RIDES THE RIDE MAKERS From glow coasters to boomerangs, thrillseekers are never short of options thanks to the
work of the ride makers. We talk to four of the companies who set the bar for the industry Alice Davis, managing editor, Attractions Management
INTAMIN
SASCHA N. CZIBULKA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
What coasters are popular right now? There’s strong demand for thrilling signature coasters, which have a high marketing value. There’s also demand for “thrilling” family coasters, such as our coaster Juvelen at Djurs Sommerland.
What makes Intamin different? You’ll almost never hear from Intamin that something cannot be done.
What have been the biggest changes for ride makers in recent times? Probably one of the biggest changes is that IP and brands are more and more the basis for new attractions. Then, the ride system itself often represents only a small portion of the overall investment for a new ride or attraction. The cost for the IP is defined before the creative design for the ride system begins and to stay within the budget, it’s the ride system where savings are expected to be made.
Do you have any concerns about the industry? One of the biggest challenges is the vari- ous standards in different countries and regions. A worldwide harmonisation of standards (ISO) as well as of the rules for third party inspection bodies is vital. To some extent there’s a safety concern with new park developments, mainly in the Mid- and Far East. These parks are getting high-end equipment, especially rides, which are designed at the edge of the possible and those rides require a professional operation and maintenance, which in some cases is just not there. From our point of view, bigger threats
for the entire industry – maybe excepting the very big players such as Disney
and Universal – is a potential lack of innovation. Nowadays more and more parks are operated and owned by large corporations who are less willing to carry a portion of the prototype risk. Basically, all the ride manufacturers
are small companies and cannot afford to develop new attractions and ride systems on their own. Master agreements with huge penalties and/or unreasonable clauses are not supportive in this context. If we don’t see a change in the near future we may run into problems when it comes to innovation in the years to come. Finally, an issue for ride makers is the growing problem of IP infringement.
In terms of engineering, design or manufacturing, what’s exciting? There are three major developments in rollercoaster technology we can mention. The first is the significant improvement in the efficiency of our linear motor technology in combination with power storage systems that result in considerably lower power connection requirements. The second is Intamin’s newly developed single and double backbone track, which complies with the very latest EN standards, and also results in less columns and a very smooth ride, even though the layout features high g-forces and high speeds. Third is implementing special effects to
combine a coaster with a dark ride. With our most recent work done for a major park in the US, we’ve incorporated special effects on motion bases, which together with top-notch media creates a state-of- the-art rollercoaster dark ride experience.
Intamin’s launch coaster Nefekesen – or, Breathtaker – has opened at Vialand, Istanbul, Turkey. Trains are launched to 110kph in 3.5 seconds
70 Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital AM 4 2014 ©Cybertrek 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104