British amusement parks evolved from traveling fairs created just for those who wanted to "escape" for a day or a night from regular life. Thirty years ago, theme parks began adding more extreme thrill rides, catering to those who would gladly stand in a queue for an hour for the chance to experience the cathartic thrill of hurtling down a track at 60 miles per hour in an open-topped train.
It was around this time that coasters like The Bullet (Flamingo Land), The Revolution (Pleasure Beach Blackpool), and The Avalanche (also Pleasure Beach Blackpool) were built. The Avalanche is still the UK's only bobsleigh ride.
As the 80s progressed, theme parks could tell that bigger and better thrill rides would attract the most visitors. There are roller coaster clubs in the UK that meet up at theme parks just to experience some of these rides and the company of other coaster enthusiasts. Basically the idea was to have the latest and greatest, most extreme coaster or other thrill ride available.
The same held true through the 90s, except that the major parks kept bumping up against the limits of what it was possible to do in terms of speed, loops, heights, or degree of drop. The benefit was to the theme park visitor, because he or she had an abundance of choices in extreme thrill rides, most of them available within easy driving distances.
Many park areas containing the most extreme thrill rides were given a more dark, sleek, almost sinister feel to enhance the sense of foreboding and danger visitors would feel as they stood in the queue. The 90's involved a huge amount of "rebranding" and redesign of theme parks.
A major innovation of the 21st century at theme parks is the introduction of virtual queuing. For an extra fee, park visitors are loaned pagers and are notified when it is their turn in line at a major attraction. It is sometimes called a Fastpass and relieves the boredom of waiting in long queues by allowing visitors to browse or visit other attractions in the vicinity while waiting in a virtual line.
It was around this time that coasters like The Bullet (Flamingo Land), The Revolution (Pleasure Beach Blackpool), and The Avalanche (also Pleasure Beach Blackpool) were built. The Avalanche is still the UK's only bobsleigh ride.
As the 80s progressed, theme parks could tell that bigger and better thrill rides would attract the most visitors. There are roller coaster clubs in the UK that meet up at theme parks just to experience some of these rides and the company of other coaster enthusiasts. Basically the idea was to have the latest and greatest, most extreme coaster or other thrill ride available.
The same held true through the 90s, except that the major parks kept bumping up against the limits of what it was possible to do in terms of speed, loops, heights, or degree of drop. The benefit was to the theme park visitor, because he or she had an abundance of choices in extreme thrill rides, most of them available within easy driving distances.
Many park areas containing the most extreme thrill rides were given a more dark, sleek, almost sinister feel to enhance the sense of foreboding and danger visitors would feel as they stood in the queue. The 90's involved a huge amount of "rebranding" and redesign of theme parks.
A major innovation of the 21st century at theme parks is the introduction of virtual queuing. For an extra fee, park visitors are loaned pagers and are notified when it is their turn in line at a major attraction. It is sometimes called a Fastpass and relieves the boredom of waiting in long queues by allowing visitors to browse or visit other attractions in the vicinity while waiting in a virtual line.
About the Author:
Andrea Smith is a freelance writer and Theme Park enthusiast from the UK. She writes for Techy Zone about roller coasters, thrill rides and theme parks in the UK.
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