Team Villains - Stanza V: Patch 'Em Up

[D Hulk]

STEEPLECHASE PIER
(formerly Adventure Pier)​

As it stands, Adventure Pier is almost entirely barren with the exception of their highly worthwhile Great White wooden coaster. To revitalize the rest of this forgotten pier, Coney’s Steeplechase Park provides the inspiration. Contrasted to Dream Pier and Luna Pier, décor here is more subdued and industrial, albeit with the same whitewash & popcorn bulb style.

Steeplechase Race: This is a racing launched Vekoma motorbike coaster (the first of its kind in the world), meant as a modern compliment to the original steeplechase ride. This replaces the up-charge Grand Prix Raceway go-kart track, with additional coaster layout intertwining with The Great White out over the sands. Ride vehicles resemble horses, much like Knott’s Berry Farm's Pony Express. Steeplechase Race is not themed as a realistic horse race, but rather as a recreation of a vintage ride type complete with similar racecourse murals and fiberglass decorations. Anticipated budget: $20 million.

Fire & Flames: Replacing Luna’s Lost Labyrinth (a wholly valueless walkthrough) is a headlining 4D interactive dark ride. The ride’s premise recruits guests as seaside firefighters, with inspiration coming from the many, many historic fires which plagued 1900s Coney Island. Guests station (& queue) in a recreation of Steeplechase Park’s Pavilion of Fun, full of vintage firefighting displays. The ride, largely set below grade under the pier, has guests manning fire hose “guns,” blasting flames and saving the park. Scenery is a combination of practical and screen-based. Sally Corp provides the ride design, Oceaneering the ride vehicles, and the $20 million budget is similar to installations like Justice League: Battle for Metropolis.

These two headliners should serve as an anchor for Morey’s southernmost pier. In addition, Steeplechase Pier receives the relocated Doo Wopper coaster, redecorated as a Virginia Reel. The Great White, presently bare wood, is whitewashed and dressed in blinking lightbulbs. It also receives Coney-style fiberglass shark statues which “swallow” the coaster trains at different parts of the ride.

With space on this pier still underutilized, a few additional low-budget flat rides are added. Rides such as The Whip or Scenic Spiral or Human Roulette Wheel add great kinetic appeal while simultaneously harking back to Steeplechase Park’s 1907 heyday.

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So, that’s an overview on the Morey’s Piers budgeting and redevelopment plan. Honestly, apart from further developing the hotel I don’t think the final presentation should get any longer than this. It would want some custom imagery, which is something I’d rather develop after we’ve had a deeper look at the other 3 parks.​

 

[D Hulk]

This seems awesome, but it is also so similar to the rest of the park that it would almost be indistinguishable. Dollywood at its core is about preservation of the Smokey Mountains. This idea may be a long shot, but what if the train takes us to Dollywood's sci-fi land. (Most of the Disney parks try to have a sci-fi land, a medieval/fantasy land, a wild unkept land, and a nostalgia land). There are two ways to play this

• Good future. Mankind has a great relationship with the natural world and its like a utopia. What we should strive for. Sort of like Pandora.
• Bad future. Mankind has bad relationship with natural world and it is like an apocolypse. What we should avoid. Fallout-y aesthetics.

Tell me more about Dollywood's sci-fi area. What attractions are you picturing?

As it stands I'm not quite picturing it, perhaps because Dollywood doesn't really yet have the thematic division of Disneyland. The whole park seems a combo of "wild unkempt" and "nostalgia," so something without those elements might be straying too far from their mission statement.

 

[kmbmw777]

Tell me more about Dollywood's sci-fi area. What attractions are you picturing?

As it stands I'm not quite picturing it, perhaps because Dollywood doesn't really yet have the thematic division of Disneyland. The whole park seems a combo of "wild unkempt" and "nostalgia," so something without those elements might be straying too far from their mission statement.

For the optimistic vision of the future, I was thinking something similar to Pandora. Still a focus on the beautiful nature elements but with lots of technology to monitor and hep the region survive.

