Senin, 25 November 2013
Holiday Gift Guide for Amusement Park Fans
Label:
Books,
Diagrams,
Fun Facts,
Holiday World,
News,
RollerCoaster Tycoon,
Tips
Minggu, 10 November 2013
Ultimate Coaster Design Book Updated
Roller coaster wheel carrier |
“Very impressive! What a great resource to have..for anyone.” - John S.
“Thanks for writing a very good book. I could not put it down. Lot's of great information. I am a technology and engineering teacher and the information I found here is very helpful in trying to get students more excited about engineering.” Amazon reviewer
Rotation about the track spine |
Some of the questions about roller coaster design you will have answered after reading include:
What software do roller coaster engineers use?
What college major is best to become a coaster designer?
How many engineers does it take to design a coaster?
How do roller coasters reach their highest point?
Why don’t coaster cars roll backwards down the lift hill?
Why do wheels on steel coasters come in pairs?
Why do we see so many clones of the exact same ride built at multiple parks?
How does a 4D coaster work?
How much does a roller coaster cost?
How much time does it take to design a roller coaster?
What is the difference between LIM and LSM propulsion?
What sort of background is necessary to get into the roller coaster engineering field?
How do you calculate the amount of power needed for the lift hill?
Currently, there are three options to purchase:
Paperback - $11.99
Kindle - $9.99
Digital PDF - $5.99
Label:
Blueprints,
Books,
CAD,
Design,
Design Flaws,
Diagrams,
Disney,
Download,
Engineering,
Fun Facts,
Gravity Group,
Maintenance,
Marketing,
Models,
News,
Tips
Sabtu, 12 Oktober 2013
Dollywood's FireChaser Express Layout
Dollywood recently released the full layout of their new family roller coaster debuting in 2014, FireChaser Express. The layout includes a foward launch, a chain lift, and a backwards launch out of an exploding fireworks factory. Here's the complete ride animation:
The very cool and unique Adventure Mountain climbing structure and ropes course had to be partially removed but it looks like a lot of the towers are going to be reused in the theming for FireChaser. I've taken a overhead image of the site and drew the layout on it based on the renderings available and the POV video.
Read More...
The very cool and unique Adventure Mountain climbing structure and ropes course had to be partially removed but it looks like a lot of the towers are going to be reused in the theming for FireChaser. I've taken a overhead image of the site and drew the layout on it based on the renderings available and the POV video.
I think FireChaser Express looks like a fun little ride and and a great addition to Dollywood. Dare I say it might even be better than Wild Eagle (due to potentially more airtime)?! What say you?
Jumat, 23 Agustus 2013
Read John Wardley's Book
If you're a fan of theme parks and want to know more about how attractions are designed then you must read John Wardley's book, Creating My Own Nemesis. John Wardley is the designer of several world class roller coasters including Vampire at Chessinton World of Adventures and Nemesis, Oblivion, and Air at Alton Towers. He talks about his early beginnings in the theatre, circus and magical cabaret, his time working on some of the most incredible special effects in the James Bond films (including the famous bus crash scene in Live and Let Die), and how he became associated with Madame Tussauds, the world's most famous wax museum.
If you're a fan of magic, illusions, theater production, theme park design, or roller coaster design then you simply must read this book.
Purchase the paperback or Kindle Edition of John Wardley's book, Creating My Own Nemesis, from Amazon.com.
Jumat, 02 Agustus 2013
Kings Island 2014 Roller Coaster Layout
Blueprints of the Kings Island 2014 roller coaster layout have made their way onto the internet a full week before the official announcement from the park. Spoiler alert: Kings Island has already started construction on their new B&M inverted coaster, likely named "Banshee." The roller coaster is being teased as a world-record breaker, meaning it will probably be the tallest, fastest, or longest inverted coaster and possibly even have eight inversions, the most in North America. The color scheme will most likely be blue and silver. Some of the Kings Island 2014 blueprints are pictured below. Banshee's layout looks something like this:
- Lift hill threaded through the vertical loop
- Right side curving drop
- Dive loop
- Vertical loop around the lift hill
- Zero-g roll
- Overbanked turn
- Batwing element (2 inversions)
- Vertical loop number two
- Turnaround
- Another barrel roll
- Helix
- Flatspin/corksrew into the final brakes
If you look closely at the blueprints you can see the footers of two defunct roller coasters: Son of Beast, where Banshee is being built, and the old stand-up coaster King Cobra. As an added bonus, here's an overhead picture of Adventure Express' layout.
Selasa, 16 Juli 2013
Observation Wheels Book Released
I've just released my latest book - Observation Wheels: Guide to the World's Largest Ferris Wheels. The race to build the largest observation wheel is on! Ferris wheels have been around for over one hundred years but have only just recently begun climbing to new heights. The classic Ferris wheel can be found towering over almost every amusement park and carnival midway. Today, these giant, high tech observation wheels are becoming status symbols for cities around the world. The race to build the biggest is heating up. Who invented the Ferris wheel? How do they work? Where are the most unique Ferris wheels found? Observation Wheels: Guide to the World’s Largest Ferris Wheels answers all of these questions and more, including details on more than 60 of the world's most unique giant wheels.
This is the "sort-of" sequel to Coasters 101: An Engineer's Guide to Roller Coaster Design (which will hopefully be getting updated this fall). I've compiled statistics on almost seventy of the world's biggest Ferris wheelsm including the most unique ones in the world. Did you know there are eccentric Ferris wheels that combine the classic Ferris wheel with a car that rolls on a track like a roller coaster? Learn about it and more in my new book.
You can learn more about observation wheels by visiting my latest website.
Label:
Books,
Design,
Design Flaws,
Engineering,
Fun Facts,
Links,
Maintenance,
Marketing,
News,
Stats,
Tips
Selasa, 14 Mei 2013
Why did I choose Disney Cruise Line?
This past April my wife and I sailed on a three night cruise to the Bahamas. It was our first cruise experience. So how did I come to choose going on a cruise over visiting a theme park for my precious vacation time? To be honest, I had never really even considered going on a cruise until recently when a few friends went on a Disney cruise and highly recommended it. There are other reasons why we decided to go on a cruise.
First, why did I choose to go on a Disney ship versus other cruise lines like Carnival or Royal Caribbean or Norweigan? To be honest, I never really even seriously considered any other cruise line. I knew for sure I definitely did NOT want to go on a Carnival ship or affiliate after all the recent problems they’ve been having (and in fact the Ecstasy did experience a 12 minute power outage at sea on the day we sailed!).
I expected the same level of quality, customer service, and cleanliness on a Disney boat that I have experienced at Disney parks and resorts. Not to mention that extra touch of magic. To our delight, the customer service on the boat was even BETTER than in the parks!
Our recent coaster trips have involved lots of driving so one of the appealing factors of going on a cruise for me was I wouldn’t have to do any driving or even rent a car! Disney transportation all the way!
Our last visit to Walt Disney World was very hectic and we crammed a lot into a short period of time. While still very fun, it was not very relaxing. The cruise looked to be a lot less stressful.
In the end, I’m so glad we went on a cruise and glad we choose Disney! The Carnival ships we were docked next to just looked like crap while the Disney Dream was totally awesome and the crew was unbelievable. The only segment of the population I would recommend NOT going on a Disney cruise are those going purely to hook with someone. Probably not the cruise for you. Everyone else can find plenty of things to do. Below is a montage video I shot on our Disney cruise and largely features our day adventure at the incredible Atlantis Resort:
Read More...
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)