Arne

Great idea and some very interesting reading! I'm a landscape architect student myself and (obviously) have a special interest in theme parks. Hence I've been thinking lately of pursuing a professional career in theme park design, and among others done my internship at an architectural office focusing on leisure design as well as writing my master thesis in the field of theme parks. And even though it's a small business with limited job opportunities (especially in my area) I still find it an interesting subject, and I think that the theory of themed design can be of great benefit even in a "regular" job as a landscape architect. Hence I will follow this topic with great interest! I second that! The lack of peer reviewed articles on the subject was a big problem during the writing of my thesis, and I would greatly appreciate any tips on proper scientific literature! Here are some recommendations of my own: The Global Theme Park Industry - Salvador Anton Clavé: has a PhD in touism geography and writes of everything you can imagine theme park connected; from history to management and economics. And even though the pure design aspect of the proffesion is a minor part of the book, Clavé writes of that too. Total Landscape, Theme Parks, Public Space - Miodrag Mitrasinovic: an architect who compares privately owned theme parks to public space accesible to everyone, but also has an in depth chapter on theme park design. Designing Disney - Imagineering and the Art of the Show - John Hench: Most Disney books more resemble pr-catalogues for the parks than actual information on imagineering. This book written by "the guru of Disney design" has a lot of interesting information though, and even though it isn't a scientific book I would highly recommend a read. Life Between Buildings - Jan Gehl: THE book to have when it comes to environmental psychology and design of public space. Obligatory reading on every landscape and city planning education around the world, I guess. And many of the theories are applicable on theme park environments too. Great read! I find it interesting how you have compared the Disney weenie to theories of city planning, and I think it's a clever move since the lack of scientific literature on theme parks. I would however emphasize the difference between the Disney "weenie" and the Lynch "landmark"; meanwhile the main purpose of a landmark is to act as a point of reference the weenie (besides point of reference) more has the role to lure the visitors towards it, further into the themed land where it sits. It's a small difference, and I'm sure you're aware of it, but it is something that I think you could have stressed a bit more explicitly in the essay. Other than that I think it's very interesting with the in depth analyze of which components make up a good weenie, probably more so than the imagineers are aware of themselves Anyways, great read and keep the artices coming! And don't forget to give recommendations on literature of your own if you got any, that would be greatly appreciated!! /Cheers

SInce this design has been created before, it will likely have the exact same supports and track style as TTD/KK. But who knows, Intamin does like to innovate. But the fact that Intamin can decrease the amount of supports would surely make them save a lot of money on tall rides like this one? I for one hope that it's the new structure! It will give the ride a much cleaner looking support structure

^Yes, especially Orkanen at Fårup Sommerland is a really nice family coaster! (that fits within the 40" height limit) But really, by strestcing the limit to 47" you get one of the very best coasters in the world: Juvelen at Djurs Sommerland! Awesome ride, incredible speed and some nice g's. And albeit the intensity entire families ride it together and thoroughly enjoys it (probably due to it don't looking very intimidating)

It would be nice if SWO decided to go with Intamin; Cheetha Hunt was surely considered a big hit? And BGT continued to invest with Intamin in Falcons Fury, so one can only hope! Sure, a B&M or Mack hyper would be a great addition too; but an Intamin hyper would be a world class addition! Plus I guess it would be cheaper than the aforementioned alternatives But we have to view this in reality, and I thought the rumors was stating pretty clearly that this will be a B&M..?

I don't know what to believe. But a new world record for speed wouldn't be too surpricing given the fact that the last installment af a Ferrari park broke the record and that Port Aventura have been spending a lot of money lately. Regarding the attatched drop towers: I think the whole idea seems daft! PA already got one of the better (and taller) drop towers in the world with Hurakan Condor. Why on earth would they want to make Condor, which was a huge investment at the time, redundant? The only way I can see this happening is if they convert Condor to some sort of starflyer type of attraction. That would make sense

S&S have made some really picturesque coasters lately! Unfortunately none of the larger launch coasters have been built outside of China.. And also there's the smaller, yet very sexy, Powder Keg in the US too:

Yes, but airtime hills are also huge, and the train traverses the top at approximately the same speed as it does on the apex of a loop (at least on B&M's). There might seem like there are more supports on a loop though, because you have a lot of track on a relatively small surface area. But I think that it's in fact the opposite due to the relatively large unsupported arch of a vertical loop (and you're saving costs on the very largest supports). This argumentation is only valid for vertical loops though. With inversion that allows the train to have a higher speed (and consequently closer to the ground) like in-lines, corkscrews, zero-g rolls etc the amount of steel required would be the same or even less than an equivalent airtime hill (of course depending on the height/shape of the airtime hill).

^^I think all major coaster manufacturers (except B&M) offer lap-bars only now days (at least Intamin, Mack, Gerstlauer, Maurer Söhne, Zamperla and Zierer). I think that a fast in-line would be awesome too, like on Furius Baco! But I don't understand the argument that a looping ride would require more steel?? I thought that vertical loops where one of the elements using the least amount of steel since they have a large unsupported arch at the top, and an in-line definitely don't use any more steel than an airtime hill would!

I would love to know more of the new Maurer Söhne train! Like why they changed the lap-bar design? How the new lap-bar works? And will it be implemented on all of their new rides?? Please give us some close-up footage/video of it as well! And thanks very much for the fantastic first day of coverage! Keep up the good work! PS. Will there be video interviews like past years as well?

^You do? Where have you read that?

Lo-Q: Will you make the devices smaller and lighter? The queuebots are great and really makes a day out at a park so much better! But they're quite bulky and can be a problem when going on rides. It would be handier with smaller and especiallly lighter devices!

B&M: You utilize a box-track system for your roller coasters that dates far back to the days when you (Claude and Walter) where still employees at Intamin. Where you (Claude and Walter) the guys responsible for inventing the box-track system? Why do you still use this system when the rest of the industry has moved on and generally works with framed structures for their track? And what do you see as the main advantage with the boxtrack system? Thanks!

Intamin: Your ZacSpin coasters show great potential but unfortunately they're just a bit too short imho. Will you start making longer ZacSpin layouts and maybe even include turns and/or trains with several attached cars to improve capacity?

B&M: To Claude or Walter: You've been in the business for a long time now and have made several groundbreaking and impressive rides. Which is your personal favourite among all the coasters you've constructed and why?

Vekoma: Have you sold any more of your new mega syle coasters like Battlestar Galactica at Universal Studios SIngapore?