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RollerCoaster Tycoon Celebrates 15th Anniversary

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the first release of “RollerCoaster Tycoon” – arguably one of the most popular simulator games of all time. It also marks a milestone – millions of hours wasted playing the game by it’s combined players…

The original RollerCoaster Tycoon box.

Take yourself back a decade and a half…the only true simulator game that was commercially available was “SimCity” – but it’s time on the top was soon to be ended.

An unknown Scottish designer, named Chris Sawyer partnered with artist Simon Foster and composer Allister Brimble to create the game-changing simulator. Famed ride designer, John Wardley was even brought on as a special consultant.

Scottish developer, Chris Sawyer, developed and worked significantly on both RCT and RCT2.

Like many park fans, I was introduced to this program via a free, downloadable demo, that had a time limit and did not have the ability to save games.

The game allows players to either create an entire amusement park from scratch, or build up and maintain an existing park, within a set of pre-determined parameters.

The cartoony look up front hid the fact that real world physics were at play behind-the-scenes in the code.

The cartoon-like look hid the fact that real world physics were at play behind-the-scenes in the code.

It also featured an easy-to-understand user interface, which allowed even the most novice of players to step immediately into gameplay.

While initially a commercial flop – word spread quickly through the amusement fan community, who in turn told their friends about the quirky and addictive game, and it soon became a sleeper hit. There are three “versions” of the game, with expansion packs for each one.

Atari recently announced a fourth “sequel” to the original, dubbed “RollerCoaster Tycoon 4.” It will be released for iOS devices in summer, 2014.

The mark of a good game is the length of it’s shelf life. With many people still playing the original version, RollerCoaster Tycoon has stood the test of time – and is still going strong. Even with new rivals popping up, such as NoLimits and Theme Park Studio, RollerCoaster Tycoon continues to hold a significant audience, when many other games gave gone the way of the Dodo.

Heck, there was even a RollerCoaster Tycoon pinball machine – endorsed by the American Coaster Enthusiasts, no less! Not too many brands can brag about that:

Photo by http://www.CoasterImage.com

In addition, many variants of the “tycoon” style of game have popped up since the initial release of the original RollerCoaster Tycoon. Games such as Prison Tycoon, Railroad Tycoon are among just a few to enter the market. Even SimCity tried to get back into the fray, with the poorly received “Sim Theme Park.”

Special thanks to Lost Parks producer, Nicholas Laschkewitsch for suggesting this post! Got a good post idea? Feel free to send it in!

Posted by Great American Thrills | March 31, 2014 | Categories: Amusement Parks, Theme Parks | Tags: #ACERideWithUs, #greatamericanthrills, ACE, allison brimble, american coaster enthusiasts, amusement park, atari, chris sawyer, great american thrills, happy birthday, john wardley, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, nicholas laschkewitsch, RCT, RCT 2, RCT 3, RCT 4, RCT2, RCT3, RCT4, roller coaster, roller coaster tycoon, rollercoaster tycoon, Simon Foster, simulator games, theme park, timewasters, video games | Comments Off on RollerCoaster Tycoon Celebrates 15th Anniversary

Universal Studios “Earthquake” Inspired by Bay Area Rapid Transit

If you’ve been to Universal Studios in Hollywood, the odds are pretty good you’ve taken the famous “Studio Tour.” A mainstay of this attraction since 1988, “Earthquake: The Big One” allows unsuspecting tourists to experience a simulated magnitude 8.3 tremor.

Photo illustration by Universal Studios Hollywood

Speaking from experience – it’s more like a solid 5.0 to me – but I digress.

Anyone who’s lived in the Bay Area however, will take note that the show in Soundstage 50 show might seem a bit TOO familiar to them. That’s because the designers of this attraction took many pains to recreate a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station.

