Terminator Vs. Transformers: California Theme Parks Stuck In 1984

This October was an exciting month to be a theme park fanatic in Southern California. Not only have the local parks' Halloween haunt events, which get bigger and better each year, been going on all month, but two major new attractions based on 1980's motion picture franchises were confirmed for the Los Angeles area. Six Flags Magic Mountain revealed that the mystery construction taking place at the site of their recently torn down woodie, Psyclone, is in fact, the foundation for Terminator: The Coaster, a new family wooden coaster experience featuring "a unique queue line and on-board entertainment elements." The ride is expected to debut alongside the release of the fourth installment in the popular film series, Terminator: Salvation, next summer. Not to be outdone, Universal has announced Transformers: The Ride to open first at their Singapore location in 2010 and then Universal Studios Hollywood in 2011. According to the press release, "The attraction will fuse 3D-HD media, mega special effects and stunning robotics with a ride system that will transform perceptions of theme park experiences ." Despite the fact that both the original Terminator movie and Transformers animated series debuted in 1984, the success of these franchises is stronger than ever twenty-four years later and finally invading the theme park scene. While Michael Bay's mega-blockbuster live action Transformers movie about sentient good and evil robots fighting over the future of mankind seems perfectly fit for a theme park attraction, the Terminator story, about sentient good and evil robots fighting over the future of mankind could be questionable. ...wait a minute. I sense a common theme. 1984 was all about robots! Not exactly what George Orwell had in mind. Anyway, the description of the Transformers ride sounds great, but the Terminator theme seems a bit weird for a wooden coaster. I have chosen to analyze these rides further by commenting on two excellent posts. The first, "Six Flags Announces Terminator Coaster @ Magic Mountain" is written by net-famous blogger, The Coaster Critic, who offers his unique view on the new ride. The second, "Michael Bay Doesn't Like the Idea of a 'Transformers' Ride" is written by Colin Boyd at movie news blog, Get The Big Picture, and discusses director Michael Bay's qualms about a ride based on his film. I have placed my comments to these posts below as well as to the authors' blogs.

"Six Flags Announces Terminator Coaster @ Magic Mountain"
Comment:
Thank you for your astute analysis of Magic Mountain's new Terminator coaster. As a theme park enthusiast and Southern California resident, I must agree that the quality of our state's wooden coasters is unacceptably sub-par and this ride could be a major enhancement to the So-Cal coaster scene. Ghostrider is a fantastic ride, but it is the only one we have. Terminator could be the answer to our troubles. Magic Mountain's description of the attraction having a "unique queue" and "on-board entertainment elements" is extremely intriguing, yet mystifyingly vague. This could be a major revolution in the history of out-door coaster theming, but it could also just be a lame gimmick. The last decade saw a renaissance in indoor coaster theming, but outdoor coasters have stayed relatively theme free, aside from the names and queues. Maybe outdoors will become the new indoors. Given the theme, the fact that it is a wooden coaster is truly bizarre. Skynet certainly does not use wood in their plan to annihilate the human race, perhaps it may make sense as more news of the coaster's mythology is brought to light. The Terminator theme is questionable considering that 2003's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was not too big of a hit and there is not much buzz surrounding next year's Terminator: Salvation. As you say though, "Six Flags is likely looking for that fun, family friendly ride that will have wider appeal," and as long as Six Flags delivers an excellent ride, the theme is less important. It certainly has more potential than Thorpe Park's new Saw themed coaster. It is humorous that both Six Flags and Universal announced their evil 1980's robot apocalypse themed attractions at the same time. I am probably looking forward more to Transformers: The Ride seeing as I am a big dark ride adventure fan, but it is possible that Terminator: The Coaster could send outdoor coaster theming and design in a whole new direction. In any case, I am extremely excited that both of these rides are coming to my home and cannot wait to ride them.

