When Does A Scream Become Extreme? -- Puyallup Fair Ride Sends Fairgoers Soaring, But It's Also A Down-To-Earth Experience

You pull the stainless steel shoulder bar over your head. It snaps into place. The attendant gives the bar a tug and steps away. And then faster than you can blink, you're yanked straight into the air.

The new Puyallup Fair ride pauses for a split second at the top - 20 stories up. You literally float off the seat. If it weren't for the shoulder restraints, there would be nothing to stop you from flying off. And then, whoosh, the ride plunges down.

Treading that fine line between life and death is why thrill-seekers are sure to make a beeline to Extreme Scream, a ride that could be compared to getting shot out of a cannon, then falling down with a dump truck tied to your ankles. When it opens today, Extreme Scream, at 185 feet high, will be the tallest amusement ride in the state of Washington.

With its lattice-work grill, the ride looks like a radio tower. A moveable carriage fits like a ring around the skinny rectangular tower. Twelve riders sit on the four sides facing outward. Extreme Scream is similar to the Big Shot ride at Las Vegas' Stratsophere Tower or the Supreme Scream at Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California. Its builders call the new attraction a combination between a space shot and a turbo drop. The ride shoots you upward with the force of 4.5 Gs (4.5 times the force of gravity).

"It's definitely one of the scariest rides I've been on," says Ingrid Polston, an intern in the fair's press room, who has tried the ride. "It ranks above any sort of roller coaster because it's something you could imagine yourself doing - like falling out of an airplane or falling in an elevator."

Extreme Scream operates much like a bicycle pump, using compressed air that lifts the carriage with speeds of up to 50 mph. At the top, the process is reversed and the carriage descends at an accelerated rate. The ride slows down just before it reaches the ground and bounces a few times before stopping. The entire trip takes less than three minutes.

The ride has become the centerpiece of the fair's ad campaign; this year's slogan is "Do the PuWOWup." A local radio station is sponsoring a contest for a couple to get married on the ride. The ride will remain at the fair permanently and will open up during other events at the fairgrounds. "We thought it would be a neat way to meet our younger guests' desires," says fair spokeswoman Karen LaFlamme. But the rash of amusement park accidents nationwide last month has raised the question of ride safety. A woman and her 8-year-old daughter were killed when their car on the Wild Wonder roller coaster in Ocean City, N.J., slid backward on a 30-foot incline and collided with another car. A disabled 12-year-old boy was killed when he slipped out of his harness on the Drop Zone ride at Paramount Parks' Great America park in Santa Clara, Calif.

Altogether there were six amusement-ride fatalities in the United States this year, tripling the average annual number. Industry experts maintain that amusement rides are generally safe, considering the 300 million visitors amusement parks draw every year. "People are safer in the parks than they are driving to and from them," says Joel Cliff, spokesperson for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. "While these are tragedies, I think they're tragic coincidences nonetheless."

S&S Power, the Utah company that manufactured Extreme Scream, has had a flawless safety record with the 80 space-shot towers it has built around the world, says Gerald Ryan, project manager for Extreme Scream at S&S Power. For the run of the fall fair, S&S Power will monitor the ride's operation daily. The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has conducted a 10-day inspection, a process which must be repeated annually for the ride to receive a state license. "It's looking very good," state amusement ride inspector John Hinde said last week.

The fair expects 1.2 million visitors this year; an estimated 39,000 visitors will ride Extreme Scream.

"I've already been on it four times but I'll definitely go on it again," says Polston. ------------------------------- If You Go

Extreme Scream is open today until Sept. 26. It will also be in operation at other events at the fairgrounds throughout the year. The ride costs $10 to ride, and you must be at least 52 inches tall. Pregnant women and riders with back problems, neck problems, or medical limitations should not ride. The carnival opens today at noon, Saturday at 10 a.m., Sunday at 11 a.m. and Monday through Thursday at noon.

Opening times vary from week to week, so call before going. Closing times vary as well, depending on attendance. On weekends the carnival will close around midnight, on weekdays at about 10 p.m.

Daily admission to the fair costs $7.50 for adults, $4.50 for children ages 6 to 18, and $4.50 for seniors older than62. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Parking on a fairground lot costs $5. For more information about the fair, call its 24-hour information line at 253-841-5045. Web site: www.thefair.com.

To get to the Puyallup Fair, take Interstate 5 to Exit 142, the Puyallup exit. Stay in the left lane.

The offramp veers right; turn left at the first traffic light onto Highway 161. Travel approximately eight miles. Highway 161 becomes Meridian Street in Puyallup. Continue south through town. The fairgrounds will be on your right at 110 Ninth Ave. S.W.