Sometimes you leave things in the drafts too long and it spoils. That was me with an article about Universal's plans into regional entertainment. I'd cover the Toothsome that opened in Philly and the trademark filings. Then it sorta split off into the PortAventura article but another part was about other local attraction rumors. I largely wrote off the concept in my head, DisneyQuest had failed, so would this.
This makes this past week's announcement of a new mini-theme park in Frisco, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada so wild. Many of us had written such rumors are decades-old speculation and tomfoolery run amok, harking back to a day when Disney was about to announce a theme park in insert major city here was comment theme park gossip blog fodder. "Disney is building a theme park in Texas" is a meme from the 90s!
Anyway, these will be two very different projects. This article will combine officially confirmed information with my own informed speculation, blue-sky ideas, and informed guessing. Quote at your own risk!
Universal Kids Mini-Theme Park - Frisco, TX
A 25-acre park on a 47 acre plot of land. Park is a themed family entertainment center with a focus on kids. Seriously, it's focused on kids and features meet and greets, play areas, small flat rides, and family coasters. Attractions are small in scale but fit into something slightly larger than Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure. In front is a hotel, which claimed to be 300 rooms but could be an ad-lib, and highly themed entryway reminiscent of the DreamWorks logo. Inside we can find lands based on Kung Fu Panda, Jurassic Park Camp Cretaceous, Shrek, Trolls, and Madagascar - all DreamWorks movies. So no Nintendo, no Secret Life of Pets, no Harry Potter, no Minions. We'll get into that later.
Trip reports a-hoy as Sean returns from his first visit to Pigeon Forge and Dollywood. Then Alan discusses his mega Nevada trip including leaking bathroom light fixtures, resort fees, Freemont Street, fainting in a Chi-Fil-A, and the incredible Omega Mart in Area 15! Plus Alex listens in and Joe grabs a spot of tea.
Welcome to the Parkscope Unprofessional Podcast Hour, your #1 Yusuf Islam and folk podcast! In this week's episode, we discuss Disneyland canceling annual passes and the future of that program before doing a deep dive into Las Vegas' lost history of themed entertainment. We discuss how Vegas ended up in the position it found itself in the 80s, the Mirage, free entertainment, lost attractions, closed parks, where things went wrong, and more.
Alan and Alex discuss FUNployment, the doldrums of winter, and visits to Knotts, Magic Mountain, Universal Studios Hollywood, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Kalahari Pocono, and Volcano Bay. ACTION PACKED~!
Now
we’re getting serious. In week two of our three week roller coaster
not-exactly-holiday-themed marathon, we present one of the classic roller
coaster documentaries of all time. “The Greatest…” was a very popular (for TLC)
series of “best of” documentaries at a time when people just loved them some
cable documentaries. In this installment, we get to see the roller coaster
installment of the series, since we knew for darn sure we were going to get
one.
The Greatest Thrill Rides is an
all-time classic coaster doc. It is very much the “thrill ride” version of the
all-time classic Funhouse. Like its
dark ride compatriot, this doc seeks to comprehensively take the viewer on a
journey of discovery (…and awareness?...) though the past, present, and future
of thrill rides. Like the best cable docs, watching a show like The Greatest Thrill Rides is like
adventuring through a thrill ride museum, studying the best of the history and
excitement of thrill rides the world over. It’s one of those features that you
would show someone if you could only pick one
thrill ride show, because it covers all the bases in the limited time it has to
thrill you (blah blah blah!).
The
past is covered through the occasional references to Russian ice slides and
switchback railways. The present is explored through a whirlwind “best of” tour
of the greatest thrill rides on the planet circa late-1990s. To be fair, the top
of the lists are pretty bad (I won’t spoil them for you, but woof), but of
course they cover all the late-1990s crazes, from inverted coasters to woodies
to stand-up to hyper. Each one is given a quick feature and an obligatory
post-ride interview with the Ric Turners of the world.
The
next segment is focused on the creation of the coasters, and the construction.
These features will be familiar with those of you who have been keeping up with
our weekly YouTube output.