"Michael Bay Doesn't Like the Idea of a 'Transformers' Ride"
Comment:
Thank you for your humorous post about Michael Bay and his concern for Universal's Transformers ride. I do not want to be overly critical about Bay, he is a talented action director, but this guy is so ridiculously egotistical sometimes. He pretends to be the pinnacle of artistic integrity, and yet the most direction he gave to Megan Fox on the Transformer's set is to just "look sexy." The Transformer's plot, like most Bay films, is not exactly complex: bad robots want to destroy Earth, good robots come to protect it, and some goofy humans run around. It is possible that the ride designers could create an even better story for the ride than that of the film. Considering Bay's unabashed commercialism, if anything he should be in full support of the ride because it will complete the unstoppable force of synergy that sells the Transformers brand: toys, animated series, animated movie, comic books, live action movie, video games, and finally a theme park attraction. As you point out, he adapted an animated series that was based on a line of toys! A line of toys from the early 80's no less. He is not the sole creative voice when it come to Transformers, it is nice to see others' creative interpretations of the material as well. McG is not protesting Six Flags Magic Mountain's new Terminator coaster that will help to sell his film, Terminator: Salvation. There have only been three directors who have successfully had creative input on the adaptation of their films into theme park attractions: Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, and John Lasseter, and these are three exceptionally creative and integrity driven people. I cannot see Michael Bay added to this list.There is no doubt that Transformers: The Ride will offer an immerse supplement experience to the film, and I am excited to ride it, with Michael Bay's approval or not.

Unhappiest Place On Earth: Bad Parenting Ruins The Magic

While cruising the world wide web this week I stumbled across a small, yet post-inspiring article. On October 20th, a five-year-old autistic boy visiting Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America was separated from his parents, climbed a fence, and got onto a roller coaster track. Fortunately, he was rescued by an employee before any harm could come to him at the hands of the speeding coaster train. Lost children are not an uncommon phenomenon in any crowded public space. In fact, an article from Indy's Child Parenting Magazine found a report which "noted that over a 12-month period, more than 27 percent of all families that visited an amusement park lost one of their children while they were there—that's one out of every three children." And that was only counting reported incidents, who knows how many small isolated missing children crisises happen unreported. Not all of these incidents can be attributed to poor parenting. Angie Wagner at LoraineCountyMoms.com confirms that even the best laid plans for child safety can go awry, however, I am of the belief that the majority of lost child incidents are due to some negligence on the part of a parent or guardian. Although losing a child for a few minutes is not the worst thing in the world, it is part of a much more disturbing trend, an almost unavoidable plague that affects every theme park trip at some point: poor parenting and the disgusting behavior exhibited by rude children and their clueless parents. These crimes against the courteous theme park goer can ruin the fun for everyone around them. It baffles and disturbs me how often I have witnessed displays of human disregard and sometimes cruelty on my visits. Despite being places of joy, excitement, and family bonding, theme parks often bring out the worst in people.

There is no more obvious place where this abhorrent behavior is displayed than in the queue. The afternoon sun on a crowded summer weekend can do funny things to people in a one hundred-minute switchback line wait for a three-minute ride experience. This is the breeding ground of the most heinous theme park crimes, the most common and least serious of which is line cutting. A series of moms with four-year-olds hanging off them squeezing by offering the justification of "my husband is just up ahead" is enough to drive one insane. Spot saving is unacceptable theme park behavior and it teaches children that they are better than all who have waited appropriately and put in the time to get the reward of the ride at the end of the line. This is merely an annoyance though, the behavior can get much worse. Some parents seem to be driven to the brink of lunacy by their restless children while waiting in lines. In a recent blog post, Children Go Ape Shit for Nemo, Eric Ambler writes about an hour long battle he witnessed between a mother and her continually wondering off four-year-old in line. At one point during this incident the mother literally crams Cheerios into the child's mouth and moves his mouth in a chewing motion. In another instance he describes a "grotesque" game of tug-of-war in which the mother tries to pull her toddler off of a guard rail he is clinging too. When they finally got to the attraction, the child fell asleep during the ride. This incident proves that it might be smart for a parent to research an attraction and consider their child's age while weighing the cost of the wait time versus entertainment value before offering a "grotesque" display of poor parenting and fellow line mate disregard.

