Theme Park Insight

For the first time in ages we have some new media on a very interesting and innovative Intamin concept. The ZacSpin, a lifthill version of their ball-coaster as they iron out the kinks of its bizarre launch system.

But it seems to me that Intamin's inovation has fallen short of a unique layout. Now there is not much leniency with a roller coaster that can only go vertical but a 14 second ride once the train has left the lift is abysmal.

But why not take a look for yourself:

Video One

POV Video

Labels: Ball Coaster, Intamin, Kirnu, Zac-Spin

Some may have been wondering why i haven't posted for a while but I've been quite busy and also been quite hot (lie it rained everyday in Madrid while temperatures soared in the London sunshine) in Madrid.


While running around in a Meridian street trying to get out of the thunder-storms i got the chance to visit two Spanish parks.

Firstly, i visited a very big park just outside of Spain, a trip on a Renfe train for 25km and a flyby a rather depressing looking prison you arrive at Parque Warner Madrid. A brilliant park with some incredible coasters. To highlight a Batman clone, certainly the best themed and possibly the most intense due to the loss of two rows making the rides trains only 7 rows long. Themed around a asylum in chaos as insane inmates escape and hide in the dark corners of the brilliantly themed queue line waiting for some victims.

Another highlight was Superman, a B&M floorless coaster, the first floorless coaster i have ridden and I quite enjoyed. Superman is a great coaster but it is nothing fantastic or outstanding. It's your usual B&M formula of the same elements, and making sure that the coaster has at least one major fault so that they can sell bigger and even better floored designs.



But what surprised me most was the parks only Vekoma coaster. Stuntfall. A Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang that thank god wasn't closed nearly always like the DeJa Vu series. And simply put, for a shuttle coaster it is awesome, perhaps the best in the park. Look past the rather garish colours, awful trains, bad track shaping and strange support structure, if you can to the beauty within this ride. It's an extremely intense ride for starters. The vertical lifts have a very strange sensation, being supported by only a dodgy Vekoma restraint 180ft above the ground is a very scary thought. But suddenly you are dropping vertically; your body floats up from laaying onto the restraint to literally fre-falling. Net you are thrust down at the bottom of the lift as your eyes vibrate your vision due the g-forces and bad Vekoma design. But overall it is an outstanding roller coaster filled with intensity and a great sensation of speed.

But what about the other park? I hear you asking. Well i will post a longer review and more photos on my site when I've got the time.

But for now.

James

Labels: Batman, Madrid, Parque Warner Madrid, Roller Coasters, Spain, Stuntfall, Superman, Theme Parks

So what has been big this week. Well the words on every ones lips has been Mystery Mine. Dollywood's run by the real Dolly Parton has revealed it's new Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter to a small and very lucky crowd of people who were able to ride the new coaster on its soft opening.

There are a few videos, none of which so anything out of the ordinary about the ride but what really interested me about the ride was a review i read that although not rather in-depth told some of the main elements of the dark ride portion of the ride. And it sounded fantastic.

Although i will probably not get to ride Mystery Mine for quite a while, its sounds like a great coaster, and still as i said back in January on my web site my favorite ride of 2007.

Shame it's in the USA.

Labels: Mystery Mine, Theme Parks

Hi,

and welcome to my brand new blog all do to with theme parks.

I plan to give you some insight into whats going on as well as review some of my favourite rides.

So without further ado... :)

James

Labels: Theme Parks