Holiday Gift Guide for Amusement Park Fans

The 2013 holiday shopping season is upon us and if you’re on the hunt for that special gift for a friend or family member who happens to be a fan of amusement parks and roller coasters then you’ve come to the right place! Listed below are my recommended gifts to give or receive this holiday season.

• Coasters 101: An Engineer’s Guide to Roller Coaster Design. Learn how roller coaster designers spend hundreds of hours creating, tweaking, and re-imagining ride paths to push the exhilaration envelope while carefully maintaining the highest safety standards. Features design example problems real roller coaster engineers face in the field today as well as career advice for any aspiring theme park engineers. Available in Kindle or paperback formats from Amazon.com.
• American Coasters: A Thrilling Photographic Ride is a  relatively new book by photographer Thomas Crymes. The pictures are large and crisp. The colors are vivid. The book’s simple design places more emphasis on the photographs. Nothing beats seeing pictures of roller coasters printed on a physical page (sorry, internet).
• Creating My Own Nemesis by John Wardley. The story follows John’s professional career beginning with how he got out of the boring family business and into the crazy world of theme parks If by any degree you’re into magic, illusions, theater production, theme park design, or roller coasters I highly recommend you read this thoroughly entertaining book. See the making of RCT3 with John Wardley.
• Theme Park Design by Steve Alcorn. Take a peek behind the scenes, with a theme park engineer, and learn about the multitude of roles and skills needed to design a world class theme park attraction – a must read for all aspiring theme park designers!
• RollerCoaster Tycoon Triple Thrill Pack Instant Download.  This compilation of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 and expansion packs Time Twister and Wacky Worlds brings together all the rides, building tools, as well as five real-world Six Flags amusement parks and 25 of their signature coasters. My personal favorite of all the RollerCoaster Tycoon games.
• Transport Tycoon for tablets. Chris Sawyer’s Transport Tycoon is now available on tablet devices everywhere. Reviewers say they managed to bring this classic game to mobile devices extremely well.
• K’nex Rippin Rocket Coaster. Loaded with over 500 KNEX pieces including classic parts, this model boasts over 20 feet of twists, turns, and daring loops. A special motorized blaster launches the coaster car into its exciting journey around the track.
• Coaster Dynamix Models. The most realistic working roller coaster models currently available. Choose from Wooden coasters, steel coasters, Tumble Bugs, and Lego coaster sets.
• Cincy Amusement Park Shirts. From the early days of Chester Park to Americana and Kings Island, these vintage shirts will be a nice stroll down memory lane. This shop not only sells The Bat shirts, but also a few other defunct Kings Island coasters, including Son of Beast, Phantom Theater, and King Cobra!

I highly recommend joining Amazon Prime. If you order something off of Amazon on average once per month then it pays for itself, or if you're ordering a bunch of gifts this holiday season it probably will too. The FREE two day shipping is awesome and everything I've ordered really has come in two days or less. You can also stream movies, TV shows, and get a Kindle book every month. Great alternative for Netflix or Hulu and well worth the investment in my opinion. Cheers!

What's on your 2013 holiday gift list? Share in the comments below!

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Ultimate Coaster Design Book Updated

Roller coaster wheel carrier

I've just released the new edition of my book, Coasters 101: An Engineer’s Guide to Roller Coaster Design. If you purchased the Kindle version previously you get free updates. If you purchased the paperback version, you can get the latest digital version for free now too! The latest edition (third) has pictures, diagrams, new content, a better layout, and other general improvements. My goal is to make this book simply the best, most complete, most detailed guide to designing roller coasters you can find. A few of the most recent reviews tend to agree:

“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

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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.

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Observation Wheel Pictures Wanted

I recently launched a brand new website called Observation Wheel Directory, that features a comprehensive list of the world’s largest observation wheels. The site contains numerous information and statistics on Ferris wheels around the globe including an interactive map to find an observation wheel near you.

