In your proposal, you must include the name of the park you are remodeling, a detailed description of the rollercoaster you are adding, and details about changes and additions to the surrounding area that you are doing to make a cohesive theme.
Note: Please feel free to use Worlds of Fun…..the Dinosaurs Alive attraction is due to be built and opened for next season……they are placing it in the woods near Prowler and Boomerang, but Cedar Point, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Dorney Park, and Canada’s Wonderland all have the Dinosaurs Alive attraction already open. If you don’t like these options, you could also choose a different Cedar Fair park and place the Dinosaurs Alive attraction in the park where YOU want it and then fix up the area around it with the roller coaster and other theming.
For this week only, a single map of what you are doing will not be counted as one of your 5 allowed pictures.
The deadline for posting is July 21st at midnight, website time.
(Yup, that's my teaser this week)
"Lisa? Lisa are you there? Uh, what is happening at Dorney Park? Stay tuned for more..."
Discover what danger lurks at Dorney Park's Dinosaurs Alive!
Coming soon...
Step back into time and experience a whole new land in Dorney Park with Dino Plaza. Before, it was known as Dinosaurs! Alive and was a simple up-charge attraction with a few dinosaur statues and animatronics and a short movie about dinosaurs. Where is the fun in that? But with the help of Cedar Fair's profit, Dorney Park will be unveiling a brand new Dino Plaza section of the park! This section will no longer be an up-charge attraction but now an experience included in park admission!
What will this new area feature? Let's see!
- Raptor Rampage - Say hello to Dorney Park's first enclosed roller coaster! While the coaster can be enjoyed by all families, it has some psychological fears that can mess with your head along the way! Do you think you can escape the raptors?
- Dino Bounce - Is your youngster not yet tall enough to brave the bigger rides? Well, they sure can enjoy themselves on this small drop tower located right in a volcano!
- Excavation Palpitation - Where else in Dorney Park can you get giant greasy Dino burgers? Join us at Dino Plaza in this wonderfully themed full-service restaurant.
- T-Rex Trinkets & Treats - Stop by this gift shop for some Dino souvenirs or our famous dinosaur ice cream with wild flavors such a Brontosaurus Blast!
- Asteroid Trail - We felt it was important to preserve the originality of Dinosaurs! Alive so we relocated the original dinosaurs onto a new trail located at the back of the area.
In the back of the park near Steel Force and where the old Dinosaurs! Alive used to be, you will find Dino Plaza. The entrance is through a large rock formation and carved into the rocks are the words "Dino Plaza" so you can easily distinguish the entrance to the area. Surrounding the rock formation/entrance is a dense gathering of trees to hide what guests will experience and help to seemingly separate this area from the rest of the park.
Stepping into the area you will be immersed into the world of dinosaurs! You will find yourself in a large plaza. In the center is a fountain with a brontosaurus smiling and a T-Rex lounging on the brontosaurus' back, grinning. Fountain jets leap around this stone fountain and will allow kids to play in this water area on those insanely hot days. Circling the fountain is many large planters with beautiful trees and flowers in them and benches surrounding the planters because this offers great shade and a place to watch your playing kids.
Dino Bounce
To the upper right of the entrance and plaza, you'll immediately see a volcano structure with a small drop tower peeking out. This is Dino Bounce a awesome adventure for the whole family located in the center of a volcano! As you approach the volcano, you'll see a bright and vibrant sign above the rocky entrance through the volcano of a dinosaur smiling and holding a sign saying "Dino Bounce". The queue is short but takes place through a dimly lit rocky cave. At the end of the cave, guests will see a light and begin to board their frog hopper-like vehicle and begin their awesome dino adventure full of short quick drops and one final one that takes you to the top and let's you see the rest of Dino Plaza.
Raptor Rampage
Facade and Queue
To the upper left of Dino Plaza you will find the star of the show: Raptor Rampage a wild adventure located in a large show building with some dark elements, scary images and quick sudden movements. The facade is tall electrical fences and dense shrubbery and tropical plants. The queue and exit will take place between a break in the fencing where it appears to be torn. The show building is slightly visible above the facade, though mainly hidden. As guests enter the queue through the broken electrical fence, they will be inside the main queue building, which is separate from the larger show building. Inside, guests will zig-zag back and forth through a large dark room themed to a recently abandoned laboratory, filled with cracked computer screens. On some screens, you will see the monitor is still working and on the flickery and cracked screen it says, "RAPTOR HORMONES ACTIVATED". However, the centerpiece of the queue is a table in the center of the room that has a jar with a raptor embryo inside, floating in a goo. After this, guests will pass through a large metal door and enter the loading area in the main show building.
Loading Area
The loading area is a large metal room, themed to a larger extension of the scientific lab: the testing facility. Here you will see many raptor scratch marks on the wall and evidence of turmoil with what they were testing on. Every time a train is dispatched, sirens on the ceiling go off and a loud siren noise fills the whole room. When the sirens aren't going off, guests can hear faint growls of the velociraptors off in the distance. Guests are placed in separate rows as they await for their train. The trains have two cars each and two rows in each car. Each row can fit two people. Once guests are loaded into their seats, the sirens go off and the trains disappear into the darkness...
Show Scene #1
The trains make an immediate right once they depart from the station. The trains come out of the pitch black curve onto a piece of straight track where it appears that they are in the jungle. The trains travel at a small speed through a jungle-like environment where on either side they see the same fences they saw on the facade and the mass of shrubs and tropical plants behind the fence. At the halfway point of the straight track, an audio comes over the riders of a voice telling them to get out of that area because Plan 2.2 has been activated. The fence starts to shake around riders and the bushes do also. The same siren as the loading area goes off and the train makes a small 17 ft drop in complete darkness.
Show Scene #2
The trains make a quick stop in another laboratory setting. The trains come to a complete stop and the laboratory remains still and silent. However, a few seconds later, a raptor shriek comes over the riders. And the lights go out. While the lights are out for a few seconds, riders can hear shrieks of the raptors getting louder and the noises of them running around. The dim lights come back on quickly and a raptor animatronic has appeared (was raised from the floor as the lights were off). It swipes and growls at the trains and moves its head in anger. The lights go off again and the train accelerates out of the lab and onto a slope. Surrounding the lift hill is the jungle environment again and the electric fences. Still figures of Velociraptors appear at the sides of the lift hill, illuminated by strobe lights and given life by growls and shrieks.
Main Coaster Portion
The train accelerates to 15 MPH and crests the lift hill, going down a 30 ft. drop. After the drop, the train makes a quick banked right turn and goes over another hill. It makes a steep drop at the top of this hill and enters a an upward spiraling helix. After the helix, the coaster does two bunny hop hills and one final sharp right turn back into the unload area. All of the coaster elements take place in total darkness.
Unload Area
The train arrives back into the unload area, themed to a fully functioning scientific lab, with no evidence of raptor danger. You are unloaded and exit through a similar metal door as you entered the load area. You exit through a hallway with and emerge in the daylight next to where you entered.
