Adventureland & Worlds of Fun

It's high time I reviewed some parks, so here goes.

On Memorial Day, I visited Adventureland near Des Moines, Iowa. An independent park with a great charm and atmosphere, and a nice selection of rides. First impressions were of a very clean park, sticking to the tradional American amusement park formula of a Main Street section, which then branches out in to the main park area itself. I do love parks like this which keep a little bit of charm and innocence. They feel much less overbearing than the big chain parks, and much more welcoming.

The entrance to Adventureland

The first stop on my visit was a unique coaster called simply "Underground". It's a small wooden ride designed to recreate the feeling of an underground mine (even though the actual ride stays entirely above ground in enclosed sections). 

The Underground coaster

Awaiting instructions from the animatronics!

It featured a couple of small drops and winding track to simulate a ride through the mine. It's a good little ride for families, but bigger thrillseekers will be looking at the 3 larger rollercoasters inside the park. The Outlaw rollercoaster at the back of the park is a fun-filled woodie with some nice pops of airtime, and a compact layout with several crossovers. Apart from the ride, which was pretty good, the great crew of Circus Bill and Co. put everyone in a good mood before the high speed run through several twists, turns and hills!

The first drop of Outlaw.

Circus Bill himself!

The other two rollercoasters in the park share a white paint job, but that's where the similarity ends. The park's largest woodie, Tornado, is over half a mile of big hills, skirting the western edge of the park. There's not much airtime, but the ride is fast, bumpy and definitely gets the adrenaline going. The fourth coaster, Dragon, is a double looping affair, which forces you to hang on for dear life through two vertical loops and a fast ground hugging helix, which takes you back to the station in unrelenting fashion after pinning you to your seat for a good few seconds. Not for those who like their rides on the smoother side!

The train on Tornado dives down the the second drop of the ride (pictured rear).

Dragon's train going through the second of two powerful vertical loops.

Despite a tame start, the second you leave the lift hill, you are praying for a swift finish!

Pictured from the Tornado's station, the final helix of Dragon doesn't show any mercy.

Tornado also had a fun crew getting everyone excited for the ride ahead.

Apart from the big rollercoasters, the park also has a good selection of water rides. Ideal on a hot day to cool you down! Along with a raft ride, there's a rapids ride with a few sections which will leave you wet or soaking wet, and a log flume with a couple of drops guaranteed to leave you soaking wet.

Saw Mill Splash will be familiar to frequenters of Thorpe Park who have been on Storm Surge - it's a spinning inflatable raft ride which drops you into the water after a short run down a chute.

And once you've been drenched, there's two tower rides to help dry you off. Storm Chaser (below left) is a modern take on the old chair swing rides you know and love, taking you up nearly 200ft for a high flying spin over the park, with just a lap bar to hold you in. If that doesn't get your pulse racing or your clothes dry, there's a big short tower just a short walk away (below right), which launches you up 200ft at 60 miles per hour. And if you think it looks like the Ice Blast/Playstation ride at Blackpool, you're right. It's exactly identical. In fact, the S&S Shot Tower is one of the most popular modern rides in amusement parks today, giving huge thrills in a space which would fit in most people's back yards. There are hundreds of these rides around the world, and once you ride one, you can see why they're so popular.

There's no shortage of traditional rides either. Ferris wheel, swinging ship, chairlift, tilt-a-whirl, you name it, Adventureland's probably got it. This mix of old meets new only adds to the pleasant atmosphere of the place. Add in some handy shade tunnels to escape the worst of the heat on super hot days, and this is a park which can offer a great selection of rides for all the family.

If I were to be critical, the park could use a newer rollercoaster (the last coaster to be built there was in 1996, and nearly 20 years without a new rollercoaster is a long time in theme park terms), but for 99% of the people who visit, there's really nothing too much wrong with the ones they have. Yes, there are bigger and better rides elsewhere, but the park's ambiance really makes up for any deficiencies in their coaster selection.




Thanks to a quiet day at Adventureland, helped by good operations, I was able to head over the Kansas City early, and catch a few hours at Worlds Of Fun, in Kansas City, Missouri. A very different park to Adventureland, it's owned by the big American park chain Cedar Fair, responsible for some of the most exciting rides in the land.

Sadly for me, almost none of them are at Worlds of Fun. Now, I should point out this is the enthusiast in me talking somewhat - once you ride several hundred coasters and visit a few hundred theme parks, you don't like to settle for much less than the best. I'm also very well aware that my opinion certainly doesn't reflect the other 99.9% of people who go there. Parks are there to cater for everyone, not just enthusiasts. But I am an enthusiast, and I will be honest in my review.