By far the most disgusting behavior I have witnessed in theme park lines are what I will call the "my ride" parents (pictured, left). Mike Collins offers an excellent description of a "my ride" parent incident in his recent post, Tales from Orlando: A Mother Worse Than the Yeti, on the Coaster Radio Blog. He describes a situation in which a mother's selfish desire to go on a thrill ride is more important than her child's fear of the ride while showing complete disregard for the hundreds in line with them. For an hour the mother dragged her screaming and kicking child through the line and at one point yells at her child "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO RUIN MY RIDE!!!" This is just sick. Not only is this an abhorrent way for a mother to act toward her child, but it surely made the hour wait extremely unpleasant for everyone around them. Collins jokingly suggests that theme parks should offer child protective services, I agree, and not in a joking sense. Most parks do offer a parent swap service where one adult goes on the ride while one stays with the child and then they swap. I would encourage parents to use this service if they really want to go on a ride, or simply not go on the ride at all. Child torture of this kind reprehensible and should be illegal. Not only does a display like this ruin the experience for those in line, but it is a quick way to show everyone how horrible of a parent you are.

Though queues are often the site of the most frequent and disturbing incidents, terrible behavior can usually be seen all over. Everything from stroller road rage to parents unwilling to remove their crying child from a show can put a damper on a theme park visit. I have had people stand directly in front of me at a show while I was in a wheelchair. I witnessed a child being carried by a father kick a man in the head and the father never gave a second glance back. I have experienced countless line cuts and parents yelling and hitting their children (and vise-versa). And it gets worse the longer the vacation. Author Dawn Meehan theorizes in a post on her blog, Because I Said So, that bad behavior increases steadily with each consecutive day spent at a theme park. How can it be that places of fun so often turn into a battle ground? What happened to those nice vintage 1960's families in their matching sweaters and Mickey ears? The simple argument is that parenting has just gone down hill the last few decades producing rude, ungrateful, selfish, and spoiled children who expect everything. I think this argument is too easy. Although I am sure that this is a valid cause of many theme park criminals, I believe that the rising costs of vacations is also a major contributor to unacceptable behavior. Between 1980 and 2008 the cost of one day admission to a Disney park increased from eight dollars to seventy-five dollars. When people pay a lot they expect a lot. They want to get their money's worth by cramming as many attractions in as possible and if things are not going perfectly they are easily upset. Disappointment is inevitable when expectations are so high. There is a reason why one of the most common things yelled by a parent to their child is, "Do you know how much this vacation costs?!" I believe this is why theme parks can bring out the worst in people. To the perpetrators of these crimes, I would suggest resting when one is tired especially with young children, enjoy the moment without anticipation of the next thing, remember that not everything will go perfectly, and realize that most people paid the same amount for their admission and deserve a respectful environment. If anything, common courtesy should be more present because everyone is there to have a good time and it is really the atmosphere of happiness and fun that makes theme parks special. It kills me to see horrid behavior at the places that I love. Sadly, this behavior will never being eliminated, but maybe it can be kept to a minimum with a little more respect on behalf of the theme park goers everywhere. Perhaps I am nostalgic for a McCarthyian family fantasy (pictured, right) that has never existed, but I just want everyone to be happy, respectful, and have a good time.

Beyond the Queue: A Ride Through the Online Theme Park Community

This week, I explored the web in search of quality theme park related websites and blogs in an effort to gain a greater understanding of the online theme park community and enhance the reader's experience at this blog. In this post I will offer a short critique of twenty exceptional theme park news sites, online guides, and fan blogs using the Webby and IMSA criteria for evaluation. Content, structure, visual design, functionality, interactivity, depth, authority, and overall experience will be considered in my assessment. All of these sites can be found in my linkroll (right) in addition to this post. The first site I will address, as it is unique in my findings, is the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions website. The IAAPA (logo, left) "represents more than 4,500 facility, supplier, and individual members from more than 90 countries, including most amusement parks and attractions in the United States." IAAPA's excellent website is extremely comprehensive in its offering of information for industry professionals, however, its weakness is interactivity. It is a great source for information, but that is it. Next up is Webby Award finalist, Theme Park Insider. The site's main attractions are the reader ratings and reviews that help travelers plan their next theme park vacation. Despite the site's usefulness, there are too many advertisements that blend in with the site's substance interfering with easy navigation. Theme Parks Online is another excellent guide site that offers a unique interactive "virtual tour" of the parks which includes photos of each ride, restaurant, shop, and attraction. You can even change the year in which you "visit" the park. Because the site is so interactive, loading times are longer than desired. Also, the site is still a work in progress, so many parks' "virtual tours" are still in development. Ultimate Rollercoaster is a unique guide site that focuses on roller coasters and thrill rides. It contains extensive reviews and stats for coasters across the country as well as a nice feature chronicling the history of roller coasters across the 20th century. This great site has very little weaknesses, I might suggest enhancing the park guide section to compliment the coaster section. Moving on from the guide sites, we have the news and community sites.

