What rides would you put into your dream theme park?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. With Omicron sending countries into lockdown, closing parks in some places and wrecking people’s theme park travel plans, I thought we could do with a little positivity around here this evening! So why don’t we take a journey into a land of dreams? Let’s go to one where COVID preferably doesn’t exist and you have an unlimited pot of money and an unlimited amount of land with which to build your dream theme park. Planning restrictions are also non-existent, so height and noise restrictions are no object either! So my question to you this evening is; if you were given the chance to build the theme park of your dreams, what rides would you put into it? And if you want to elaborate a little further than what I’m suggesting and go past mere rides; what sort of park would your dream theme park be in terms of themes, name, areas etc?

 

In terms of my dream theme park; off the top of my head, I’d do something similar to this:

Coasters

• B&M Hyper Coaster - I love a good B&M Hyper Coaster, and I think one would work beautifully as a headline attraction of my dream park, going near the entrance; I can just imagine guests entering the park in perfect parallel with a row of parabolic hills that would provide beautiful sustained floater, and I can also imagine that this coaster would have a big capacity, to really devour those opening time queues! In terms of a theme; I’ve always loved the idea of a B&M Hyper being themed to a protector of the park, and being given the name Emperor!
• Intamin Blitz Coaster - I’d love a coaster like VelociCoaster in this park, with heavy theming, but also some nice airtime moments and inversions too. I can definitely imagine a top hat, with a twisty layout packed with some twisted airtime moments and fun inversions! As much as I specified Intamin, I do think a Mack would fit this brief nicely too.
• GCI Dueling/Racing Wooden Coaster - Based on the one GCI I’ve ridden, I’d have to say that I really like the ride type, and I’ve always thought that GCI’s dueling coasters, such as Joris at Efteling, looked like great fun, so I’d definitely plump for a duo of dueling GCIs, personally! In terms of what type of layout I’d go for; I’m unsure if I’d go for dueling or racing, but if it were racing, I’d go for two out and back-style layouts like Joris’ two sides have, and if it were dueling, I’d go for two twistier, more spaghetti bowl-style layouts. These would definitely be mid-size GCIs as opposed to anything too huge, though, as I think they’d make a nice starter thrill ride!
• B&M Dive Coaster - As much as I know that these aren’t the biggest enthusiast favourite, I think they’re very popular rides, and based on personal preference, I do really like them! I’d certainly build one with the original restraints, and I’d probably make it a bigger 200ft model with 10-across seats. I’d chuck in a couple of inversions, and maybe an airtime hill or two as well, and of course at least 2 vertical drops (the big one, and one off the MCBR). Maybe a splashdown element as well. I’d also deck this out with tons of theming Baron-style, to really increase the overall experience factor.
• Mack PowerSplash (Could also count as water ride) - I’ve always thought that Pulsar looked like a really fun water ride, and I think a Mack PowerSplash would be quite a good filler thrill ride, personally, as well as filling the void traditionally filled by a shoot-the-chutes! I’d probably go for the Pulsar layout (with a turntable for high capacity), but I might go for a PowerLoop depending on how I felt!
• Intamin Family Launch Coaster - I can imagine a ride like Juvelen or Hagrid’s working really well in my dream theme park, with heavy theming, launches, some fun twists and turns, and maybe a drop track!
• Mack Water Coaster (Could also count as water ride) - As much as I’ve got the Mack PowerSplash above, I also think a traditional water coaster would work really well; I can imagine something similar to SeaWorld Orlando’s Journey to Atlantis, with some really nice dark ride sections, but a more extended coaster section than Orlando’s JTA.
• Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster - I can imagine a ride like Flight of the Pterosaur or Orkanen working wonderfully in this park! Possibly something more like Orkanen, with a height of roughly 60 or 70ft, some fun helixes and turns, and possibly some near misses too! Unlike the existing SFCs, I’d also go for 2 trains and a brake run, just to up that capacity a bit.
• GCI Junior Wooden Coaster - I’ve always really liked the way that Stampida and Tomahawk over at PortAventura coexist with one another, so I’d try and cram a GCI Junior Wooden Coaster in alongside the dueling GCIs so that the kids could race alongside the older riders at some point during the dueling coasters’ course!
• Mack Powered Coaster - This may come across as a rather intriguing choice, but I’ve always felt that Mack Powered Coasters are one of the most universally appealing ride types a park can buy; whenever I ride Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers, I see a really wide range of demographics riding it, from the youngest kids right through to the teenagers and older adults, and everyone seems to come off with a smile on their face, and I’d certainly want that type of ride in my park! In terms of how I’d build it, I’d go for a nice long, sprawling RMT-style layout, and I’d definitely have some fun RMT-style helixes in there! Heck, I might even go for dueling Mack Powered Coasters Max & Moritz-style, to add a fun element of interaction and also double capacity!
• ART/Mack Kiddie Coaster - As kiddie coasters go, I’ve always liked the look of the ART/Mack model, so I’d definitely want to put something similar to B-a-a-a Express into my park!

