General Discussion

Well, they are slowly cropping up all over the place, so a topic about them seems appropriate. The latest one to open, Hades 360, had an inversion thrown into it when it was refurbrished, replacing an airtime hill. Here's a POV from the lovely TPR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtfZYEnS8dE Looks awful. Otherwise, not much against the inversion actually; though to lose an airtime hill for it is a shame.. Discuss...

Simulator Theme Park Plunge Kills Six Death on Maurer Sohne Spinning Coaster1 dead in major accident at Tibidabo, Barcelona.All in under a month. This is worrying :PCould theme park bosses possibly be making cut-backs due to the recession, resulting in less thorough checks taking place?

Hi guys. Queues are a fact of life at theme parks; the attractions only have a finite throughput, and demand can often outstrip supply at a given moment. Therefore, queues formed on a first-come-first-served basis are a necessity to ensure order within theme parks and to ensure that everyone is treated fairly when trying to experience an attraction. One increasing school of thought within the theme park industry is to incorporate virtual queueing instead of a physical queue, where guests can go off and do other things, such as eating, drinking, shopping and watching shows, whilst “queueing” for an attraction. Many theme parks have incorporated this principle i…

Hi guys. Of all the things that can happen at a park, a spite is probably the most gutting. I'm sure we've all had an occasion where a ride has been closed for the day, or it's broken down, that means we haven't been able to ride it. But sometimes, some might voluntarily choose not to ride something for whatever reason. Whether it's through fear or just plainly forgetting it exists, we might sometimes choose not to go on a coaster. With this in mind, I'd be interested to know: have you ever self-spited yourself out of a major roller coaster? Have you ever voluntarily not ridden something for whatever reason? For purposes of limitation, I'm going to keep this t…

Today at school I had to do some research for graphics and one of the links I ended up on was this: http://www.kdt2.com/ Of course, me being me I explored the site and found some of the amazing projects in the theme park world that they had worked on. From theming right through to special effects there are some greatly recognizable projects. I then had a free lesson and with nothing else to do decided to research some more of these design/theming websites that have worked on theme park projects outside of the Merlin Studios we all know. Firstly I came across: http://www.primeplay.com/ Very interesting to see all the different types of design for a generic indoor pla…

Welcome to a bit of self congratulation. I'm going to be 30 in two months and this birthday represents 20 years of being into rollercoasters and theme parks. Instead of getting smashed and wondering where my life went wrong like a lot of thirty year olds normally do, I'll be out celebrating at Heide Park and finishing my B&M collection (before Fenix and Valkyire open, those rascals). Everyone loves lists right, so I decided to put together my top 100 rollercoasters and talk about them in a sentence or two. I hit 250 last year at Walygator and am currently on 253. Unfortunately this was a little too early to include Oblivion: The Black Hole or Icon but does include the…

Hi everyone, Hope you don't mind me posting this. I've been a 'lurker' here a good number of years, a year or so ago I posted an interview I'd conducted with John Wardley as part of my TV Production course. Since then I've been working in the "real world", I'm currently researching for an upcoming Channel 5 series featuring user generated content. We're currently looking for videos people have shot of 'angry' or annoyed people at theme parks or other leisure places. This is a fantastic example, except the quality is far too poor to be used: Queue jumper on Colossus: So things like queue jumpers, arguments, people annoyed about being stuck on a broken down ride etc …

Hey all, I have been looking around the net and I have noticed that as early since the 80's rides have had ORP but I have been wondering how was it done back then before digital cameras? did they have to pay before to get your photo or did someone have to take it manually and how long did they take? Thanks Mr Fish

Hi guys. Whenever the topic of records and stats comes up in discussion, I’ve noticed that enthusiasts often like to trot out the age-old mantra of “size isn’t everything”, “it’s not the size that matters, it’s what you do with it” or something of that general ilk. But one does have to ask whether this saying always holds true. So my question to you today is; do you think this saying holds true in every instance? Can a ride ever benefit from being bigger? Can a smaller ride ever be held back by the fact that it isn’t bigger? Personally, I’ll admit that I’m not sure that the adage of “size isn’t everything” is necessarily true in every instance, and I can raise…

Hi guys. Merlin Entertainments, the owner of the 4 biggest theme parks in the UK, has two Resort Theme Parks in the London area; Thorpe Park and Chessington. In spite of these parks’ identical owner and close proximity to one another, they are very different theme parks; Thorpe Park is aimed at thrillseekers, and has one of the UK’s biggest selections of thrill coasters and thrilling flat rides, while Chessington is aimed at younger families and has a zoo and various family-orientated rides. With that in mind, I’d be keen to know; which of these two theme parks do you prefer? Now I know you probably all think I’ve lost my marbles a bit here. I can imagine you …

Dear All, This is a really random question, but I was wondering if anyone knows of any resources for Theme Park "Floor Plans" or "Ride Layouts". I must admit, I just love looking at these sorts of details when it comes to the theme park experience, and was hoping to find somewhere that shows the Merlin Parks, and maybe a few other places like PortAventura, Efteling etc. I found this account on Flikr that has loads of Walt Disney World, and they are fascinating! - https://www.flickr.com/photos/63631877@N00/albums/ Any others that you know of would be great to see! Thanks, Jammy3112

