going through some stuff in the 90’s. 

Fire unglues The Gyrosphere in 1994 (The Greece Post, 04/07/1994)

The eventual end came in 2007 and now a decidedly unpsychedelic ride sits in its place. A plaque in Seabreeze’s historic carousel commemorates the ride, but can’t fully capture what was truly special about it. With every inch of every theme park now thoroughly documented on YouTube, will we ever again have the experience of entering an attraction with nothing but anticipation and mild anxiety? With new rides being either generic off-the-shelf drop-ins or intellectual property tie-ins, are the days of the Chaos Imagineer over? 

Me paying tribute to the tribute to The Gyrosphere, inside the Carousel building at Seabreeze.

For those truly bitten by Gyrosphere Nostalgia, an option does exist. The Astrosphere at Maine’s Funtown is a Gyrosphere clone (including the font!) from 1976. It has been updated over the years, but still plays “Fire on High.” According to Facebook comments from Kathy Kenez and Kevin Dorey (admin of Seabreeze Memories & History), Funtown licensed what Seabreeze was marketing as a packaged attraction. It may be around for a while — it now has a concrete dome.

The Astrosphere at Funtown in Saco, Maine.

I’m torn on whether I’d want to take the trip up to Maine to ride The Astrosphere. Maybe The Gyrosphere should remain just a memory. Surely it would now take more than spinning around under a dome listening to ELO to trigger psychedlic euphoria in me. Yet there is an appeal in making a pilgrimage, as if I could create a psychic connection to my younger self and together, we could wonder, “What the fuck is this ride?”

Sources

YouTube video of Astrosphere in Maine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrnrvuxjtIU

Scrambler: https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Scrambler_(Eli_Bridge_product)

Nights in White Satin Ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0gzmUsDM9I

“The Gyrosphere at Seabreeze has been gone for 16 years. Rochesterians still miss it today“ (Morrell, 7/10/2023) https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/business/2023/07/10/gyrosphere-was-popular-ride-seabreeze-amusement-park-rochester-ny-30-years-elo-fire-on-high/70378499007/

Democrat and Chronicle, 08/15/1976

jefflynnesongs.com

The Greece Post, 04/07/1994

Astrosphere / Gyrosphere connection: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854477834714490/posts/2776809522481302/