 

[AceAstro]

What if for Kennywood we truly play up the “Historical Park” aspect. Here’s a picture of my local one (complete with dirt roads).

I think it has similar aspects to Main Street, but if we make it a “Steel Town” (complete with the Steel Factory RMC), I think it could be really successful as an expansion.

 

[D Hulk]

For the optimistic vision of the future, I was thinking something similar to Pandora. Still a focus on the beautiful nature elements but with lots of technology to monitor and hep the region survive.

My immediate thoughts about “Dollywood meets sci-fi” go more into the space western vein rather than utopian. The imagery I’ve found is more Old West than Southern, more Silver Dollar City really. Nonetheless the “used future” look full of rusted beaten tech seems more Dollywood.

It occurs that Silver Dollar City does have a little sci-fi! Time Traveler! It leans heavy into that retro Vernian steampunk vibe, which is a bit of an Armchair Imagineering cliche, but it certainly fits the Hershend brand. Perhaps we could create Hershend’s version of S.E.A. (speaking of cliches) with a land expanding on Time Traveler’s universe.

What if for Kennywood we truly play up the “Historical Park” aspect. Here’s a picture of my local one (complete with dirt roads).

View attachment 350441

I think it has similar aspects to Main Street, but if we make it a “Steel Town” (complete with the Steel Factory RMC), I think it could be really successful as an expansion.

When I referenced Greenfield Village for Kennywood the other day I had something similar in mind. That place has “cast members” playing in character as though it’s still 1895. Historical homes and presentations like glass blowing and metal working and such.

Sounds like you have a grasp on this theme, Ace. You wanna develop this one?

 

[AceAstro]

When I referenced Greenfield Village for Kennywood the other day I had something similar in mind. That place has “cast members” playing in character as though it’s still 1895. Historical homes and presentations like glass blowing and metal working and such.

Sounds like you have a grasp on this theme, Ace. You wanna develop this one?

Absolutely! I’ll start on the basic run-down!

 

[D Hulk]

Regarding Lagoon.

I see the best approach to this park is to use the entire $250 million on a single wholly immersive land generally in the vein of something like WWOHP, and our western dinosaurs notion fits that bill.

This land would need only a few attractions, but ones of the utmost quality. Looking to the past, Potter and Spider-Man shattered the world with unprecedented ride systems complimenting their cool IPs (so will Galaxy’s Edge). The general common thread seems to be Dynamic Attractions. The Dual Powered Coaster option is gone thanks to LEGOLAND, so looking over their ride portfolio here’s something which stands out:



A trackless all-terrain ride vehicle able to go indoors and outdoors! Basically it’s a real driverless Jeep. Picture a drive though the Utah desert encountering exceptional free-roaming dinosaur AAs in the wild! It’s less of a theme park ride and more of a real off-road adventure. We could theme to jeeps, or leek g the Old West tone it could be a stagecoach ride!

Another thought is to use the Fight of Passage vehicle seating (straddling a breathing animal) on a tracked ride. So riding a peaceful dinosaur through a slower dark ride.

Add in some land interactivity, some exceptional shops and food, maybe a C-ticket, and BOOM! Lagoon’s Cretaceous Caverns!

 

[AceAstro]

Regarding Lagoon.

I see the best approach to this park is to use the entire $250 million on a single wholly immersive land generally in the vein of something like WWOHP, and our western dinosaurs notion fits that bill.

This land would need only a few attractions, but ones of the utmost quality. Looking to the past, Potter and Spider-Man shattered the world with unprecedented ride systems complimenting their cool IPs (so will Galaxy’s Edge). The general common thread seems to be Dynamic Attractions. The Dual Powered Coaster option is gone thanks to LEGOLAND, so looking over their ride portfolio here’s something which stands out:



A trackless all-terrain ride vehicle able to go indoors and outdoors! Basically it’s a real driverless Jeep. Picture a drive though the Utah desert encountering exceptional free-roaming dinosaur AAs in the wild! It’s less of a theme park ride and more of a real off-road adventure. We could theme to jeeps, or leek g the Old West tone it could be a stagecoach ride!