One thing the site is currently lacking is pictures, and that’s where you come in! If you have a picture of an observation (and it is a picture you took and hold the copyright for) please submit it to the site. We will of course give you credit for the picture and link back to your website or blog if you have one. At this time we are only accepting large Ferris wheels, those over 150 feet in diameter ( we may make exceptions in the future). Or we will also accept pictures of unique Ferris wheels, like the Big O centerless Ferris wheel or the eccentric wheels like the ones at Coney Island and Disney California Adventure.

 

Submit your pictures by emailing me here: nick@observationwheeldirectory.com

 

Thanks, and I can't wait to see your photos.

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Holiday Gift Ideas for Theme Park Fans

The holiday season is officially here and it’s time to go shopping for your fellow theme park fan! Listed below are some ideas I came up of what to buy a theme park fan for Christmas. Some of these items I personally own and others are on my wishlist as well.

Amusement Park Books

Coasters 101: An Engineer’s Guide to Roller Coaster Design: Shameless self plug here. The most in-depth look at how modern roller coasters are designed from concept to creation, including some of the physics and engineering equations used.

Theme Park Design: Behind the Scene with An Engineer- Steve Alcorn’s book is a must read for anyone considering a career in the theme park industry.

What Would Walt Do? – The story of a construction worker during the creation of the Walt Disney World resort after the death of Walt Disney.

Disney World Saving Guide - An ex-Disney employee reveals tips on how to save money on your next vacation to Disney World.

Things To Do in Theme Park Queues – This entertaining book will make your visit to a busy theme park even more enjoyable.


Theme Park Games

Theme Park (Nintendo DS):  Control everything, from the speed of your rides to the amount of ice in your drinks
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum: Let’s face it, it’s going to be awhile before RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 comes out (if ever) so this is the next best thing, especially with RCT3D being so disappointing. RCT3 Platinum combines the excitement and roller coaster, theme park fun of the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 with included expansion packs Soaked! and Wild! Now enjoy more options than ever. Build your own water slide or create your own safari with real animals. Watch guest reactions to your ultimate theme park!

Theme Park Toys

K'NEX Thrill Rides - Hot Shot! Video Coaster: Featuring a coaster car with on-board digital video camera, builders can now see what it would be like to ride their own creations, can share their building achievements with family and friends, and can even edit their own personalized movies.

Turtle Amusement Park Ride Model by Coaster Dynamix: This model is hand-assembled in the USA using laser-cut birch plywood.

Other Suggestions
Give a season pass to your local amusement park, zoo, or aquarium.

Give Yourself a Raise: My free report on how to make a residual income from the internet in your spare time (second edition).

What gifts are you getting your fellow theme park fans for the holidays? Please let me know by commenting below!

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Roller Coaster Design Project

Have you ever wanted to design your own roller coaster? Sure, many of us have. But I’m not talking about using a computer game like RollerCoaster Tycoon or NoLimits. I’m talking about using real roller coaster physics formulas and equations. I recently had the chance to interview a mechanical engineering college student and aspiring roller coaster engineer who has done just that! He has designed his very own GCI inspired wooden roller coaster using only a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and MatLAB. Read all about this roller coaster design spreadsheet on my Excel Spreadsheets Help blog.

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Writing a Roller Coaster Book

A reader recently emailed me asking about how I went about researching and writing my book, Coasters 101:An Engineering Guide to Roller Coaster Design. I decided to share my response with the rest of you here.  

I was indirectly working in the industry during some of the initial writing process. I worked for an engineering services company that did a few small jobs for some amusement industry clients. In my spare time I also did some computer modeling work for one of my friends in the industry. I’m also a member of the ASTM F24 committee on amusement ride safety which sets safety standards and regulations for the industry.

The genesis of my book actually sounds pretty similar to the plan other bloggers have followed. I have been writing articles for this blog for a couple years. I started by revising those articles and then put them into a logical order.

Many ride design firms are small so you it's not a problem setting up a phone or email interview. I’ve visited and interviewed a few ride manufacturers myself (which you can find on on this site). In my experience, the easiest and most open design firm to interview is the Gravity Group, based in Cincinnati, Ohio (they primarily design wooden roller coasters). I haven’t had much luck with European manufacturers. I did do an interview with a representative from Stengel Engineering but from the time I initially contacted them to final publication of the article it was well over six months!