From a business point of view, as an operation, the park is very slick. The staff look very professional, and go about their job in a very professional way. The park is very clean, and the rides are well looked after, which gives off a very clean cut corporate image.

The park's inverted coaster. Not a bad ride, and operated very efficiently

Patriot features four different inversions, and a number of a fast swooping turns.

However, with the knowledge of what their flagship park Cedar Point is like, it left me a bit disappointed that the great atmosphere of that park isn't replicated here. The staff, as efficient as they are, are quite robotic in the way they go about their work. They can't be entirely blamed for how they work -  management must be responsible too. But I wish they had more of the human touch to make the day feel special.

 A quick example - on entering the theme park, I showed my pass and was asked for my surname, as part of the validation process. But I didn't get a "thank you", or "enjoy your day" after the check was completed. It's little things like this - first impressions - that really set the tone of your visit. A nice word makes you feel welcome, after all you're coming to amusement park, not a prison.

It also doesn't help that the park has some very average coasters which don't do their fact sheets any justice. Mamba, a hyper coaster which takes riders over 200 feet in the air and drops them at 75 miles per hour left me bored out of my skull. Again, it's not a bad ride. It just isn't a very good one.

The same goes for the Boomerang coaster. This ride you'll be seeing a lot of in these reports, because it's a very successful design. Packing in a 125ft tall climb, a total of three inversions repeated forwards and backwards to make a total of six upside down moments, it really does cram a lot in to a small footprint. But like a lot of this ride's clones, it does its job with club feet. I've certainly done worse, but also done better. And again, after you ride this ride many times in many different places, it's more a case of box ticking than a brand new ride to get excited about.

Mamba: Big ride, but very boring for me.

Boomerang. One of the most copied coaster rides in the world.

However, one small corner of the park does have a ride which really stands out for all the right reasons. Prowler, a wooden coaster built by Great Coasters International was a fine way to end a two hour blast round the park that night. GCI are well regarded for building fast and smooth coasters, and this was fast, smooth, and felt fantastic. The crew operating the ride were also having fun, and still being efficient and safe.

The last (and best) ride of the day.

Prowler is buried deep in the woods, so it's hard to get a good photo from the ground.

Whilst riding Prowler, I got chatting to a couple of locals to get their take on the park. Kyle and Kate both live nearby, and we all thought that while the park had some great rides, it could be a bit more special. And it wouldn't take much to do.

We agreed that overall, park employees are simply not paid enough for the jobs they do, especially those who are directly responsible for customers' safety on rides, which can have an effect on morale, performance, and so on. But with better management, this is something which would not take much to remedy.

Forget me - Kyle and Kate are just some of the people who really keep theme parks going.

The next morning, I quickly revisited the park to do a few of the things I missed out on the night before. The Spinning Dragons rollercoaster, the Steelhawk Windseeker ride (a taller version of Storm Chaser at Adventureland) and the Dinosaurs Alive walkthrough were all done in the space of an hour or so, along with a quick re-ride of Prowler.

Spinning Dragons is popular with kids and big kids alike. But not for those with a weak stomach!

Steelhawk. 301 feet tall. In layman's terms, a very tall ride!

Dinosaurs not alive. But still looking scary!

These two parks go to prove that you can spend millions of dollars on big rides, but there's no substitute for good atmosphere. Worlds Of Fun could be a great park, but it could do with taking a leaf out of smaller parks like Adventureland, and it's flagship sister park to find the charm it's missing.

What makes a great theme park?

After my last blog post, I've been doing amusement parks almost non stop. From the small family run establishments, to the big parks of the Six Flags and Cedar Fair corporations, there's been a mix of many different parks, with many different attractions.

Since Saturday, I've been travelling with three friends. Darren, from Banbury, Ben, from London, and Taylor, from Windsor, Ontario. We all met through a website called Coaster Force, where enthusiasts gather online to chat about theme parks, rollercoasters and thrill rides. Last year, we decided to take a trip to the US for 3 weeks to hit up some of the best theme parks the country has to offer.

Cliff's Amusement Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico is a small, independent park that can cater for families and thrillseekers alike with a good selection of classic rides, to their marquee attraction, the New Mexico Rattler.

We all have differing tastes in what rides and parks we like, but we all know what makes a good park, and what doesn't. The first thing to say here is that it takes an awful lot for an amusement park to be considered bad. There's not many, if any places that we would tell people to outright avoid, but after a discussion in the car, there's a few things that we all agree are essential in the making of a great theme park.

