Shane's Amusement Attic

Thanks so much Shane! I love your updates!

 

-Tatum "How much longer 'til the Astroworld stuff? "

 

Sorry Tatum, I know you are waiting for the AstroWorld stuff. I was waiting to get it all together and do one HUGE post but I have just moved and things are still in boxes. Maybe for the Season Finale of Shane's Amusement Attic this year I will do a portion of what I have on AstroWorld.

Shane, Great Job with the Great America Stuff. I'd sure like to know what happened to the Green Train from the PGA Railroad. I know some campground in Florida owns the Red Train and 5 Coaches and intends to operate it there. I could also help you with the 610 Limited Stuff.

 

- Sid "Train Geek" Vernon

I still find it very interesting that the reason that the original Batman- the ride's layout was so compact was because it had to fit into Tidal Wave's space. Other places where it has been cloned its just a compact coaster but in its original location it just barely fits.

 

Also I have to say as a former ride op (from many parks including SFGrAm) that driving those trollies through the crowds had to be really hard!

Great update Shane, and it is nice to see stuff from my home park.

 

I love having Great America as my home park, but the park looked great back then even though it was smaller. It is still a great park today, but so many classic rides have been removed. Too bad some of the classic rides were removed after accidents, because if they didn't happen, they might still be operating today. The only exception would be The Edge, but that might have even lasted until Six Flags removed all of the first generation free fall rides.

^ You should be lucky SFGAm actually kept a lot of the original rides.

 

The Santa Clara park barely has any original Mariott-era rides left compared to SFGAm.

Shane's Retro VCR: Swamp Fox Escape of Death

 

For those of you not out visiting your local park, here's a little snippet to watch to take your mind off your "no-coaster weekend"

 

This guilty pleasure comes from a show called "Games People Play". Everything about this guy, Steve Baker, is creepy but none-the-less there are some good shots of The Swamp Fox at Myrtle Beach.

 

-Shane

 

[coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=swampfox_cr2r[/coastertube]

Why didn't anyone comment on this??? That video was totally f**ked up!!!! It was WAY better than when the dude (Lance Burton?) totally faked his escape from Desperado!

 

--Robb

Warped. Really warped. It reminded me of a program that would pop up on the UHF channels ions ago... Creepy, and yet, just like a car accident- you gotta keep watching just to see what happens next!

Definatly more realistic than the Lance Burton escape.....still not convinced about Lance, but this guy is a complete nutjob!!!!

What bothered me most is how the park owner allowed this to take place. The train ran over the chain/shackle, and then they bragged about how mangled it was. I imagine there was a bit of damage to the wheels/under-carriage of that PTC train.

 

Why can't these daredevil freaks stick to leaping over busses on motorcycles or attempting Houdini's water tank escape? Leave our coasters alone!

 

BTW, this guy actually has a website:

 

http://www.mrescape.com/

If you had trouble opening up the Marriott's Great America page with all the photos Robb has changed the resolution and it should be easier for your computer to open all those photos now.

 

If you are still having problems then it is time to get a new computer.

Not only do I bring you great retro park and coaster info along with long lost videos...Here is a Shane's Amusement Attic EXCLUSIVE.

 

KD fans and lovers of Volcano should really enjoy this post. The ride turned out great but here is a look at how the ride was pitched with all sorts of cool themeing, effects and a completely different ride system. There were many great ideas at Paramount Parks Desgin+Entertainment that didn't fully get realized (unfortunatly the budget wasn't always there). But at least these great concepts can be appreciated among the TPR readers.

 

VOLCANO: A Lava Chaser Adventure!

This system was pitched to both Intamin and B&M

The ride would have looked much better without all that superstructure that really hides the mountain.

This look at KD Volcano concepts brought to you EXCLUSIVELY by Shane's Amusement Attic

Was Volcano originally planned to be some sort of floorless Intamin Pipeline Coaster where the people magically stick to their seats?

 

The entire booklet looks like something out of the 60s/70s and the trains have a very 1950s/1960s futuristic feel to them.

Wow, that is awesome, Shane! Thanks for sharing that. It's interesting to see what concepts ended up being part of the actual ride.

Too bad they couldn't afford the initial concept. Imagine this ride with that level of themeing! I guess B&M wasn't interested in doing it due to the launch!

 

Where you a part of the theme working on this?

Volcano would of been a lot better if it was like that. I mean I doubt it is possible . . . but they could of done a vertical launch that would be the "explosion"

^ The launch out of the top of the volcano and the flamethrower at the top is technically the "eruption".

But where are the Smurfs?

 

This looks like a pretty cool concept--must better than the "wham bam thank you mam" ride of today (which is fun). Too bad they didn't use some "lava" effects in Volcano today (they'd be much more interesting than bare walls and tarps as you return to the station).

TIME WARP aka Greased Lightnin' & Tidal Wave

 

Continuing with the LOST files of Paramount here is a concept that should have happened but got lost in the shuffle. Before I left Paramount for Six Flags I was working on this theme overlay for the Tidal Wave shuttle loop at Paramount's Great America. The entire Orleans square was being converted into a Retro 1950's theme. We were moving the entrace for the Tidal Wave into this section and the ride was going to be re-themed Time Warp. Unfortunately when I left the new creative director had different ideas and the ride became Greased Lightnin'.

The station

Rides new entrace and theme overlay

Concepts for the ID sign

Did you make those? I'm extremely impressed by your work.

 

I can't imagine how awesome Tidal Wave would've been if that concept actually worked out.

 

On top of that your thread is an inspiration for some of my work.

Thanks for posting these.

 

Dan - I really need to ease up on the ellipses...

^^And you could've brought back the "mad scientist" from the old commercials: "Zee Time V-ar-r-r-r-r-p!"

Hey Shane! If you end up buying a Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop for Cowabunga Bay, you could just use this stuff for it!

 

- Sid

Today was such a huge day for me that I just had to post the pictures here in Shane's Amusement Attic. We dumped the BIG bucket for the first time! The splash is only at 3/4 it's potential as we are still doing some fine tuning...but I feel safe to say "HolidayWorld...EAT MY SPLASH!"

^Hahaha, eat my splash! Looks great shane!

Shane those Time Warp renderings are cool to see! Congrats on your big splash too!

The Time Warp themeing looked great, Shane.

 

Too bad it wasn't used.

 

And CONGRATS on your "First Splash".

 

Cowabunga!