Now, by today’s standards – the effects are okay, but dated. Maybe it was just me as a kid, but I seem to remember things happening a LOT faster back in the day. What I’ve always wanted to do, though – is experience the show like this video depicts, with full cinematic effects going and a cast. Oh, and at 24 frames per second, so it’s more dramatic. Cost prohibitive? Most definitely. Bad ass and awesome? You better believe it:

Notice how they got the train right, and the station’s “Brutalist” style architecture? Heck, they even got the BART horn just about right, too! Note all the similarities in this, the SFO station built in the 1990’s:

So the next time you’re at Universal Studios Hollywood – take a CLOSER look at Earthquake: The Big One. And the next time you’re in a BART station in the Bay Area – pray for no major quakes.

Posted by Great American Thrills | March 24, 2014 | Categories: Theme Parks | Tags: amusement park, BART, Bay Area, Bay Area Rapid Transit, earthquake, great american thrills, hollywood, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, mass transit, San Francisco Bay Area, SFO, special effects, studio, subway, theme park, train, trains, universal studios | Comments Off on Universal Studios “Earthquake” Inspired by Bay Area Rapid Transit

Protect Your B-Roll Videos

Before the advent of the internet (and subsequently, high speed internet speeds), amusement parks would send out “b-roll” or simply put, “generic footage” of either their park or a certain ride, so that news outlets could use it in stories, most notably, to promote a new attraction that is opening up.

Fast forward to today’s “connected world” and parks continue to send out these videos, only it’s now done mostly via social media, YouTube or their own webpages.

Subsequently, many people have taken these videos and spread them via their own accounts, which helps spread the word about the new attraction or offering. (It’s also known as a “Viral Effect.”) Exactly what the park wanted, right?

Well, not quite.

You see, there’s a new epidemic going around these days, called “MONETIZATION.” That’s where users take these readily available videos and cash in on them – and it’s costing your park some serious money.

How? Check it out:

1.) Your park hires a production company to come out and professionally film and edit a good promotional video for your park or, you pay an employee to do the same on your payroll.

2.) The video is uploaded to your social media accounts and YouTube channel.

3.) The video is liked, commented on and shared by users on social media via “SHARE” buttons, thereby promoting the product / service.

Now here’s where the ecosystem turns illegal:

4.) Some users will then download (also known as “rip”) your video off of YouTube, then re-uploaded onto their personal account. The video is then is “monetized,” which means ads are shown in order to make money for the user for every view it receives.

“But it’s not that bad – at least my message is getting out there, right?”

As harmless as it may seem, the investment you made to help promote the park is in fact, now directly making money for someone else, who didn’t contribute a dime to it’s production nor asked for permission to use it for their own account. Simply put…that’s copyright infringement, folks.

Would you feel the same if you set up a photo shoot, took a stunning photo, then had it sold repeatedly online thousands of time, without you ever being paid for it?

YouTube Terms of Service (TOS) requires that:

“Your video is not eligible for monetization if it contains content that you didn’t create or get permission from its creator to use. You need to be able to show written permission for the following video elements:

Audio: copyrighted sound recordings, live performances, background music, etc.
Visuals: images, logos, software, video game footage, etc.
Any other content you don’t own worldwide commercial usage rights to.”

We’re pretty sure user “CoastersCoastersCoasters” didn’t create that beautiful Six Flags new ride announcement video on their own…let alone pay for it.

Here’s some more food for thought – YouTube has many “Super Users” who actually make a living off of monetized videos. Are you comfortable with providing direct income to them, without them working for you? I didn’t think so.

So, how can you prevent this?

Start by adding a watermark to your video. It’s actually relatively simple even with rudimentary editing software – and any professional and/or legitimate production company hired by you should be able to accommodate this request without any problems. This will ensure that people know YOU own this content, not others.

Secondly, you’ll need to do some legwork on YouTube, but it’s fairly easy. Just do a search for your video every now and then, and see what pops up. Considering any illegal copies of your video will be similarly named to yours for SEO – that’s easy enough to spot.