Excavation Palpitation
To the left of the entrance of the entrance to Dino Plaza you will find the Excavation Palpitation restaurant. A sit down restaurant themed to an excavation, but we aren't excavating bones, were digging up some great, greasy burgers! On the outside, the restaurant looks like a large rock wall with scaffolding built in the side and bones embedded in the rock wall, a clear excavation in progress. But on the inside, you will find a beautifully themed sit-down restaurant with a classic assortment of great american food. The stars of the menu are:
- Bronto Burger - A large all-beef burger with Swiss cheese, jalapeños, onion rings, tomatoes and lettuce, all piled on top of the burger patty. - 17.00$
- Velocisalad - Spinach leaves with any choice of dressing, mushrooms, tomatoes, croutons, bacon bits, and of course, onion rings! - 14.25$
- T-Rex-Which - Another massive burger, topped off with a fried egg on top of the burger, lettuce, tomato, muenster cheese - 18.50$
T-Rex Trinkets & Treats
To the immediate right of the entrance and on the opposite end of Excavation Palpitation, you'll find T-Rex Trinkets & Treats. Enter here and on one side of the building you'll find the "trinkets" part. Here you can buy dinosaur toys, mugs, stuffed animals, clothing and other Dorney Park merchandise.
On the other side, you'll find the "treats" part. Stop by, and you'll find many flavors of ice cream, such as Brontosaurus Blast, Spinosaurus Swirl and many other awesome flavors. Or you could go crazy and make it a sundae! Or enjoy our large assortment of cookies, milkshakes and candy!
Asteroid Trail
Straight ahead of the entrance and central fountain and between the Raptor Rampage and Dino Bounce, you will find the entrance to Asteroid Trail. Asteroid Trail is the only up charge attraction located in Dino Plaza. Pay your admission of $5.00 and walk though a trail hidden by trees and shrubbery and see many large dinosaurs and a few animatronic ones! Along the way, you'll learn about each dinosaur on a sign posted in front of each dinosaur. An educational adventure through a forest filled with dinosaurs!
Coming soon!
So join us soon at Dorney Park for the opening of the new Dino Plaza section of the park and discover what happens when you've got to escape from velociraptors!
Whilst Pterodactyls may not technically be classed as dinosaurs anymore, they are still one of the most common "kinds" of dinosaur that your average person on the street will name. Their ability to fly still baffles some scientists today, as according to some models they simply wouldn't be aerodynamic enough to fly unless the atmosphere was different.
On this roller coaster, you'll join a pterodactyl on the hunt for food. Although we can never be too sure with a creature that lived millions of years ago, scientists believe that fish were one of their preferred food sources, along with small lizards and perhaps carrion, depending on the species.
Having Pterodactyl's hunt also adds to the Dinosaur's Alive experience - attempting to show the skies of the Dinosaur world as they would have been.
Retheming - "Orleans Place" and former disused area
Orleans place gets a make over, and becomes "New Berkeley"; based around an American College town; this that has just discovered an anomaly that has given its tourism industry a massive (and unexpected) boost. Buildings are themed to have classic American architecture, and be based on small businesses eager to cash in on the tourist boom their new attraction has brought.
The "New Berkeley" area is intended to be both distinct from the new Dinosaur area, yet act as a fringe/transition area from the nearby All American Corners area to the Dinosaur area and to capitalise on the renewed interest in Science thanks to quantum physics experiments like those at CERN; to this goal it contains both an element of Americana from All American Corners, and sets up the "story" to explain what has made the Dinosaur area accessible. New Berkeley will lead to the starting along the current route that leads to the Picnic Pavilion, but then taking a spur through the existing access road under Flight Deck.
A new simulated hill/ridge is to be built for the area, containing part of the current "Flight Deck" ride. This has the effect of creating a "Curtain" for the Dinosaur attraction, and hiding the unsightly access road connecting various backstage areas and facilities to the south; the road will also be sunken partially (1 Metre/yard or so), and the path leading to the Dinosaur attractions going over the road, but through the mountain to limit the incline that guests have to walk. Additionally the ridge provides a place for the Pterodactyls to soar, gaining hight to allow them to hunt effectively.
The Eastern boundary has a large Timber fence to prevent uncontrolled dinosaurs entering the area. The Northern boundary (with the carpark) can either have this same fence, or the ridge can be extended along here (at the cost of some car-park space) if desired.
The water storage ponds have their surface area slightly reduced, but the depth made deeper (to ensure that there is no loss of water storage space, and to accommodate the Pleosaur.).
Dinosaurs Alive:
Any inclusion of Dinosaurs in a theme park is likely to draw comparisons to Jurassic Park. California's Great America seeks to avoid this by not presenting the Dinosaur "Habitat" as a theme park, but as a discontinuity in space time - it actually is the past in their precinct.
The path around the Dinosaurs Alive attraction leads clockwise from under the Northwest corner, around the top pond and then through the middle of the two ponds. The path then leads through the Dino-Shop on the edge, which then joins the Distortion exit path.
Guests can see the local versions of "Frills, Clubs, Plates", "Ceratopsids", "Predator Trap", "T-Rex Fight", "Jurasic China", The kids dig site "Fish Eaters" and "Flash Flood. Additionally unique to this experience is the ability to see a Pliosaur - Perhaps the Inspriation for Nessie one can be seen swimming around the "lake", occasionally surfacing for air; Pliosaurs' fossils have been found ranging from 2 to 10 metres (yards) in length, so a reasonable sized specimen can be displayed for the area without any issues. Combined with the Pterodactyl roller coaster, this makes this Dinosaurs alive experience unique in that it offers the chance to see dinosaurs in Land, Air, and water.
The DinoStore also comes to California's Great America, carrying the usual range of Dinosaur merchandise.
Access to Dinosaurs Alive is complementary for Fast Lane Customers. Customers on regular admission can get a single pass for $5 per person, which includes a single-use fast lane admission on either "Distortion"(Flight Deck) or "On The Hunt", and a single showing of Dinosaur 3D. Customers who upgrade after purchasing this ticket can redeem it against the full fast lane price.
"On the Hunt", the ride
On the Hunt is a "Flying" style roller coaster. The cars are themed to appear as pterodactyls, and have animatronic wings and beaks to make them seem lifelike. Riders ride the ride Horizontal with respect to the ground, giving a true flying style experience. The ride is about height, dives, and speed in those dives, as such it does not contain any inversions.
The station area is built on the "back" (Dinosaur side) of the Artificial ridge.
Trains are launched up the first hill through a linear Induction Motor style system (pterodactyls don't use slow lift hills to get up, although they might just ridge-soar) As the track crosses the final turn of "Distortion"/"Flight Deck" this reaches its apex, and the pterodactyls swoop down to the Water Storage area for the Rapid Ride (an effect to simulate prey such as a below the waterline creature is placed in this area. The Pterodactyl pulls out of the dive, and as it approaches stalling speed, moves into a 540 degree helix down.