I’m a big fan of the amusement industry so writing a book on it was a very enjoyable experience for me and totally worth the time involved. Please feel free to comment below and ask more specific questions. I'd love to help any others interested in publishing their own book or starting their own website!

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Hershey Chocolate Factory Tour Review

The Wonderful World of Chocolate and the Sweetest Place on Earth

After riding Skyrush at HersheyPark and visiting ZooAmerica, the other highlight of our visit to Hershey world was creating our very own candy bars at Hershey’s Chocolate World. There are several different attractions inside Chocolate World and the first one we did was the Hershey make your own candy bar experience. 

When you purchase your ticket they enter your name into the computer. At each station you scan your ticket and it displays your name so you know where your candy bar is at all times. We donned the white hair nets and aprons we were given and proceeded inside to the candy bar design studio. Using touch screens, I selected my base to be white chocolate and added butterscotch and milk chocolate chips and opted for no sprinkles. Scan our tickets at the start of the assembly line and pull the lever to begin. A suction cup contraption picks up the chocolate base you picked out and sets it gently onto the assembly line conveyor belt. The bar slowly moves down the line stopping at each respective station to receive its proper fillings. A layer of chocolate is applied on top (the same for everybody regardless your base flavor) and your fledgling bar is whisked away into the inferno of the oven. While it cools you get to design your packaging.

Next up, we did the free Hershey chocolate tour. Please note, this ride is a replacement for the original Hershey factory tour, as the original Hershey chocolate factory tour was so popular, and drawing so many guests it was impossible to please them all without disrupting operations of the chocolate factory. So an omni-mover type ride systems was created to move thousands of people a day through the sets of animatronics and video screens, a sort of virtual Hershey plant tour explaining how chocolate is made. Fun fact: Milton Hershey chose the location in Pennsylvania due to the abundance of nearby cows for his milk chocolate (I guess it’s cheaper to transport cocoa versus milk). At the end of the ride you are given a free chocolate bar before being dumped out in a giant Hersheys store.

I can’t wait to visit Hershey park Hershey park again! Pictured below is the 2012 Chocolate World map of attractions. Click here for the Chocolate World hours of operation.

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Dollywood Vacations "Ladybug" Cabin Review

I enjoyed a short weekend vacation by heading to Tennesseeto check out America’s first wing coaster, Wild Eagle, at Dollywood. My full review of the new ride, with photo and video, will be posted on 101. Friday and Saturday night we stayed in one of Dollywood Vacation Cabins. Last year we stayed in One More Night which is in the Star Resort area. This time we were in Ladybug, a two story cabin with a nice view but a pain in the butt to get to.

Pictured below is a scan of the Dollywood Vacations resort map. The cabins Dollywood operates are mixed in with other cabins own by other resorts or individuals. The map is pretty deceiving because a lot of smaller roads are missing. Dollywood’s cabins look closer on the map then they actually are.

If you’re looking for cabins in the Gatlinburg vicinity, I highly recommend Dollywood Vacations. Cabin prices range from affordable to luxuriously expensive – but oh so worth it. Ladybug goes from $99 to $399 depending on the time of year. The Dollywood vacation package can include length of stay tickets to the theme park, including free parking in Lot B! Guests can take home free lanyards and plastic souvenir cups. Easily one of the best Pigeon Forge attractions!

One of my favorite features of the cabins, which you can see in the pictures and video I've added, is the hot tub on the back deck. This cabin also happened to have a Jacuzzi inside on the second story along with a pool table! Ladybug has two full baths and can sleep up to 6 people. We watched a thunderstorm roll in Friday night from the comfort of the hot tub.

Where is Dollywood you ask? Dollywood’s location is in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, land of the blue smoke, and the cabins for rent are located on the mountains behind the park. The main road to get to the park and the cabins is the second to last stoplight from the Smoky Mountainparkway leading to nearby Gatlinburg (a beautiful road to drive on). Once again, I highly recommend staying in these cabins, though I much prefer staying in the cabins closer to the park and the main roads. But trust me, you'll be able to hear the train whistle from any cabin in the area - it's loud!