And
then halfway through, the show does a complete 180. Because it’s not about
roller coasters anymore. We’re going to the malls and arcades, and to the Vegas
strip, and to Universal. Because we’re going to talk about the thrilling simulators which are just the
bees knees these days (how many times do you think I can use the words “thrill”
or “thrilling” in this article? I think at least a few more times). These, we
are reminded, are called “immersive thrill rides.” Cue the Gary Goddard cameo
appearance.
What’s
cool about this segment is I have absolutely no idea what most of these rides
are, or were. Were these simulators in malls or traveling exhibits? The
narrator says there are more than 70 of these exhibits around the country…I don’t
even remember this being a thing. Was this a feature at large malls like South
Coast Plaza or the Irvine Spectrum back in the day? Did they have changing
movies? If so, how often did they change? Did you get to choose your adventure
like that enormous POS basement bench simulator at the Excalibur in Vegas? Over
the course of a few seconds, we see simulator movies of: riding Revolution at
SFMM, traveling through a collapsing mine, driving down a Mad Max-style desert
road, a haunted cavern, a funhouse, a giant roller derby obstacle course thing
(I don’t even know how to describe that one except to say it looks like a
first-person view of a Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time sewer level), a trench, a large building,
a pleasant Calabasas side road, a “street race,” a mountain, a pre-Spider-Man
drop off a building, and Days of Thunder
at Kings Island.
But
when we get introduced to simulators, of course we have to explore the 1990s
Vegas simulators! That’s right, for the first time on a theme park doc, we get
an extended sequence featuring In Search of the Obelisk, Race for Atlantis, and
Star Trek: The Experience! This has to be my favorite segment of the show, since I
love love love me some Vegas simulators. My brother and I spent many a vacation
visiting these rides constantly, since we weren’t yet old enough to gamble this
was the next best thing. And we actually get to see some behind-the-scenes
action! The IMAX camera for In Search of the Obelisk, some real 3D models and a
feature for the HUGE 3D glasses for Atlantis (with an interview with Rhythm
& Hues!), and a tour of the bridge and the simulator cabins for Star Trek!
This makes me happy, since Star Trek: The Experience was one of the most mind-blowing
attractions anywhere in the world when it opened in 1998, Disney or otherwise.
I always wished they could have moved it to Universal after it closed. It’s
that cool. And the Star Trek museum! Absolutely fantastic. The Transporter Room
to this day is one of the greatest-ever pre-shows of all time.
And
lastly of course, we get the future. And the future is not only Universal
Studios but video games. And I’m not just talking about Sega Rally Championship or another one of those you’ve seen a
million times. Ladies and gentlemen, I present….Vertical Reality. That’s right.
Vertical Reality. At 43:12.
How
many of you remember this one? It’s a 25 foot-tall freefall tower in front of a
giant shooter game. When you shoot someone else, you go up. When you get shot,
you drop. WHERE HAS THIS BEEN?! What happened to this idea besides the predictable
number of lawsuits?
We
end the show with an exploration of what this show considers the “ultimate
thrill ride.” I don’t know what TLC’s obsession is of going out into the real
world and saying the “future of thrill rides” is something we’ve been able to
do for decades (like bungee-jumping and sky-diving). But anyway, this
particular show’s idea of the ultimate thrill ride is Air Combat USA, a really
for-real Top Gun simulation where participants actually get to shoot at each
other. In real planes. Driven by Air Force pilots. That’s cool. I wonder if it’s
still around? *Does a quick Google search* Hey it’s still around! And it’s in
FULLERTON??!! How did I not know this when I was living in Anaheim? And it’s
only…$1,700! And you save $50 when you book two people! That’s so cool!
And
FYI, Alan Schilke (the guy who always interviews with Arrow D) just wants to throw out there at 51:30
that the “ultimate thrill ride” or roller coaster is one that can turn you
independently in the car in any position at any time along the track. Direct
quote: “if you can change the rider’s position relative to the car, it’s almost like a fourth dimension.” These
words are actually said. In 1997. Isn’t that spooky? Nay, isn’t that…thrilling? (ha! I did it!)
Tune
in next week for the conclusion of our three-week roller coaster fest, and one
of my favorite all-time thrill ride specials!