The Pterodactyl then swoops over the larger of the ponds; again there is simulated prey at the bottom of the swoop, and the Pterodactyl pulls up and orbits/helixes down 540 Degrees again This is repeated twice more over the main pond, before heading onto a gentle decline that eventually leads back to the station area
Riders have the option of purchasing an On-Ride video, where scenes alternate between a (leading) Pterodactyl's eye view and a shot of the guest enjoying the ride. On the Hunt is also included in Fast Lane
Existing Attractions - New Berkeley/Orleans Place
Flight Deck
The "Flight Deck" roller coaster is renamed, and has some new theming and backstory added.
The ride is renamed "Distortion", and is given a new backstory. In queue TVs (tuned to news network "CAN") explains that parts for a roller coaster were "mixed up" in transit with parts intended to create a CERN-style supercolider at the local college… Despite the college being filled with some of the best minds in the country, strangely no-one noticed until it was too late (Both were in Flat Pack kits, and the instructions were not in English). When the scientists realised their mistake it was too late, yet the result was both more fun, and collected better data than either the roller coaster, or supercollider would have done on their own.
However, the combination of ride and High Science over time has ad an unintended side effect - it has caused a "distortion in the paramorphic field", this distortion over time lead to a tear in the time-space continuum, opening up a doorway to the past (leading to where the "Dinosaurs Alive" and "on the hunt" attractions are). Scientists and archeologists have determined that the rift, and the area immediately around the rift is safe to travel and visit with no ill effects on the time continuum.
The CAN network also rotates on a jukebox basis about stories about other park attractions and other Cedar Fair properties (in an attempt to prevent the video seeming repetitious), returning to the story of Distortion after 2 or 3 other stories. Segments from the CAN network are also playing in other attractions and stores in the New Berkeley area, on a Jukebox basis but without the additional emphasis on Distortion
The Lift hill area and station are now encompassed the simulated ridge
The Station, inside the ridge, is themed to look like a scientific research facility built underground. Video screens inside the mountain suggest a lot of interesting data is being collected.
Flight deck/Distortion rises up from the station into the ridge tunnel, and out into the "today" side of the ride where most of the track lies. Where it crosses itself, it again enters the hill, but quickly exits for the inversion and orbit over the pond, before enters the ridge again.
ShowTime Theater
Showtime theatre becomes "New Berkeley University", with a facade suggesting an architectural style similar to USC Berkeley. It contains the Dinosaurs 3D film found at parks such as California's Wonderland. This film is free with Dinosaurs Alive entry, or Fast Lane Purchase.
Rue Le Dodge
Rue Le Dodge takes on classical American county fair style themeing for the building, but has its cars replaced with Triceratops themed vehicles, and takes the name Dino-Cart. Its just one of the many small businesses in Berkeley cashing in on the Dinosaurs.
Delta Flyer
Is renamed New Berkeley Airport, a small regional airport trying to deal with an unexpected increase in tourists. Given the name of the terminating station there is an opportunity to tie this with sponsorship with American Eagle Airlines.
Great America Outlet
Great America Outlet becomes "The Lab" and sells a range of science-based souvenirs and experiments.
Silly Sours and Sweets
This store still keeps the same general concept, its thumbing changes to be more in line with "New Berkley University". Several candies are presented as being results of Science Experiments, with tastes and textures that may seem strange at first (and have unintended side effects).
Company Store
Renamed "University Gift Shop", contains Apparel from "New Berkeley University" and general park merchandise.
Girl Space:
Renamed "Geek Chic", slight renovation to replace Orleans theme with more College style feel, otherwise retains same purpose of being a female-focused fashion outlet and similar stock.
Pizza Orleans:
Now Becomes Dino-Burger, an apparent small business cashing in on the Dinosaur craze. Signature dish has two all-Brontosaurus patties, special sauce, Primordial plant resembling lettuce, cheese, Pickles, and an ancient plant not unlike an Onion all on a sesame seed bun. Not to your taste? Try our Tyrano-Cheese Steak sub, or Stegosaurus blade shaped waffle fries. They also have a monster sized Omelette if you're in the park for breakfast. Prices are comparable with usual Fast Food Outlets.
Sweet Tooth:
Rethemed to seem like a small business cashing in on the Dino Craze, otherwise it more or less keeps the name and stock concepts as before.
Ride Warriors/Locker Rooms/Dragons lair
This facility changes theming to match the rest of Berkley, and Dragons Lair renamed to just "The Lair".
Redwood Theatre
Becomes New Berkley University Bowl. Rethemed to match new Berkley theming.
Further expansion
If the facilities to the south of the proposed area (but north of Boomerang Bay) could be relocated, the Dinosaurs alive area could be extended further. Additionally the Rip Roaring Rapids could "move" into the area by simulating a Dinosaur attack on the ride near where the closest water storage area is (near the location of the first "swoop" of "On the hunt"). There is additionally the option of extending onto the Car park, and including the current Picnic Pavilion as a "base camp" area.
Kingdom of the Dinosaurs
Journey back in time to when these reptilian giants ruled the earth, long before man lived on this planet. Occupying the southwest corner of the park, Kingdom of the Dinosaurs replaces a section of the park's Ghost Town, as well as backstage areas. This area will be transformed into a prehistoric forest, giving visitors the impression that they have stepped into the Mesozoic era. To make room for this attraction, the following changes will be occurring:
-The parking lot on Grand Avenue will be closed, as this space will be used to relocate the backstage buildings. All guests must now park in the Soak City and Independence Hall lot, located across Beach Boulevard from the park entrance.
-After 18 years, the Mystery Lodge show will be retired. The theater will be expanded and reused as part of the new area.
-The mostly unused Wildness Dance Hall will be demolished.
-Pony Express will be dismantled and removed to make way for new attractions. The ride will be relocated to another Cedar Fair park to reopen in the near future.
Map of the area to become Kingdom of the Dinosaurs.
Key:
Box A (right black box): Dinosaurs Alive!
Box B (upper black box): Dinosaurs: Giants of Paragonia 3D and Dinostore
Box C (left black box): Meteor
Circle D (yellow circle): Pterodactyl Flyers
Box E (yellow rectangle): Time Warp
Circle F (green circle): Cretaceous Cafe and seating area
Box G (black box in lower right corner): Area backstage buildings are to be relocated to (extends south off of image)
Red Path: Entrance path for Meteor
Blue Path: Approximate route of Meteor above the south section of the Boardwalk
All locations are approximate.
