Picture of the Week: Windseeker

The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman ride layout

I love looking at ride layouts or diagrams. If you've ever wondered what the overhead ride layout of the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman at Universal's Islands of Adventure looks like this is the best one I've seen. Attached is a diagram of what is probably the layout, at least it looks like it is pretty accurate from what I can remember. It's a very disorienting ride. Number 50 is the unload and load stations. How does Spiderman work? The ride basically uses a six axis Stewart platform  mounted to a vehicle chassis with the added ability to rotate due to a ring and pinion gear system. Attached are a few drawings from the patent for this amazing amusement ride vehicle.

How to Design a Roller Coaster

How a Zamperla Demolition Derby Works - The Explanation

Last week I was trying to figure out how a Zamperla Demolition Derby ride worked. After a lot of research and digging through the interwebs I have finally found some answers. I actually haven't figured out how Zamperla's modern version works, but I have found a few patents for earlier versions of the ride. You see, the demolition derby is actually based on a ride called "the crazy daisy" (or crazy dazy) built by Philiadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC). There's also another variation called the Cuddle Up (or cuddle-up) which I think depends on the number of turntables involved. Anyways, here are a few of the patents with diagrams of the flat rides with intersecting ride paths:

Questions for Stengel Engineering Interview

The Ingenieur Büro Stengel ("Ingenieur Büro" is German for "Engineering Office") company was started by Werner Stengel. Simply put, Werner Stengel has been involved with more roller coasters than anyone. Stengel is involved with so many roller coasters because he does not build or sell the roller coasters, but works with most of the manufacturers that do. The type of work provided by Stengel varies from client to client and project to project. These services include design, layout and calculations for every aspect of roller coasters as well as other amusement rides.


Submit your questions for our future interview with Andreas Wild of Stengel Engineering!

How does a Zamperla Demolition Derby work?

Can anybody here explain how a Zamperla Demolition Derby ride works? From my understanding there are two turn tables which spin in opposite directions and the cars, which are free to spin in their own independent circles, are transferred from one turn table to another. It's the "hand off" between turn tables that specifically interests me. How do they do it? This ride system is used at the Disney studios park in Paris as Cars Race Rally. A new twist on the design is being built at California Adventure as Mater's Junkyard.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cars_Race_Rally
Zamperla Demolition Derby - YouTube


And check out 30:09 in this video to see a picture of the turn tables exposed: Radiator Springs Reality - Imagineering Cars Land - D23 Expo 2011 - YouTube

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3D coming to Nintendo 3DS

Since its inception in 1999, Chris Sawyer's original RollerCoaster Tycoon and its sequels have captivated audiences with a gaming experience that put a whole new spin on the world of theme parks. Now, 12 years later and over 11 million units sold, Atari, one of the world's most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment, is bringing RollerCoaster Tycoon back with a captivating 3D gameplay experience! Next year immerse yourself in the pinnacle of all theme park simulators with RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D, tailored exclusively for Nintendo 3DS(TM).

"RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D marks the return of one of the most popular game franchises and delivers an innovative, robust and unrestricted theme park simulator to the next generation of Tycoon fans," said Jim Wilson, CEO of Atari.

From constructing the wildest roller coasters to picking out the perfect spot for your stores and amenities amidst jam-packed crowds, you can finally enjoy the classic RollerCoaster Tycoon experience on a handheld device for the first time ever.

Complete creative freedom with intuitive and streamline controlsFully enjoy the features that made the beloved series popular: a deep coaster construction system and robust theme park customization. Design the wildest, most imaginative roller coasters through the "Coaster Creator" option using a user-friendly, touchscreen toolset and a wide array of upgrade possibilities and themes at your disposal.

A deep and immersive management simulation experienceThe world of RollerCoaster Tycoon isn't just about creating roller coasters; managing theme parks is paramount to keeping finances flowing to build even more! This latest installment takes the demanding management simulation from the series and compresses it into a handheld form, creating a challenging yet manageable take on the genre for players of all ages.

New gameplay mode with special unlockable contentCompletely new to the series is the "Coaster Story" mode, which blends together tutorials and park challenges into a cohesive and entertaining narrative. Choose your own player character and set off on a journey around the world to expand your roller coaster empire.

As you progress, you'll unlock tons of unique attractions, themes, amenities and more.
Jump straight into "Park Sandbox" mode and take controlPlayers who want to get right into the action can quickly jump into the open-ended "Park Sandbox" mode and play RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D the classic way, where the only thing that matters is just how far you can take your own theme park. With the advanced networking capabilities of Nintendo 3DS, sharing your park creations is now easier than ever!
Read the full press release on PR Newswire via Marketwatch.

Dollywood Wild Eagle Layout

Posted above is the overhead layout for Dollywood's new coaster for the 2012 season, Wild Eagle, a B&M wing rider coaster, the first to open in the United States. I'm a bit disappointed that the terrain wasn't used more in the design as in having drop go down the side of the mountain but still looks to be a quality addition. And the internet has been buzzing about it. Now which parks to go to next year? And when will Busch Gardens Williamsburg officially announce Verbolten?

Cedar Point Ridership Chart 1996-2008

Have you ever wondered how many people have rode Millennium Force in one year? Cedar Point used to post on their website the number of riders each of their major rides had given every year for a couple of seasons. I believe they have unfortunately stopped posting this information but fortunately for us a few roller coaster enthusiasts have captured the data before it was taken down and put together an Excel spreadsheet chart for us to analyze.

 

One thing to note is the numbers for the train ride. I believe the peaks are when the park was utilizing two trains at one once instead of just one on those busiest of days. I am predicting Ocean Motion's ridership will increase this season due to its new placement at the front of the park. It's nice to see Top Thrill Dragster's performance has constantly been improving. I think the park's peak attendance was 3 million guests and has slowly been on the decline ever since.

 

What trends do you notice?