Alton Towers and Merlin Entertainments have taken the unprecedented step of admitting that the gate tariff for Alton Towers is very expensive - by telling guests just that as they pay. Signs have been installed over every pay kiosk which inform visitors of the higher VAT rates charged to leisure attractions in the UK when compared with rates in other countries, such as Italy and Germany - where leisure attractions pay up to 12.5% less tax than UK attractions on each guest.

BALPAA (the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions Ltd.) held their annual summer conference at Europa Park in Germany recently, and it is assumed that the subject of UK VAT rates for leisure attractions was high on the agenda. Thus, it could be that this is the beginning of a more visible campaign by the UK industry to lobby the government to reduce it.

If the difference in VAT was removed from the gate price at Alton Towers, the entrance tariff for a single on-the-day admission would lower to around £30.65 - which is comparable with parks such as Parc Asterix and cheaper than Disneyland Resort Paris. It would still however be significantly more than parks such as Phantasialand, Europa Park and Gardaland.

My opinion? Yeah, I do agree that the government should take a look at their VAT policy against UK theme parks and other leisure attractions but in reality the cost will only come down to go back up again, do you really think if Alton Towers new that they could charge people £30 to get in then they would suddenly drop to £20 and not make that extra £10 as well?

Don’t be daft, it’s just increasing their profit margin.

Posted: July 5th, 2008 under Industry News.
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Cutting-edge Bluetooth technology has merged with the big ears of Mickey Mouse for the first time at Walt Disney Studios, delivering show times, wait times and more direct to your mobile phone across the park. In the evolution of the Disney theme park, this could be as big as Fastpass. You’re used to checking the latest wait times on the park information board before heading off to your first destination, but imagine being able to see them, live, across the park — on your mobile phone.

Now, at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, you can. Grabbing the latest show times for Cinemagique whilst enjoying a bite to eat inside Disney Studio 1 might not be exactly revolutionary — what’s wrong with picking up a Programme leaflet, afterall — but it’s with the live, constantly updated attraction wait times where this system is truly exciting.

Whereas the times on the central tips board would previously be out of reach to anyone stood more than 10ft away, and generally only used to plan your first attraction of the day, Disneyland Resort Paris has experimented with Bluetooth technology to give a park the biggest shake-up since Fastpass ticketing, distributing guests to the attractions with smaller queues throughout the day.

Most modern mobile phones come equipped with Bluetooth as standard, a short-range wireless feature that lets you exchange photos, messages and more between two handsets. For example, you might use it for a wireless headset or linking to your car stereo.

How does it work?

Turn Bluetooth on in your phone’s settings, and when walking into one of these “Bluetooth hotspots”, you’ll get a request to receive data. Accept, and the latest show times, wait times and more will be sent to your phone in the form of small images. These cycle through the latest park information, which is updated in synchronisation with the main park information board, constantly updated with the latest times.

What is expected, though, is that should the Walt Disney Studios Park trial be proven worthwhile and well-received, the system will, in time, debut at Disneyland Park. Which, given that this park contains considerably more real rides than its cousin, could be where the new Disney theme park age really dawns.

So, next time you visit the Studios, you don’t need big eyes — or ears — to keep track of the latest wait times. Just a little mobile phone magic.

The Bluetooth Disney park revolution has begun!

Posted: June 14th, 2008 under Park News.
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Welcome to our second installment of an insightful look into the world of rollercoaster manufacturing! In our last article we took a look at Dutch company, Vekoma. Today we go further south and delve into the history of the industry’s finest rollercoater pioneers, Bolliger & Mabillard.

Bolliger & Mabillard

Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers (more commonly known as B&M) is a rollercoaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, with Bolliger acting as president and Mabillard as vice-president. Since 1990, B&M have built over 60 rollercoasters around the world and have pioneered several new ride technologies, most notably the inverted rollercoaster. The company started with four employees and has since grown, now employing more than 30 people, mostly engineers and draftsmen.

The company, named after Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, first made a name for themselves in 1990 with the stand-up coaster, Iron Wolf, located at Six Flags Great America. They became well known for pioneering the inverted coaster named, Batman: The Ride (also located at Six Flags Great America) two years later.