Hi guys. Over the years, I’m sure that most of us have done a number of coasters and a number of parks quite a few times. With this in mind, I’d be interested to know; what are your most ridden coasters and your most visited parks? For me, my answer to these questions would not have been exhaustive and exact until a couple of days ago. I always started my coaster and park counts and visit log from an arbitrary “enthusiasm start date” of 28th September 2013, the day I rode Alton Towers’ big coasters for the first time, as my recollections of exact orders and dates before that was spotty. However, my dad recently found an old hard drive with all of my parents’ p…

Hi guys. The new year is upon us (happy 2022, everybody!), and as the new year is ushered in, rides around the world are getting another year older. And to be truthful, the ages certain rides are hitting… scares me a little. The Smiler, a ride I remember riding in its opening year? 9 years old! The Swarm, a ride I remember feeling incredibly cutting edge and modern when I first rode it? Hitting double digits this year, at 10 years old! But that’s besides the point. The new year being upon us got me thinking; when I first got into theme parks, rides of certain ages seemed old, yet rides that are the same age now still seem pretty new to me. For instance,…

I'm sorry if this is the wrong thread, I didn't know where to post it So in May I'm headed to Texas to stay with a friend for a month in San Antonio, then staying for a week in Arlington, we want to go to six flags, probably both Fiesta, and Over Texas, but we want to go multiple times, so we're thinking of just getting season passes as we will most likely go 5+ times during my stay, Because I'm from England, there won't be any issue with me getting a season pass for six flags will there? Just checking if anyone has any insight on this, I don't think there would be an issue but I'm posting here to make sure (:

With the recent announcement of the Universal theme park for the UK, I’ve been wondering about the prospect of other similar mega-parks opening up in this country. There was of course the proposal for the Swanscombe Peninsula theme park, but this has been kicked into the long grass. Then I had an idea. Many British theme parks aren’t really themed around British culture, and with the rise in popularity of immersive experiences and living museums, I think this would be a good opportunity to trial a combined theme park and living museum attraction, that educates the British public on their country’s history through rides and experiences. I’m not expecting this to b…

A bit of a weird question… but one I’ve thought of a few times over the years. When a ride unexpectedly goes down for a few weeks, for example Wicker Man at the moment due to the fire, that suddenly leaves a team of staff stranded. I assume it must take a team of around 15ish people to staff a ride like Wicker Man permanently, considering shifts, days off, etc. that’s quite a few people knocking about all of a sudden with no ride to operate! For those who have worked at the parks, what happens to these staff during the time their ride is closed? I assume they are seconded to other rides, although surely they are then over-staffed on tho…

I'm currently writing an extended project regarding the future of roller coasters - and I need a bit of help! My dissertation discusses whether or not there will be a place for roller coasters in the leisure industries of the future - and I require some primary data from which I can draw a conclusion. Hence, I would be delighted if you took a minute out of your day to fill in this short survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfSNAgCTe2izI_j_HA691SdR1xNQJ2s5XyaVR3fx3t5oXpZPA/viewform?usp=sf_link I need as many responses as possible - so please forward this link to anyone else you know who would be happy to complete it! …

Hi guys don't know if there is a topic for this but here goes : The nights are drawing in and Halloween is fast approaching,so our thoughts are inevitably turning to the terrors dwelling in the dark. Now, not too far away, there’s something very sinister and very real awaiting us in the shadows. Outbreak Brighton is a new attraction hidden in the depths of the Sussex countryside. It promises an extreme, immersive, physical horror experience for anyone brave enough to enter its world. Described as Secret Cinema meets 28 Days Later, crossed with Tough Mudder all in one place, it’s the ultimate destination for anyone who wants their deepest darkest fears burst into life…

Couldn’t find a suitable place to put this so I thought I’d make a new thread. If you have any recommendations or links to shows/documentaries on theme parks, post them here! I wanted to recommend the documentary series ‘The Imagineering Story’ on Disney+. It’s a really incredible series covering all sorts like the history and design of the parks, how they created Disneyland in California and the park in China, developing rides and animatronics, behind the scenes for several rides and all sorts really.

Better park?

Found an interesting YouTube channel by Disney Imagineering. Latest video here: We Call It Imagineering | Let's Ride

Hi guys. I don’t know about any of you, but as a theme park enthusiast, I find that every theme park day is pleasurable in its own way. However, the pleasurability of these days does vary, so with that in mind; I’d be intrigued to know; what have been some of your most and least pleasurable theme park days? These don’t necessarily have to equate with your most and least favourite parks; you might have had a terrible day at a park you love, and equally, you might have had a great day at a park you don’t rate that highly! I’ll get the ball rolling with some of mine… Most Pleasurable Europa Park (29th April 2022) - I loved all 3 days at E…

Hi guys. As of late, I've noticed that roller coaster names seem to have become a lot more divisive than they used to be. From tongue twisters like Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure to nods to modern slang like Sik, enthusiasts are increasingly beginning to question some of the decision making that goes into naming roller coasters at times. So the question I ask you today is; if the names that parks are churning out are sub-par, then what unused roller coaster names do you feel would be better? What are some of your favourite potential roller coaster names that haven't been used? What names do you think would sound really cool if applied to a ride? …

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