When I first saw photos of Crystal Wings at Happy Valley in China, I was blown away by the sheer volume of the theming that surrounds every single part of the ride!

It’s not just the fact that the ride takes you within inches of the rocks or that you can never tell where you are going next, it’s the attention to every little detail that makes this such an outstanding piece of art!

I’m a huge fan of queueline theming because when done well, it can make that long wait seem like it flies by! Crystal Wings does this brilliantly as you queue on the edge and through the mountain of ruins.

Imagine if Air at Alton Towers was themed more like this B&M Flyer! I guess we don’t have the advantage of hundreds of Chinese themers working for five pence an hour over here!

For more photos of Crystal Wings and a few more brilliantly themed rides from the park, check out the Happy Valley photos from the Theme Park Review China tour! The water splashdown ride must not be missed!

The first part of the zoo you come to is the Dinosaur Safari which is a wonderfully themed land that would be fit for any theme park and it is this section of the zoo that I am covering in this post! I know you probably don’t want to read about it though, you want photos right?

The Dinosaur Safari was an excellent land and is definitely worth a visit.

For those of you who were regular readers of the old blog, you can still get your fix of articles here on the main website. The main blog isn’t going anywhere. You might have already noticed what the big difference with the new Theme Park Life is though. We now have individual park blogs, all managed by enthusiasts of each park.

The main Theme Park Life website has all the updates from each blog as and when they happen, so you don’t need to waste time visiting all the blogs everyday to find the latest news.

We are launching the new network with blogs for three major UK parks. Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Flamingo Land. However, this is only the beginning!

The Intamin Rocket Coaster

This at the moment is a very popular choice of coaster for bigger parks, the rocket coaster was the first to use a hydraulic launch system where the compression of gasses would build up enough pressure to launch the train down the track. The first of these coasters was Xcellerator at Knott’s Berry Farm, USA. It launches riders to 80mph in around 2 seconds! This idea has been improved and advanced since then to feature huge launch coasters such as Top Thrill Dragster (Cedar Point) and Kingda Ka (Six Flags Great Adventure) which work on the same principle but with more power this time to launch guests over the 120mph mark. These launches are usually very smooth and offer great forces and are usually exciting to ride and well themed.

Thrust-Air 2000

This was S&S Power’s take on a launch coaster. After designing verticle shot and drop towers the manager decided to turn the towers effectively on their sides and project the cars horizontally which led for great acceleration to crazy speeds which still leave Intamin in the dark! But unfortunately not everything is great about the Thrust- Air, in my experience (Hypersonic XLC) the ride offered is rough and uncomfortable and the release from the launch cable is painful which is then followed by a rough ride and poor layout. Hopefully in years to come rides like this will be redesigned to offer a more comfortable ride without sacrificing the terrifying acceleration.

Vekoma Booster Bikes

Vekoma, although at times unpopular with many enthusiasts because their rides are known to be quite rough and painful, made a breakthrough with their unique train design that offers almost complete rider freedom and flexibility, one thing that most coasters lack. Although they’re not as forceful as the Intamin or S&S designs, Vekoma provide a steady launch but still great speeds of up to 60mph using similar designs to an Intamin Rocket coaster. Using a catch car and launch cable, the trains that are designed like motorbikes are catapulted down the track and over a series of tight twists and airtime hills. Although not the highest, fastest, longest or most complex of layouts, the rider freedom really adds to the experience. Thumbs up to Vekoma!

LIMS/LSMs

Although many companies now work with this technology, (more so for breaking than acceleration) Premier Rides use these engineering marvels to launch thier trains. In simple terms this style of launch works on the theory of magnatism and the attraction and repelling of these magnets attatch to the train and the track. As the ride is launched a current is sent through these LIMs (Linear Induction Motors) which cause them to turn on and off causing attraction and repellent against the train causing it to move forward faster and faster. These coaster once again are nice, quick and smooth although they guzzle electricity and can be very noisy. Unfortunately this technology has some draw backs and you rarely ever see a launch higher than 80mph using LIMs.

So they are the 4 main launch systems in parks. There are some more though, such as the older shuttle loop from Schwarzkopf. Hopefully in the future more ways of acceleration may appear. Maybe B&M have a trick up their sleave? Only time will tell.