FYI The address of the Dollywood Vacations Cabin "Ladybug" is: 2321 Foxberry Way.

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Why Not To Sleep At Amusement Park

I saw this hilarious amusement park related video on Facebook and had to share it. That's Sheikra at Busch Gardens Tampa if you don't recognize it. This big kid falls asleep in his little brother's stroller and what happens next he likely won't forget for a very long time!

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2012 March Madness

March Madness is here! Watching these unpredictable games is almost as fun as a riding a roller coaster!

If you're interested in joining my pool leave a comment below and feel free to download the bracket and pool manager below. Visit my Excel Spreadsheets Help blog to learn how to complete your NCAA 2012 basketball brackets.

2012 NCAA Tournament Bracket.xls download
2012 NCAA Tournament Pool Manager.xls download

Join the roller coaster enthusiasts March Madness pool to help get you through the last weeks of the off-season! Type in Group ID (102697) and leave the password blank.  http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/102697/invitation?key=8af4f27d9df49a06

Click here to learn how to dominate your March Madness pool by picking those bracket busting teams!

Sorry for the mostly unrelated post. The good news is I plan on visiting Dollywood in two weeks on opening weekend for a chance to experience Wild Eagle, America's first wing rider coaster!

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Kick Start Coaster Dynamix

Coaster Dynamix makes the most realistic roller coaster model kits that you can buy. To date, all revenue from models sod has gone right back into the company to help improve their already fantastic product. They need our help in raising $50,000 in order to start a full production run. I've already pledged my $35 for the launched coaster model to put on top of my desk here at home. If you've got $5,000 to spend you can have them custom design and build your very own working roller coaster model! Make your pledge today.

See more models at http://www.coasterdynamix.com/

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Disney World Vacation And Savings Travel Guide Review

What's better than looking up Disney ride layouts online? Going to Disney World and actually riding them! Disney World Vacation And Savings Travel Guide is a new book where an ex-Disney employee reveals insider secrets on how to have the best and most cost effective vacation to Walt Disney World resort. This book proves you don't have to be ultra-rich to have an excellent time at Disney World. Instead of spending $5,500 on the trip you could have just as much fun for only $2,700! The book is laid out very professionally and even includes worksheets to help keep your vacation organized. The Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide is updated on a monthly basis to keep up with the constant change around the resort.

Click Here to check it out!

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What Would Walt Do? eBook Review

Attention theme park fans! What Would Walt Do? is a new eBook about the team members, construction workers, and engineers left with the task of building the Walt Disney World resort after Walt Disney's death in December of 1966. The book was written by project manage D. M. Miller and the question "what would Walt do" came up every time a decision had to be made. In the end it was determined that Walt would want to do the right thing. He would've selected the highest quality option available regardless of the cost. Download this fantastic eBook as a PDF file right to your computer today. A must read for all fans of Walt Disney and the Walt Disney World resort.

Click Here to Download!

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Why Disney's Customer Service is Better than Universal

On our recent vacation at Universal Orlando Resort, we waited over an hour in line for Rip Ride Rocket and they closed the ride right before we were about to get on. At that point, the park was closed and we didn't get to do anything else and had essentially wasted the last hour or two of our time in the park. There was no compensation for us or any others waiting in line. We left the park very disappointed and frustrated, along with countless other guests- not a good lasting impression for first time visitors. I understand there are mechanical problems, no big deal, especially if they are early in the day. My issue is that it was the end of the day and there was no attempt at correcting the feeling that our time and money had just been wasted- the two most important issues for me as a park guest. At Disney, they give you fast passes good at any park for x number of days. Thus their customer service will always be better in my eyes. Read More...

Dollywood Vacations Map

I scanned a picture of the map we received when my wife and I stayed at one of the Dollywood Vacation cabins. I couldn't find any online when I was making my reservation which was kind of frustrating. We spent three nights in one of the least inexpensive cabins, One More Night, and it was totally amazing.