In the mid-20th Century, the state of Nevada began to move towards a different kind of society than its neighbors in California or Utah. With mineral resources, little water, and harsh terrain, it was our nation's least populated state. To counter act this and encourage development, Nevada chose not virtue, but vice. Counties could license legal prostitution and the state welcomed casinos. When Castro overthrew the Cuban government, Vegas became the de facto replacement, with money pouring in to build increasingly large and ostentatious hotel resorts, and Reno soon after being developed in a similar manner.
By the 1980s, themed resorts were the craze in the state. When talking about "known" amusement entities in Nevada, we're talking primarily about the big Vegas casinos constructed during that era. Among the rides and attractions still open after the maturation and consolidation period of the early 2010s:
-Circus Circus Las Vegas and the Adventuredome is still the primary home for families visiting The Strip, with a large indoor theme park and multiple roller coasters.
-New York, New York is home to the Big Apple Coaster, previously known as the Manhattan Express. This 200 foot-plus Togo coaster is the largest attraction the Japanese manufacturer had built in the United States before their US operations were taken over by with Premier.
-Stratosphere's High Roller Coaster is gone, but the Big Shot S&S Tower attraction and a pair of flat rides still operate on the side of the 1,000 foot plus tower. The Big Shot is perhaps the most iconic ride ever built by S&S.
-Buffalo Bill's in Primm, just over the stateline from California, has the huge Arrow hyper coaster Desperado, as well as a motion theater and a log flume. The S&S Turbo Drop located here has not run in well over a decade.
There were many more to potentially mention: Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton, Race For Atlantis at Caesar's Palace, Speed: The Ride at Sahara, and MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park. There's also the rides that were designed and never went up: one old tale is that Custom Coaster International had a 8,000 foot long wood coaster to run along the mountains in Primm at Whiskey Pete's. After Desperado failed to make the kind of impact hoped, the idea was scrapped.
Another thing that was scrapped was Wet N' Wild's location on the strip south of Sahara. After closing the region went without a proper water park for many years until two opened in a span of mere months. The new Wet 'n' Wild is a subsidiary of Village Roadshow, the group responsible for the nearly identically named-but-different Wet 'N' Wild Australia parks, and not the George Millay run chain that started in Orlando. Along with them is Cowabunga Bay, operated by Shane Huish, a long time theme park enthusiast who's old Youtube channel is filled with all sorts of classic and rare park content. The two water parks feature all the kinds of super modern water slides that the major manufacturers can bring to bear. Should you be up north, Sparks' has Wild Island for the Reno area residents.
This is not a surprise to tell anyone, but Nevada is generally hot. Really hot. During the summer, temperatures soar well over 110 and stay there for months. When things are this hot, outdoor attractions are not well received. Indoor ones get a lot more play, and nothing gets more play than arcades. Vegas has two enormous ones on the strip at Excalibur Hotel & Casino (Fantasy Fair) and Gameworks north of MGM Grand. Off strip on Flamingo Blvd. is the Pinball Hall of Fame, operated by the man who once was in charge of the Pinball Pete's arcade empire across the upper midwest's college towns. Well over 100 games are playable here, including some of the rarest in existence. Reno, like in most instances, tries to keep up with the Jones', but in a low rent way. The Boomtown Casino has a sizeable arcade with some small amusement rides, and Circus Circus Reno has been renovated to join their carnival games and circus acts together for additional synergy.
Reno does have some advantages over Vegas, most namely that its northerly and mountainous location makes it cooler in summer and better for outdoors fun. Whitney Peak Hotel opened as the Fitzgerald's, but when gambling revenue cratered and the parent of the Fitz went under, it went to auction and emerged as a rock climbing/adventure themed hotel. Most notable is that one entire exterior wall of this 16 story building has been turned into a massive climbing wall for its guests. Grand Adventure Land in the Grand Sierra Hotel & Casino (the former MGM Grand/Bally's) has a small attraction park of its own with mini golf, go karts, and a Skycoaster.
Our new podcast series hosted by Alan searches his rolodex for friends and industry insiders to talk about the amusement industry. This week's podcast he's joined by Michael, @SuperWeenieHtJr, to discuss Las Vegas, bad coaster designs, the weirdness of Hersheypark, and to eulogize Epcot.