Both Bolliger and Mabillard worked for Intamin AG before founding their own company, B&M. During their time at Intamin AG they helped the company design their first stand-up coaster (originally Shockwave at Six Flags Magic Mountain and formerly known as Batman: The Escape at the now defunct Six Flags Astroworld, currently in storage at Darien Lake) as well as contributing to other Intamin AG projects such as Z-Force at Six Flags Great America before branching off on their own. Several of their coasters, such as the aforementioned Flashback and Batman: The Escape were subcontracted by Giovanola.

Their rides now include the aforementioned Stand-up and Inverted designs, as well as sit-down coasters, hypercoasters, floorless coasters, flying coasters, and dive machines.

As well as their “glass-smooth” ride experience, Bolliger and Mabillard coasters are renowned for their reliability, low maintenance and near-perfect safety record. Reportedly, when Nemesis ride engineer John Wardley, about to test the roller coaster for the first time, asked Walter Bolliger, “What if the coaster stalls? How will we get the trains back to the station?”, Bolliger replied, “Our coasters never stall. They always work perfectly the first time.” True to his word, the roller coaster executed its first lap of the track exactly as planned.

One feature of Bolliger and Mabillard coasters that is almost universal throughout their product line, and almost exclusive to B&M, is an element known as a “pre-drop” (which is known in the industry as a “Kicker”). This is a short drop after the top of the lift hill and before the start of the first drop, designed to reduce tension on the lift chain. The flat section between the pre-drop and the first drop serves as a shelf to carry the weight of the train, reducing related stresses on the chain. By comparison, on most coasters without a pre-drop, the weight of the train as it begins its descent tends to pull on the lift chain, as the latter half of the train is still being lifted by the chain at this point. More recently, the pre-drop is only used on coasters with curved drops, whereas coaster with straight drops, such as Led Zeppelin: The Ride at Hard Rock Park does not have a pre-drop.

Bolliger & Mabillard is also one of the only coaster manufacturers that uses four-abreast seating on their trains. Each car has a single row of four seats, and a train normally consists of seven to nine cars. All of their coaster models, except the dive machines, use this configuration. The dive machine uses eight-across seating with two or three rows of seats. On Griffon, the cars are ten seats wide in three rows, a record for a full-circuit roller coaster. Most other manufacturers use two-across cars with two or three rows per car.

Another notable feature of Bolliger and Mabillard roller coasters is that they make use of box-section track: the running rails for the coaster are connected to a box-section spine, as opposed to a circular spine used by many other manufacturers. Because of this, when a train travels around the track it creates a distinctive “roar”, which is unique to this style of track. Some B&M coasters, such as Dueling Dragons at Islands of Adventure, have their track filled with sand to reduce this noise, resulting in an unusually quiet sound.

B&M generally does not use powered launches on their coasters due to perceived problems with reliability; they prefer gravity-powered rollercoasters. The only B&M launched roller coaster in existence is The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, which has a pinch-wheel-propelled launch. Even so, this task was given to another company that specializes in powered roller coasters.

Overall you could say that if B&M were a car manufacturer, they’d be the equivalent to Rolls Royce - oozing with class and style. It’s a shame that their high price tag makes the acquisition of them impossible for smaller parks, but when you do get the luxury of riding one, every second is worth cherishing.

Posted: June 12th, 2008 under Features.
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You will have no doubt heard and read about the recent fire at Universal Studios Hollywood and the destruction it has caused, but on Wednesday park bosses confirmed that the popular King Kong attraction will not be rebuilt.

Here’s the statement from Universal:

“New York Street will be rebuilt and a new attraction will replace King Kong. We expect the backlot to be completely rebuilt within several months and replacement for King Kong to be announced in the coming months.”

Universal Creative’s Mike West talked last month in an audio interview with Theme Park Insider about Universal’s desire to keep its attractions fresh. At the time I thought to myself, “Hmm, Kong and Jaws are feeling a little stale at USH. Wonder if we’ll get anything new on the west coast anytime soon?”

Well, consider this the fire that broke the big ape’s back. Yes, the attractions are classics. But they don’t resonate with today’s movie and TV audiences the way that The Simpsons or even Jurassic Park do. If the old attraction’s still standing, there’s a cost incentive to let it remain until one can make a business case to replace it with something new.

