What's next?

[cadboy]

A Pandoras Box Ride would be good for MW, But how would you theme it?

[Gazza]

After seeing things like the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit at Universal Orlando and Led Zeppelin: The ride at Hard Rock Park (As well as riding stuff like Rock n Roller Coaster) I have become more and more convinced this could be the theme of their next thrill coaster....There seems to be a consensus that a B&M multi looper is the way to go (And if ASW ends up going ahead, and they build that dive machine that might discourage them from building the same at MW) so that leaves the choices to it being a sitting coaster, a stand up coaster, and a floorless coaster. I'd probably eliminate sitting coaster since it lacks the 'gimmick', and I'd eliminate the Stand Up since they cant do Zero G Rolls (Building a B&M looper without a Zero G Roll is almost sacrilege) so that leaves the floorless. But the ride could include a headrest speaker system like on Led Zepplin, and the custom track selection system like on Hollywood Dream. There are a number of advantages to a music themed ride, for starters it has more universal appeal since music is something everyone everyone can relate to in some way, secondly it is more appealing to women then say a superhero themed ride, and thirdly, the theming does not need a whole lot of moulded stuff like rocks or whatever to make it work. I could imagine having a snazzy looking building to house the queue and station , themed to be like a concert venue. The queue would be indoors at ground level, and the station would be up higher, in the same space, as if it is up on a stage (So i guess similarities could be drawn with how Supermans station and queue is) So its a bit like the people queuing are the audience, and the station and train is the focal point up on the stage. The area would of course, have music playing, a light show (Get Clint to do it), plasma screens alternating between the safety video, and music visualisations) And the area around the 'stage' would have banks of big speakers, all the rigging etc (I'm no expert in how these sorts of things should look), to get up to stage level, the queue would actually go under the stage, then up a set of stairs to the loading chutes on the other side (That way the crowd of people at the loading gates aren't blocking the view of the action up in the "station/stage" to the people queuing below, since they are on the far side) The goal of the queue would be to make it a fun place to be, and to really get you into the mood of the ride. The section of queue passing under the station and up the stairs would be like the back of house/green room areas of the concert venue. In here, signage explaining the track selection system, and the artists on offer would be on the walls, but they would be in the graphical style of a concert poster. Once you are in the station, you would board the train, and the train would have a sleek, glossy look to them, perhaps using that paint that changes colour depending on how light falls on it) You would pick the sound track from the device mounted on your restraint, and lock in that selection. As the train dispatches, speakers in the station would play the sound of a crowd cheering (like when a band takes to the stage and starts playing) and at the same time the speakers in your head rest will start playing your chosen song. Depending on the layout of the coaster, there is often a u turn between the station and where it engages the lift hill (See this pic for an example) This section could be enclosed, and would have a light/laser show happening in there. You would emerge into daylight, and the coaster would do its thing (IMO a layout about the scale of Batman at SFNE seems about the right scale for MW) At the end of the ride, you would pull into the enclosed brake run, where another cheer would be played out over speakers. After unloading, the exit ramp would lead you into a shop selling music memorobilia, CDs and all other sorts of merchandise. There would also be a mini arcade in the same space, but it would have only music related games (DDR, the one where you play the drums, the one where you spin turntables etc) The music choices on offer would be limited to 5 tracks or so, and would cover a few genres to keep everyone happy. They could also periodically change the tracks to keep it fresh. As for advertising it, I keep imagining this ad which shows a mundane situation of a couple in a car, changing the radio station back and forth, unable to decide, the ad then ups the tempo, and shows them on the ride, pulling down the restraints and a closeup of picking the tracks, then it cuts to showing the ride in action, and at the end of the ad is a tagline emphasising the muscial nature of ride and the fact you can pick the music.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

You never cease to amaze me Gazza. I am always curious to see what Idea you come up with next. Sure its based similarly on other established rides, but you've gone to lengths to ensure it is "unique". You've also done the marketing departments work too by working out the ads for it. I swear if a themepark doesnt pick you up, they're idiots.

