Retheme a Ride...

[Skramp]

So I was talking about this with some friends the other night, so I thought I'd throw it out there. If you could completely retheme a ride, what would you do. Now, were not talking about tweaking what's there, we're talking all new station, que, colors and all, you have complete control. Doesn't have to be your favorite ride, something you've even ridden or a coaster. It can be a flat, dark ride, coaster or anything. Have fun!!

 

I would redo Superman: The Escape at SFMM. You would enter through an Emergency Room entrance and the que would resemble hospital hallways. The loading area would look like and operating room. I would repaint the track silver and the supports black. The track coming out of the station would look like a hollow tube (think hypodermic needle.) I would rename it Adrenaline: The Injection. It would appear that you were being shot out of a syringe into someone. Oh yeah, and take away Superman at the top of the tower and replace it with an oversized beating heart.

 

So what about everyone else?

[mcjaco]

I think I just flatlined.

 

 

[Kennyweird]

I would re-theme Garfield's Nightmare back into the Old Mill (albeit a little scarier). I'm pretty sure the majority of Kennywood goers would prefer that over the current abomination.

[Hercules]

If I were God, I don't think my first priority would be retheming a ride...

[MisterP]

^ Yeah, Garfield's Nightmare is awful.

 

I would retheme the Nemo subs back into a naturalistic setting, but with much better technology, such as larger scale AAs, but much more exciting than the original subs. I think there are many things that I could come up with that could make that a much better ride (plus I'd really try to find a way to make Fastpass work, but I digress...)

[ghost007jas]

If I were God, I don't think my first priority would be retheming a ride...

 

Yeah.. Putting Maverick in my backyard would be mine.. /sarcasm.

 

I'd theme X2 to a secret government project of which you are the test crew. I always thought that would be a cool theme.

[BigThunderMtn]

I don't know of any specifically wooden coasters that need retheming offhand, but I've always thought Earthquake would make good theming for a particularly rough one, Theme the queue as a dilapidated old building, falling in on itself, plaster walls fallen away revealing the lathe behind, beams supporting the sagging rafters at odd angles, holes in the roof creating impromptu spotlights, every now and then a coaster train passes overhead, unseen, but creating a distinctive rumble...

 

The station equipment & consoles could be themed to generic emergency equipment, and the cast costumes (I'm from Disney... the Cast wear costumes) could be simple navy blue or red polos with words like "Quake Response Team" across the front. Incoherent radio chatter buzzing in over a orchestral, bass-heavy ostinato, (plus the liberal use of yellow blinking caution lights in the space) would complete the mood, and I think it would work very well.

 

It would be even better if the Unload and Loading platforms were severed, so the trains came into the station empty, and the place where you disembarked could have signs over the tunnel ahead (back to the load platform) saying "End of the Line" and "Road closed", theming even your reason for leaving.

 

If it were up to me, this is what a good wooden roller coaster theming would be. For some reason it seems they often get shafted, compared to the steelies.

[307]

Time Warp at Canada's Wonderland gets re-themed to be "The Rat Race" [name needs work].

 

Basically, the riders are lab rats, and the ride itself is a form of an experiment carried out by scientists [of course the ride ops are dressed wearing white jackets]. The queue can be themed to be a habitrail tube or something, too, along with some drinking fountains shaped like rodent water bottles...

 

I wouldn't ride but it beats having a futuristic ride sign with weird jungle theming.

[Goliath513]

"Scream 2: Now With 70% Less Parking Lot"

[Swimace]

I would take the long tunnel of boredom on Lake Winnie's boat chute and give it a "Monster Plantation" theme, thus creating the most random water ride of all time.

 

 

Gotta love them Georgia water rides...

[Disney Dood]

^^^ Sounds like something you could build in RCT2.

[coastakid]

I would re theme Playland Park's Crazy Mouse into an enclosed coaster themed to something similar to Exterminator at Kennywood. It would have a short enclosed que line with a repeating film playing a spiel telling the story of an exterminator attempting to destroy a mouse's home. On the ride, you have to escape through a network of sewers and a few close calls with the 'smoker'. I have even drawn up a few possible concept drawings for this ride, and have planned on showing them to the manager of the park seeing as my dad is close with him. The idea does not have to cost millions of dollars, but just enclosing the ride and adding a few effects will drastically improve the rides popularity.

 

 

-Jon

[chemical_echo]

I would also re-theme Time Warp (aka Tomb Raider) at Canada's Wonderland.

I came up with this idea while I was operating the ride opening year, so it's still Tomb Raider themed, but can easily be un-branded.

