Search the Community

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? I'll get the ball rolling with some of my choices... Zenith - I think this would make a really cool name for the tallest ride in any park, or more generally, something like a hyper or giga coaster. The word quite literally means “highest point”, and I think it rolls off the tongue quite nicely! Gargantua - Again playing into the theme of big rides and bigness, I also think that Gargantua would suit a tall ride well. It’s a play on the word “gargantuan”, and I think that taking the “t” off the end makes it sound really cool, almost like some sort of big ruling deity or something! Torchwood - This might sound a bit random, but I think this would have made quite a cool alternative name for Wicker Man at Alton Towers, and I think it would suit any ride that blends wood and fire and capitalises upon that for the theme (a la Wicker Man). It’s sort of a play on words on how wood that’s set on fire is “torched wood” (although I might be reaching a bit with that one…), and to be honest, I just think it sounds cool and rolls off the tongue quite nicely! Cataclysm - I think this would be a cool name for any ride themed to disaster, the apocalypse or any sort of destructive beast or similar. Cataclysm means “a disastrous or seismic event”, and any sort of disaster or destructive creature, as quite a few rides seem to lean upon for a theme, certainly would be a cataclysm! And to be honest, I just think it rolls off the tongue quite nicely! We have lots of rides called “Tornado” or “Cyclone”; maybe this would make a nice change? Catalyst - I know it sounds similar to the name above, but I reckon this would make a cool name for a launch coaster or something. A catalyst is something that stimulates a chemical reaction, and I reckon that it would suit a launch coaster pretty well, because a launch moves a train pretty quickly! And it just sounds cool… Inferna - I think this would have been a really cool alternative name for Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park, and I think it would suit any ride themed to something like a fire dragon or anything to do with fire or heat (like Inferno is). It sounds similar to Inferno, but is a slightly different version of the word with the “a” instead of the “o”, and I just really like it! Euphoria - I know this doesn’t really lend itself to a theme as such, but I quite like this one as a more simple name, because I think it sounds cool and I also think it sums up the feelings of thrill and excitement that a roller coaster is designed to provide! Keeping to a similar train of thought, I also think that Ecstasy would be a cool name too! To be honest, there are also a number of scientific and computational words that I think would make really cool coaster names…. not for any particular reason, though; I just think they sound cool! Things like Ion, Xeon, Ryzen… actually, I guess there’s only 3 I can think of. I know my naming skills aren’t brilliant, but that’s what I could come up with. But what are some of your favourite unused roller coaster names?

Hi guys. With the recent announcement that Duel at Alton Towers is closing on 6th September, and the ever snowballing rumours about it being rethemed, a lot of discussion has taken place recently about Merlin and dark rides. And rightly or wrongly, Merlin appears to have somewhat of a poor reputation among enthusiasts when it comes to dark rides; most of the ground-up dark rides and dark ride rethemes they’ve done have not been particularly well received at all. So with that in mind, I’d be keen to know; of all the dark ride projects Merlin have undertaken, which is your favourite? I’m including both ground-up dark rides and rethemes here. Personally, I don’t think Merlin’s poor reputation with dark rides is entirely deserved. Yes, some of their dark ride projects haven’t gone down brilliantly, but all of the Merlin-created dark rides I’ve personally done have actually been pretty decently executed attractions for what they are, in my view. Although I must preface that I’m somewhat more tolerant of screens than most enthusiasts… But if I were to pick a favourite, I’d probably go for Flight of the Sky Lion at Legoland Windsor. It was a tough choice between Sky Lion and Ninjago in the same park, as I thought that both were excellent, and definitely two of my favourite UK dark rides, but I think Sky Lion just clinches it because Ninjago, while very fun, can get a touch tiring for the arms… in terms of Sky Lion, though, I think it comes together as a very nice experience! The smells are really good, the film is great, and it just overall has a really nice, feel good vibe! But what is your favourite Merlin-created dark ride or dark ride retheme? And do you feel that Merlin’s reputation on dark rides is deserved?

I was just wondering what all your favourite theme park soundtracks/Theme Music is? Like for example I love this roller coaster soundtrack on Euro Mir: and I love Samurai's soundtrack too! So what are your favourite theme park soundtracks, they can be a general theme park track like the one they play at towers street or one off a flat or coaster, you could even say which one you hate! I just want to know because I feel a soundtrack really sets the mood and atmosphere for the ride!