[Gazza]

Haha thanks Alex. I just really do have a love affair with musical coasters, I mean have a look at how well it is done on

(In particular the music on the launch, the lift hill, and the airtime hills near the end) Perhaps this sort of approach could be taken, The soundtracks might not be specific songs licensed as they have done on hollywood dream, but rather composed pieces that match the ride movements, in various genres (Rock, Pop, Electronic, Orchestral etc) Also, on theme nights (Eg Haloween, Looney Tunes Christmas Party etc) they could run a version of the ride with themed music. I remember one complaint about Superman was their weak attempt to appeal to the youth market with that www.supermanescape.com.au, this sort of ride however would absolutely lend itself to this type of advertising. Think about all the bus shelter ads to you see for things like Ipods, and the gig posters stuck over them. Another ad for it I had in mind was there could be someone in a car going around to pick up mates from their houses to head out to a concert, but progressively, each person getting into the car would be dressed entirely differently as to suggest they arent going to the same concert....but of course it would turn out they were actually going to MW to ride the new coaster.

[Rollercoaster13]

^ The California screamin' looks like an intense coaster, but the music just doesnt do anything for me, imagine superman escape with a song playing, i wouldnt be focusing on the song, but thats just personally. Maybe like scooby-doo spooky coaster's disco part of the ride, which gives the ride a more exciting feel because it is inside a disco, but if a roller-coaster was outside with music playing, it would be like scooby-doo spooky-coaster with no building. I like your idea but I love it if it would be indoors for the entire ride,

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The best coaster I have ever ridden, despite all of the new technological marvels and new rides out there, Space Mountain CA Disneyland, with it's original Carnival De Animeaux theme music. For me thats perfection, and I don't think i'll ever see it surpassed. A score derived from a commercial track, and mixed nicely with some "for the ride" guitar just made it perfect.

[Gazza]

Re PixelPushed: Funny thing is, CA Screamin isn't that intense actually, it just goes on for ages, It is after all a Disneyfied thrill ride, so its not too bad, but it is indescribably fun to ride. You make a good point about the Music on Scooby Doo, I reckon that is half of the reason people love it so. The thing with onride music though, is that it forms a backdrop, of course you will mainly focus on the ride, but it gets into your head without you thinking about it. The best soundtracks are the ones that match the movements of the ride, which is something scooby doesnt do. I guess its something you really have to experience yourself, but its like how there are certain pieces of music that make the hair on your neck stand up. If you combine that sort of emotional response with what is already a sensory overload (A coaster) then the result is greater than the sum of its parts. While of course, it would be cool if you could build a B&M Looper indoors, fact is you'd need an absolutley massive building. Of course, you can take the flight of fear/rock n roller coaster approach and pack the ride into a building (which still ends up being pretty big anyway) by building a tight layout but then you basically end up with a ride full of turns...and the B&M loopers people seem to want are more based around a ride full of inversions (And if MW were say trying to market these aspects, a compact indoor ride would detract from this) Not to mention the fact your easily adding millions to the cost of the ride for a building. And Alex, I managed to find a clip with the original music, though i still have a preference for the current music, which is my absolute favourite ride soundtrack This

has it, though it is an NL recreation someone has done, which is good because you can hear the music, and actually see the track layout properly to see how it matches. Edited April 13, 2008 by Gazza

[cadboy]

I hope they do your idea Gazza it sounds great. But wouldn't it take to long if everyone had to select a song before the ride began.

[Gazza]

^No, You'd just pick the song in the time it takes between pulling down your restraint and when the train is dispatched, which is plenty of time given the ops will be checking the other rows. On Hollywood Dream it just picks a song for you if you dont get one selected in time. In other words, its not possible for it to slow down operations.

[cadboy]

Ok cooooooooool. How much would the whole ride cost aprox?

[Gazza]