When I was younger, well about 6 years ago I hated coasters, the look of them, the sound, the thought of “why the hell would anyone want to pay £30 for a day out just to feel sick” was my motto! I just couldn’t bring myself to get on. I would stare and think “It must be safe” and then it would come whizzing around with people screaming for their lives. It just did nothing for me, but then something changed! For some reason, about 3 years ago I started riding coasters with my girlfriend at the time. It was almost as if she’d passed the buzz onto me and all the fear had gone, but it just proves that it really is something in your head! You’re not actually afraid of them, your brain has been conditioned to think that.

So the next time person X tells you they’re gonna sit this one out, drag them on! After all, there is nothing the ride can actually do to them to hurt them (unless it’s The Ultimate) but just tell them to stop being a wimp and get on! Us enthusiasts just know they will want more afterwards!

We’ll start with public transport oh the fun:

• Bus - The bus is a last resort for me. It’s about the most inconsistent, inconvenient of all the modes of transport. Luckily it’s only really used as a link between the train station and the park but if you have to get a normal bus god help you! You may just have to wrestle with a toothless hobo or even worse, a bus driver who refuses to drive at more than 30mph on a 60 road! Worse still, you may fall to sleep and miss the park altogether, even though it’s just taken 2 hours to do a 40 mile journey!
• Train - Fast, clean and rare! Whoever invented the train routes of modern day England was a genius. I know, let’s get close to the parks but not close enough to walk to and we’ll offer a really silly service so you’re there either 4 hours before it opens or 2 hours after it closes hmm! If you can get a good service it’s usually a good trip, I mean there’s no pink elephants and 9 foot flowers but it’s better than making conversation with Bob the builder on the bus!
• Flying - Yeah I don’t even think I’ll bother with this one. Oh yeah did you here about Alton Towers getting a new airport? Ha! The locals would love it, “You can build it as long as there is no noise and you fly below tree height!”
• But over all of these, the best way to get to a park if you’re not on a school trip is to drive with your car (or broomstick if you sway that way.) - For the passengers it’s a dream come true but as the driver, the route there is great but the way home is a pain in the left butt cheek! Non-drivers don’t seem to appreciate how exhausting a two hour drive is after a day at a park. The road becomes a wiggly roller coaster and cars become blobs of jelly floating along! Then the eyes shut! I will be the first to confess that I need to split my journey up when driving home, especially from Alton Towers. That drive to the motorway is EVIL! I find nothing helps better though, than a good dose of Pro Plus, Red Bull or Relentless and some good show tunes to sing along to! This is when my passengers start wishing they had taken the bus!

If you have any fun stories about your journeys to and from parks, post them below!

• Mobile Phone - It’s a must. I mean anyone might just call you, even though there is the chance of it slipping out of your pocket, getting wet or getting sat on but all that matters is that you might just get the most important call of your life!
• Wallet - You never know when you may just need to buy something. After all, you need to eat or drink on a day out to a theme park or buy a photo or a really crappy souvenir that resembles nothing to do with the park apart from a great sticker across its stomach or its label.
• Camera - Hmm, sometimes depending who I’m going with and if they have a tendency to burst into song and dance (which is obviously worth recording) or something funny happens or I just bump into Matt Bellamy (that would be so cool) but anyway, yes it’s good to snap all those memories even though you’ve got all the pictures from last time you visited. (bloody fan boys!)
• Lastly, the attire - Dependant on the time of year but it usually consists of a pair of jeans, t-shirt (mainly consisting of Muse, Cedar Point or Maverick), vans (oh I’m cool) and a nice warm tight hoody, and maybe a hat and gloves if it’s cold.

Right, now here comes the list of ‘other’ things I’ve known taken to Theme Parks:

• A bag - Yes although seeming appropriate at most times, it can be your enemy especially if the park has water rides. Hmm you thought your valuables were safe inside there but oh no, they’re about to get as wet as you and of course especially in US parks nearly every ride requires you to insert money into a locker to store your bag, there’s no dumping it down on the ride platform!
• A cool box full of food and drink - The money saving option, even though the amount you’ve packed into it is probably enough to feed an African nation and worth more than a Rolex Watch. But if not you’ll certainly have paid that much in the end with locker rentals and the irritation of carrying it around all day!
• Pyjamas - That’s right folks you read right! I have been to a park with someone wearing PJ’s oh god it was horrible, well each to their own but I mean come on, I’m no fashion icon but I know that they are for bed wear only!
• Hip flask of gin - As if a day at a park is not fun enough you have to get ratted in the queue lines and end up passing out on the log flume from being intoxicated, hmm fun day that! Buying alcohol in the park too? Hello… you’ve just paid £30 to get in and you’re now paying £5 a pint? Some logic is missing there.

but the final thing tops it all off:

• A retro ghetto blaster - I have seen it! Although not with any of my party, I have seen a guy walking around a park with a stereo on his shoulders, blasting out the ‘beats!’ Why? I don’t want to listen to Snoop Dog while I’m queuing for Oblivion! It doesn’t really do it for me!

