Need help with 2 things Gravity Room and Vaccuum idea

[spookhaven]

I am looking to make a gravity room. Does anyone have plans they would be willing to share on how to make it correctly?

I am also looking to do a room full of gum balls with PVC balls (like in a ball pit). Make a ball pit ppl have to walk through but a vaccuum that pulls some to the ceiling so they could be dropped down out of holes without any actor operation needed. Thinking floor to ceiling would be a 10-12 ft pull. Any suggestions on what could be used?

[screamforadream]

Can you be a bit more specific on the gravity room?
I know scarefactory makes a few cool anti gravity props, are those the effects you're looking for?
If their reputation scares you, just ask them for the mechanism "skeleton" and use your own props/pieces.

As for ball pit......the idea is COOL. However, with plastic balls it may be almost impossible. Individually the balls aren't heavy but collectively if you had a vacuum large enough to lift enough balls for it to notice.....you would be ripping the hair off your customers heads or make it impossible for them to breathe.....HOWEVER, why not use a TON of water balloons? They're similar in size and shape when inflated. They're cheaper. And there's a few ways to lift them I can think of;
1) vacuum like you said, a much smaller one would be needed and it'd be safer and more cost efficient.
2) fans!! If you get a bunch of flat fans and build a platform on the floor and have them recessed in areas off the walking path and some from the ceiling at different angles, to throw the balloons around, you'll be set, you can even make fake ball piles using the original balls you want to use and make "covers" out of them for the fans.
3) HI-FLOAT! From all the party planning, DJ-ing, and decorations I do for parties a million times a year, this is hands down my FAVORITE idea! Ok, so there's this product called Hi-Float for latex balloons, it's basically a sealant for balloons that make it so that helium doesn't leak out of them for a LONG time. You won't go through too much helium since the balloons are so small, and use fans on the ceiling to keep them going up and down. It isn't as defined or timed as a vacuum, but it's much cheaper and will still look really cool. And cold air going down your customers backs is always an added creep factor

[spookhaven]

The rooms where you think you are walking up hill and you aren't. tilting floor.jpg Looking to accomplish this.


The water balloons won't work bc customers will be soaked. I will have clowns hiding in the pit. PVC balls is all I could think of. I can use larger balls and can get 1000 for 40.00. With 10,000 ppl coming through, I need something that will last longer.

[Ironman]

I'm pretty sure Bobby was talking about using the small size balloons normally used for water balloons, but only filled with air and blown with a fan.
For the gravity room, look up forced perception rooms.

[screamforadream]

Yes. Lol.

The point of the water balloons was to have something that was LIGHTER than the PVC balls/average playground balls. They're similar in size and shape.....but use air or helium to fill them....not water.

that-just-might-be-crazy-enough-to-lobster.jpg

[naberhoodhaunts]

Just a thought... get a bounce house blower and some 3inch pvc. connect blower to one end of pvc. cut hole in pvc to allow balls to fall into it. the force of the blower will push balls to the top of the room where they would end up falling through holes in the ceiling. Not sure it would work but just came into my head.
Joe

[icarian]

Just a thought... get a bounce house blower and some 3inch pvc. connect blower to one end of pvc. cut hole in pvc to allow balls to fall into it. the force of the blower will push balls to the top of the room where they would end up falling through holes in the ceiling. Not sure it would work but just came into my head.
Joe

Pretty much exactly where I was going to go with this! lol

You can always add some more visual movement by using UV reactive balls and having a few circling around on various flat-black wire-mobile or ferris wheel type devices so theres a little more confusion as to which balls are coming from where, or allow your balls traveling up to the drop point a brief clear-tubing section that allows your guests a brief view of a ball zooming in various directions.

[Fairbanks Asylum]

I was curious, are you meaning to have your guests walk through the ball pit? I was thinking of something similar last year, I even was thinking of shipping peanuts also, but the one thing that stopped me was after a night of say a 1500 people the balls or peanuts would be littered through out the entire haunt. Cause they would get carried out of the pit. Not always on puropose. But I still really like the idea and I hope it works out for you.

Thanks
Rob

[Allen H]

Here is how I would do it.
The floor of the room Should be raised and the edges have a gap that allows the balls to fall underneath.
Under the floor tarp or plastic (attached to the edges) funnels the balls to a 4 inch hose.
The hose is attached to an insulation blowers hopper.
BM_IN_Body_Img_O_6grid.jpg
The balls fall into the hopper and are blown to the roof over head in the same room
They come out in the middle of the room three feet above the 8ft level.
They bounce off of three levels of 6" hog wire about a foot a part.
The hog wire is there to "pichinco" the balls and diffuse them so they dump over a larger area. Off set the wires so that the balls hit them as opposed to being lined up evenly.
The insulation blower sucks the balls up and shoots them out, turning it on causes the balls to begin the cycle.
Allen H

[Allen H]

the blower is not to expensive to rent, so you can rent one on a weekend basis until you can buy one.