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What computer software programs do roller coaster designers use?

Today, roller coasters are designed using the latest in computer technology. The universal tool for the engineer that has completely ruled out the classic drawing board is CAD (Computer Aided Design) software. Programs such as AutoCAD are used to draft, adjust and detail bents in accordance with ride standards. Some companies employ proprietary software which optimizes the track  layout at the computer using elaborate numerical algorithms to help keep the g-forces on the passengers below required safety or customer defined limits. Computer programs can analyze dynamic and static calculations for the track, and automatically determine where supports should be placed.

3D CAD software, such as CATIA or Solidworks, now allows designers to have every aspect of thrill ride design all within one software program including 3D models, 2D manufacturing drawings, kinematic simulations, finite element analysis (FEA), and image renders for marketing purposes. Standard parts like bolts, springs, nuts, washers can be taken from standard part libraries or catalogs and bills of material can be derived directly from the model and inserted into a drawing.

Utilizing this type of software is an enormous improvement over methods that were employed even twenty five years ago. The time required to create a ride would be great without using a computer because of the enormous number of calculations required. Changes and iterations can be made much faster using the computer. Rides can also be built to higher standards, quality, and tolerances. Modern 3D CAD systems can help the engineers design the ride within the limits of biodynamic tolerances of the passengers. A simulation of the coaster can be done based on the CAD data, and so the forces and the dynamic behaviour can be determined way before a prototype has been built. The roller coaster is virtually assembled early in the design phase to test functional relations and mechanisms as well as collision detection of components and clearance envelope. When the CAD work is complete the production data is electronically sent to the manufacturer.

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Best Kept Industry Secret

I recently had the pleasure of attending the ASTM International F24 committee on amusement rides and devices bi-yearly conference held in New Orleans, Louisiana. There were more than 125 attendees of the event which included individuals from Canada , the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the US. The ASTM F24 committee is the best kept secret in the amusement industry. Why? If you're looking for a job in the industry everyone tells you that you have to attend IAAPA, the yearly colossal expo show. From what I've heard, the park representatives present are under huge pressure to try and sell or purchase new rides, so it feels like you are getting in the way if you want to hand someone your resume. At the ASTM conference there is no pressure, everyone is totally relaxed and open and friendly. Not to mention nearly every attendee (except for myself) seemed to have a vice president, director, manager, or president attached to their job title. And they were all willing to sit down and have a conversation with me. How awesome is that? If you're looking into a job in ride design or engineering you need to join ASTM and participate in these meetings.


I will let you in on another piece of information. Nearly all of the engineers I talked to expect new employees to have at least six months of actually working at and amusement park under their belt, especially working hands on with rides. Oh, and Disney expects students applying for internships to have at least a 3.0 GPA. I hope that helps some of you young engineering out there looking to get into the amusement park industry.

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Holiday Shopping?

The holiday season is upon us! It's time to start thinking about what's on your shopping list. The easiest way to avoid all the inconveniences of holiday shopping lines and crowds is to order your gifts online. But what does this have to do with this blog? Well, why not help support this site and get your holiday shopping done at the same time? I would really appreciate it if you can help support this site by using our Amazon.com search box. It's simple to use: just type the name of the product you are looking for in the Amazon.com search box and it will automatically take you to the Amazon website of the product. Simply order the gift as normal and a (tiny) fraction of what you spend will go to this site. What am I going to do with the money? Put it all back into the site to make it even better! Help me help you. (We also accept donations through PayPal, see the link on the sidebar).

Do you need a little extra cash during this holiday season? Start using the internet to your advantage to make some additional revenue. See the sidebar for the most popular sites I use to make fast money off of the internet. They're all free and easy to use. You don't have to put anything into it except a little time. Sites like Opinion Outpost pay you to take surveys online. Within a few weeks of joining you could be holding a check for $100!

Black Friday Deals Week:http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=384082011&tag=ca0a8-20 Read More...