But if that ride burns down, well, it just doesn’t make sense to spend money to rebuild an attraction that probably was on the chopping block short list anyway. Let’s see what Universal comes up with.

Posted: June 8th, 2008 under Park News.
Comments: 1

SeaWorld Orlando today announced the next generation of SeaWorld thrills in the shape of Manta - a new mega-attraction which will seamlessly transition guests from the awe of encountering rays in underwater flight, into the sensation of actually being one. Swooping over sea and sky, Manta will inspire riders with amazing underwater animal habitats, then soar them face-down, in a horizontal position, aboard a manta-inspired flying coaster. Manta opens summer 2009.

The Manta flying coaster will create a new level of immersion into the animal world, in a way only SeaWorld can do - enveloping riders in a sensation of oneness with the ocean’s most powerful and graceful creature as they soar, dive and plummet through the air and at times within inches of the sea.

The journey begins the second guests enter a mythical village filled with artisan-created engravings and artwork that celebrate ray legend and lore. No ordinary queue line – the attraction starts with the first step inside. Anticipation builds as guests wind through caverns adorned with ray-inspired art in marble, jewels, and mosaics, all hand-created and left behind by artists who were moved to pay tribute to the beauty, grace and intrigue of these animals.

Whether guests choose to ride or not, the attraction is a world unto itself. Floor-to-ceiling windows create mesmerizing face-to-fin encounters with 300 rays, as well as thousands of fish and mysterious creatures native to oceans all over the world. Shark rays, spotted eagles rays, leopard rays, cownose rays, and oscillate river rays float past guests with fluidity and grace in a view new to SeaWorld. Enhancing the feeling of awe, elaborate lighting, sound and rushing waterfalls further submerge guests into this underwater universe.

The experience then evolves from seeing to being.

Inspired by the underwater flight of these powerful creatures, guests will fly face-down, in a horizontal position, underneath the belly of a coaster train shaped as a giant manta. With a wing span of 12 feet, the giant manta will soar over sea and sky in the most graceful flying coaster ever created.

Gliding, swooping and diving up to nearly 60 mph, through four inversions on 3,359 feet of track, riders will feel as if they are a ray, taking flight effortlessly from sky to sea - so close at times that the Manta’s wings skim the waves.

“This ride is uniquely SeaWorld,” said Dan Brown, Vice President and General Manager of SeaWorld Orlando. “SeaWorld is famous for connecting guests with the sea and its amazing creatures, and Manta does this in a way that has never been done before, creating a true sense of oneness between human and animal.

“The sensation of Manta also will be like none other in the world – guests will be inspired by the grace and power of live rays, then feel as if they, themselves, are gliding through air and water,” said Joseph Couceiro, Chief Marketing Officer for SeaWorld’s parent company, Busch Entertainment Corporation. “No one but SeaWorld can unite thrills and ocean animals into such a unique experience.”

The 4-acre, 140ft tall attraction will be located inside the main entrance to SeaWorld, and become an icon in the park with its unique design. Towering over SeaWorld’s 200-acres, the manta-themed coaster, cloaked in hues of dark purple, ultramarine blue and cobalt, will lure guests into the world of the mysterious ray.

SeaWorld is working with the renowned Swiss coaster design company, Bolliger & Mabillard for the design of Manta.

Posted: May 30th, 2008 under Ride Construction.
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Reports are coming in from various news websites and theme park forums about an incident involving Rush at Thorpe Park. On Tuesday the ride had a 4ft piece of curved metal fall from the structure where it smashed through the perimeter fence and landed onto the public pathway - narrowly missing families.

Onlooker Phil Jones, of Ashford, Kent, captured the drama on his phone’s camera. He said: “It was a mean piece of metal that could have decapitated someone.” A park spokesman said: “All guests safely disembarked. We are investigating.”

This latest incident just typifies how poor their maintenance work is, which is highlighted by the number of rides that are not working and by the length of time they’re down. The thing is, if a piece of metal has sheared off, it’s ‘just one of those things’. The bigger picture for me is that Thorpe Park just seems to be full of ‘one of those things’, certainly more so than any other park. Rush and Slammer are particularly vulnerable and both are manufactured by S&S, so maybe it is poor workmanship from S&S? Whatever the reason may be, Thorpe Park can expect some tough questions from the H&S officers.

