Round ride with contoured and rotating track

A round ride, comprising:

• a hub assembly including a hub and a hub drive rotating the hub about a center axis in a first direction and at a first rotation rate;
• a vehicle support assembly including a support arm connected at a first end to the hub to rotate with the hub and to pivot in a vertical direction, wherein the vehicle support assembly further includes a passenger vehicle attached to a second end of the support arm;
• and
• a track assembly including a ring-shaped track with a contoured surface vertically supporting the passenger vehicle and including a track drive rotating the contoured surface about the center axis at a second rotation rate.

A round ride, comprising:

• a drive and support assembly including a hub rotatable about a central axis in a first direction and at a first rotation rate and at least one support arm extending outward from the hub, the support arm being pivotally coupled to the hub for vertical rotation;
• a vehicle mounted to an end of the support arm distal to the hub;
• and
• a track structure including a track with a running surface extending about the central axis with a first portion having a first height and a second portion having a second height greater than the first portion, wherein the track structure further includes a track drive operating to rotate, independent of the rotation of the hub, the running surface about the central axis in a second direction and at a second rotation rate and wherein the support arm or the vehicle are vertically supported by the running surface, whereby the support arm moves from a first angular position to a second angular position as it travels over the first and second portions, respectively, to vary an elevation of the vehicle.