My favorite theme park news site is Screamscape: The Ultimate Guide to Theme Parks. The name is deceiving as it is not really a guide so much as it is a daily listing of theme park related news, constructions reports, and rumors. The visual design could definitely be enhanced, it is very minimalist, but the quality and expansive daily updates more than make for its shortcomings. Coaster Buzz is a visually pleasing and easy to navigate site offering the latest roller coaster news as well as providing stats and basic information for roller coasters and parks across the world. Though nicely presented, the site's information could be a bit more comprehensive. For the Disney fanatic, there is Laughing Place, an expansive site "Connecting Disney Fans Across the World." News, park guides, blogs, special features, games, podcasts, a radio, and much more make up this diverse site. While the content is great, it could definitely benefit from a better organization of information and links to keep the reader from getting overwhelmed. Theme Park Review and Westcoaster are two community sites with the main feature of an active, high traffic, discussion forum. Both sites also provides trip reports, photo updates, and videos. Theme Park Review also contains news updates and park reviews, but has a bland visual design. Westcoaster, on the other hand, has excellent visual design and includes original blog entries, but could be improved with news updates and park reviews. The two sites could learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses and become two superior web destinations. Another unique site is Coaster Fanatics which contains a detailed roller coaster database and allows users to rate and keep track of their favorite coasters (user rating profile pictured, right). This is an excellently constructed site and I see little room for improvement except for the fact that it's news archive appears to stop at March 2008 and is in need of updating. Thrill Network is another diverse community site with a forum, news update, park database, and the unique features of an industry job listings section and a feature where members can share virtual roller coasters designed in programs such as Roller Coaster Tycoon. This is another site, though, that seems to have too much going on and could benefit from cleaner visual design and better organization. Bordering on news site and blog is About.Com: Theme Parks where the writer, Arthur Levine, offers his own commentary on industry news. I commented on this blog in a previous post. The strength of this site is Levine's personal commentary, everything else could use improvement, especially the structure and interactivity. Mouse Planet is a nice site offering basic Disney park guides, news, trip reports, blogs, a podcast, a forum, and more. The visual design is bland and the pages load slowly, but the jewel of this site is the large blog section offering original articles written by a diverse team of industry professionals and enthusiasts. That will lead us in to a series of outstanding blogs I discovered while searching the web.

The first blog I found is Coaster Radio Blog. It is the companion blog to the internet's first theme park related podcast. Though aesthetically pleasing and covering a wide variety of theme park related topics, many of the posts are a bit too short and lacking in substance. Less visually appealing is Jim Hill Media. This blog offers excellent, original, mostly Disney related posts. Jim Hill must have inside Disney connections because the blog is often first to report significant Disney news. The Disney Obsession is one of my new favorite blogs. The focus of this site is not news based. The writer, a self-proclaimed "Disney obsessive compulsive," passionately posts on personal observations about the Disney parks which makes for an interesting and often emotional read. Another excellent Disney blog is, appropriately titled, The Disney Blog, a source of Disney news and information for fans by fans. Despite being timely and informative, there are too many advertisements on this site for my taste and the posts do not promote reader discussion. Rounding out the Disney related blogs is Re-Imagineering. This is a unique forum where Disney and Pixar professionals discuss imagineering missteps and solutions. The posts are often controversial and lead to passionate debates on the site. Thrill Holder is a blog where writer/park enthusiast, Will Holder, offers his unique commentary on the theme park industry. The posts are excellent, however, it is not updated with frequency, in fact, the last post is from June. The last blog I found is the award-winning The Coaster Critic. The Coaster Critic offers his opinion on recent theme park news while also providing reviews of parks and coasters. It is a well-designed blog, however, I think the posts could be a bit longer and meatier. Overall, I hope this will be a useful supplement to my blog and will peak readers' further interest in the online theme park community.