Thrilling Flat Rides

• Gyro Drop Tower - I love a good drop tower, and I think the big gyro model that rotates would be a brilliant landmark flat ride for this park, personally! In terms of manufacturer; Intamin seems like an obvious choice, but I do love Funtime’s model, so I’m undecided! I would definitely want to put some tilting seats on it; maybe a mix similar to Highlander at Hansa Park would work, so that those who don’t want tilting seats can still ride, but those that want that extra fear factor can still experience it?
• Intamin Mega Gyro Swing - I’ll admit I wasn’t a huge fan of the Gyroswing-style attraction I did at Paultons Park earlier this year, but they are undeniably popular rides, so I would build one what with how well-liked they are! I think Intamin’s model looks like the nicest to me; those overhead lap bars look lovely! I’d also maybe look to integrate some special effects and heavy theming into this one!
• S&S Screamin’ Swing - As much as I may have said above about not especially liking the Gyroswing I did, I absolutely love a good Screamin’ Swing, and I think this would make for a nice non-spinny flat ride that offers some great speed and weightlessness!
• Pirate Ship - Pirate ships are arguably a theme park classic, so I’d definitely look to integrate one in here! In terms of manufacturer; I don’t think I’d really care, as they’re all fairly similar. Maybe the Intamin Bounty, as they’ve manufactured quite a few other rides and I could get a nice package deal, but any would do!

Dark Rides

• ETF Ride Systems Trackless Multi Mover - I’d love a large-scale trackless dark ride similar to Symbolica at my dream park, personally; I can imagine it working so well, and being a staple family attraction! In terms of a theme; I’ve personally always loved the idea of a modern take on the Haunted Mansion concept done using the trackless technology, so I’d go with a spooky house/spooky mansion theme. In terms of a name; I think Macabre Mansion would do the job nicely!
• Intamin Ultra Tower (https://www.intamin.com/product/ultra-tower/) - I know building an unbuilt ride concept seems like a risk, but I’ll admit I do like the sound of this one! Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios is one of my all-time favourite rides, and this sounds like a new take on the concept, so I’d absolutely love one for my dream park!
• Vekoma Mad House - I do think these are quite fun filler dark rides, and the illusion is always great fun, so I’d certainly try and put one in here! I’d do some nice pre-shows (maybe 1 or 2, Hex-style) to set the scene, and get a nice musical score composed for the ride itself!
• Interactive Dark Ride - As much as I know interactive dark rides are often considered gimmicky, I think they are popular, and I also think they can be quite fun rides! In terms of shooting system for this; I’d probably go with regular guns, but I do think Ninjago hand gesture shooting might be cool too! And I think I’d probably go with an omnimover for the ride system, to keep the capacity nice and high; I feel like the interactive dark ride is a ride type where the omnimover system would work well, as they’re not usually the most story-driven or triggered effect-driven rides, with effects usually being triggered by riders’ shooting of targets!
• ETF Ride Systems Mystic Mover - I feel like a second trackless dark ride would work really well, and I think this smaller ride system would do well as a dark ride for the younger kids!

Water Rides

• Mack PowerSplash (Also coaster) - See above.
• Mack Water Coaster (Also coaster) - See above.
• Intamin Rapids Ride - I love a good rapids, personally, and I think one would be a great fit in my dream theme park! In terms of what type of ride it would be; I’d ensure it had heavy theming and some nice waves, water jets & waterfalls, and I’d also go for an elevator lift and drop similar to Infinity Falls!
• Slow Boat Ride - Even though I’ve filed this under water rides, this wouldn’t be a ride that would get you wet. It would instead function as a gentle, story-driven ride aimed to appeal to everyone, with some nice animatronics & theming and a nice story. This could be an indoor dark ride or an outdoor ride depending on how I felt, and I’m not sure about a manufacturer, but it would definitely be story-driven and not wet.

Family Flat Rides

• Gerstlauer Polyp - I haven’t ridden one of these, but I’ve been told they’re great fun!
• Teacups - These are arguably a theme park staple, so I don’t think I could go without a teacups ride!
• Caterpillar/Musik Express - I do quite like this style of ride, so I’d definitely try and integrate one in. I could maybe see some nice theming going alongside this one.
• Intamin Parachute Tower - I think a family drop tower would be a nice fit for those who aren’t quite so into the big drop tower elsewhere in the park!
• Intamin Flying Island - I’ve always liked the look of these as far as panoramic attractions go, and a flying island would be quite novel!

Other

• ETF Ride Systems Panorama Pedal Plus - When I was a child, I always loved Squirrel Nutty at Alton Towers, and this looks fairly similar in style, so I reckon this would make for a really nice gentle ride!
• Intamin People Mover P6 - I think a monorail would be great for transportation at this park, as well as for some nice panoramic views!

So that’s a basic overview of some of the rides in my dream park! In reality, there would probably be quite a few more than that, as I’m missing quite a few things like kids’ flat rides, but those are just some of the main rides that come to mind off the top of my head!

 

But what rides would you put into your dream theme park? And do you like the sound of my dream park?