 

Basically, enclose the whole ride in a building, with exteriors on the front and two sides to look like an old temple or Mayan/Aztec Pyramid. The queue would be the same, but the TVs would show a video from Lara Croft saying she found a hidden treasure/chamber inside the temple. The video would also show a map inside the temple displaying the route to the hidden room (this would be a picture of the layout, highlighting a spiral rising passageway to the top, and tight corners). The video would go on to show Lara's newest transportation device: a kind of indoor hang glider to keep yourself up and away from any hidden traps.

The end of the queue, entering the indoor station would be an opened passageway into the temple and the station would be themed to the main burial chamber of the temple with crumbling statues and shiny golds treasures.

Once passengers are in their Indoor Hang Gliders, they ascend the rising spiral passageway which could be decorated with pictures of a sky or sun god. The first small drop would be like a broken passageway, but you regain your balance and turn a tight corner. The two spiral rolls would be passengers dodging traps set out. As the car flips, passengers feel a strong blast of air and hear sounds like arrows are shooting out of the walls. The final part of the ride (bottom area with all the turns) would be the hidden room filled with gold, coffins, and other treasures, and would be split up by walls that you twist and turn around. The final brakes would be either another burial room or a small temple to one of the gods.

 

 

...I had a lot of time to think while operating that ride. It pretty much just required me to sit there, look pretty, and change my gaze from a TV screen, to the cars leaving the station, to a computer screen; everything was automatic.

[Skramp]

As the car flips, passengers feel a strong blast of hair and hear sounds like arrows are shooting out of the walls.

 

Not trying to be mean, but this made me laugh so hard. A strong blast of hair? I know what that feels like as my wife's hair is over 2ft. long and she whips it into my face sometimes, not the most enjoyable feeling so that would be a perilous experience.

[chemical_echo]

Fixed, but I'm sure you realize I meant air...

[Skramp]

Of course I realized that, but was still funny. I knew it was just a typo. Just sometimes things strike you as funny. No harm meant in anyway at all.

[Sparebear75]

I have another Wonderland idea. The Mighty Canadian Minebuster, we all know that since Splashworks has changed the ride for the worse, this ride is no longer is as mighty as it could be. I'd gut everything between the first drop and the turn around, going out and back. The first drop I'd make steeper, flatten out at ground level then dip down into a Hades inspired subterranean fury with a hill inspired by the Voyage's fourth, where it pops out of the ground. At the turnaround I would take it in the reverse direction it does now, altering it slightly, think Ravine Flyer II's turnaround. After the turnaround I'd plunge back into the earth weaving and dipping around the section we just travelled on until we hit where the present helix is, where it would stay the same radius as it is today, it would start below ground level. So the theme would match the name, the ride would be a mine and Splashworks could grow as it pleases.

[CHILLERLC1]

If Dominator was still at a SF park I would have rethemed it to the Riddler's Revenge. Then I would sing so many praises for it but now I don't. I prefer my local SFGADV Medusa.

[sam06pr]

Stanleyville Loog Flume at BGA!

I would theme that whole area so it fits the area around SheiKra. Someone had said that it would be cool to add ruins, like the ones found around Sheikra. I can just see going up the lift with some temple ruins and maybe some animals. I would Re-do the whole queue as well. It just looks awful. I would paint the flume with a different color so it could fit the theme.

[Chadley]

I think the Beast really could use some great theming pre-ride and within the tunnels. I remember a few years ago when they added some sound effects and swinging lights in the station, but to my knowledge they haven't used them in a while now, and they were pretty cheesy.

 

I'm talking tastefully done too. I know either way I'll gain the wrath of Beast purist, but here's what I'd like to see.

 

- Put a flat screen tv above the track in the station to play a trailer of what guests were about to experience, (optional).

- Enclose the station, and ques so they are dark.

- Creaking boards, roars in the night, occasional screams of terror.

- Red Lights & Fog within the tunnels, as well as, speakers that would be set up in a way to give the riders the sense that they are being chased.

 

At night, it would be especially cool to approach a blood red tunnel with fog at the tunnels mouth.

[DBru]

I cool concept I've seen before on Screamscape would have been enclosing Flashback (SFMM) in an old machinery shed, and theming the ride to "Saw".

 

Before each hairpin dive, riders would pass through different corridors, displaying "games" that were used in the movies. After the final helix, Jigsaw would come onto a large screen, announce to the riders that they have defeated him, and dare them to come back and "play" again.

 

Of course, the train design would have had to be changed so that people could actually see what's going on around them. Since the coaster never technically inverted, I see no reason why the coaster couldn't have operated with Hyper trains...