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 Review of Bumper Cars @ Hoffmans Playland
5 Rating Posted by: BobFunland on 8/28/2005 1:26:00 PM
These bumpercars rock! Having already experienced the skooters at Knoebels, I was intent on grabbing some more Lusse action whenever the chance arose. After hitting Six Flags New England one day, I was driving back through Albany and decided to seek out Hoffmans thanks to the tip provided by bumprnugit. Stopping was one of the best decisions I have ever made, especially on such short notice.Costing about $2.00 a ride (twice the cost of Knoebels skooters), I bought a packet of 10 tickets and intended to ride twice. While the arena was smaller and there were fewer bumper cars, in my mind one thing made up for it: they hit harder than any bumper cars I have ever been on, including the highly-regarded Knoebels Skooters. These Lusses were in pretty good shape and Hoffmans ran them well. The hits were massive, I mean side-splitting, gut-wrenching, seizure-inducing type hits. You could really feel the hits, and the shockwaves revirbirated throughout ones body. Lusse Skooters have a great reuptation of being hard-hitters, with the Knoebels set being regarded as the best, but I disagree. Hoffmans Skooters make you feel like you are in the emergency room: every hard hit is like when a doctor uses a defibrillator, as in youre not sure if you are going to survive the massive impulses of energy. Thats what the Hoffmans skooters are all about. Here are some notable memories from my rides:- Though all of the hits caused some form of whiplash, one actually busted my knee open and drew blood, not to mention made me limp.- My girlfriend managed to hit the end of the center divider head on, and it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen (I have no idea how she managed that)- Harnesses are optional, and its a good thing because you would have likely choked.- On one hard hit, my camera bad flew out from underneath my feet and managed to fly about five feet in the direction of the hit. Talk about crunching power! (and thats no lie nor an exaggeration of any sorts)Im not really sure why they seemed to hit harder, Ive been thinking of all sorts of possible reasons. Perhaps because there are fewer cars on the circuit more power goes to each vehicle, perhaps they just use more energy, perhaps because we only had 5 or 6 people going we had a better chance of getting a really good run, who knows? Id like to find out...With that said, although the Hoffmans skooters hit harder than the Knoebels ones, the Big K skooters do have two distinct and undeniable advantages: they run a cycle that is almost twice as long as the Hoffmans ones, and they cost less than the Hoffmans ones. Totalling everything up, I think the Skooters are about the same in terms of quality (in other words, both are spectacular) with a slight edge to the Hoffmans ones in my book because they seem to hit harder. A 10 for sure.
 

Review Comments

bumprnugit on 8/28/2005 1:30:08 PM said:
Wow! Hoffmans got added quick; Im heading over there now to update the other rides and refresh my memory on their hitting power vs Knoebels. Nice review!
BobFunland on 8/28/2005 2:08:00 PM said:
Thanks, we got lucky that they were added so darn quick.
larrygator on 8/28/2005 2:26:36 PM said:
wow, take a look at your Top 10 rides versus a year ago. MindBender hanging on!
BobFunland on 8/28/2005 2:40:09 PM said:
Yep, only two rides left from a year ago, and only one (Mind Bender) from before the 04 season. I guess that just means thta Ive had one heck of a year (oh yea, Mind Bender will be in my top 10 for a long time, I find half of the rides currently up there to be more "disposable" than M.B.)
Hercules on 8/28/2005 2:53:30 PM said:
Geeze, what kind of a loser puts two sets of bumper cars in their Top 10? I mean really, who does that? I mean come on, they obviously....... oh wait.... B. Fun..... really? Oh, sorry dude.

Seriously though, these must be some really good freakin cars if you find that they top the Knoebels version. From what you said, I can see how they do. You can only find these kinds of things in a small place in the middle of nowhere. Its only the true gems that have to be sought out and those are the ones that most will never experience. Sadly, that is one of the reason why people will think you are totally nuts for saying they are better than the Skooters.
BobFunland on 8/28/2005 3:16:24 PM said:
I figured that I would hear that from somebody, but not from you LOL Yea they are pretty good, you should head up and give em a shot sometime, but of course, plan on doing something else too. You could easily do Hoffmans in an hour or so.
bumprnugit on 8/28/2005 3:47:36 PM said:
Hoffmans is only 45 minutes south of The Great Escape, so if you drive through Albany, take Exit 5 off the Northway, its only 2 1/2 miles off the exit. I took another ride on them today, and I think BobFunland is right about their hitting power...Ill post a review later after the numbness subsides in my right wrist.
larrygator on 8/28/2005 8:48:28 PM said:
unless you are like me and dont plan ahead of time and get off the highway looking for Hoffmans with no directions. Typical guy, I wouldnt stop and ask for directions and never found the place.
BobFunland on 8/28/2005 9:35:53 PM said:
Ah, glad to see that someone may agree with me. I cant wait to read the review!

Larry, I have already learned that it is best to stop and ask, especially if accompanied with a female who will make fun of you on end if you dont . I too had trouble navigating downtown Albany, but ended up back on the right road.
adriahna on 12/24/2005 6:07:46 PM said:
Bob, ya got some good taste going there - I hadnt realized that you have two sets of bumper cars in your top ten. Good going. Now, to haul my ass off to Hoffmans...
hrrytraver on 8/6/2006 6:14:49 PM said:
i know im way late tuning in on this one, but damn i gotta say...fine review bobfunland! this type review and photos such as these youve posted are what make this site cool. very informative but also entertaining to read, with lots of the writers personality oozing out (no pun intended re:funlands bloody knee). discovering hidden gems is a thrill and a park connoiseurs fantasy come true.
Predator on 9/19/2006 3:15:44 PM said:
I havent been to either of these places you have, but from the pictures, they look exactly the same. The reason why you like them so much is because look at what they are made of (pure metal). Todays bumper cars arent as heavy as before. So, the hits are really hard. Kiddieland in Melrose Park also has hard hitting cars because of the same reason. A picture of the bumper car is on this page! http://kiddieland.com/parkinfo.asp
Hercules on 9/19/2006 7:40:22 PM said:
I so pissed that I went up to the place THREE TIMES this summer and it was closed ALL THREE TIMES due to weather!
BobFunland on 9/19/2006 10:47:49 PM said:
The ones at Kiddieland are Dodgem Bros. I believe. Second best to Lusses.
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