98-186: Roller Coasters Week 11: Amusement Parks

(History, Chains, and Design) Thing of the Week! What is an ?

● A place with rides and other attractions ● What makes them different? ○ Permanent unlike fairs ○ Has rides unlike a public park ● Sea Lion Park (1895) is considered the first “amusement park” ● First amusement parks were in cities and small Amusement Park ≠ Theme Park

● Theme parks are a subset of amusement parks ○ Tied together by a unifying theme ● Used synonymously in English :(

Pictured: Diagon Alley at Universal Studios, part of of American Chains Dominance of the Few

● As sad as it is that independent amusement parks are hard to run, many major parks are part of larger chains ● This makes for better brand recognition, management, and more money for improvements The Big Kids

● Two major “” chains: ○ –> ○ <– Cedar Fair ○ Former Paramount parks Six Flags

● One of the oldest park chains ● was their first park back in 1961 ● They began with small rides and shows, but eventually added roller coasters ● Six Flags helped to pioneer the profitable amusement park model

Pictured: Runaway Mine , one of the first steel coasters made (1966); SFOT Why “Six Flags”?

● Texas has fallen under 6 different flags in its long history: ○ Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederacy, and U.S.A. Moar Parks

● SF expanded with SF Over Georgia (1967) and SF Over Mid-America (1971, now SF St. Louis) ● Six Flags has since bought most of their parks, not built them Expansion of Six Flags

● Began purchasing parks in the 70’s and 80’s and adding the Six Flags name to them ○ E.g. Six Flag Great America ● A deal with Warner Brothers led to theming in many Six Flags parks Premier Acquisition

● In 1998, Premier Parks bought Six Flags and added their name to all the parks ● Six Flags’ peak was in 2002, when they had about 30 parks worldwide ● They invested a lot of money in improvements The Problem with Growth

● Six Flags’ rapid growth caught up with them around this time ● They began selling parks in 2004 and 2007 to stop shareholder revolts ● Six Flags declared bankruptcy in 2009, due to this and the recession at the time ● They were back in 2010 Present Day

● There are currently 13 operating SF parks, all in the U.S.A. except SF Mexico ● SF was known for mediocre theming and additions in the past ● They have recently been better received by enthusiasts

● Began as Kings Entertainment Company (KECO) ● First parks were King’s Island and King’s Dominion ● Eventually had 5 parks ● In 1993, Paramount Communications bought KECO, which became Paramount Parks Shameless Plugs

● The parks were well-run, but enthusiasts complained of the focus on movie advertisement and repeating rides ○ The Italian Job: Stunt Track ride was in three parks Acquisition

● Viacom sold the parks to Cedar Fair in 2006 ● The parks lost the Paramount name and theming Cedar Fair

● Began as ● Took the name Cedar Fair in 1978 after acquiring Minnesota’s (Cedar Point & Valleyfair) ● Did not buy new parks until the 90’s ● 4 parks, including Knott’s Berry Farm, were bought More Sponsorships!

● Cedar Fair’s main theming is /Charlie Brown ● Criticized for being out-of-date Cedar Fair’s Peak

● In 2006, Cedar Fair’s number of parks rose to 12 with their purchase of Paramount Parks ● Now operating 11 parks Reputation

● During Paramount acquisition, CF was known as the “best” chain due to SF’s financial woes ● They do have their criticisms ○ Known for killing off in ○ Strict locker policy Worldwide Chains Merlin Entertainment (Europe)

● 2nd largest attraction group after Disney ● UK-based ● Runs many of Europe’s biggest parks Legoland!

● They run Legoland Parks worldwide ● 6 exist, with 3 more being built Merlin’s Parks OCT Parks

● Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Holding Company (OCT) ● China’s main chain ● Runs the 6 Happy Valley parks Park Layouts Midway

● Long, middle pathway ● Rides/attractions on the sides ● No real directionality Loop

● Continuous circuit of walking ● Attractions can be on the “inside” or “outside” Hub

● Pioneered by Disney ● Central hub (usually with a “Weenie”) ● “Spokes go out from Hub and usually connect with each other as well Long

● Sort of random, but very elongated ● Just goes Blob

● No clear sense of organization North America, Europe, and Asia Thing of the Week pt. 2! The Big Picture North America Cedar Point

● Cedar Fair’s first and flagship park ● Located in Sandusky, northern Ohio ● Records over 3 million visitors annually ● Voted ’s best park in the world 15 years in the world Location

Lake Erie

● A peninsula on Lake Erie ● Results in very aesthetic pictures at sunset :) Cedar Point History

● Began as a bathing resort in 1870 ● Featured picnicking spots, dance halls ● First coaster was in 1890 ● More rides were added through time, but the resort was the focus ● Diverse attractions led to it surviving the Depression Cedar Point History

● Began growing in the 60’s ● Tried to be a -type resort but failed ● The wooden Blue Streak opened in 1964, making it the park’s oldest operating attraction Overachievers

● Cedar Point likes to build tall rides. Cedar Point Now

● 17 operating coasters ● ~70 rides ● A water park ● 4 hotels ● A campsite ● A marina Cedar Point Highlights