The signature attraction of the new Kingdom of the Dinosaurs area is a $20 million dollar Intamin AG Blitz Coaster named Meteor. Located behind Bigfoot Rapids, Meteor takes guests on a thrilling two-and-a-half minute ride through the forest and over the south end of the Boardwalk. The attraction begins with a LSM launch from 0 to 70 MPH in just over 2 seconds. Riders rise over a 145 ft tall hill, twisting 90 degrees to the right as they climb. From the top, an overview of Knott's can be seen before riders plunge 100 ft in a nearly vertical dive. The trains then soar over the tracks of the Calico Railroad with an airtime hill and negotiate a high speed overbanked turn above and around the Charles M Schultz theater before returning to the forest for the remainder of the ride. With a Stengel Dive, riders plunge to the ground, and the remainder of the ride consists of a series of low to the ground twists and turns, four inversions (in order: corkscrew, twisted horseshoe roll, in-line twist), and a 400 ft underground tunnel. The ride does feature a midcourse brake, but other than that there is no straight track on this relentless ride.
The statistics of Meteor are as follows:
Length: 3800 ft
Height: 145 ft
Largest Drop: 100 ft at an 85 degree angle
Max Speed: 70 MPH
Ride Duration: 2:30
Total Inversions: 4
Launch: LSM, 0-70 MPH in 2.5 seconds
Trains: Due to dual loading, the ride is capable of operating with four 3-car trains. Each car seats 4 riders in a 2 by 2 arrangement, allowing for 12 riders per train. Riders are restrained by a shoulder harness with a safety belt, similar to the restraints used on most 2000s Intamin installations. With no operational delays, hourly capacity is approximately 900 riders per hour.
Theme: The attraction is themed after the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs. It begins with the meteor's plunge to Earth and ends with impact (a crater leading to the underground tunnel, from which riders emerge onto the brake run). The track is a fiery red with orange supports, and the trains are the color of stone. At night, light strips along the trains illuminate in various colors, creating a similar appearance to a spacecraft reentering the atmosphere.
Meteor is a Fast Lane attraction.
Maverick at Cedar Point, another Intamin AG Blitz Coaster. The main portion of Meteor (that contained inside the black box) will be similar to this ride, but slightly more intense.
Other attractions in Kingdom of the Dinosaurs include:
Dinosaurs Alive!: A walk through the forest featuring 39 animatronic dinosaurs (6 of which can be controlled by guests). The path is approximately a half mile, and winds around the former backstage area of the park behind Ghost Town. Theming and landscaping is very similar to that seen at the other Cedar Fair parks currently featuring this attraction. At the end of the walkway, guests have the option of viewing the Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia 3D film (located in the repurposed Mystery Lodge theater). They then exit through the Dinostore (retheme of the Mystery Lodge gift shop). Like at other Cedar Fair parks, there is a $5 fee in order to experience the walkthrough, but guests may view the movie without paying.
Entrance sign for Dinosaurs Alive!
Jurassic Rapids: A retheme of Bigfoot Rapids, Jurassic Rapids is a ride down the raging prehistoric river. Guests float past a dozen stationary dinosaurs during their journey through the forest, and encounter rapids, geysers, and waterfalls. In addition to planting trees and adding dinosaur statues, all of the buildings associated with the attraction will be redecorated and the interior of the tunnel will be redone as a cave. This will help the existing attraction to blend into the new area.
Bigfoot Rapids as it exists today. The ride itself will be unchanged, but its surroundings will be significantly altered.
Pterodactyl Flyers: A Larson flying scooters attraction featuring images of Pterodactyls on the sails. The ride will be located where the station for Pony Express currently sits.
Pterodactyl Flyers will be identical to this ride, but given a dinosaur theme.
Time Warp: An indoor Zamperla Disk'o ride with lights and sound effects to simulate a time vortex. The building will include only the ride, with a queue outside, and will look somewhat futuristic in contrast to the natural appearance of the other buildings in this area. This ride will be located where the photo booth for Pony Express is currently located.
Picture this ride, but indoors with special effects, and you have a good approximation of Time Warp.
Finally, the Bigfoot Broiler will become the Cretaceous Cafe, a counter-service style eatery. A new outdoor seating area (located on the site of the Wilderness Dance Hall) will be built to accommodate diners. The seating area will look like a natural clearing, with furniture made from stumps, logs, and rocks. The current menu (burgers and chicken sandwiches) will remain unchanged, but the items will be given unique names to fit with the theme of the area.
Coming to Worlds of Fun a new area to enjoy called The Lost World (No relations to Jurassic Park film franchise, but keeping with Jules Verne theme elements in the Park).
On the edges of “Americana” is a mountain range that holds a new land that has not been discovered until now! The Lost World and its attractions cannot be seen from the park. The mountain range rings The Lost World and there appears to be only on way in or out and that’s the entrance the earthquake made.
Backstory:
A massive earthquake has hit the State of Missouri opening a rift in the Hassler Mountain Range and inside a whole new untouched world has been discovered. To facilitate and take care of the mountain range and what lies inside The Hassler Institute of Caretaking Conservation and Understanding of Prehistoric Creatures or “HICCUP” for short has set a facility to research and explore the new area and then communicate what they have learned!
The Lost World will lie between Patriot and Timber Wolf roller coasters; yes I’m going to move Dinosaur Alive! to accommodate the extra space for the new “land”, and the entrance will be the split that the earthquake has produced.
Right here in this red space.
HICCUP has now deemed it safe for guests to enter The Lost World area as long as you stay on designated walking paths and buildings because this is a working facility and that there is much more to explore and they do not want you in any of the Unknown Zones!
Park Rangers and scientists have also been able to “tame” some of the dinosaurs in the preserve. Rangers and scientists will walk around the new land with dinosaurs that they feel have been tamed enough to interact with the general public. Some of the dinosaurs can even be ridden!
Inside The Lost World you will have many places to explore including attractions, restaurants, research facilities and neat stuff for the whole family.
Theme:
The mountain range is meant to look like either the Rocky Mountains or the Appalachian Mountains. This is because of the proximity to the Americana area that is neighbors.
Inside The Lost World it’s a jungle with prefabricated buildings pockmarked all along the paths with walking trails cut into the vegetation. So the surrounding environment is encroaching into the paths, buildings and attractions.
The employees will either be in 2 main costumes depending on which attractions they are doing. One will be “park rangers” with khaki shirts and pants (or shorts), timberland boots, and hats. While the other costumes will be laboratory costumes with white lab coats, black pants, pocket protectors and other things like that.
Attractions:
Dinosaur Alive!
This will be the same attraction as the other Cedar Fair parks but the dinosaurs will look like they are in their natural environment. The ending show will be in one of the HICCUP laboratories and there will be guides throughout the attraction as park rangers or lab rats.
The Pterodactyl Flights 
Theme:
Park rangers have been working very hard in taming dinosaurs so that they can be used for research purposes and then switch to transportation and working animals like we have today. Ever since HICCUP came to the area one of the dinosaurs that they have been working on is the Pterodactyl. This flying dinosaur is large and can carry 4 people from one place to another. The rangers have also been working on making them fly in formation, other words one behind the other with the leading Pterodactyl knowing where to go. The park rangers believe that they have accomplished this and are awaiting their first participants!