First Impressions

Prior research aside, the arrival at a park can leave a big impression on the sort of day you'll have. The first person you see or speak to, be that the person directing you to your parking place, the person checking your bag, or the person taking your money or checking you ticket the gate should make you feel special, like they want you to be there. And they should want you to, After all, you've made the effort to be there!

Whilst some parks are lucky to have a big attraction on their skyline to build the anticipation as you approach, other parks don't have that luxury. Alton Towers, for example, has planning restrictions which prohibit any construction above the height of the trees. But the monorail which takes you from the main parking area to the front entrance carries you over some of their flagship attractions to build the excitement.

At over 300ft tall, Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland can be seen for miles around before you even get to the park.

Regardless of whether you're going on a quiet midweek day, or a prime holiday weekend, there shouldn't ever be an excessive wait to get in to the park. A lot of this comes down to good management, which I'll touch on later. I've waited at some parks for longer than should be happening, and while there's always going to peak periods when people arrive (I've always advise getting to a busy park first thing to maximise your day), there's no excuse for making people wait longer than need be.

Six Flags New England has an entrance which looks great, and really builds the anticipation before you set foot inside. And on a busy day, there were plenty of staff at the gates to get people inside without a long wait.

Cleanliness

You wouldn't want someone to see your house looking like a landfill, and theme parks don't want to have the public see their properties as one either. From the moment you enter, to the queue lines, the toilets, the restaurants, and everything in between, good presentation is a must. What this constitutes can vary from park to park depending on their get up, but when you see litter, graffiti, used chewing gum, cigarette butts, dirty restrooms and the like, it makes you wonder about how much the park really cares about their image, and how the guests see them.

Not every park needs to be as sterile as a hospital waiting room, but as long everything looks good, regardless of theme or type, it will leave guests thinking that the park cares about it's attractions, and consequently, care about the people using them.

The main concourse after the turnstiles at Elitch Gardens in Denver, Colorado. Spotlessly clean.

Operations

If a park is run well, you won't be waiting excessive times for anything. From rides to food outlets and games, everything should be operated promptly and safely. Parks are under pressure to do everything in proportion to make sure they don't overspend their budgets (it's a business after all), but even from quiet days to peak summer season periods, no one wants to wait longer than they have to.

Some parks will offer guests the opportunity to buy a fast pass for their attractions, which enables them to bypass the main queue in order to reduce their waiting time for a ride. But this has to be managed in proportion with the main queue line, to be fair on the guests who have chosen to take the normal queue, and those who have chosen to purchase a fast pass. Disney parks even offer a free fast pass system, which allots guests a ticket with a one hour time window in which to return to a ride, enabling them to visit other attractions before returning with their fast pass ticket to ride that attraction.

Patriot at Worlds Of Fun in Kansas City, is a an example of a ride with a fast pass system operated efficiently to maximise throughput for all guests.

Once at the ride station, it's easy to see how well a ride is being run by the length of time it took you to get there, and how quickly the operators are able to load, unload, and dispatch a ride. There will be situations that can't be helped, such as a guest who has thrown up their lunch while riding. But even so, these scenarios should have a plan to deal with the issue, and resolve it without causing any undue delay whilst not compromising on safety. I've seen wonderfully efficient crews who work brilliantly to keep the queue line moving, and I've also seen terrible operations where crews are slow, and don't look the least bit interested in what they're doing.

For that second point above, there is simply no excuse. This also goes for restaurants: for example, if you order hot food, and it comes out cold, you know there's a problem with the operations.

Despite being the newest attraction with the biggest queue, the efficient operations meant that Wicked Cyclone at Six Flags New England kept people happy with the wait in line, and even happier when on the ride.

Rides & Attractions

As an enthusiast, I'm much more picky than most about what I think constitutes a good ride. But irrespective of an enthusiast's point of view, amusement parks have to cater for a wide range of social demographics, and offer rides which will entertain old and young alike to maximise who they can attract to their property.

Six Flags Great America is renowned for huge cutting edge rides, but they still entertain classic attractions, such as the Whizzer, which don't leave out out younger people, and allow more families to ride together.

Some parks do this better than others, and the best parks will offer something for everybody, whether you're on a school day out, with your family, with your friends, or even by yourself. Yes, there are certain parks which choose to cater for one demographic more than another, and that's their business decision to do so. That's another discussion to have on another day about whether it works or not. But because the largest and most successful parks have greater diversity in their attractions, they have greater power to market that accordingly, and thus attract more people.