Amateur video footage of the incident can be found on The Sun’s website.

Posted: May 29th, 2008 under Park News.
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Thorpe Park have went back to the drawing board for their 2009 rollercoaster development. Out goes a block brake and in comes an airtime hill which will please pretty much every enthusiast as the dreaded block brakes would no doubt kill any momentum created by the ride. Unfortunately a sacrifice has been made and the plans for the third Immelmann loop have been scrapped and replaced by a sharp banked drop. We are unsure why these changes have been made be we’re sure that the construction and design team have done their homework.

Original Layout

New Layout

This isn’t the first time Thorpe Park have decided to change their plans. Slammer had a second planning application because they laid the footers in the wrong place and couldn’t be bothered to do them again. Another noteworthy mention is plans for an Xcelerator style layout for Stealth were pushed aside for a smaller scale model of Kingda Ka.

Be sure to keep checking Coaster Project as we follow this exciting development.

Posted: May 25th, 2008 under Ride Construction.
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Following on from their recent marketing ploy to grab the headlines by announcing plans for a rollercoaster designed for babies, Alton Towers couldn’t resist from getting back into papers. This time they’ve perhaps gone a step too far by announcing that PDA’s are no longer allowed at the park.

Any parent seen tapping on a PDA will have it confiscated by special wardens at Alton Towers. The resort, which boasts 2.5 million visitors each year, has imposed the rule for next week’s May half-term. If successful, it could be introduced permanently.

Russell Barnes, a director of the Staffordshire attraction, said: “It’s important for parents and kids to focus on nothing more than having the best possible time.”

Sorry Russell, I think it is more important that you realise not all publicity is good. It won’t take much more to come from this park for it to overtake Pleasure Beach as the “joke”. It’s not so much the gimmick that is saddening - more the fact they have to stoop this low to get some publicity, when the supposedly ‘major investment’ that is Mutiny Bay should be doing this for them.

I wonder how well it will go down with visitors when they’ve have their device taken from them - that’s if they do, can you imagine anyone actually handing it over? Obviously the theme park itself is failing to make kids and parents focus on having the best time, so they need to adopt police style measures to force it to happen.

Get a grip Alton, people are laughing at you.

Posted: May 23rd, 2008 under Park News.
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I’ve just been browsing the ever-popular YouTube website and came across a fantastic video that shows an F1 car strapped onto Pepsi Max Big One at Pleasure Beach Blackpool! The event was to mark the opening on the newly re-vamped Grand Prix ride at the park. I’m sure the feeling of going down that first drop was as good as any experienced by an F1 driver, just a shame that Jordan cars don’t fly round the track like that at Silverstone.

Posted: May 17th, 2008 under Features.
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1990 was a rather quiet year for the UK theme park industry and with many parks in early development, the gulf in class was quite small. The big American parks were grabbing all the headlines with their star-studded attractions boasting the latest technology. Overshadowed by this, the UK needed something unique, something that laid a landmark for the industry, something that was the ultimate of all rollercoasters.

Now we move on to present day and we’re standing in Lightwater Valley. Technology has certainly moved on, and records have been smashed time and time again, so how does The Ultimate compare to recent additions?

The first thing that has to be said is that there are few rides in the world that look as “at home” as The Ultimate. Sitting snug at the back of the park and towering above guests, the ride looks like it could go to no other park, it belongs in the countryside. Whereas rides like The Big One revel in their imposing industrial presence, The Ultimate’s natural look blends in with the surroundings, and provides a perfect backdrop for this most picturesque of parks.

Climbing the stairs of the daunting ride station bearing the words ‘The Ultimate’, passengers are provided with undercover queuing whilst offering a fantastic view of the rest of the park. Maintaining the ride’s natural feel, the station is made out of wood and rock. Classic hits are pounded out of the speakers with the occasional H&S recording - which is done quite well and by no means generic with a deep dark voice addressing guests of what is in store; a good way of building up the tension amongst those waiting in the queueline.