You enter a building called HICCUP Air Station where there is a helipad with a helicopter resting outside. Inside the station there are TV monitors showing some early tests of flying on Pterodactyl. Most of the first TV monitors seen are very funny and are disasters for rangers and scientists trying to tame the dinosaurs but as you get closer and closer to the ride there are fewer disasters and more tests that were successful. Then you go outside again where it looks like a train station with a wooden platform cut right into the jungle. On the jungle side there is a fence saying “Keep Out! Unknown Zone!” you are then informed before boarding that you will be flying over the Unknown Zone.
The Ride:
This will be a flying roller coaster that guests are “carried” by Pterodactyls on the test run of the new dinosaur program. The trains will look like Pterodactyls and what the guests ride will look like harnesses that the dinosaurs have strapped to their backs even though you will be underneath them. The track will either be jungle green or sky blue so that they are camouflaged into the scenery and cannot be scene from guests. This will give the illusion of flight.
You are told that this will be a calm 30 second test flight over the Unknown Zone and back. It starts off tame but quickly escalates when the leading Pterodactyl freaks and loses control! You are then taken on a longer journey in which you do 2 loops, 2 corkscrews, 2 large plunges and many other roller coaster elements! Some of those elements and a corkscrew and loop will either on your stomach like you think you will be but then the others will be on your back looking up into the sky!
The Pterodactyl will get you close to the jungle below and in the canopy you will actually see dinosaurs as you ride. You will go between a heard of Barosaurus and fly around their long necks! Then when you are taking a terrifying dip you spot a T-Rex that you just narrowly avoid! Finally you do return to the station where they congratulate you on a fine test run!
Expedition: Unknown!
You enter one of the HICCUP laboratory buildings where the “lab rats” have been working in and there research on the breeding and early life of dinosaurs when they are first born. They have gotten a lot of good research so much so that they could actually start testing taking herbivore dinosaurs and possibly introducing them outside of The Lost World area.
You enter into a research area where there are computer monitors showing you what we actually do know about dinosaurs and what can be assumed about them. You are then ushered into a preshow area where they explain to you there work and what the expedition that you are going to undertake. Dr. Baily, younger and more adventurous paleontologists explains to you your expedition and what they want to show you in the Unknown Zone that has been cleared out for you. As he is explaining to you the route that he wants to take another earthquake hits, the floor and stuff inside the room shakes and rattles you actually feel all this, after the shaking stops he looks back onto the screen and says “Hope our path is alright!”.
The Ride:
This will be Worlds of Fun first dark ride! The ride will take you into the Unknown Zone in “Land Rovers” which are enhanced motion vehicles that take into the Unknown Zone without going outside. The land rovers will create bumps and twists and all kinds of action depending on what’s going on.
The ride starts alright until it hits a fork in the road where due to the earthquake a sinkhole has opened up in the middle of the road we want to go on. There are signs saying that that side was safe and other side not. But because Dr. Baily wants us to tour the Unknown Zone and after assuring us that he has gone down both sides plenty of times and knows the way he takes us on a journey on the other road.
Well that road leads us into the carnivore area and in there the land rovers, and you, are being chased by Raptors, T-Rex and encounter many other dinosaurs in your travel some of them may even come close to squishing you!
Restaurant:
Barney and Fred’s BBQ
This restaurant/museum is situated on one side of the new land and looks like the first permanent structure that has been built in The Lost World. Here showcased are real bones of dinosaurs so that people can look and learn about how big dinosaurs are! Also showcased is Kansas City famed BBQ!
Dino’s Delights
Situated across of Barney and Fred’s BBQ is an ice cream kiosk selling soft serve ice cream.
Shop:
Wilma and Betty’s
This gift shop will look like it’s been carved into one of the sides of the mountain and was actually a cave at one point. Inside on the walls will have faint cave drawings from earlier cave dwellers! This gift shop offers what you would normally find in a theme park gift shop with dinosaur theme merchandise.
So as you can see the Hassler Institute of Caretaking Conservation and Understanding of Prehistoric Creatures do live up to its acronym (HICCUP) and have some hiccups and adventures on your way!
Operation Triassic: Uncovered
Attention! The press is finally allowed to enter the recently uncovered dinosaur regeneration facility secretly run by the Trenedy-Mercer Corporation. “Operation Triassic”, as it was codenamed, was uncovered by the government two months ago. All reporters! Get to the facility, located near Carowinds Amusement Park, immediately and write the story of a lifetime!
Specifics: Operation Triassic: Uncovered is a new themed up-charge park at Carowinds. Located on the twelve acre plot in the middle of Avenue of the Carolinas, the new park is a short walk from the entrance of Carowinds and shares the same parking lot. The entry gate price is $30 and includes entrance and access to one of the four main attractions. Each additional main attraction is $10. One can buy all for $55 (each of the four main attractions once). Unlimited use for all attractions for a day is $65.
Entrance: The three ticket booths rest between Avenue of the Carolinas and the amphitheater. Each is themed to a different news paper, the Charlotte Counsel, the Boarder Bulletin, and the Carolina Catch. They compete and reporters can choose who they “work” for by selecting one to buy their tickets at. As reporters get their tickets, they also get a press pass (which reporters get to keep) and a small, customized to the paper, camera (one that gets returned to the paper company). Reporters continue past the news paper buildings and to the front doors to the facility (entrance gates). Indoors, a large indoor metallic hallway leads to the right over the road and out into a large inner courtyard. The only decorations that suggest dinosaurs are pictures on the walls of various paleontologists from over the years.
Reporter Concept: As stated earlier, reporters are given both a press pass and a camera. The camera is allowed on all attractions except the roller coaster (explained later). Reporters are encouraged to shoot pictures for fun, for memories, and/ or for an article. After taking pictures of your day at the park, guests return the camera, but keep the press pass to view the photos online. Reporters who want to can write an article and send it in within 48 hours of their visit. The best writers each day are given vouchers for free food, upgrades, or other coupons to use at the park. Reporters can also just take pictures for memories and upload them at home, no article needed. Those who do not want to use the camera can just not pick one up. Being able to be a reporter allows guests to have fun even while just wandering around the themed park.
Central Area (Open to all reporters): The large central courtyard provides access to all of the attractions. The buildings surrounding the courtyard are contemporary, tall, and primarily white. The courtyard is a simple pavement base with planters in the corners and in the middle here and there. In the center is the Riecher Employee Food Court, currently purposed for reporters. Basic American foods are available as well as Asian rice and noodle dishes. All around are entrances faux and real to offices, attractions, tours, museums, theaters, off limits areas, and more. Each looks as if it is a working entrance to something, but only a few are open and the others are blocked off. Off to one side, a large glass-like window looks into a large habitat with various dinosaurs from the Triassic era, namely the Cynognathus, Plateosaurus, and Lystrosaurus, the precursors to what we think of as dinosaurs. These four legged dinosaurs (and mammal) are rather small compared to what most people think of as dinosaurs. They are AAs on a hidden track, moving occasionally. On another side, a museum depicts some facts about the time periods, the dinosaurs themselves, and more. However, both the government and the Trenedy-Mercer Corporation have decided to keep it secret as to how these Dinosaurs came to be. Adjacent to the museum is a slightly nicer restaurant, the Manager’s Lounge, serving various alcoholic drinks, nice salads, high quality burgers, and more. Across the courtyard is a theater presentation highlighting the facilities, further work by Trenedy-Mercer, and even some small dinosaurs (AA) released on stage for a short period of time. Two small gift store in the courtyard sell various dinosaur themed odds and ends.
