Random Theme Park/Roller Coaster Trivia

[MarioSonic94]

Post some random facts you know about theme parks and roller coasters. Who knows, we might all learn something new everyday!

 

I'll start us off.

 

• The Steel Phantom/Phantom's Revenge received the layout that it has because there wasn't enough room in Kennywood for a 200 ft lift. Apparently, the idea of putting the 200 ft drop in the middle of the ride came about in a dream.
• Even before Star Tours 2 was officially announced, there were plans of replacing the original film earlier on with a ride based on the pod racing scene from The Phantom Menace
• Jurassic Park the Ride (aka. Jurassic Park River Adventure) was originally going to be built at Universal Studio Florida, next to Back to the Future the Ride. This plan was scrapped when it was decided to make an entire section of Islands of Adventure themed to the movie.
• In its early planning stages, Islands of Adventure had lands and rides based on DC Super Heroes, The Simpsons, and Looney Tunes amongst others.
• The music for Mission Space is composed by Trevor Rabin, former guitarist for the progressive rock band Yes.
• The Sunset Blvd section of Disney's Hollywood Studios almost had rides based on the movies Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Dick Tracy, and The Rocketeer
• Epcot almost received an entirely different take on Disneyland's legendary Matterhorn Bobsleds.
• Alien Encounter was originally going to be based on the film franchise of the same name.
• The late Greg Lake came up with the lyrics for the Emerson, Lake & Palmer song "Pirates" by repeatedly riding Pirates of the Caribbean.

[Pineracer]

Fun Fact:

• Pennsylvania recognizes 13 different amusement Parks (Knobles, Sesame Place, Dorney Park, Dutch Wonderland, Hersheypark, Kennywood, and Waldameer being the most well known), about as many as there are in California and Florida

[29yrswithaGApass]

The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World was originally designed to be ride-lite and show-heavy. That is why each land opened with a major audio animatronic show (Adventureland - Tiki Room, Frontierland - Country Bear Jamboree, Liberty Square - Hall of Presidents, Fantasyland - Mickey Mouse Revue, Tomorrowland - Flight to the Moon). It was thought that guests would appreciate the opportunity to take a break from the Florida heat in an air conditioned theater.

[Mr.Six]

At Casino Pier some of Funtown Pier's Pieces (Funtown Pier was destroyed in Sandy and was then 1 year later destroyed for good in a fire) are used for fences, wood and other things at Casino Pier.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Mr.Six

[dougdrummer]

 

Fun Fact:

• Pennsylvania recognizes 13 different amusement Parks (Knobles, Sesame Place, Dorney Park, Dutch Wonderland, Hersheypark, Kennywood, and Waldameer being the most well known), about as many as there are in California and Florida

 

 

I've been to at least 5 of them. Hershey is the best, followed by Knoebels. Dutch Wonderland is tiny, but it is good for the little tykes. Interestingly all three of them have a campground adjacent to or within a mile of the park. We've camped at all three as well.

Edited March 19, 2017 by dougdrummer

[MarioSonic94]

• Monster's Inc Laugh Floor is technically capable of reverting back to Circle Vision 360, since all nine screens are intact, despite being covered by theming.

With the exception of Iron Wolf, every B&M coaster built at a Six Flags park until 1999 was themed to Batman (BTR and Riddler's Revenge)

Superman The Escape/Superman: Escape from Krypton was originally going to be built with an original theme and be named Velocetron. When Time Warner started planning the ill fated Superman Lives film project, it was opted to theme the ride after Superman.

The Beast at Kings Island was originally going to be named The Champion, in reference to the records that the ride set in 1979.

Several of the overhead track from Kongfrontation is still in place.

The three major rides of Universal Studios Florida (Jaws, Earthquake, Kongfrontation) in 1990 were all lifted from the Studio Tour in Universal Studios Hollywood

[GAcoaster]

The current narrator for the Walt Disney World Monorail spiels is Tom Kane, who also voiced The Professor on the Powerpuff Girls with the exception of the "door closing" spiel which is still the iconic Jack Wagner "Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas."

[The Master]

Supposedly, Food Rocks is still intact behind the projection wall in Soarin's queue.

 

Paradise Pier in DCA was originally going to have a flume / splash down water ride.

 

The foundation for the former House of Tomorrow at Disneyland still exists, it has been hollowed out and turned into a planter by Pixie Hollow.

 

Seven Seas Lagoon used to have a wave machine.

 

The large Palm tree next to Disneyland's Jungle Cruise station was left from the former orange grove and marks where the farmhouse once stood.

 

The hub of the Disney Studios park used to be a giant Mickey head.

Edited March 20, 2017 by The Master

[scott]

Fun topic. Thanks MarioSonic94

[Coasterharrison'98]

Though it has a dual loading area, Superman: Ultimate Flight at SFOG has not used it in over a decade.

[The Master]

Though it has a dual loading area, Superman: Ultimate Flight at SFOG has not used it in over a decade.

Typical Six Flags, just like KK here.

 

 

Disneyland used to have five mountains. The former 5th was named Cascade Peak and was a remaint of the old Minetrain ride which was replaced by Big Thunder Mt. Cascade Peak was removed in 1998, 19 years after the Minetrain was closed.

Edited June 4, 2017 by The Master

[dougdrummer]

It's been a long, rocky road for the Flying Turns bobsled-type ride at Knoebels in Pennsylvania. Imagine it taking 7 years to get a ride up and running!

Construction began in January 2006, and in July 2007 the maintenance crew ran the first test car test runs which were completed successfully. In October 2007 the first powered complete test runs were done,

The first delay was due to an issue with the roller coaster car's wheels. The wheels were shipped back to their manufacturer in California and the issue was corrected. However, the ride did not open by the end of the 2008 season due to the cars travelling too quickly for passenger comfort. The ride was supposed to be opened during the 2009 season, but had to be re-tracked and profiled to accommodate new trains.

