Greatest Amusement Industry Achievement of the Decade?

[Devious]

-Prevalence of the launched coaster, and the perfection of it for smaller rides (EG: Sky rocket, the launched Eurofighter, etc)

 

-Intamin Prefabs

--Intamin "Megalite" deserves a mention here

 

-Depending on the outcome of the TG Makeover, Possibly Rocky mountain track (Serious potential for "Hybrid" woodies here)

 

-Relative Perfection of the Flying coaster, Especially Vekomas, they need to build more of them. (Xflight/Firehawk is a beast)

--Honorable mention to B&M here, while i find theirs tame, they do have their merits and some, like Tatsu, are pretty awesome

 

LBNL

 

-The 4-D Coaster, 'Nuff Said.

[Moose]

TPR trips.

 

Do i need to add anything to that?

 

Quoted for Truth my friend. A FUN group to travel with and enjoy not just the roller coasters, but the entire park experiences.

 

Doubly QFT.

 

Q-BOTS!!! love them!

[thrillgeek]

My 2 cents: As far as rides go....

 

1. Launched coasters

2. Beyond vertical drops

3. Smooth wooden coasters

4. 4D coasters

 

Parks in general.

 

1. Q-Bots

2. The talking Disney characters

[MagnumUnlimited]

- 4D coasters

- B&M Megas

- Launched Coasters

 

For parks, I would say probably Six Flags loosing stock.

[viking86]

First major rollercoaster in Norway; Thundercoaster (2001) followed by Supersplash (2003) and Speedmonster (2006). During this decade Tusenfryd went from a small family park with a small Vekoma looper as its star attraction to a full-size amusement park. Now we just need some more parks in Norway. The only competition is Liseberg on the other side of the Swedish border.

 

As for technical breakthroughs this is my list:

- Intamin hydraulic launch coasters

- Prefab woodies

- GCI taking their wooden coasters to a whole new level.

[CPmillenia94]

Intamin hydraulic launch

S&S inovations with screamin swing and coasters being built in china that look amazing, as well as their pneumatic launch system

Intamin prefabs

B&M flyers

Proslide slides

Getting away from coaster races in high/inversions/speed and such and knowing how to make a good coaster without that.

Good wooden coaster companies like 1.CCI 2.TGG 3.GCI

Boulder Dash lake compounce

Texas giant refurb

[netdvn]

I'm gonna go for rides that drastically changed the industry over specific ride types that I really like. While PnP's are nice, I don't really think they changed the industry all that much to make a huge impact .

 

Intamin Rockets - Rocket coasters really put Intamin on the map (along with hypers) in terms of extreme coasters and IMO really caused the rocket coaster boom. Before the rockets really "took off" launch coasters were either shuttles or spaghetti bowls. Rockets changed that, bringing in more unique, intense layouts and drawing more companies into the launch coaster market.

 

Spinning coasters - like the Intamin Rocket, spinning coasters really took off in the 2000s from the cookie-cutter models first designed in the 90s. The layouts became bigger and more diverse while providing a great family ride that was inexpensive and drew crowds. With the economic downturn, these provided really cheap and inexpensive ways to bring people to the park.

 

Eurofighters - Like the spinning coaster, Eurofighters provided a small and cheap alternative to larger, more expensive coasters, but the Eurofighter went one step beyond by delivering a thrilling ride. By making the drops steeper, other companies decided to go into the 90+ degree drop coaster concept. Like rocket coasters, Eurofighters also began morphing into more unique designs, which also drew companies like Premier and Intamin into building smaller, more compact coasters.

 

Interactive family rides - Shooting dark rides and splash battles quickly took off, in the 2000s as more and more parks opted for building family rides over large coasters.

 

Water parks - Water parks in general took off as a result of newer and zanier water slides. On top of that, making the water park indoors and sticking it inside of a hotel really proves to be a very popular idea. The 2000s brought a slew of brand new water slide designs like (Tornado and LIM slides) and expanded on existing concepts (Aqualoops and toilet bowls). With more parks opting for water-based family attractions (SFGAm and SDC come to mind first), water parks and water park expansions will probably continue to rise in popularity with parks.

 

Q-Bots/Fastpasses also seem to be on a sharp rise as more and more parks realize that they can make an extra profit and guests can stand in line without literally standing in line. While these are fairly controversial, more parks will opt for these because of the potential profits they could make.

 

The internet/viral media is definitely at the top of the list as well as more parks opt for using viral marketing to spread the rumors of new rides (Fahrenheit, Diamondback, etc..). With the rise of social media like Facebook (as well as large-scale sites like TPR), more parks are definitely gonna turn to the internet as a form of advertising.

 

... I know there's more but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

[BeemerBoy]

Texas giant refurb

I've seen this twice now. Can you explain how a coaster that hasn't even been pulled up the lifthill yet is considered for the "Greatest Amusement Industry Achievement of the Decade"?

[larrygator]

^The technology to resurrect a once great wooden coaster certainly deserves recognition. But we will have to wait and see if it as successful it many of us hope.

 

My nomination is - A new golden age, I'll call it the Platinum Age, of wooden coaster installations.

Edited December 30, 2010 by larrygator

[ParkTrips]

Q-bot wins this one for me. NOTHING - no single ride, no new park, no new style of ride , or anything else can single-handedly improve a day at a park like the q-bot can.