Up-charge Attraction 1, Up Close and Personal: This attraction lets reporters get up close to many tame and harmless dinosaurs like the ones mentioned above. Think of it as a Turtle Talk with Crush for 20 minutes with only 10-12 reporters at a time. They can even pet the sophisticated AAs. Pictures are welcome.
Up-charge Attraction 2, Grounds Walk: Akin to the current Dinosaurs Alive! attractions at many Cedar Fair parks, here reporters walk on a trail with habitats of various early, and harmless dinosaurs. Most of these are still from the Triassic era, and therefore safer than others. Guests are separated from the mildly moving AAs by large fences.
Up-charge Attraction 3, Treetops Trail: Here reporters can see all of the dinosaurs on the grounds walk, but from above. However, the trail is a ropes course, so reporters are dangling over the exhibit while trying to complete the obstacles.
Up-charge Attraction 4, Road Trek: Reporters here board 12 passenger vehicles (a 4 by 4 coaster train) to explore the facility. The ride is a launching dive coaster, but implements sections of track that when the train comes upon them, the track moves around giving a wider range of movement to the ride (I think Universal came up with a patent for a similar system like this a year ago or so, but this will be a simpler version compared to Universal’s range of motion). It may be easier to think of it as the turning track on the Mummy, but with the ability to move in more directions than just turning one way. Reporters board, the ride begins. I don’t think I have to say it, but all dinosaurs are AA. Reporters insert their cameras into a slot in front of them to video tape their experience. Each row is also equipped with a GPS style map of your route, tracking where you go. Speakers let a guide point out animals and teach guests information about them. Guests take off slowly passing animal exhibits and research rooms before gaining speed to another section of the facility. Here reporters slow down to ride through a large exhibit with the first pterosaurs, the first flying vertebrates. The vehicle continues out of this exhibit down a pathway toward more rooms, but a loud roar is heard and the ground shakes. The guide through the speaker says, “What was that?”. The shaking happens again the floor drops out (think Verbolten drop). Guests land in a dark room with red emergency lights flashing. An intercom says, “Attention! Operation Jurassic has been compromised. Many specimens have broken free. Please exit the facility quickly!” Your guide says “What?! Where are we? We aren’t even on the map. And what is this ‘Operation Jurassic’. Oh wait… GET OUT OF THERE NOW!” The vehicle launches at 30 mph forward before nearly bumping into an Apatosaurus (think the infamous Brachiosaurus). The vehicle turns to the right into a more lit area, but we crash through a broken fence, back into the dark. Red lights flash consistently giving reporters brief views of what’s ahead, but not enough to get a complete picture. The ride picks up speed dodging trees and stegosauruses, triceratops, and more. This part of the coaster is twisting with helixes and inner banked turns with the occasional launch to accelerate the ride. Eventually more dangerous dinosaurs like the ceratosaurus (think a bulky velociraptor). As the car nears another fence, it is ripped out and over the vehicle and riders nearly plunge off a small cliff into a water area. The brakes leave the vehicle half dangling over the ledge. A large allosaurus (Think TRex but bigger) appear and grabs the front end of the vehicle with its mouth. The head is out of reach from the front row, but close enough that its breathing is easily felt by the riders. In this part, the track moves up and down with a few side to side motions before the allosaurus releases and roars. The vehicle turns down and plunges straight down the cliff before pulling up into a sing loop. The ride zooms up past a series of emergency vehicles with large tranquilizers mounted on top. Reporters slow down once past the emergency vehicles and enter an area connected to Operation Triassic. Reporters disembark and are warned never to mention anything of Operation Jurassic to anyone. However, reporters exit into a picture/ video store that the workers forgot to close due to the incident below ground. Here guests can watch their 8 minute videos and buy them.
Operation Triassic: Uncovered is a new themed park adjacent to Carowinds. It will give guests new thrills and experiences unlike any other dinosaur themed park in the world.
Bryce- I think the project you developed was extremely ambitious this week. You had a lot of good ideas in the coaster and drop tower ride, accommodating for thrill seekers and younger riders. However, one objective of this challenge was to keep the Dinosaur’s Alive attraction in your proposal. These extra rides would have increased the overall experience of the show. When we got to your ride descriptions, I think you did a wonderful job describing Dino Bounce. It was short and to the point, describing a typical kids’ drop tower. I liked that it was placed in a small volcano, but this kind of made the name seem awkward with the ride. As for Raptor Rampage, I think your main advantage was showing off the speed of the raptor. It sounded like scary experience, but would be a huge thrill for any dinosaur fan. I think you did a great job at describing the roller coaster in detail, using accurate terminology. The restaurant and shop further added to the synergy of this dinosaur environment. I do wish you expanded a bit more on the Asteroid Trail as this could have been an excellent experience. I think you did a great job this week, despite a few flaws, but you managed to create a better dinosaur land than Disney ever did.
Chad- I think the concept of this ride made lots of sense to simulate a flight with a pterodactyl. As for the synergy aspect, I think you did a great job by retheming a different land in order to make the transition better. When we get to On the Hunt, I think the cars sounded absolutely amazing. I would love to see the technology developed where the wings and beaks would move on the car itself. You paid close attention to detail by not involving any inversions, something a pterodactyl is unlikely to do. The roller coaster terminology was another plus for your proposal showing that you knew what you are talking about. While I think the concept was great, I wish the ride was explained a bit more in the proposal. Continuing with synergy, I think the concept of having a land themed to a college science department was a wonderful idea. I think it fit nicely, and the rethemes were executed well. The changes make this overall theme of dinosaurs meets college students. It is a quirky idea, but works excellently. Great work this week on a very original proposal.
AJ- Hearing this to be placed at Knott’s Berry Farm immediately got my mind off track. I’m not sure this would be the best place for a dinosaur themed experience as the park tries to focus on the wilderness, and not the primeval. It might be out of place put against the Indian, Ghost Town, and Mexican themed lands. That issue aside, I think the Kingdom of the Dinosaurs was an excellent name for this experience. Meteor was an interesting take for a roller coaster this week, by focusing something that is dinosaur related, but not dinosaur themed. I think the ride seemed overall generic in comparison to some of the other coasters this week. I thought you could have taken this opportunity to make a Dinosaur themed version of Space Mountain instead. The rethemes of the Bigfoot Rapids did help to add to the synergy of this land, but might make a weird transition from the western themed ghost town land. The time warp attraction was a good addition as well, adding to the theme. While the concentration was not centrally located on dinosaurs, I do like the direction you went with focusing on the time warp and the meteor coaster that killed the dinosaurs.