In June 2011, Knoebels said "We've been testing the newest version of the Flying Turns ride vehicles and are VERY encouraged. There's still plenty of work to do but this is a very positive step in the right direction."

In 2012, a section of track at the brake platform, as well as the brake platform itself, was removed, and these sections were rebuilt to accommodate the newest trains that were being delivered. In August 2012, Knoebels said that they planned on beginning testing for the newest trains soon, and that they believed they finally figured out how to get the trains to run smoothly.

On October 5, 2013, the ride officially opened to the public. It operates three trains with three cars apiece, and each car accommodates one large rider or two small riders, with a weight limit of 400 pounds per car. One train is painted green, one is painted yellow and the third is painted mauve. A fourth train is planned.

Edited March 21, 2017 by dougdrummer

[MarioSonic94]

• While they both feature Aerosmith, the theming and storylines of Orlando and Paris' versions of Rock n Roller Caster are radically different. Orlando focuses on an Aerosmith concert and the trains are designed as stretch limos, whereas Paris is based around an Aerosmith music video and the trains are called "Soundtrackers"

There was a version of Rock n Roller Coaster planned for DCA. But instead of Aerosmith, it would have had the music of No Doubt, a band based in Anaheim

Florida's Star Tours was originally going to be build in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom. But at the last minute, it was decided to build the clone at the then new Disney-MGM Studios in 1989. As a result, the ride ended up opening seven months after that park's grand opening.

An early version of Rex in Star Tours had him characterized as a psychotic "Vietnam vet" droid. It was decided early on to tone him down as merely an inexperienced pilot.

Many of the same technical crew who worked on The Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera at Universal Studios Florida also worked on its replacement ride, Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast

A Mr. Freeze clone was also going to be built at Six Flags Great America. Plans were scrapped when the Texas and St. Louis rides had major mechanical issues.

Raging Bull was never intended to be built at all. A Medusa clone was originally going to be built at Great America before park management ordered the B&M Hyper without corporate's knowledge.

A third Marriott's Great America park was intended to open alongside the Santa Clara and Gurnee locations in 1976. This park would have been located in Virginia, near Washington D.C. Local opposition to the park ultimately played a major role in the cancellation of the plans.

Edited March 24, 2017 by MarioSonic94

[dougdrummer]

SFGA and its safari essentially put Jungle Habitat in northern NJ out of business, just 2-3 years after it opened.

[MarioSonic94]

• Aside from Orlando and Chicago, additional DisneyQuest locations were planned to be built in Philadelphia, New York City, Toronto, and Anaheim.

The California version of Muppet Vision 3D was planned in two unique locations in Disneyland. At first, it was going to be built in an early version of Toontown in a cartoonish variant of the Main Street Opera House (aka. Greatest Moments with Mr. Lincoln). Speaking of which, the second potential location WAS the Main Street Opera House. But after protests from the local Republican party of Orange County, coupled with Disney's issues with the Henson family, the plans were nixed.

A wooden roller coaster was planned to be built at the Dinoland USA section of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The Coney Island Cyclone was planned to be moved to AstroWorld back in the mid 70s. When park management discovered that it would be cheaper to build a clone rather than transport the original, the idea was scrapped.

[Yoshi]

I was really disappointed when the Philadelphia DisneyQuest was cancelled. A wooden rollercoaster in Dinoland USA would have been better than Primeval Whirl.

[The Master]

Thunderhawk at Dorney used to be simply called the coaster, was reconfigured in the 20s only a few years after being built, and used to have a trolley line running under it.

[MarioSonic94]

Speaking of Dorney.

 

As we all know, Hydra The Revenge was built on the spot where the Hercules wooden coaster used to be.

 

In Greek mythology, one task that Hercules was sent to do was to slay the eight headed beast known as Hydra.

 

When Dorney Park announced the ride, they added a backstory that expanded on the original myth.

[DantheWoman]

Superman: The Escape was originally going to be known as "Velocitron."

[MarioSonic94]

Some cool new facts I've found over the past couple years.

• The Simpsons Ride's storyline was originally going to revolve around the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, with Mr. Burns serving as the main antagonist. But when Burns' voice actor (Harry Shearer) declined to participate, the Krustyland storyline we now have was developed in its place. There were also rumors of a Treehouse of Horror overlay for Halloween Horror Nights
• Batman the Ride in Six Flags Great America was originally going to be named Hurricane (as both a homage to Tidal Wave and to tie it into the Yankee Harbor section of the park). But during the planning, Time Warner acquired 50% of Six Flags and the new owners made it a priority to promote their brands in the parks. Thus, Hurricane was renamed and rethemed to the Batman movie franchise.
• Superstar Limo was almost retooled as Goofy's Superstar Limo. The main reason for the renovation being that Disney wanted to reuse all the fiberglass character statues that were being removed from The Disney Stores that were being rebuilt across the country and place them throughout the ride.
• The Batman Stunt Shows in Magic Mountain were the only ones to not be staged in a specially built venue. The original show was held at the park's repurposed ski show venue. From 1995 until the venue's demolition in 2016, they were held in the repurposed dolphin show arena.
• All of the original Marriott era buildings at Six Flags Great America are built to the same earthquake code in California, even though they didn't have to be. This is because Marriott intended for all Great America parks to use the exact same plans. It also applied to the aborted third park that was planned for the Virginia/Washington DC area.
• Prior to INTAMIN introducing them in the early 1980s, Arrow had developed proof of concepts for a river rapids ride and swinging ship. But their parent company at the time, Rio Grande Industries, refused to let them develop them any further.