Top Ten Tips For Event Planning When Hiring Funfair Rides

Top 10 Tips for Event Planning When Hiring Funfair Rides and Attractions

Funfair Rides and Attractions are becoming very popular ways to entertain guests at a large variety of events such as Summer Balls, Weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs', Family Fun Days, Birthday Parties and many many more. I have found that using a few tried and tested tips will help ensure that everything runs smoothing even if you have never hired a fairground ride before. In fact, with this in mind and because there are always pitfalls to fall into I have put together my top ten tips to help make sure that your event does not fall into any of the traps.

1. Always book from a reputable company, ideally one to which you have been recommended, or do not be afraid to ask for references.


2. Consider the time of year of your event and choose your rides accordingly, ie: in the Winter try to choose rides with a roof or completely enclosed such as the venturer simulator.


3. Large funfair rides such as Dodgems or Carousel come on heavy lorries, please take this into consideration when placing the rides onto grass. In the event of heavy rain you may wish to consider trackway or have a "plan b" location on hard standing such as a carpark.


4. If you are in any doubt as to the viability of getting rides into a venue please ask for a site visit.


5. Ensure you have seen the insurance and ADIPS certificate for each of the rides you are booking and that they are in date and the name is the same on each certificate.


6. Make sure you have a contract with whoever you book with and you have clauses covering eventualities such as the ride you wanted does not turn up or it is not in an acceptable condition.


7. It is important that you have a mobile contact number for the person coming on the day, most agency staff go home at 5pm and are closed over the weekend and although they have answerphones they do not normally leave mobile contact number on these answerphones, so you may wish to ask for this in advance of the event.


8. Beware of falling foul of the Showmans' Guild, a lot of ride owners are members of this organisation and there are a number of rules that can affect your event especially if it has happened before. You may want to ask them sign a form to say they will not claim "guild rights" on your event.


9. Don't be coerced into paying in cash on the day, and you should not have to pay the full amount due before the ride(s) arrive on site.


10. Double check the fee includes everything to run the ride on the day including generators, staff, public liability etc as there are some scams operating on eBay at the moment which look like a good deal but on the day of the event when the rides are all set up ready you find out that it doesn't include power to run it and suddenly there is an additional amount to pay.

These tips are the top 10 and can be found on our website along with information about the Showmans Guild as referred to above http://www.premierrides.com/tips.html