Dan- I think you chose the best placement of your dinosaur themed experience for this week. The Worlds of Fun theme park allows guests to explore lands that they would not necessarily get to visit. The whole backstory to this land was fun, and imaginative. I liked the focus on HICCUP and the earthquake that occurred making this new land a possibility. You helped the land blend in with the addition of the mountain range instead of simply placing a dinosaur attraction next to an American themed land. When we got to the rides, obviously the pterodactyl attraction is similar to Chad’s. But rather than riding a pterodactyl for an adventurous hunt, your ride involves a pterodactyl carrying humans for an experiment. I think this angle worked slightly better as an overall experience. The dark ride that was included further sounds like fun, but thought being chased by the dinosaurs was a bit of a contrast to the rest of the land. I thought the Flintstones references redeemed your proposal after the dark ride, but I do wish we could have seen more of a Flintstones themed land.
David- Yes better 7 hours late than never, especially due to the dropouts this week. I think you took a really interesting move by creating an upcharge mini-park, than placing it in the park itself. It separated the dinosaur theme from the main theme park. However, the goal was to place this experience in a current park, retheming things where necessary. The huge upcharge to this theme park might make it a bit un-family friendly. The idea to transport guests into being reporters was a really fun idea that kids would be sure to love. The 3 similar dinosaur encounter attractions made this really interesting, and would certainly be a must see for huge dinosaur fans. However, I don’t think this would have much of a thrill at all for non-dinosaur fans. Instead, I think some extra dark rides or universal experiences were a bit necessary. As we get to the coaster, I think this was the most innovative part of the proposal. It might have been the best coaster of the week, but was overshadowed by other issues in the park. I think it was cool how the cameras would be taking footage while guests got to enjoy the ride. The whole experience did not live up to my preliminary expectations, and sounded more of a cash machine than an enjoyable experience for families.
Bryce McGibeny – Dino Plaza at Dorney Park – I really like the coaster that you have. While small, it is packed with thrills and theming. The rest of the theming and restaurant are all expertly done. I like the fact that it is immersion into the dinosaurs the moment you clear the entrance gateway. Although I wonder what happened to the Dino’s Alive attraction and where that fits into this. This challenge was supposed to be about cohesive theming, and while you have a bunch of good attractions, it is not that clear how everything fits together….which was kind of the point for the challenge.
Chad H – On the Hunt at California’s Great America – While I like the overall concept here, I don’t quite understand the true link between the lab environments and the dinosaurs…..I know you said something about a rip in space time, but that hardly seems like a really good way to get kids who want to see the dinosaurs interested. I also fear that people not going sequentially through the attractions are going to miss out on a very good story line and thus not be able to figure out the point of the theming. Overall though, I would have like the see a better transition through the Berkley to the Dinos. I also worry a little about the other rides having a cheap touristy feel to them. But these are all things that could be fixed up and based on execution of the plan could all be perfect.
AJ Hummel – Kingdom of the Dinosaurs at Knott’s Berry Farm – Right off the bat I think you are going to get a heck of a customer backlash if you start replacing the Ghost Town, since that is the original part of the park and has a bunch of Knott’s Berry Farm’s history in it. The Maverick coaster is a really good one to make a slightly more intense copy of, with the theming it should be a very good choice, although I am wondering what you would theme the station to. It bums me out a bit to see Mystery Lodge taken apart and then not replaced with something of the same caliber of show…..I think it would have been an opportunity to dump the Native American theme and use the dino theme while keep the basic technology of the show and do something incredible and new. Pterodactyl Flyers is already a used name, but that could be easily changed, the BigFoot Rapids change seems to make a lot of sense. You are making a bunch of changes here, but I think in the end it should ultimately result in a better customer experience…..I just wish that you could have pull the old dinosaurs ride at Knott’s Berry Farm out of mothballs.
Dan Babbitt – The Lost World at Worlds of Fun – I think I would have preferred your attraction taking place in the area where they have the Dinos Alive attraction already slated to go in….but it is best that we know now before they start digging into the previously talked about location. I like the HICCUP name, that should work well with the little boy crowd. While the roller coaster is nicely down, I wonder about how well it will go over when you spend so much time saying how tame it is and then really kick riders in the butt after the Pterodactyl freaks out. I love the concept other than that. On the Expedition: Unknown! Ride, what is the mechanism for the ride, a simple Land Rover like the safari rides at BGT & DAK? Or is it more like the Indiana Jones ride? Well done!
David L – Operation Trassic: Uncovered at Carowinds – It is a risky proposition to charge $55 for one ride on all of the new attractions in this separately gated park. The concept of giving everyone a camera is a very interesting one, particularly if the “reporters” get copies of their pictures. I think this concept is a brilliant one in terms of social media marketing. At first I cringe to think that IOA does their Triceratops Encounter for free, yet you are charging an arm and a leg for access to an extremely similar attraction. I really like your coaster attraction, it has all of the elements of a perfectly themed yet thrilling adventure……I would have liked your concept much much better if it had been park of the rest of the park, which is the only thing that I have an issue with……but it is a very big issue.
Give me a little time and we will have results posted.
1. Chad H – On the Hunt at California’s Great America
2. Dan Babbitt – The Lost World at Worlds of Fun
3. AJ Hummel – Kingdom of the Dinosaurs at Knott’s Berry Farm
4. Bryce McGibeny – Dino Plaza at Dorney Park
5. David L – Operation Trassic: Uncovered at Carowinds
Since we had two drops this week, there will be no further elimination.
I apologize for posting these critiques this late, but it takes times to read them and try to write a constructive critique, especially when so many are posted so late in the week. At least you all posted- thank you for sticking with it!
Bryce McGibeny: "Dino Plaza" would be a very well-conceived land that would offer something for the entire family. The main attraction, "Raptor Rampage", would provide the thrills and adrenaline rush for older family members while the "Dino Bounce" and the entrance plaza with the playful dino statues and water fountains to play in would keep the younger family members entertained. The "Asteroid Trail" would allow the entire family an attraction they could all enjoy. I'll critique them in order of description.
The entrance plaza establishes Dino Plaza as a welcoming family-friendly place. I loved the visual of a T-Rex lounging on a brontosaurus back with play fountains surrounding it. The gardens and seating areas would provide a place for parents to wait for their younger kids to play and get wet while waiting for the older kids to ride Raptor Rampage for the seventh time.
"Dino Bounce" confused me a bit as to the target audience. You said it is an adventure for the whole family, but said that it is a frog-hopper like ride, which I usually picture as for the youngest guests. I'll assume that all family members will be able to ride this and that it is not a Power Tower kind of drop tower- this would be a pleasant experience that parents and their younger children could enjoy.
