What’s coming to amusement parks
KING FEATURES SYNDICATE
Amusement park season is around the bend — and that bend could be a loop-de-loop of a hightech ride. I recently interviewed Suzie Storie, director of communications for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, to learn what new thrills, chills and services will be available to theme-park visitors in 2018.
Suzie Storie: That is such a great question to ask, because there’s so many ways we can answer that. We’ve compiled our annual list of thrilling rides and attractions, and more than 75 parks have already shared what they’ll be opening. And what we’re seeing this year is a lot of roller coasters. So if you’re a roller coaster fan, this is the year for you.
Storie: It’s so funny. You’re right: Everybody wants to say that they’re the first, the longest or the most unique. And I think the best way to say that this year is “most unique.” We have so many coasters that are coming onto the scene. For instance, you may have heard of Time Traveler, which is the newest coaster opening at Silver Dollar City in Branson City, Missouri. That’s going to be the world’s fastest, steepest and tallest individually spinning roller coaster. Most people know that when you sit in a coaster, you pull the lap bar down, and it keeps you sitting forward or backward the whole time. Time Travelers literally puts a new spin on that, because your car that you’re sitting in is revolving and spinning while you’re going out on the track. So while you’re going through a dive loop, through a vertical loop, while you’re experiencing G-forces on the track, your car is individually spinning.
FStorie: It’s a great new addition for that park. There is lots of buzz around this coaster, with people already talking about it.
Storie: Well gosh, Six Flags is doing a great job overall. What they do is focus on putting new rides and attractions in every single one of their parks. One of the parks that we’re really keeping an eye on is Six Flags Siesta Texas. It’s opening the Wonder Woman: Golden Lasso coaster. The unique thing about this coaster is that it’s called a “single rail” coaster. It’s going to have a 90-degree drop, and a zero-degree roll. It’s very colorful and very fast. When you look at it from the ground, it literally looks like Wonder Woman’s golden lasso has been flipped around.
Storie: We’re continuing to see that. In general, technology continues to play a role at amusement parks. Six Flags started [the “virtual reality on roller coasters” trend] several years ago. I’m here in Orlando, and SeaWorld Orlando added virtual reality to its Kraken coaster last year. And then just a couple of weeks ago, Legoland Florida added virtual reality to one of their kiddie coasters. What’s really unique about doing that is that it allows parks to offer a completely new, immersive experience on a ride that they already have.
Storie: Absolutely. I was out at Legoland a couple of weeks ago with my six-year-old, and he thought it was super fun and didn’t really realize that we were riding a coaster the whole time. He was going up and down on hills that he wouldn’t normally ride.
FStorie: Absolutely. Each park does it a different way. That’s the first thing that everyone asks. In the case of SeaWorld Orlando, when the ride comes back into the station, as the guests are getting off, the employees individually wipe each set of goggles and they put them into little cases and it actually takes about 10 to 15 seconds for that to cure and to kill the bacteria.
Storie: In the case of Legoland, when we took the headsets off, we handed them back to the employees and they took them into the booth for cleaning, probably similar to what you see out at Walt Disney World. And then when guests come on, they get a brand-new headset.
Storie: Yes, at Walt Disney World you actually can do mobile ordering. So instead of waiting in line to order your hot dogs and hamburgers and food for your kids, you can actually go on the Walt Disney World app, order it, pay for it on your phone, and then walk up to a separate line, and your food is waiting for you. It’s a great way to get guests out of line, a great way to ensure that the guests enjoy their day, going to the shows and enjoying the attractions, and if you’re a parent with a kid that gets a little hangry, like I do, it’s a great way to make sure they get their food quickly.
Pauline Frommer is the Editorial Director for the Frommer Travel Guides and Frommers.com. She co-hosts the radio program The Travel Show with her father, Arthur Frommer and is the author of the best-selling Frommer’s EasyGuide to New York City.