Theme Enhancement

[MarioSonic94]

You ever go to any of the rides that have some bits of theming and wonder, "The park sure could've added some more to tell a coherent story". Well here are a few ideas I had to enhance the theme on a few of the more recently added rides

 

Skull Mountain

Just by the overall atmosphere of the queue and station, the apparent theme is something along the lines of an expedition. In fact, the original queue (which lasted from 1996-1998), there was an abandoned safari jeep and in the original safety spiel, the trains were called "expedition trains". In the queue, there should more hints of a previously failed expedition (who knows, maybe bring back some of the original queue props). Approaching the station, a spiel would start playing that briefs riders about the purpose of the expedition. After the train makes the approach towards the second lift, another spiel says "You're approaching the mysterious caverns of the mountain. Good luck, explorers!". After the train reaches the final brake run, we hear one final spiel: "You've made it. You're the first explorers to ever survive a full scale expedition in Skull Mountain".

 

El Toro

Being that it retain's Viper's abandoned mission style station, it would make some sense to create a backstory along the lines of this:

 

There was once a thriving little Mexican village. And the symbol in this village is a Spanish Mission. Alas, something has comes along to break to peace. A monstrous bull arrives and starts terrorizing the village and has settled into the mission. Countless matadors tried and failed to eradicate the bull. And now, we (the riders) are among the many matadors.

 

In the queue, the TVs should play an elaborate retelling of my backstory, and as the queue approaches the mission, some rock speakers should play the sounds of some villagers warning the 'matadors' about the impending doom ("Turn back amigos. Nobody ever came out there alive!" or "Good luck amigos. Pray that you're spared the wrath of el toro")

 

The Dark Knight Coaster

While the ride has tons of theming, TDK really missed out on the theming opportunities for the queue TVs. The TVs should play some Gotham Network News that explains the Joker's rampage on Gotham City and Batman's heroic actions to help the citizens of Gotham. After the preshow, there should be some more GCT theming (like some transit announcements and guest announcements).

Edited July 29, 2011 by MarioSonic94

[scipiomask]

Batman: The Ride

Batman: The Ride's ride vehicles are themed as devices owned by Batman that save us, the riders, from villains who are chasing us. The first thing the park has to do is make sure the sound effects are ALWAYS running. Every now and then, I can hear cars passing by over the queue on the highway overpass, construction equipment, and villains. Also, the junkyard should be filled with junk again, and the police car should be placed back along the queue. A new recording of Alfred should say, "It seems you've stumbled upon the secret entrance to the Batcave. Under normal circumstances, I would send you back, but it appears that thugs have followed you. Quickly, come inside and I'm sure Batman can help you escape."

Inside the main station, the Batman theme should constantly be playing, along with a recording of Batman telling riders, "Alright. Ahead of you are my escape vehicles. Choose one of the rows in front of you and stand in line for it. When it's your turn, board the vehicle, four people to a row. Pull down the safety restraints and wait for one of my assistants to secure you. Then, hold on tight, don't frown -- I'm about to turn your world upside-down."

During the course of the ride, fog machines should turn on during the back of the ride at night. When the train returns into the station building, and is waiting for the previous train to load, a recording in the back section only should say, "It appears you've made it. Now, when the vehicles return to a complete and final stop, get off quickly and don't look back. And remember, enjoy the rest of your day at Six Flags Great Adventure."

 

Congo Rapids

All we know about Congo Rapids is that it takes place on the Congo River. Every now and then, a ride op will say, "I see you've survived your journey down the Congo." Well, the ride will have a strict structure from now on.

 

Along the queue for the ride, there will be posters for "Warner's Congo River Tours", a humorously cheapskate tour along the river. As the line gets closer to the station, there will be posted warnings from Warner's Congo River Tours like "Warner's Congo River Tours is not responsible for riders devoured by crocodiles." In line, there will be TVs with Mr. Warner, founder of Warner's Congo River Tours, saying, "Welcome to my tours. The times have really hit us hard -- so, unfortunately, your tour will be self-guided. Unless, of course, you pay $500 extra so I can hire a guide! All of my guides were eaten by.... I mean, laid off. Make sure you throw away all food and drinks with you, and don't take any loose articles with you -- you wouldn't want to bait the piranhas." The ride ops will be dressed in Safari costumes (like they used to be), with the Warner's Congo River Tours logo on their costumes. Along the ride, there will be brand new speakers. The first new addition to the actual ride will be animatronic "natives", who attack the boat with what were previously coin operated sprayers. These will go off every time a boat goes by, and will be controlled by an employee. The waterfalls will be turned back on, and some new rapids will be added. When the boats return, a recording will say, "We're glad that you survived your tour along the Congo River. Tips are gladly accepted, and desperately needed."

Edited July 29, 2011 by scipiomask

[ericthewanderer]

One theme enhancement would be re-themeing Medusa/Bizarro into SASQUATCH:KING OF THE NORTWEST!The queue line starts at a mini-"museum" that shows "actual samples" of Bigfoot-style hair and footprint casts,and the station itself is redone with stone veneer and possibly a waterfall to simulate a Pacific Northwest outcropping.The ride area would be re-landscaped with more trees and shrubs to better hide the track.