Meme-themed roller coaster will be taking its riders ‘to the moon’
Dogecoaster, a virtual reality creation, mimics ups, downs of Dogecoin cryptocurrency
Dogecoaster, billed as the world’s first cryptocurrency-based roller coaster, promises to take riders “to the moon” alongside their favorite memes in early 2022.
Announced this week at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando, the roller coaster’s lifts and drops will be based on the historically volatile performance of Dogecoin in the cryptocurrency market, its creator Dennis Voronin said. “To the moon” is a phrase used by investors when the price of a cryptocurrency skyrockets.
Doge memes are photos of a concerned-looking, Shiba Inu breed of dog accompanied by multicolor captions describing its feelings in broken English. They first became prevalent in the early 2010s and have persisted as a beloved internet obsession.
Since its launch in 2013, the satirical meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin has attracted a dedicated following aware of its instability and general lack of value. As of Friday, a Dogecoin was worth 23 cents.
So, for example, with every instance that SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted about Dogecoin and the currency’s value consequently spiked or plunged, Dogecoaster would take riders along for the journey.
“Memes are so powerful,” said Voronin, 26, who works out of Jacksonville and Moscow.
Dogecoaster won’t have a physical track or air time. It’s a virtual reality simulator programmed to the EnterIdea group’s AT360, a ride system the company said “mimics the motion of the world’s most extreme roller coasters” through a flourescent gyrosphere.
“It is the most realistic looping coaster simulator ever created,” the group, which develops medical and entertainment technologies through an office in Jacksonville, said in a release. “By combining free-flowing, high-speed motion with virtual reality technology, any roller coaster in the world can be realistically re-created in a fraction of the space.”
Future riders still have to wait for its location since no Dogecoasters have been acquired by an entertainment company as yet.
“I’m sure that someone out there is going to want to have a Dogecoaster,” Voronin said.
Voronin is new to the attractions industry and knew he had to make a splash with his first pitch. In an industry increasingly focused on intellectual properties, he wanted to find a unique theme for his first ride.
“Everyone knows that meme,” he said. “I see it everywhere. Everyone is using it.”
Voronin said he has not gotten permission from Dogecoin’s creators or the owners of the doge meme to feature them in the ride, but he believes they will be willing to collaborate.
He has been working on the ride’s concept since July and was initially scared to pitch the “psychedelic experience” featuring a jaunt through a “hellish underworld” but knew it would be a hit with millennials and Gen Z, he said.
“When they see that funny dog meme, they’re going to be sprinting toward it with their friends, and they’re going to be like, ‘I want to ride the Dogecoaster!’ ” Voronin said. “It’s going to be like a thing.”
Online reactions to the coaster’s announcement were mixed, with many commenters expressing disbelief at its existence.
“Such cynical. Wow,” one responded to a negative reaction.
Dogecoaster will be one of two tracks programmed
to the AT360 at its launch, but Voronin hopes it will become a standalone attraction soon. He said EnterIdeas is in talks to enhance the AT360 with augmented reality, and he wants to use that feature to teach riders about cryptocurrency.
EnterIdeas plans to take the coaster on a cross-country road trip next year, he said. Voronin eventually wants to have Musk ride the Dogecoaster and add photos of him to the ride with the CEO’s permission.
“[It’ll be] a Dogecoaster journey through the U.S., with the end goal being Tesla’s headquarters, where Elon Musk is the last one to ride it and takes it to the moon,” Voronin said.