Bizarro at Six Flags New England has an imposing structure, great capacity, great selling points for thrillseekers, and a truly memorable ride.

There's one thing that underpins everything above:

Great Management

Management at all levels, needs to be connected well to its employees, and its guests. The management at the very top need to know their raison d'etre like the back of their hand. If there isn't strong and confident direction from the very top, it can make life very difficult for those underneath to carry out their roles the best they can. And whilst this works both ways, it's the responsibility of management to manage, and do it well. If a park makes you feel welcome, looks clean and presentable, operates its ride and gastronomical attraction efficiently, makes employees happy and want to work, and makes its guests happy and want to return, that will be down to great management.

If any of the the points I've listed are not as they should be, then there's a problem with the management which needs to be addressed. If the management doesn't care, the employees won't care, and the public won't care about visiting. Without great management, parks won't fulfil their potential for themselves, their investors, and the customers who are expecting a great day out.

Every amusement park has the potential to be great. Some are already there, some are utterly fantastic, and some do with some helpful pointers to get them going them in the right direction. But without telling a park what you think, they won't know how to make the experience they offer even better.

With all this in mind, I'll be writing as many reviews of the parks we are visiting over the next few months we are visiting to give an honest an unbiased opinion on what we like, and what we think could be improved.

A few thoughts on The Smiler Crash at Alton Towers.

Like everyone, I was very much taken aback by the serious crash that occurred on The Smiler at Alton Towers on Tuesday, and my sympathy goes out to all those involved and connected to the grave events of the day.

In this post, what I'm not going to do is try and establish what went wrong, or why. That is a matter for the investigation which will be determining why the incident took place. There have already been numerous posts online with people saying what may have happened for the crash to occur, which I won't be a party to.

It's only natural for people to speculate, that's human nature. We want to know why an event occurs. What we do know, is that modern rides are very safe. Every moving part on a ride is checked daily, and control systems are put in place designed to keep riders safe, and trains kept apart to avoid this sort of collision. But from previous experience in dealing with incidents where there has been a failing of a system designed to prevent loss or damage of some kind, it is never down to one single decision. There will have been a collective of decisions made which led to the incident in question. We'll need to wait for the findings of the investigation to determine exactly what the cause was.

We all take for granted that going to a theme park is a fun and safe day out, where, despite the notions of fear and danger we can get from going on an extreme ride, you still expect to get off unscathed at the other end, apart from a raised heart rate and the adrenaline coursing through your body. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for 16 people, who have had to endure, and are still recovering (some with serious injuries) from an incident which, for whatever the reasons are, shouldn't have happened.

I expected a small minority of the general public to react in complete hysteria, which they did. Given the chequered history of this ride, this was perhaps understandable. The Smiler suffered a delayed opening in 2013, and within a few months of its debut, there were a couple of incidents where parts fell off the ride, and in one case, riders were struck. But this shouldn't alarm people to think that rides are dangerous. If you're naive enough to believe the drivel from some media outlets' take on the crash, then you need to take a good hard look at yourself. I'm certainly not downplaying the gravity of the situation, just not hamming it up for a cheap buck.

A sofa is dangerous if you don't use it correctly, or take liberties while using it. That's why there are adverts warning against the dangers of falling asleep with a lit cigarette while on your couch. Because as unlikely as this may seem, it could happen, but more importantly, it can be prevented. There are huge warning notices at theme park rides to help prevent potential injuries, which is also why their safety record as a whole, is so good.

Which makes The Smiler situation all the more bizarre. An incident of this magnitude on a ride, at a theme park, owned by the second largest operator of visitor attractions worldwide, which prides itself on their safety record, raises questions not only about the ride, but also questions of the management at Alton Towers itself, at all levels. Having worked in a large corporation, and seen how a management structure works (or in some cases doesn't), I wouldn't be surprised if this also had some part to play.

But this is pure speculation. Until the investigations are completed (and this will take some time), there are no definite answers. This is of course, no consolation to those who had to go through this ordeal, and are dealing with the consequences right now.

As morbid as it sounds, and while it shouldn't happen, it often takes a big incident to change culture and perception, and remind all of us of the risks involved. But we aren't put off of driving, despite over 1,700 people dying in road accidents in Britain in 2013.

And we shouldn't be put off of amusement rides despite the tragic events of Tuesday.