Magnum XL200 (1989) Maverick (2007) (1994)

● Six Flags’ flagship park

● North of Los Angeles, CA

● Opened in 1971

● First wave of rides was mostly Arrow-made, leading us to believe it was inspired by Disneyland SFMM Overview

● Currently has 19 coasters, a world record

○ Criticized for their quality ● 2.8 million visitors annually, helped by being open year-round SFMM History

● The park was bought in 1979 and “Six Flags” was added to the name

● In 2006, Six Flags’ financial woes led them to put the park up for sale, but it was not taken SFMM Highlights

Goliath (2000) Tatsu (2006) Busch Gardens Williamsburg

● Opened 1975

● Eastern Virginia

● Europe-themed

○ Each section is based off of a country Landscaping EVERYWHERE

● Built by Anheuser-Busch as an attempt to develop Eastern Virginia

● Focuses a lot on landscaping and theming

● Golden Ticket award for Best Landscaped Park

● Most Beautiful Park award by NAPHA Quality over Quantity

● Only 6 coasters, but 3 are at or above 200 ft tall

● Most are also themed based on their area :) BG Williamsburg Highlights

Apollo’s Chariot (1999) (1999) Holiday World

● Opened 1946

● Santa Claus, IN

● Areas themed after holidays

● Also has a water park Free Drinks

● Owned by the Koch family

● Golden Ticket for Friendliest Park

● Known for their free unlimited soft drinks Holiday World Highlights

Raven (1995) Voyage (2006) Other Great N.A. Parks

● Six Flags Great Adventure (Central ) ● (Pigeon Forge, TN) ● Canada’s Wonderland (North of Toronto) ● (Hershey, PA) ● Islands of Adventure (Orlando, FL) :) Europe Common European Park Traits

● Usually older than American parks; many began as gardens

● Focused more on scenery/atmosphere than coasters

● Size is more variant

● Often contain elements which would be considered weird here

● Name refers to the castle that used to be here

● Opened as a garden 1860 and an amusement park 1980

● Sprawling, with 13 themed areas

● ~2.7 million visitors; most visited in UK Adapting to your Environment!

● 100 ft height limit on construction due to zoning leads to some interesting workarounds

○ Oblivion is 65 ft tall with a 180 ft (underground) drop Alton Towers Highlights

Nemesis (1994) Smiler (2013) Europa Park

● Built 1975 in southwest Germany

● Built by the Mack family mainly to showcase their rides

● Most popular European resort after Disneyland Paris Familiar Theming

● Themed areas for different countries in Europe

● Theming like in Disney World Europa Park Highlights

Silver Star (2002) Blue Fire (2009) Tivoli Gardens

● Second-oldest amusement park in the world

● Opened in 1843

● Attracts around 4 million visitors a year, higher than any seasonal American park Tivoli Gardens Location

● Right in the middle of Copenhagen, Denmark

● Close to many lines of transportation! Tivoli Gardens Theming

● Historical theming such as: ○ A lake with a

○ Pagodas ● Thousands of decorative lamps Inspirational Landscape

● Said to be a heavy inspiration for Disneyland

● The creator once said “Tivoli will never, so to speak, be finished”

● said “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” Tivoli Gardens Highlight

Rutschebanen (1914)

Still uses a brakeman! Other Notable European Parks

● BonBon-Land (Eastern Denmark) - Please look this one up ● Grona Lund (Stockholm, Sweden) ● (outside London, UK) ● Pleasure Beach (NW UK coast) - Do you remember this? ● Parc Astérix (near Paris, France) ● Parque Warner (Madrid, Spain) ● (NE Italy) Asian Parks Common Asian Park Traits

● Before 2000, most were in Japan

● Japanese parks are known for better landscaping than American parks

● South Korean parks are not common, but there are some with big coasters

● Chinese parks have a reputation for being shoddily-made or run-down, but there are some new ones with high quality coasters Fuji-Q Highland

● Opened 1961

● Central japan

● Home to some very high-profile coasters

● Reputation for bad management :( Fuji-Q Highland Highlights

Takabisha (2011) Fujiyama (1996) Nagashima Spa Land

● Opened 1966

● Nagoya, Japan

● Resort complex like Cedar Point

● Not too many big coasters, but a lot nonetheless Nagashima Spa Land Highlights

Steel Dragon 2000 (2000) White Cyclone (1994) Everland

● Opened 1976

● South Korea’s largest amusement park

● 6.6 million visitors annually

● Less ride-focused, more scenery-focused Everland Highlights

T Express (2008) Sketchier than CFA

● Chinese parks are known for often being very sketchy

● Some rides are safety hazards

● Others are blatant copies of other manufacturers More Copies than Shadow Clone Jutsu

● Lots of SLC’s are copied here

● The manufacturer Golden Horse uses B&M designs But there are some Quality Builds

Crystal Wing (2006, Happy Valley Beijing) Ocean Park

● Opened 1977

● Hong Kong

● Over 7 million visitors annually All of their Coasters are Scenic Railways

● Built up on a hill

● Faces the ocean for a beautiful view

● The title on this slide is not meant to be taken literally Next Week! Disney World and the world of Themed Entertainment!