^Well, the most recent one was Hydra, which was built for $13,000,000 USD. Ive done a rough sketch at what I was getting at before. Purple is the route normal guests take through the queue..they first dump their stuff in the lockers, then split off into the main switchback area with all the lights etc (The 'Audience' area), this area remains at ground level, and you can see a pair of walls help filter out daylight. The queue then passes under the front of the station and under the op booth into the "Backstage" area. The queue splits again, with a separate front row line that heads upstairs. Normal guests also head upstairs, and come around into the station area (The "On Stage" bit) where you pick your row (back row gets a slightly longer loading chute) When you exit, you go down a ramp that runs along the side of the main switchback area, which then leads back out to the locker area, before heading out through the shop (this avoids the problem you get on superman where people don't have money when they pass through the shop since they haven't been back to the lockers) The light yellow line is the single rider queue. Guests basically come up a ramp on the side of the main switchback area to the station where there is an operator controlled turnstile, so guests can quickly be let in and take their place from the other side of the train. One thing I thought of is how they could do the safety video (which would be shown in the latter part of the queue), you could have a stage manager with a clipboard saying something like "Ok, you guys are the next act up, so lets just run through a few things, yeah?"..."When you get out there, go straight across and sit yourself down, pull down the harness, and fasten the buckle" <Show footage of people boarding>..."Now, it looks like we haven't got down what you're playing on here" <Showing the clipboard>..."So to pick it out, run through the tracks by pressing the skip button, then lock it in by pressing OK" <Show footage of the selection system>..."But dont muck around for too long, or well have to pick a song for you....ok thats about everything, dont forget to keep your head back and hold on as it gets pretty hectic out there..... break a leg!"

Edited April 14, 2008 by Gazza

[cadboy]

Wow that looks awsome. PLeeeaaasssseee Mw. Do you think your coaster would be the size of Hydra?

[cadboy]

A track layout like Kraken would be great.

[bern1992]

I went to the movies yesterday and saw the previews of the new Warner Brothers Get Smart film with Steve Carell, and it got me thinking of what I think could probably be a temporary attraction at Movie World. It's a walkthrough attraction, over two levels, underground and street level.It starts with the guests queueing outside a building in the street (it would be in a fairly quiet part of the street). A replica of Maxwell Smart's car would be out the front of the building, on the street. A person dressed up as Agent (Random Number) comes out and counts the guests into the door. There would be about 20 people per group. They follow the Agent as they walk into a building that resembles the building from the opening credits of Get Smart. UNDERGROUND LEVEL The guests would walk down a set of stairs (there is a ramp off behind some hidden doors to the side for wheelchairs) underground into a room with a set of large metal doors. Then the guests would walk through the famous doors from the opening credits. There would be a fairly big space between each door so the whole group can move on together. When they go through the last door, they are standing outside a phone box that looks like it would fit barely two people in it. The door of the phonebox opens, the Agent walks in and dials something on the phone. The back wall of the phonebox woud then slide out of the way, and guests walk through the phonebox into a fairly large elevator that looks like an office. The Agent would pick up a shoephone sitting on the desk and call somebody, with a humorous conversation that all the guests hear. While this is happening, the elevator is silently and slowly moving up, the guests unaware it is happening. Then the Agent asks the guests to turn around and go out the door they came through. Once the guests had gone through the doors, the Agent would sneak out the same doors as the guests, send the elevator up to the above level and await the next group. STREET LEVEL Once through this door, the guests meet another Agent. This Agent then guides the guests through a fairly dark hallway, past props and costumes from the new film and possibly the TV series. If there wasn't enough material they could also have props and costumes from other Warner Brothers secret agent films. The Agent would explain each piece to the group. There would be funny transmissions over a PA system in the hallway. At the end of the hallway, the Agent would recieve a call on their shoephone, and they would tell the guests they had to run and get Maxwell Smart out of his latest troubles. The Agent would ask the guests to make their way back out onto the street, go in another door near the exit and come out at the top of the handicapped ramp. The Agent would go through the doors the ramp is behind to the top of the stairs and out the door, ready to count in the next group of guests. Essentially, the Agents do the whole tour, but have two different groups each tour, one on the top level, and one on the bottom level. It would be possible for the one Agent to do the whole tour, but I think this is a bit more realistic. Also, it would be possible to have 3 or 4 groups doing the tour at once, one group being counted in and going down the stairs and through the doors, one group in the office, a group going through the first part of the prop and costume section, and one group in the second part of props and costumes and exiting the attraction. (I hope the pictures makes sense. The first one is both levels separated, the second is on top of each other, the red being the higher level.)

Edited April 15, 2008 by bern1992

[Gazza]

Wow that looks awsome. PLeeeaaasssseee Mw. Do you think your coaster would be the size of Hydra?

A track layout like Kraken would be great.