The reporting from for copyright infringement on YouTube is vastly streamlined compared to a DCMA takedown notice – and hits infringers in the wallet, where it hurts the most.

Thirdly, WHEN you find an offending video, report it. Ever since the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA was passed, YouTube and other social content sources have been very good at taking down content owned by others, especially when a formal complaint is filed. You can begin that process here: https://www.youtube.com/yt/copyright/copyright-complaint.html

Then, go into your media list and purge it of any contacts you’ve found to be doing more harm than good. It makes no sense to keep inviting people to press events if all they’re doing is stealing from under your nose.

As a victim of copyright infringement in the past, I can tell you that prompt, succinct action is the best course of action. While trying to be nice and extending an olive branch is always a nice thought – it’s not always the best way to end the problem permanently. Repeat offenders do just that – repeat.

Together, we can stamp out copyright infringement and eradicate the epidemic of monetization…together!

Review my prior posts about “Social Media and the Amusement Park” here.

About the Author:

Kris Rowberry has been following the amusement industry for over 15 years. He is the creator and host of both “The Lost Parks of Northern California” and “Great American Thrills®“

Posted by Great American Thrills | March 13, 2014 | Categories: Amusement Parks, Social Media and your Amusement Park (SERIES), Television Production, Theme Parks | Comments Off on Protect Your B-Roll Videos

Disney World admission price increases – but is it really that expensive?

This week, the amusement fan community and even the national media gravitated to the news that Walt Disney World was increasing their single day, admission prices to $99 at the Magic Kingdom. It was the second price hike in less than 12 months for the Florida resort.

Now, most people who read the story probably thought the same thing: HOLY CRAP – IT’S $100 DAMN DOLLARS TO GO TO DISNEY WORLD FOR A SINGLE DAY?!?

However, there are a few factors that most sources (and most viewers) probably didn’t take into consideration when the story broke. Let us then, consider the following:

A single day admission (purchased at the main entrance to the park):

Disney World: $99.00

Six Flags Over Texas: $64.99

Cedar Point: $54.99

So, “apples to apples,” Disney seems wildly overpriced, right? Well – first we have to ask if it’s really an “apples to apples” comparison. There’s one thing that most folks don’t take into account when price-comparing parks – it’s their line management programs (AKA “fast pass” systems).

Disney offers their “Fastpass” system free of charge, (built into the cost of admission, regardless of length of ticket) to all guests with a valid ticket on all of their operating “e-Ticket” attractions as well as many others. (The only constraint is how many you can hold at one time). Both Six Flags Over Texas and Cedar Point also offer their own version of a line management system (dubbed “The FLASH Pass” and “Fast Lane,” respectively). However, they are generally limited to set number of attractions or rides per ticket.

And unlike Disney, both chains charge additional fees for this service. Six Flags has three different tiers of pricing, ranging from $40 to $90 per guest, while Cedar Point offers two tiers of pricing, ranging from $75 to $90).

With that in mind, let’s now see how much each park is really costing you, “apples to apples”:

Disney World: $99.00

Six Flags Over Texas: $104.99 – $154.99

Cedar Point: $129.99 – $144.99

*It should be noted – that all costs in this comparison are calculated at the single person rate.

With the extra service of a “fast pass” system on some of their major rides, we can see that a trip to the Magic Kingdom is actually still quite competitive with other parks around the country – in fact – you’re getting MORE for your money on a single day admission.

Spread it out over several days, and the Disney price drops even further, whereas at Cedar Point and Six Flags, you’ll need to pay full price for their “fast pass” systems each and every time you go.

Now, this comparison does not take into account a season pass which – depending on the number of times visiting the park – can dramatically reduce these prices. But, considering most people visit Disney only once a year (or less in my case) then we’ve assumed folks will visit these regional parks the same amount of times per year.

What do you think? Was Disney out of order for raising prices twice in a single year? Do you use “fast pass” systems at parks OTHER than Disney? Why or why not? Leave me a comment below and tell me what YOU think!