 

^ I do like the rejuvenation of woodies that started in the mid-90s with CCI and GCI. It's nice that they have become hip again, and range from rides the whole family can enjoy (smaller GCIs) to entreme, over-the-trop forces monsters like the Intamins

[Billy Shears]

Yeah, I'm saving the Rocky Mountain track as a next decade achievement, because if that makeover works (and turns out to be not too expensive - I haven't seen the figures, though I suppose it'd be more pricey for the TG than for a smaller woodie), I could see a lot of parks revitalizing their woodies that way.

[sfot11girl]

I would have to say breaking the 400 ft barrier!

[Geauga Dog]

Waldameer finally getting Ravine Flyer II and what an awesome coaster it is, especially at night. Speaking of Waldameer it's a big deal that this small park continues to expand like it has.

 

Darien Lake's Predator finally getting new trains. May not be a great achievement in many people's eyes but it was long overdue and made the ride a bit more tolerable this past summer.

 

The Voyage - as rough and painful this ride can be it really pushed the envelope with what a wood coaster can/could do without being a pre-fab. Add to that the tremendous growth Holiday World had experienced in Will Koch's hands - went from an obscure family park to one that has become very widely known.

 

Not only has B&M and Intamin prospered this past decade but the rise of Gerstlauer with the Euro-Fighter and spinning coasters and Maurer Sohne with their spinning coasters and X-Car coasters.

[larrygator]

Waldameer finally getting Ravine Flyer II and what an awesome coaster it is, especially at night. Speaking of Waldameer it's a big deal that this small park continues to expand like it has.

 

True, a lot of people are not aware of the long battle to bring this coaster to life. It should have become a running joke in the coaster community for years every time the park tried to move forward on the project. There were a lot of naysayers who never thought it would happen.

 

Kudos to the park for persevering over complaining neighbors.

[walibi owner]

the best thing was Six Flags Holland!!!!!! 5 coasters in 2 years

[mattnz]

I think the decade really belonged to Intamin (perhaps in a similar way to B&M in the 1990s with their awesome new coasters/innovations).

 

Amazing mega and giga coasters (Superman/Bizarro, Millennium Force, Expedition GeForce, Goliath), Twisted Impulse Coasters, Prefabricated Wooden Coasters (Colossos, Balder, El Toro, T Express), Accelerator Coasters (breaking height and speed records), Half Pipes, ZacSpins, Mega-Lites (greatness on a smaller scale), and so on. That is just an incredible line-up.

 

Also the rise and rise of theme parks outside the United States - in Europe and Asia particularly. There's been a building boom that's been very exciting to see!

[spacemtfan]

The Disneyland Resort sure had a wild decade, didn't they? The parks weren't looking so healthy in 2000 under the leadership of Paul Pressler and Cynthia Harris. Fortunately, they're much better now than they were then (at least I think so). Many classic attractions were restored/revamped (Haunted Mansion/Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain, etc.) or brought back (Submarine Voyage). Disney's California Adventure is getting a much-needed overhaul, which is going rather nicely.

 

Overall, I'm excited for the future of the Disneyland Resort !

[mightypotato]

Without a doubt, the biggest achievement of the decade has been the renaissance of the wooden coaster. Companies like GCI, Gravity Group and Intamin have completely revolutionized the wooden coaster and what it can be. Gone are the days of the simple out and back or more traditional "boring" designs. Now, we're seeing twisting, airtime filled works of art. Even the way wooden coasters ride now is a complete change. Gone are the days of the rough and tumble wooden coasters (I'm looking at you, Summers & Dinn). Now, wooden coasters are almost steel smooth, but still retain that wooden coaster charm.

 

We're seeing things that just plain haven't been done before, and everyone, GP and enthusiasts alike are eating it up. In the last Mitch Hawker steel poll, "favourite wooden coaster anywhere" finished FOURTH. That is absolutely ridiculous. Each year, the wooden coaster designs at IAAPA are becoming more and more interesting than their steel counterparts.

 

I say, enjoy the ride, guys. This is a golden time.

[beatle11]

I definitely would say breaking the 400 foot barrier, and getting one close to 150mph.

[ABW]

I think the best achievements are this:

 

Intamin's hydrolic launch accelerator coasters- They've gotten us past 100 mph, and the 400 foot barrier, as well as providing VERY good launches.

 

GCI, GG, and Intamin are all taking the term "wooden coaster" to the next level, and the companies themselves are just getting better and better.

 

B&M flying coasters- They provide an experience that really makes you appreciate a the park's terrain (or parking lot in some cases). They're some great fun as well.

 

B&M 2nd generation Diving Machines- I'm talking about Griffon, and Skeikra. Not Oblivion! These rides have great features, and provide some amazing experiences.

 

Launch coasters in general- The launches on launch coasters themselves have gotten way better, and are becoming more and more of a focus in the amusement industry.

 

Overall, I'm giving this decade to Intamin. They have some of the best coasters in the world, and have been incredibly innovative this decade.

[jjeerr]

GCI.

 

Every coaster they've built in the last 10 years is, at the very least, "good". From Terminator at SFMM to Lightning Racer at Hersheypark, each might not be the most "extreme" ride at their park, but at least in SFMM's case, it's the best.

[tt.repo.man]

Return of Captain EO,

Bizzaro makeover,

Rebirth of Cypress Gardens as Legoland FL,

2010 Howl-o-Scream,

The rebirth of the Disneyland Submarines

[Hoss]

I'm just glad that Rob was smart enough to know that we don't start counting at 0

 

In all honesty though, to me it's air time. It just seems so much more intense now.

[ScottBrown]

I would have to say Coney Island being saved the amusement industry would be what it is today if it wern't for Coney Island

[The SETGO Guys]

Removed by user

Edited January 5, 2012 by The SETGO Guys