In our attempts to further and update the concept of the carnival ride, in collaboration with Dr. Nick Lazowicz, we at Team Mist have come upon an interesting concept. A concept that encompasses all of the points that Dr. Lazowicz had strived to achieve in each of his attractions: excitement, interactivity, and unpredictability. With these three concepts in mind, we have come up with a suitable update to a classic carnival staple. Ladies and gentlemen, may we present to you
The Dynamic Rollercoaster
The Dynamic Rollercoaster basically takes a lot of concepts found in carnivals and steps it up a notch. Using the classic wild mouse as a basis, the Dynamic Rollercoaster adds interactivity, unpredictability, and a general air of mystery, into the mix to create an unforgettable experience not seen in a carnival setting before. Let’s take a look at the ride experience from the perspective of a rider.
The Experience
The first thing guests will notice upon reaching the attraction is the very large red and yellow striped circus tent that serves as the ride’s complex. Really the only parts of the ride that can be seen from the outside are load and unload, and a few spots where the coaster quickly peaks out of the tent towards the top. The load area sits to the right of the tent, right against the tent. Cars of excited guests exit load and turn into the darkness of the tent through its’ wide-open front entrance.
Upon entering the tent, each car immediately begins going up a lift hill. This lift hill is basically enclosed, with simple screens on each side. As the cars ascend various targets featuring clowns and other various circus staples show up on the screen. Guests may shoot them for points. Depending on what targets are shot, the cars can go in one of two ways. Using new totally top secret technology, a track switcher at the top of the lift hill is able to quickly put the cars on one of two tracks. Both lead to somewhat different experiences. Both tracks open up into the main part of the tent.
The tent is mostly dark with a lot of strobe lights and lasers flashing about. In various parts of the room, more circus images are projected. The track layout is basically a spaghetti bowl made up of the two track layouts. After the whirlwind journey through, and occasionally outside, the circus tent, the tracks once again converge, leading to mid-brake run disguised as another shooting section.
Following the second shooting section, the ride goes into a second much smaller coaster section, leading to the bottom of the tent, and out the side, back to load. Guests may then exit and claim their prize, if they earned enough points.
The Technology
The technology of this new ride system is rather interesting. Starting with the ride vehicles, each car looks pretty much identical to any other wild mouse: two rows of two in a pretty generic fiberglass shell. However, attached to each seat is a blaster, which looks similar to the guns in Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (actual triggers were chosen rather than a pull-string as the nature of the coaster might make it difficult to shoot with the pull-string.) This is a simple infrared shooting gallery-style system present in many rides already. Guests can win prizes at the end of the ride, but this will be detailed in the “game” section of the presentation.
As certain targets are hit, the track will actually change. There are two tracks in the ride, both entirely different. There isn’t one track that is more thrilling than the other, they really just lead to different ride experiences. The technology of this aspect of the ride is what really makes this attraction exciting. New technologies have allowed us to design the ride in such a way that the tracks can switch very quickly, allowing the ride to have a normal regular capacity without being hindered by these track switches. Naturally, the attraction’s computer system makes sure that there are not too many cars on one track. Think of this attraction as a prototype for this new track switching technology.
Though the second half of the ride is on one track, this is remedied by an extended brake run about ⅔ through the ride. Of course, this is masked by the ride’s second shooting section. All in all, the ride experience is about two minutes long - one of the longest attractions found in any carnival.
The actual roller coaster is a simple update and tweaking of the classic wild mouse. We’ve smoothed out the turns a bit, and allowed for some bigger drops, but this is still the classic wild mouse at heart.
Theming technology is rather simplistic. We’ve made use of screens and simple project mapping, as well as classic strobe lights and lasers present in a lot of other attractions. It’s as practical as it is effective.
The Game
As briefly mentioned above, this attraction also double as a carnival game. Guests are allowed to shoot targets, which not only changes the track towards the beginning, but also make them eligible to win real physical prizes at the end of the ride. Should guests reach the (naturally high) number set to win a prize, they may choose from a small stand next to the exit. We feel that this, coupled with our track switching technology, not only adds incentive to ride, but also increases re-rideability exponentially as guests would both want to ride again for the different experience, but also for the chance at a different, or bigger, prize.
This is not necessarily a necessary part of the attraction, and vendors may choose to not offer prizes, but we feel that the prizes at the end really meld all of the aspects of the carnival into quintessential experience.
A Ride for All Seasons
Our Dynamic Rollercoaster system is exactly as its’ name implies - dynamic. In all aspects, really. The hypothetical ride through we presented above shows a ride through a classic circus setting. However, that is only one theme for this ride. We have designed this ride with at least five different themes in mind. Guests could be sent on a whirlwind journey through a kooky circus, or brought through a frightening forest, or even the middle of a biergarten during the middle of Oktoberfest. The possibilities are endless, and they all come programmed into the show system, changing every aspect of the ride’s theme, from the lighting to the projections. A vendor can simply program the ride to display what preprogrammed theme they would like the attraction to have. They may even order a different colored tent than the one we presented in our earlier example, if they so desired. And, our team is designing new programs for our Dynamic Coaster system as frequently as we can think of them, and as frequently vendors ask for them.
The possibilities truly are endless.
The Sell
Of course, I’m sure you all have questions. This certainly does seem complicated for a simple carnival, but I assure you that we’ve made sure that this attraction is easily moveable, and just as easy to strike as it is to construct. In reality, this is no more complicated to transport than many of the larger carnival rides seen in Europe (such as Olympia Looping, and Hollenblitz.) We do not try to hide the fact that this is a ride designed for bigger carnivals, but this is most certainly a carnival ride at heart.
With both dynamic theming, and an incredibly dynamic layout, we’ve created the quintessential carnival coaster that will soon become one of the most popular attractions on the market.
Thank you for reading and enjoy the rest of our presentation.