Another thought is to use the Fight of Passage vehicle seating (straddling a breathing animal) on a tracked ride. So riding a peaceful dinosaur through a slower dark ride.

Add in some land interactivity, some exceptional shops and food, maybe a C-ticket, and BOOM! Lagoon’s Cretaceous Caverns!

A trackless all-terrain vehicle? That’s amazing!! It could be like Indy but outdoors themed to Dino’s.

I like the idea of the FoP ride vehicle but for Dinosaurs but that’d be my second choice if there was only one “E-Ticket”.

For the flat ride you could do something like a “Dino petting zoo” either through AA’s like the old Triceratops Encounter that was at Universal Orlando or through riding them like you could see in the original Jurassic World.

 

[D Hulk]

What about combining an Old West stunt show with a live animal show...only those animals are dinosaurs?

 

[AceAstro]

What about combining an Old West stunt show with a live animal show...only those animals are dinosaurs?

I like it! Universal has (might not be around due to the refurb) an absolutely incredible Raptor costume where you can’t even tell it’s a human (normally you can see the feet)!

 

[AceAstro]

I threw together a quick map for Kennywood:

The gray is for the new, 5-story parkade would have ~2,500 spots. Expected cost: $10-15 Million.

The purple represents an updated entrance plaza to allow for the new expansion. Expected cost: $5-10 Million.

The brown is for the all-new expansions (wouldn't actually be called Steel Town). Would feature a small town complete with a mini baseball diamond, local saloon, and more. End of the road would feature a steel factory to house the RMC T-Rex coaster. Can use the rest of the $225 Million.

Thoughts?

 

[D Hulk]

I threw together a quick map for Kennywood:
View attachment 350475

The gray is for the new, 5-story parkade would have ~2,500 spots. Expected cost: $10-15 Million.

The purple represents an updated entrance plaza to allow for the new expansion. Expected cost: $5-10 Million.

The brown is for the all-new expansions (wouldn't actually be called Steel Town). Would feature a small town complete with a mini baseball diamond, local saloon, and more. End of the road would feature a steel factory to house the RMC T-Rex coaster. Can use the rest of the $225 Million.

Thoughts?

Your proposal looks very solid. Knowing the site, which is very hilly, I’ll mostly comment on that.

You see that green corridor which divides the parking lot? Everything on the far left side of that is upslope by several stories, so much so that Kennywood currently uses a ski lift to transport guests from that level. I propose you build the 5-floor structure alongside the hill and connect them with pedestrian bridges. The structure roof would be at the hilltop level, so hilltop guests can use the structure’s escalators to get down now.

The lot budget seems low. The average cost-per-car for a structure in 2018 was ~$20,000, which at 2,500 cars would be $50 million. This eats away land budget, but I think that’s fine.

If you’re not calling it Steel Town, what about Iron City? (Sorry, I saw Alita: Battle Angel last night. But it IS a Pittsburgh nickname!) The land concept is solid. The factory RMC would attract thrill-seekers. What if anything beyond the historic ambiance would attract families?

Also, we could extend the land further left into the green areas. This is steep slope upwards, so give your RMC some terrain coaster features.

 

[D Hulk]

Also, it occurs to me that the side of the parking structure will be visible from within Kennywood, particularly from their Lost Kennywood trolley park land. Let’s dress it up (perhaps soften it with a vertical garden) to minimize visual intrusion.

 

[kmbmw777]

My immediate thoughts about “Dollywood meets sci-fi” go more into the space western vein rather than utopian. The imagery I’ve found is more Old West than Southern, more Silver Dollar City really. Nonetheless the “used future” look full of rusted beaten tech seems more Dollywood.

This whole aesthetic seems really interesting, and it would be awesome to use this plot of land to make it. Especially if we can find a way to connect it to Silver Dollar City (though if the heroes destroy that ride in their renovations...)

For backstory, I was thinking it could be the Smokey Mountains in the year 2050 after the worlds gone to hell and back.

 

[D Hulk]

This whole aesthetic seems really interesting, and it would be awesome to use this plot of land to make it. Especially if we can find a way to connect it to Silver Dollar City (though if the heroes destroy that ride in their renovations...)