The queue may seem huge to the public eye but the massive 38 passenger trains eat away at a steady pace, providing quite minimal queuing for the park’s star attraction. Every so often the chain begins to ‘clank’ signalling the return of a train which seems to instruct everyone to crane their neck and get a glance at passengers whom look exhausted. “Un-do your seat belts please!”.

As you stand behind the air-gates, a train rumbles steadily into position ready to whisk you off into the countryside. A not so comfortable seat waits and restraints come in the form of a black lap bar and seat belt. Unfortunately the seat belts seem to have been specifically designed to be as fiddly and awkward as possible, leaving everyone fumbling around and asking one another, “Have you got your seat-belt up?”. Once everyone is apparently safely strapped in, you take off with a screeching jolt and a final reminder above your head that you have 1 ½ miles left to go!

Whilst climbing the lift, you are offered views of glorious countryside and the park behind you. Have a look to your right; you will see where The Sewer Rat hides! To get a feel of how isolated this ride is, you cannot see any track other than the bit you’re climbing, thus creating tension for a magnificent first drop. First time riders will have no idea of how far this ride actually goes!

Rollercoasters always bear the question, where is it best to sit? The Ultimate is a stark example of the difference between front and back seats. If you’re at the front end of the train you will be slowly lowered over the top and down half the drop before pulling away (which is rather disappointing) after waiting for the back end to ‘catch up’. If you are at the back of the train get ready for a fantastic dose of air-time as you’re pulled over and down in a ‘belly-flop’ motion.

Careering down onto the track the wild and adventurous journey hits full speed. Over one hill, sending passengers slamming into the restraints, and up over into another - where a camera waits to capture the look of most likely terrified passengers. Through a thick gathering of trees, the branches just missing out on unsuspecting passengers, followed in quick succession with a number of small and tame bunny hops - a prime example of how Big Country Motioneering tried to solve errors in speed and make something more out a very basic section of track. The train slams onto the second lift hill and up we go again!

The lift takes quite awhile to reach the top,but the wait continues as the train slowly but surely proceeds left in preparation for another drop. Meanwhile, guests are greeted with gruesome safety signs that people have quite wisely disposed their gum onto - something that looks like it started over a decade ago. Not forgetting to mention, in previous years, passengers were entertained by a selection of women’s bras strung up on the supports, how they ever got there I don’t know! After what seems an eternity, the train is dropped back into the forest with insane amounts of airtime at the back end of the train. If you haven’t guessed by now, you should sit at the back of the train to get the most out of your ride.

Now it is time to get intimate with your fellow passenger as the train slams into a sudden left turn, followed by a right incorporating a small dip and rise, throwing everyone about, bashing into one another. Whoever designed this part clearly had no consideration for passenger comfort! The speed at which the train hits these corners is brutal, battering both train and track, not forgetting passenger! Continuing, we hit another sharp left turn and yet another right turn, throwing passengers uncontrollably to either side of the train. A final left-right turn ends the first barbaric section only to be followed by another. Speeding along, the train takes a slight yet sharp left then right S-bend, giving the impression the train, even though it is, out of control - yet another example of how Big Country Motioneering couldn’t decide what to do next (however, before the ride opened this section was a ‘banked left to right straight track’ but was removed for being, ironically, “too pointless”). Unfortunately the passenger is subjected to their errors again, when the train travels up ever so slightly and jolts dramatically to the left and the literally shudders for the next 200 yards - probably the most painful part of the ride.

After a rather torrid section, the train enters the final section of the ride, following a figure of eight loop leading in and out of two abandoned train tunnels that both give off a rather pungent smell. This section is rather of an anti-climax as the train loses a fair amount of speed entering the tunnels, but does regain its momentum as it is whipped around the corners, much to the displeasure of the back passengers. We end with a nicely paced entrance into the brake run. As the train is hoisted back into the station, it gives you time to reflect on a rather adventurous journey and perhaps time to congratulate one another that you have survived Europe’s longest rollercoaster.

Despite how painful and awful the ride may sound in the few paragraphs above, I have to say, The Ultimate is quite surprisingly impressive and fun. I’ve never left the station without having such an adrenaline rush that I then even force myself to go queue and experience it all over again - it seems to take away the memory of the pain suffered just minutes ago. Compared to most modern rollercoasters, The Ultimate delivers heaps of excitement and thrills without the need of inversions and other fancy elements and gimmicks.