Posted by Great American Thrills | March 5, 2014 | Categories: Amusement Parks | Tags: admission prices, disney, disney world, fast lane, fastpass, florida project, great american thrills, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, magic kingdom, the flash pass, theme park review, walt disney world | 3 Comments

Could Cedar Fair offer a “California Season Pass” instead of a Platinum Pass?

I travel fairly often to visit amusement and theme parks – that’s no secret. But I’m also a big fan of getting the most bang for my buck, especially in this economy. Case in point:

Cedar Fair, L.P. currently offers three different levels, or tiers of season passes:

Your standard SEASON pass, which gets you admission into a single park.

The GOLD Pass, which in NorCal gets you admission to: California’s Great America, Halloween Haunt, Gilroy Gardens and free parking at each park.

And finally, the PLATINUM Pass, which gets you admission and free parking to ALL the Cedar Fair owned parks.

Most of us in California, however – never get a chance to leave the Golden State, which makes upgrading to a PLATINUM pass very cost prohibitive, considering the next closest Cedar Fair park besides Knott’s – is World’s of Fun…in Missouri.

That’s a long road trip to use your Platinum Pass to it’s maximum potential.

That being said, I believe there’s room for Cedar Fair to debut a fourth tier of passes – the CALIFORNIA Pass.

It could be positioned between the GOLD and PLATINUM passes, in terms of perks and pricing. In addition to all the benefits of a GOLD pass, it would also get you admission and parking at Knott’s Berry Farm and Soak City Water Park.

Now for most people, this doesn’t seem like much to add for it’s own tier – but since the West Coast parks are so far separated from the rest of the chain in terms of distance and topography, most California park fans are content to stay IN the state and will never be able to get the full benefits out of a PLATINUM pass, unlike their counterparts in the Midwest and on the East Coast, where parks are only a drive’s day (or less) away.

As a result, they may not upgrade to the higher cost tier, and forgo even visiting the other parks in California, where they could be spending money. Of course, on the flip side, if a CALIFORNIA pass was added, I know that I’d be much more willing to upgrade to it and happily drive more often to SoCal to get my Xcelerator and Monte fixes MUCH more often.

Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm. Photo by Kris Rowberry. All rights reserved.

What do you think – would YOU purchase a CALIFORNIA pass if it was offered? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, or reach out to us on our SOCIAL MEDIA pages, too!

Posted by Great American Thrills | March 4, 2014 | Categories: Amusement Parks | Tags: Cedar Point, dorney park, great america, great american thrills, kings island, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, season pass, season passes, travel | Comments Off on Could Cedar Fair offer a “California Season Pass” instead of a Platinum Pass?

Beverly Hills Cop 3 Filmed at Great America 20 Years Ago

The mid-nineties were awesome. Nickelodeon was just hitting its stride. The Soviet Union was no more. And a movie studio had just purchased the entire Kings Entertainment amusement park empire – with the intention of turning them into THEME parks.

With Paramount at the helm, the former Kings parks became valuable assets in terms of new shooting locations for films. Considering the advertising slogan at the time, “Where the magic of the movies meets the thrills of a lifetime” – it would only make sense that a feature film would eventually be made inside one of Paramount’s parks.

And in 1994, that’s exactly what happened at Great America. Coincidentally, a film was being pitched to the major L.A. studios at the same time. Essentially, it was “Die Hard,” but at an amusement park. Paramount looked to their stable of franchises to see if the concept would work, and they found their answer with, “Beverly Hills Cop 3.”

The film is all but forgettable when it comes to plot – and its effect on the cinema landscape is minimal at best. In fact, it only has a 10% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also a flop at the box office, losing $8 million domestically. It eventually made money after being released worldwide – but was still the least successful of the three “Beverly Hills Cop” films.