There you have it, my guide to things that should or in some cases maybe shouldn’t be taken to a theme park. What do you usually take along with you?

Let’s start with the good old wooden coaster.

The Good Stuff

• It looks stunning, there is nothing that compares to the photogenic appeal of a wooden coaster. Its thick structure and lattice work really stand out in any park.
• The sound. These beasts rocket the noise levels to really give that growl as it whizzes by at breakneck speeds, impressing onlooking guests.
• Wooden roller coasters usually have a very good throughput and can easily cope with large volumes of people and can accommodate large trains.
• Experience is definitely the best thing about a Woodie. It’s often rough and aggressive ride make it all the more intense and really give a truly WILD ride.

The Bad Bits

• Ouch! Even the smallest of woodie’s can break the bank and need a lot of specialised construction work and assembly to get them running.
• Being made of wood, the layout can sometimes be limited and inversions are made uncomfortable by the nature of the rides forces, thus the main layout being the classical out and back style which for a good coaster can be demanding in space.
• The noise. Although for guests is great, the rattling of the trains is unwanted noise for theme parks in residential areas and can often sway the park in making their decision.
• These giant lattice structures need major maintenance and the tracks must be walked every day for inspection, once again costing the park a fortune.

On to the Steel Coasters

The Good Stuff

• Steel coasters can be cheap, compact and quicker to install than a giant wooden structure.
• Their layouts can be much more complex with multiple inversions, steep drops or fast launches or even a combination of all!
• Personally (depending on manufacturer) I feel they are much quieter and precautions can be taken to reduce the noise of the train and the rattle of the track.
• Theming is often much more apparent on a steel coaster.

The Bad Bits

• Most steel coasters, especially launch coasters are expensive to run. After all, generating all that power doesn’t come from no where.
• Steel Coasters can often look ugly once they begin to rust if they are not themed and can quickly become and eyesore if not maintained appropriately.
• Parks often opt for off the shelf, standard designs which are often cheaper but they have less appeal. Parks are always trying to get ahead of each other but technology is not developing quickly enough to keep this going, whereas it is hard to find a ‘cloned’ wooden coaster.

In conclusion, both forms of coasters have their positives and negatives. Wooden coasters are not really suited for small parks due to their maintanence costs but steel coasters are not as visually appealing, although they are generally cheaper to install.

I’m no bore when it comes to theme parks, and sure, I like going to them and having the thrill of going on rides. But what I really don’t understand is the Over Enthusiasts.

I come under the ‘Average Joe’ category – I visit theme parks once a year…maybe more and have a great time whilst I’m there. I’m scared of the big rollercoasters so I tend to avoid them like the plague. (I KNOW! SHOCK!! HORROR!!) But really guys…come on…I don’t understand why you would get an obsession for them.

I see trips to Alton Towers or Flamingo Land as a special occasional thing, more like a mini break from the stresses and strains of real life. I understand how much fun people have in them, but I reeeeaaaalllly don’t get why it could be ever so exciting to own a bit of machinery that’s fallen off of a coaster or to be ecstatic about a new lick of paint in Flamingo Land.

I fully understand that people have different ideas of socialising and how to have fun, but I would get ever so bored if all I did was visit the same theme park over and over again.

I would rather spend all the money I’d use on passes and tickets to buy a killer pair of heels or go to a concert or put towards my car. Even limiting visits could have a dramatic effect on your bank balance.

I can see half of you becoming more and more furious and riled up as you read this as theme parks are your LOVE & LIFE, but guys…aren’t there more important things?

Don’t you ever think that if you visited parks less that the time you did spend there would be even more fun and exciting? Surely it must get boring…no?…Okay then…I rest my case.

Ruby -x-

There are many more roads throughout the world like this one. I know of one somewhere near Bridlington and another near Ullswater in the UK that are both great fun to drive down, although both are shorter than the one above. I believe there is another somewhere near Cornwall that’s a little longer, hopefully someone can confirm that. Do you know of any more or have had a coaster road experience? Let us know about it.