On Big Country Motioneering’s and Mr. Staveley’s part, they delivered something still unique even to this very day. However, the amount of severe errors throughout the ride drags its reputation down, particularly to those fussy enthusiasts amongst us. On the other hand, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an unhappy person step off The Ultimate because it does what it aims to do; give you a ride that you will never forget! For a rollercoaster that has many flaws, the public still regard it as one of their favourite rollercoasters in the UK.

Regardless of all the technical aspects, the one thing that makes The Ultimate special is its ‘uniqueness’. A ride that delivers what it promises. No theming and no cheesy gimmicks, the ride is what it is; a typical old-school rollercoaster. The natural feel and look is as good as any coaster theming and concept. It makes you realise that a ride doesn’t have to have strobe lightning or an eerie soundtrack to capture your excitement and imagination - just a good old feeling of being taken away and thrown about at high speed.

Most importantly, despite the pain you may suffer throughout the ride, The Ultimate is good honest fun. Every train that re-enters the station is full of beaming faces and people joking with one other regardless of age, gender or ethnic minority. Even those who are terrified of rollercoasters will feel glad that they rode The Ultimate, a sense of achievement and rightly so, it is a daunting rollercoaster for many. The Ultimate gives what thrillseekers want and perhaps turns others into what we are - enthusiasts. At a time when ‘off-the-shelf’ coasters were the most viable option, The Ultimate bucked the trend and is a strong reminder that despite financial issues or manufacturer, a good ride can be pulled off if you want it to.

It is obvious Lightwater Valley is proud of the ride and credit to them. The Ultimate is a prime example of how smaller parks stand a fighting chance against those full of sponsored rides and boast an impressive portfolio of big name manufacturer products. Whereas many parks let their coasters fall into disrepair, it is quite evident Lightwater Valley want to preserve The Ultimate for as long as they possibly can. It makes a pleasant change to see a park take pride in their assets rather than a shortcut to big money before it becomes ‘just another rocket coaster’.

Plaudits must also go to the staff working at Lightwater Valley. They seem to have found the right balance to getting a really good workforce and The Ultimate is no exception to this trend. Maintaining a friendly atmosphere, the operators always interact with guests and join in with the banter and apply common sense when it comes to the restraints, ensuring that everyone is securely held in place, but not crushed uncomfortably into the seat. Add that to the ability to run two trains with tremendous efficiency, you have everything you could reasonably ask for from a ride crew.

Criticisms? There are a number of criticisms on the ride itself that stops it being truly great, and one is the long lift hills that take the train quite awhile to reach the top. In some ways it is good to create tension amongst first-timers, but it is rather annoying to those who have ridden the ride many times before. Another major flaw is the track layout. Fair play that the idea to follow the landscape was the main intentions of the ride but there are many sections that have brutal banking, or in some cases none at all, and some that basically have no real point to them which makes the ride quite uncomfortable - on the other hand, would The Ultimate be the great ride it is without these? Roughness is what the ride thrives on and quite surprisingly the public seem to enjoy. It is quite strange to even write that last sentence. Many rollercoasters are often thrown in the “bad bin” if they even come close to being rough but for some reason enthusiasts have taken The Ultimate to heart. The final criticism ties in with the previous, the fact the ride seems to take a battering, particularly the trains, and could possibly cause serious amounts of downtime which really could have been avoided.

Owning Europe’s Longest Rollercoaster is a huge title for any park to have and a nice way to remember how massive an achievement it really was all those yeas ago. Not many UK parks have the space or intentions to build long rollercoasters, many just focusing on height and speed, giving The Ultimate a huge advantage over others. It is a record that many will find difficult to beat. However, this could be a case of ‘the test of time’. As I mentioned earlier the track is now ageing and the constant force it takes is becoming a cause for concern and perhaps in a few years it could leave management no alternative but to close the ride and sadly the park isn’t in a financial position to replace it with another big mother trucker.

Whilst The Ultimate remains open, there will always be life in that little country park.

Posted: May 11th, 2008 under Coaster Reviews.
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