For backstory, I was thinking it could be the Smokey Mountains in the year 2050 after the worlds gone to hell and back.

Run with these ideas! They sound promising.

If Team Heroes destroys 2018’s Time Traveler, they are fools of the highest caliber.

Incidentally, here’s what I found really quickly on Time Traveler’s backstory in case you can incorporate it. Remember that Time Traveler is set in the 19th century Old West.

The ride is themed to the narrative of the fictional character, Charles Henry, and his recent acquisition of the clockmaker family business.[27] Henry, inspired by science fiction works of Jules Verne, set out tinkering with the idea of making the world better through the invention of time travel. In accordance with the phrase "dream big, do good" created for the ride, Henry along with his daughter, Emmaline, went onto create the time traveling device that would highlight human abilities and provide the best decisions for humanity through the alteration of time.

 

[kmbmw777]

Run with these ideas! They sound promising.

If Team Heroes destroys 2018’s Time Traveler, they are fools of the highest caliber.

Incidentally, here’s what I found really quickly on Time Traveler’s backstory in case you can incorporate it. Remember that Time Traveler is set in the 19th century Old West.

Interesting - I'll read about it and write something up by tonight.

 

[AceAstro]

Your proposal looks very solid. Knowing the site, which is very hilly, I’ll mostly comment on that.

You see that green corridor which divides the parking lot? Everything on the far left side of that is upslope by several stories, so much so that Kennywood currently uses a ski lift to transport guests from that level. I propose you build the 5-floor structure alongside the hill and connect them with pedestrian bridges. The structure roof would be at the hilltop level, so hilltop guests can use the structure’s escalators to get down now.

The lot budget seems low. The average cost-per-car for a structure in 2018 was ~$20,000, which at 2,500 cars would be $50 million. This eats away land budget, but I think that’s fine.

If you’re not calling it Steel Town, what about Iron City? (Sorry, I saw Alita: Battle Angel last night. But it IS a Pittsburgh nickname!) The land concept is solid. The factory RMC would attract thrill-seekers. What if anything beyond the historic ambiance would attract families?

Also, we could extend the land further left into the green areas. This is steep slope upwards, so give your RMC some terrain coaster features.

This is great advice (same with the garage theming). I like the idea of Iron City as well for the name.

I haven’t quite figured out a flat ride/ dark ride for the area but I was thinking the mini baseball diamond could have shows similar to the Red Car Trolley Boys at DCA. On top of that, maybe some sort of show in the local saloon?

 

[D Hulk]

This is great advice (same with the garage theming). I like the idea of Iron City as well for the name.

I haven’t quite figured out a flat ride/ dark ride for the area but I was thinking the mini baseball diamond could have shows similar to the Red Car Trolley Boys at DCA. On top of that, maybe some sort of show in the local saloon?

Good ideas.

A thought for incorporating trolleys (which ties us back to Kennywood’s 1899 founding):

How about a trolley simulation ride? Monongahela Street Railway. Similar to Hogwarts Express it would transport guests between Iron City to the rest of Kennywood (this passing under Kennywood Blvd. - in addition to the revamped pedestrian tunnel). Screens on the trolley could depict turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh and dramatize the ride out from the city to the park.

As for dark rides...all I’m thinking off right now are A) a boat dark ride along the Ohio River and it’s industrial sites circa 1900, or B) a coal mine dark ride. Neither one is wowing me.

 

[D Hulk]

Some budget modifications to Morey’s Piers:

I’d originally budgeted Morey’s Doo Wop Hotel at $100 million for 500 rooms, which seems excessive. Halving the room count to 250 puts it more in line with a regional resort like Dollywood’s DreamMore (300 rooms).

This means the rooms cost $50 million, plus $10 million for Wildwood property and $15 million for common areas. $75 million total hotel cost.

Meaning the $40 million once earmarked for general pier aesthetic improvements can now balloon to $65 million. This seems more realistic.

 

[Suchomimus]

I just found this recently.