However, if you’re a fan of California’s Great America…it’s a literal time capsule into the Santa Clara park at the beginning of the Paramount-era. The scenic railway is still there, Vortex is still green! But arguably, the most memorable scene in the film features one of the most beloved attractions to ever grace the Great American skyline.

In it, Axel attempts to escape pursuing Wonder World security guards by jumping onto “the Spider” a large, three-armed Ferris Wheel that us locals know better as the “Triple Wheel.” (Gurnee fans know it as the “Sky Whirl”) However, one of the ride cabins begins to come loose, with two young children trapped inside.

Axel somehow exits his locked cabin, (through the magic of Hollywood) and slides down to the hub of the ride. From there, he ascends up the other arm, rescues the children and rappels down to the ground, just moments before the cabin smashes down.

Sharp eyed viewers will spot famous film director, George Lucas in this scene as well.

As for the Triple Wheel, the constant starts and stops required to get these exciting scenes may have contributed to the ride’s early demise. The attraction was designed to run continuously throughout the day – and the necessary re-takes and repositions were hard on both the hydraulics and motors. The Triple Wheel was dismantled after the 1997 season, to make way for Invertigo, which itself was removed after the 2011 season.

Currently, the site of the ride remains empty, however it is used for “Friday Night Flicks” during the summer.

Photo by: California’s Great America

While the rumor mill is always churning out stories about new attractions coming to this area – long-time fans of both Great Americas always hold out hope that someday, they’ll round Hometown Square and hear that unmistakable whine in the park once again:

Posted by Great American Thrills | March 3, 2014 | Categories: Amusement Parks, Lost Parks, Television Production | Tags: beverly hills cop 3, california's great america, eddie murphy, great america, great american thrills, ivan reitman, judge reinhold, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, paramount parks, paramount pictures, paramount's great america, Sky Whirl, the psider, triple wheel, wonder world beverly hills cop | 1 Comment

Inaugural #CoasterChat TONIGHT on Twitter!

Join the creator and host of Great American Thrills®, along with the creator of CoasterAddict.com, for the first ever #CoasterChat tweetup!

Many of us love roller coasters and the amusement parks that build them. Similarly, many of us also tweet…all of the time. Now, we hope to merge the two together on a weekly basis, discussing the latest news and topics surrounding the amusement park industry. We look forward to hearing all of your great ideas and enthusiastic candor!

So, how can YOU participate? It’s easy! Just log into Twitter around 6:00pm TONIGHT, and search for / follow the #CoasterChat hashtag – it’s that easy to join in on the fun – see you there, coaster fans!

Logo by: CoasterAddict.com

Posted by Great American Thrills | February 25, 2014 | Categories: Amusement Parks, Social Media, Theme Parks | Tags: #coasterchat, amusement pakrs, amusement park, busch gardens, cedar fair, coaster addict, coaster chat, coasteraddict.com, great american thrills, hasgtags, hashtag, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, roller coaster, roller coasters, six flags, social media, theme park, theme parks, tweet, tweets, twitter | Comments Off on Inaugural #CoasterChat TONIGHT on Twitter!

Six Flags scores viral hits on social media this off-season

Kudos to Six Flags for turning one of the worst winters EVER into one of the most entertaining – and keeping their followers on social media engaged during the long off-season:

First up, is Six Flags St. Louis…

After a bitter cold spell gripped the midwest, the marketing folks at the former Mid-America park decided to trudge through the snow to make a statement…and a brilliant one at that:

The folks in the marketing department deserve a raise just for changing the sign in those conditions!

Now, would it have been even funnier if they said the water park WAS open? Of course, but you have to imagine the marketing and ops folks would have had fits of people showing up, ready to take “bobsled runs” down those frozen, fiberglass slides.

Not to be outdone, this week, Six Flags Great America decided to have some fun with their own freeway advertising signage – this time invoking one of the greatest comedies (and certainly best park-related movies) of all time:

“The moose out front should have told you – that it’s colder here than in Alaska right now!”