Indy 500: The Greatest Spectacle in Racing

I'm going to cut to the chase very quickly on this blog - watching the Indy 500 was one of the best things I've ever done, ever. Even above the theme parks and clubs that I've DJed, which takes a lot of doing. The atmosphere, the fanfare, and the noise of the cars is beyond comprehension. I reverted to a nine-year old for most of the day with a constant "wow" on my face. That's how much I was taken aback by everything.

The walk up to the track was just the tip of the iceberg...

The Brickyard, as it's colloquially known, held it's first 500 mile race in 1911, and over one hundred years since, it has played host to some of the most dramatic races in motor racing history. The track used to be paved with bricks, but was gradually relaid with asphalt, save one yard of bricks which marks the start/finish line. Hence, the "Brickyard".

The sheer scale of the racetrack is truly something to behold. The course itself is 2 and 1/2 miles long in a rectangle shape. The four turns are 1/4 mile each, the long straights are 5/8ths of a mile, and the short straights are 1/8th of a mile. On race day, the circuit can hold up to 400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand) people. The infield doesn't just contain the pit area, there's a musuem, fan areas, and a road course for cars and bikes which don't use the oval circuit. Oh, and there's half a golf course as well.

From left to right: Laura, Chris, Me, Scott, and Laura.

To help navigate this colossal circuit, I met up with my friend Scott,  his brother Chris, and their wives (conveniently both called Laura!) who's been coming to the race since 2001. After meeting them outside the South West corner of the track, we made our way inside, and over to their seats overlooking the apex of Turn 2, which gives a great view from the first turn, right up the back stretch to Turn 3.

The view from the Turn 2 grandstand looking into Turn 1...

...and the view looking along the back stretch to Turn 3.

They were also positioned in front of a giant screen so they could catch the action they couldn't see from their seats (due to the pit complex and infield grandstands, it's not possible to see the entire circuit from any spectator seat). After putting their coolers by their seats and grabbing a beer, we went for a walk to the infield to have a look at the events that are put on for the fans.

One of the drivers has their own beer! Sadly, James Hinchcliffe was injured in a practice crash and wasn't able to race.

Making friends with race fans. Get well soon, Hinch!

Inside, there's a lot of stalls and stages set up by everyone involved with the race, including the circuit itself, and all the sponsors and companies associated with the 500. There's also a place where you can lay an engraved brick with a personal message.

Scott and Chris's brick at the Brickyard (second from bottom)

We managed to catch an interview with Jeff Gordon, the official pace car driver for the day, just under two hours before he was due to jump in the car and pace the field before the race start. Gordon races in NASCAR (the American stock car racing series) and has raced at Indy several times in that series, but this was the nearest he'd got to being in the 500. And by the sound of it, he was really excited to be a part of the race!

Jeff Gordon (right side) talks to fans before driving the pace car.

After a few more more photos near the Pagoda (the race control tower), Gasoline Alley (the garage area where the cars are prepared) and the official race store to buy some merch (I don't need to explain that one), it was time to head back to our seats.

At Gasoline Alley, before we said our goodbyes.

My seat was on the home straight, so I said goodbye to Scott, Craig and the Lauras, and made my way to my position for the next three and a bit hours. After I reached my seat, got chatting to some locals, watched the dedications, the national anthem,and  sang along to "Back Home Again In Indiana", it was time for the race to begin. The traditional call was made by the chairman of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Mari Hulman George. "Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!".

The view from my grandstand looking towards Turn 4.

And going down to the start/finish line and Turn 1. I was seated slightly higher than these photos were taken.

With the cars lined up 3 abreast for the rolling start, the green flag flew, and the race began. Sadly, the race hadn't even reached halfway through the first lap, when an accident brought the yellow flags out, and the pace car was brought out to slow the field down while the mess was cleared away. Despite the fact that the field were cruising around at slow speed, two cars bumped in to each other, delaying the restart even more!

But finally, once everything had calmed down, the race restarted on Lap 13.

Just over 3 hours later, through a blur of 220 mile an hour cars flashing by, pit stop incidents, crashes and hard fought battles, the race was won by Juan Pablo Montoya, who despite being involved in the dramas of the opening laps and falling back to nearly last place, fought his way back to win his second Indy 500, fifteen years after his first triumph. Montoya is one of my favourite drivers, so I was delighted that he was able to take the win.

And with the victory ceremonies complete, that was it. My first Indy 500 was over, but I still remember it like yesterday. I was hooked, entranced and completely put under its spell. Needless to say, it won't be my last.

"The first Indy was definitely the one I remember. It's my favorite race I've ever done. It's the most memorable race I've ever done, for sure. Even more than when I won. I just remember everything about it." - Danica Patrick