Don't double post. I was thinking something of a smaller scale like Batman at SFNE: I quite like this design, it is the same scale as the rest of MWs coasters, has adequate capacity without oversupplying it, and has a tidy layout that makes good use of space. In particular its good because you get a lot of B&Ms signature elements: a big first loop, a dive loop, a zero g roll and interlocking corkscrews, as well as their famous fast pacing. The pic below shows it next to the SLC at SFNE, so you can get an idea of its scale. While of course it would be everyones dream if we could have something big like Kraken, its just a bit too far out of the budget constraints of our parks. And Bern, that sounds like a pretty interesting idea, the key though would be to make it more interesting then comparable things like the Matrix Exhibit. I'd also somehow consider a way to have it all above ground, since digging out such a big area would be needlessly expensive, especially if it were a temporary attraction. Edited April 15, 2008 by Gazza

[bern1992]

I guess the first stairs could go up instead of down, and everything reversed. I've added the elevator, the gags said by the Agents etc. to try and make it more interesting than Matrix, which was deplorable.

[BNErider]

I'm sorry Bern, I think I would fall asleep on that tour... I do like the idea of a tour although I think it would be a VERY short tour, even if some other props were added.

[Gazza]

How much staying power would such a tour have? Would it be something people would want to do more than once?

[bern1992]

Probably not, but it could stay possibly even like 8 months to a year, then be replaced by something else. Movie World need something perpetual, that gets changed to new movies every so often, not just made one thing and left like it.

[cadboy]

Where would the coaster be placed?

[zane]

Ok Gazza, I have ran with your Idea and Made a 3Ds model to show it off lol, Its still got some work to do on it but here it is: Station/Que Video I also agree, the Batman the dark knight at SFNE is PERFECT for MW And that Walk-though wouldn't even last two weeks sorry to say...Its just so boring

[Gazza]

Wowowowow! Fantastic effort! That captures exactly what I had in mind in terms of layout. Haha, I feel embarresed for not learning sketchup properly. The only thing I can nitpick is that the TV montiors should be in the back, brown coloured part of the queue (a couple would be above the stairs, and then a set of about 5 would be spaced above the loading chutes) The only exception would be a single screen at the top of the Singles line since they would need instructions too. Now if you can just imagine the bit on the front of the stage having rigging and lights like this: then you have the basic idea. Again, awesome effort!

[ads086]

If you're wanting to keep the "green room" feel to the area underneath the stage, you simply don't paint any walls. The large concrete bricks with no paint, exposed pipes and just the simplest of fluoro lights should do the trick. As for the dividers for the queue in the main room in front of the stage, I would suggest the big black heavy duty looking stage barriers that you see at concerts, or something made to look similar. Pretty much just a thick square metal beam on the same metal poles, with metal mesh installed between. Not only would this serve to fit the theme, it would also stop queue jumpers from ducking under the bar while others walk the 'long' way around. I'd have the music playing in the queue room also playing back stage, except I'd cut the music and put the safety video on, and at the end of the video, the doors open to let riders on. Staff will need to dress completely in black, except for maybe a lanyard so that guests know these people are staff, also what happens at concerts. As far as the mix of music to be played, I'd suggest a rather large playlist (upward of 4hrs worth of music) so that at worst, a worker will only hear the one song twice in a day. Having the license for Warner Bros Movies, wouldn't that also give a level of access to the Warner Music catalog? If not, simply get hold of an APRA license and then you can use commercially available music for entertainment purposes such as this. I'd also consider a store nearby called The After Party, where food and drink is available for purchase. Side note here: If space couldn't be found within the park with its existing layout, I would suggest turning the parking lot into a multi-level car park, and charging for the use of said car park, and then extending the park out into the reclaimed area. If this were the case, I'd also have a system whereby customers who purchased their tickets prior to arrival get either free or massively discounted rates

[Gazza]

^Haha good idea with the all black uniforms and lanyard...dont forget, the word STAFF needs to be screen printed in white block letters on the back. And yeah, go for an APRA licence, for the area the size of the ride building, its like $730 per year. As for location, no doubt they could fit one in, I scaled in the Batman floorless layout, so one decent location could be: Of course, its a bit of a hike out there, but you would hope the gaps would be gradually filled out and the routes out there (Eg via chinatown, or the western area) would be made a bit more liveley... eg the gap between scooby doo, LW and the show stage could have a river rapids or something. The area opened up would do them fine land wise for at least 10 years IMO.

Edited April 15, 2008 by Gazza

[cadboy]

I reckon that you could leave the coaster having a batman theme and place it in the Batman area of the park. But Mw would have to demolish Batman Adventure.