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.
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.
1 comment:
I think you have done an excellent job in choosing a timely and relevant topic. Your post sheds light the most recent events in the world of theme parks, especially for those of us who may be less informed. First, your introduction does a fine job of segueing from background information on the upcoming rides to your opinions on the topic. I love your reference to George Orwell in the title and introduction. But perhaps think of a smoother transition from this to your thesis than, "Anyway, the description..." Furthermore, your inclusion of examples of other roller coasters, such as, “Thorpe Park's new Saw themed coaster” truly clarifies your points. Also, great job of linking to the external sites that discuss the movies and rides. This makes your blog an interactive entertaining and informational experience. One thing you could do is to reference your graphics in your writing so they help prove whatever point you are arguing. Also, I am unsure if the quotes need to be italicized, unless you'd like add further more emphasis to a particular point.
You are quite astute at presenting your individual opinion on the subject matter, which I think will truly engage the other bloggers with whom you are interacting. Perhaps to vivify and enliven your writing you might consider less use of the verb "to be" and introduce a larger variety of action verbs. Also, simple word choice changes such as replacing the word "analyzing" with the word "analysis" when you say "Thank you for your astute analyzing of Magic Mountain's new Terminator coaster," will add a more professional and authoritative tone to your blog.
Overall you have produced an entertaining and insightful blog and you have managed to make keep the discussion accessible even to people who might be less knowledgeable of this topic. I look forward to reading your next post!
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