Do you still have a kiddie ride outside your supermarket?

[Wee67]

Do you still have a kiddie ride outside your supermarket?

I'm assuming this once ubiquitous site has become more and more rare. I'm assuming kids started putting their quarters into arcade games in the 80s and then moved on to home video games and ultimately put an iPad in their line of sight. There are a couple of them outside an outlet mall near me, but I've never seen a kid using them.

[Random Axe]

The homeless tweaker outside of our local Dollar General gives piggyback rides for a quarter...

[Random Axe]

Do you still have a kiddie ride outside your supermarket?

I'm assuming this once ubiquitous site has become more and more rare. I'm assuming kids started putting their quarters into arcade games in the 80s and then moved on to home video games and ultimately put an iPad in their line of sight. There are a couple of them outside an outlet mall near me, but I've never seen a kid using them.

However, to be more on topic, I haven't seen one in a long time. I used to operate a store that had one inside. Kids heads kept getting caught inside so we eventually took the train out. I still think these rides have some value, though I'm guessing maintenance eats up most profits.

[TrekStar]

The last time I was at a local area Walmart, there was a race car ride outside the store for kids, haven’t been there lately maybe it’s still there?

[J.B.]

In today's sad world, I can see a kid taking a header off Trigger and then his parents suing the market.

[Megotastrophe]

These were still common while my kids were under twelve. They may have dried up in the six years since then or I stopped looking for them. The mall had a block of about eight of them all together and it took credit cards haha. The Apollo capsule had a video screen that included a moon landing and the roller coaster car had a video screen of riding a coaster so it was kind of a cool upgrade.

[Wee67]

The Apollo capsule had a video screen that included a moon landing and the roller coaster car had a video screen of riding a coaster so it was kind of a cool upgrade.

That's pretty cool! I had no idea they had upgraded them.

[apes3978]

I know for sure that the local Meijer store has a horse (inside).

And, along the lines of what TrekStar said, I am thinking that the main Walmart in town may have a few rides, but I am not certain on that one.

[B-Lister]

Lots of Meijer still have mechanical horses.

Ever since the day all of the real horses suddenly dropped dead at the same time for no reason, it is the closest thing to the real deal you can get.

I often see the Amish and horse girls stare at it longingly.

Or maybe that's just the plot of some dystopian Sci Fi novel I've been dreaming up.

[Jorge Galvan]

I haven't seen one in ages, but the thought of it, brings a smile to my face, which it should.

[Wee67]

I haven't seen one in ages, but the thought of it, brings a smile to my face, which it should.

If I come across, I doubt I'll be able to resist sinking a few quarters in it and testing it's weight tolerance.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Other than Meijer stores, the last one I remember seeing was outside an outlet mall in a nearby town. It was a mini-carousel with really small horse, for only the tiniest of tikes. But I think it finally vanished a few years back. The outlet mall has seen better days, too.

My favorite one of those to find in the wild was the (possibly knock-off 66) Batmobile. Come to think of it, it looked a lot like the current super-deformed Hot Wheels version.

[megoapesnut]

I am pretty sure the local Tanger Outlets has one outside the mall office. In fact, I seem to remember a kid riding on it the last time I went handbag shopping there.

[palitoy]

There is a mall here that has seen brighter days, it is filled mainly with government offices now and walk-in clinics. On Saturday it's a ghost town and I swear it has about 15 different machines, they even had the Mazinger one for a while. On rainy days when my kids were small, I'd take them there to run around and do some rides. It was a great cheap way to run off some kid energy.

[B-Lister]

If I ever saw the Ultraman or Kamen Rider ride on in the US, I'd get photos of me on it, even as an adult.