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Park Hoppin’
A new lease of life
Metamorphosis. We often think of this process when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. It is defined as a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one. If we consider the metamorphosis of a thing (amusement rides), they occur rarely but demand our attention when they do. Last summer I was impressed by the conversion of Cedar Point's stand-up rollercoaster, Mantis, into a floorless coaster, Rougerou, pictured in the background below. Bolliger & Mabillard saved the track layout, but changed trains, the loading platform and control system to create a new and thrilling ride. Simulators undergo
a metamorphosis every time the ride film is changed. The much-copied Soarin' attraction at Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney World's EPCOT will soon transform from Soarin' Over California to Soarin' Around the World. A more elaborate conversion took place in 2008 when Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood remodelled and reconstructed their Back to the Future: The Ride into The Simpsons Ride. In addition to changing the ride film, in each location the building was given a complete overhaul and redecorated. The cars were changed and the original Intamin mechanics system was updated by Oceaneering. Often the metamorphosis is less dramatic but more amusing. I've seen the
cups from a tea cup ride repurposed as a seating area for park guests. Old bumper cars have been placed strategically around a park, filled with dirt, and serve as flower pots. Then there is the 25ft-tall (8m) hydrant painted bright red that adorns the Dog Beach in Wildwood, New Jersey. It was donated by Morey's Piers, and was formerly the tower structure to a spiral slide. But for me, the most amazing metamorphosis occurred 68 years ago when
the legendary Crystal Beach Cyclone, a wood coaster on the Canadian shore of Lake Erie near Buffalo, New York, was transformed into the Crystal Beach Comet. Let me explain. Most rollercoaster enthusiasts agree that the Crystal Beach Cyclone was the world's most terrifying coaster. Designed by Harry Traver and built in 1927, it was the only coaster that had a nurse on duty full time on the loading platform, and with good reason. It was ferocious. Black and menacing, as the train plunged down the first 97ft (30m) drop, the track veered 85° to the left, throwing people into their riding partners, cracking ribs. Many people fainted. Like drunken sailors, riders staggered down the exit ramp. I know; I saw them. People lost hats, combs, purses, false teeth, and by the end of its 20 years of operation in 1946 many more people were watching than actually riding the legendary Crystal Beach Cyclone. Because of high maintenance and dwindling ridership, the park’s owners decided to replace the Cyclone with a new coaster, the Comet. Designed by Herbert Schmeck of Philadelphia Toboggan Company, the steel L-shaped angle iron supports from the Cyclone were saved and repurposed to build the Comet, opened in 1948. The Comet was an immediate success and remained in operation until the park turned out the lights in 1989. It was then sold at auction and re-erected in 1994 at The Great Escape in Queensbury, New York. Metamorphosis, done right, is a wonderful thing.
4 MARCH 2016
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