Folks – this is what social media is all about – in each of these instances, fans and news outlets picked up on the post – and shared it across a wide swath of the internet. Even if you weren’t a fan of these parks…chances are you would have seen or HEARD about these posts if you lived near or around these parks.

And to think – this is all FREE PUBLICITY (and positive, too) is when the parks are CLOSED. Thousands of people are now talking about these parks – and you can bet some folks decided to go in on a season pass online, probably hoping for warmer weather to show up! 🙂

Again, that’s the name of the game on social media when you’re at an amusement park – don’t just throw out updates for the sake of throwing out updates (I.E. throwing crap on the wall and seeing what sticks) – curate excellent content, and it will inevitably lead to better engagement…which will lead to more butts passing through those turnstiles.

Review my prior posts about “Social Media and the Amusement Park” here.

About the Author:

Kris Rowberry has been following the amusement industry for over 15 years. He is the creator and host of both “The Lost Parks of Northern California” and “Great American Thrills®“

Posted by Great American Thrills | February 18, 2014 | Categories: Amusement Parks, Social Media, Social Media and your Amusement Park (SERIES) | Tags: amusement park, great american thrills, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, off-season, roller coaster, seasonal park, six flags, social media, social media and the amusement park, social media best practices | Comments Off on Six Flags scores viral hits on social media this off-season

Lost Parks of Northern California on Treasure Island for World’s Fair Celebration This Weekend

Looking for a park-related activity this weekend? Why not join the “Lost Parks” crew on Treasure Island, for the 75th anniversary of the opening of the 1939 World’s Fair!

The event is being held in Building One on Treasure Island, the same building that doubled as the terminal to the Berlin Airport in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Learn more about the event, here.

It’s also FREE to attend, unless you live on the east side of the bay – you’ll have to pay the Bay Bridge toll – but only use half of the bridge! Sorry about that…

Posted by Great American Thrills | February 14, 2014 | Categories: Lost Parks, Television Production | Tags: #lostparks, 1939, bay area history, golden gate international exposition, great american thrills, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, lost parks, lost parks of northern california, new show concept, San Francisco, treasure Island, world's fair | Comments Off on Lost Parks of Northern California on Treasure Island for World’s Fair Celebration This Weekend

Creator of Great American Thrills Celebrates 30th Birthday

So, this is thirty.

In the first third of my life – I’ve come pretty far. I no longer require diapers, can walk on my own two feet and live on my own.

I’ve had loves of my life – only to have them move on, made countless acquaintances but only a few true friends.

I’ve had some highs on some incredible rides and I’ve had some significant lows; none worse than when I lost my Mother suddenly back in 2004 – and then was lost, myself.

Until, one day in 2010 – in the basement of Packard Hospital – I realized this wasn’t the life I wanted. Staring at the same model of hospital bed that I watched my Mother pass away on – soaked in blood – I vowed a change.

And so, I did just that.

I fulfilled a promise and graduated college. I pushed myself professionally at an airship company.

An airship company, people!

And I had the time of my damn life.

I met a spunky young coaster enthusiast – who to this day makes me look amazing on film, and who shares in a dream of a better tomorrow through entertainment, enthusiasm and saying the word “poo” whenever possible in our documentaries.

I’ve made some mistakes, and will sure make a ton more – but so long as I learn something from them – they’ll always help me in the long run.

All the while, each and every day I’ve lived, all 10,927 and a half of them – brings me the experience necessary to take on the next challenge. I may not have seen it at the time, but it’s all been part of this grand journey we call life.

Here’s to the next two thirds (and more!)

Photo by the great Nicholas Laschkewitsch

Posted by Great American Thrills | February 13, 2014 | Categories: Amusement Parks | Tags: 30, birthday, great american thrills, happy birthday, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, thirty, turning 30 | Comments Off on Creator of Great American Thrills Celebrates 30th Birthday

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