"Raptor Rampage" would be an extremely fun attraction to experience. I liked the attention to detail you provided starting with the exterior and continuing through the entire attraction. This attraction would, unfortunately and inevitably, be described as the result of "Jurassic Park River Adventure" and "Revenge of the Mummy" mating and having a baby- it has elements of both. They are the best elements, and would be a great experience, but be ready for some lawsuits.
"Excavation Palpitation" sounds like it would have great food and I could tell you had lots of fun with the names of the meals offered. However, the name of the restaurant basically says that if you eat here you will die from a heart attack. That might be true, but let the diner choose the artery-clogging bowl of hot lard soup instead of the healthy salad. The restaurant name might chase the growing number of healthy-eating guests to look for a fruit salad somewhere else.
"T-Rex Trinkets and Treats" is a nice addition, and fills in a merchandising need for this area that could do much to separate guests from their money.
"Asteroid Trail" sounds like you just renamed "Dinosaurs Alive", which is alright if it does more to attract guests to it and encourages them to pay the $5 to get in. I've seen "Dinosaurs Alive" twice, loved it both times and think the $5 is worth it. But calling it "Asteroid Trail" would cause confusion in two ways: 1) It doesn't tell guests that it is about dinosaurs, and many may not know about the whole asteroid/dino extinction thing. They will skip it because they want to see dinosaurs, not asteroids, and 2) guests interested in asteroids and space exploration might wonder why it is located in a place called Dino Plaza, but would be disappointed when they go in expecting to see outer space stuff and instead get a bunch of dinosaur robots. You fixed something that didn't need to be fixed, and broke it instead.
I tend to focus (sometimes too much) on what I didn't like. Overall, I think you did a wonderful job on this proposal. You are continuing your series of well-presented proposals and presented a complete area themed very well on dinosaurs. This would be a family-friendly mix of thrills, fun, food and even educational opportunities. A very good proposal.
Chad H.: "On the Hunt" and the entire New Berkeley retheming of Orleans Place that you have proposed is absolutely spectacular! It is obvious that you were passionate about this project, and this passion resulted in a new attraction and a rethemed area that would be the talk of the theme park world, giving Disney and Universal a run for their money.
Using the concept of a science-based college and the supporting town as the center for dinosaur research was an inspired concept, merging reality with enough science-fiction to make the entire area easy to relate to yet fantastic enough to allow dinosaurs to seem like they belong there. The retheming of the shops to have both college town and dinosaur themes was well-conceived and would make this a special shopping area for guests to New Berkeley and all of California's Great America. Retheming and redesigning the existing rides (Dino-Cart, New Berkeley Airport) would make these attractions seem like new and was a good reuse of still-useful rides.
Your challenge was to create a new dino-themed roller coaster, and you not only created a beauty but rethemed an existing one to perfectly compliment the new coaster. Your description of "On The Hunt" was well-presented and easy to follow without being overly technical. The retheming of "Flight Deck" into "Distortion" benefited from the brilliant backstory you created to explain the changes to it. These two coasters would be a terrific duo that any park would be proud of.
Your graphics were extremely well done, especially the map where you showed where each new and rethemed area would be located. The use of various colours to show the layout of "On the Hunt", including inclines, helixes, etc. was a bit of brilliance. You put a great amount of work into this, and it made the layout easy to visualize.
This proposal is undoubtedly the best you have done so far, one to be proud of. Excellent work!
AJ Hummel: Your choice of Knott's Berry Farm was an interesting decision if somewhat incongruous with the general theme of the entire park, although the former "Kingdom of the Dinosaurs" does establish a precedent for dinosaurs in the park and reuse of that name for this new area was an interesting approach to "recycling". It appeared from the excellent map that this would be a good use of available space, both already used and newly expanded space.
"Meteor" was an extremely well-designed and described coaster. I liked the theme you used, but it would probably be helpful to explain in the queue what a meteor has to do with dinosaurs- not everyone knows this. It would still be a thrilling coaster and a major addition to Knott's Berry Farm's collection of coasters.
Retheming "Bigfoot Rapids" to "Jurassic Rapids" was a good addition to this area of the park, and would allow more dinosaurs to be added to the collection found throughout the park. It would give some added thrills to an already thrilling water adventure. "Pterodactyl Flyers" is still a simple carnival-type ride, but with the retheming would still fit fine into this area and would provide one more attraction for the families that would fill this new area. "Time Warp" would be a great addition, esp. theming it as an indoor attraction.
"Kingdom of the Dinosaurs" was a very well-conceived and excellently-presented proposal.
Dan Babbitt: I think that the backstory for "The Lost World" was quite inspired, and HICCUP was wonderfully tongue-in-cheek. I was especially impressed with your description of the physical area and the costumes of the park rangers and lab rats. I also noticed the fact that you would make the setting of "Dinosaurs Alive" appropriate for the era represented.
"Pterodactyl Flyers" continued the backstory of the entire land with a well-presented entrance queue description. The coaster itself would be a fun coaster, not revolutionary but still thrilling. "Expedition: Unknown" was another great addition to this park, but would undoubtedly be compared to "Dinosaur" at AK. I still think that it would be a great addition to Worlds of Fun.
The shops and restaurant being themed to The Flintstones surprised me, since Cedar Fair has no franchise ties with Hanna-Barbera (as far as I know). It seemed a bit strange to have these characters only appear in the merchandise areas and not in the rest of the land. Too many themes going on just makes it look confusing.
This would be an enjoyable addition to Worlds of Fun if the confusion of dueling themes could be corrected.
David L.: You thought completely out of the box with "Operation: Triassic" in proposing
a stand-alone, upcharge park. While I applaud your originality, I question whether there would be a large enough audience to support this park, esp. at the prices charged for the limited number of attractions. The changes you made to "Dinosaurs Alive" in the "Grounds Walk" and "Treetops Tail" attractions would probably be improvements to the basic attraction except for the fact that you said it would be limited to early and harmless dinosaurs, This would disappoint lots of people who would want to see a T-Rex up close.
The "Up Close and Personal" attraction confused me a lot. Do the dinosaurs talk? If not, it is really just another a.a. dinosaur walk-through.
"Road Trek" is the saving grace of the proposal. This exciting high-tech adventure would be a terrific addition to any theme park, but enough to anchor a high-priced boutique park? Probably not. The special technical advances that this coaster would require would make it a ground-breaking achievement and one that riders would ride over-and-over.
The entrance concept of guests being reporters for different papers, being able to file reports of their experiences, and even getting cameras to use is an interesting idea but probably not very realistic. Most people will just want to ride stuff, not do role-playing, and those who do choose to act as reporters will probably forget about it after a short time. Getting a camera to use is a novel idea, but everyone now has cell phones and the cameras would be lost, discarded, stolen or ignored.
The Central Area and the services it provides to visiting "reporters" was well-conceived and complete.
This was an interesting concept, very inventive and ambitious, but probably went too far in some ways and not far enough in others. Too few attractions for the value that would require too much input from guests to get their money's worth.
