The Results of the 2012 "Reel" Design Contest

After a month of competition and three weeks of judging on CoasterRadio.com, we finally have a winner in the 2012 "Reel" Design Contest.

We had close to 100 entries and from that we narrowed it down to 10 Semi-Finalists. They were:

1 - Stark Expo: The Iron Man Experience - James King
2 - Tales from the Crypt Presents: Last Rite - Wally Phelps
3 - Night Fury - Ryan Farrugia
4 - Ghostbusters: The Ride - Carson from Dallas, TX
5 - Enchanted - Michael from Brazil
6 - The UP Adventure - Travis and Katie
7 - Starship Troopers: The Ride - Erich Flynn
8 - Tron: Legacy - Coaster Matt
9 - A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Ride - Brian Wactlar
10 - Aladdin's Adventure: Escape from the Cave of Wonders - Daniel Melvold

Our three Finalsts were:
 
1 - Stark Expo: The Iron Man Experience - James King

2 - Ghostbusters: The Ride - Carson from Dallas, TX
 3 - The UP Adventure - Travis and Katie

And the winner of the 2012 "Reel" Design Contest was
The UP Adventure - Travis and Katie

Travis and Katie will receive the first-ever "Reel Design"Award

Congratulations to the winners and EVERYONE who entered.

Thanks also to our all-star judging panel:

* Neil Patrick Harris
* Gary Goddard, Founder and CEO, The Goddard Group
* Dan Koch, President of Holiday World and Splashin' Safari
* Korey Kiepert, Engineer & Partner at The Gravity Group
* Dave Altman, President, American Coaster Enthusiasts
* Arthur Levine, Theme Park Guide, About.com
* Lance Hart, Editor of Screamscape.com
* Andre from Miami, FL - The 2006 "Reel" Design Contest Winner

CoasterRadio.com #623 - The Finals of the 2012 "Reel" Design Contest

This week, CoasterRadio.com presents The Finals in the 2012 "Reel" Design Contest!

People from all over the world sent in ride designs based on their favorite Hollywood movies.

Mike and EB shared the Top 10 Semi-Finalists with you and then sent the following three finalists off to the esteemed panel of judges:

The Stark Expo: The Iron Man Experience - James King
The UP Adventure - Travis and Katie
Ghostbusters: The Ride - Carson from Dallas, TX

This week, we hear from this panel of industry experts and superfans to find out who will will be crowned 2012 "Reel" Design Champion!

* Neil Patrick Harris
* Gary Goddard, Founder and CEO, The Goddard Group
* Dan Koch, President of Holiday World and Splashin' Safari
* Korey Kiepert, Engineer & Partner at The Gravity Group
* Dave Altman, President, American Coaster Enthusiasts
* Arthur Levine, Theme Park Guide, About.com
* Lance Hart, Editor of Screamscape.com
* Andre from Miami, FL - The 2006 "Reel" Design Contest Winner

We can't reveal any outcomes... but we can say that there is a lot of drama!

Thanks to our judging panel for giving their time and expertise!  Thanks also to everyone who entered! You are all amazing and creative people!


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"Reel" Design Semi-Finalist #10 - "Aladdin's Adventure: Escape from the Cave of Wonders"

SEMI-FINALIST #10

Attraction Name: Aladdin's Adventure: Escape from the Cave of Wonders

Based upon: Walt Disney Picture's "Aladdin"

Contestant: Daniel Melvold

There is a celebration planned for Aladdin for saving Agrabah from Jafar.

Abu, the mischievous monkey, is distracted from getting to the celebration by his temptation, hunger and old "street rat" ways in while traveling through the Kasbah.  This almost makes him and Aladdin late.

Once at the celebration area (boarding area), an over excited Genie informs the Sultan that the city will never be fully safe until Jafar’s lamp is placed deep inside the Cave of Wonders; and thusly, locking Jafar away forever.  Until that time, anyone or anything could accidentally release the Jafar Genie from the lamp by simply rubbing on it.

Aladdin, with the help of Abu, volunteers to take the lamp to the Cave of Wonders.  Aladdin solicits the audience to join him on his journey and the Genie turns the carpets the audience is seated on into magic carpets and they are off.

Once in the cave, all hell lets loose when Abu accidentally releases Afar from the lamp while inside the Cave of Wonders ... it is up to Aladdin and you to save the day.

Our Magic Carpet:
This dark ride hybrid combines 3 current ride systems into one.
1) Powered Coaster - this will the necessary stop/start operation between scenes.

2) Disc-O, this is the “surprise/thrill element” of the ride, the coaster locks onto a Disc-O platform with a mounted, circular piece of powered coaster track.

3) And lastly, similar to how a 2nd set of rails on a 4th Dimension coaster rotates the riders’ seats on a horizontal axis, the third rail on this coaster will allow for control of the seat orientation around a vertical access - another surprise element.

The scenery, effects and characters are all a combination of film, audio-animatronics, the latest in 3D projections, fully realized sets and 3D sound.

"Reel" Design Semi-Finalist #9 - "A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Ride"

SEMI-FINALIST #9

Attraction Name: A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Ride

Based upon: New Line Cinema's "A Nightmare on Elm Street"

Contestant: Brian Wactlar

Summary: This is a heavily themed and completely enclosed Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coaster based on the Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise.

Storyline: Guests are invited to tour the newly constructed Springwood Institute of Dream Studies in which they become all too real participants in an out of control nightmare brought to you courtesy of Freddy Krueger himself.

Walkthrough and Ride Description: Your adventure begins as you enter the Queue which is designed as the Springwood Institute of Dream studies. Through a series of monitors and artifacts, guests learn that the institute was built due to the town of Springwood’s population being plagued by nightmares and that it was also built on the former site of the Westin Hills Sanitarium.

As the Queue winds through the institute, you pass by several offices of doctors and scientists. There will be several movie “Easter eggs” and references to please the die-hard fans.

You are soon directed to a set of classroom style auditorium(the pre-show room) in which you invited to participate in a breakthrough phenomenon the institute’s leading researcher, Dr. Craven (wink wink) has developed.

You learn in the pre-show video that Dr. Craven has discovered through a specific type of hypnosis, he has found a way to communicate with people while they are dreaming using a high frequency signal that can be played during a sleepers REM cycle.

The film ends and through a glass window,(actually using the technology similar to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey), Dr, Craven says he will hypnotize the guests and contact them once in the dream state. He adds that once he shows you a few examples of how this can help in Nightmares, an Alarm Clock bell will go off and you will be returned safely to the awakened state and move on to the next part of your tour.

After that, the lights I the room dim and hypnotic images are shown on the screen along with Dr, Craven guiding you through the process. While this is happening, the pre-show room you are in begins to slowly descend (think Disney’s Haunted Mansion) so you can reach the lower level of the ride building. 

Suddenly, the Doctor is interrupted by the familiar voice of Freddy Krueger informing you that “he’ll take it from here”. Doctor Craven breaks through long enough to tell you he will try to help you through the nightmare and to be very careful as guests may be on their own for awhile.

The lights go completely out as the pre show room comes to stop at the lower level and the lights go on to a still dimmed state, you exit the room to find you no longer seem to be in the institute, but in the familiar boiler room Freddy likes to reside.

You quickly come to the ride vehicles which are made up from rusty metallic pieces seemed to be taken from the boiler room itself. Ride ops complete the theming by being costumed as former Westin Hills sanitarium members. Guest enter the vehicles and they move forward into the a dark doorway, Dr. Craven’s voice once again breaks through and instructs guests to hang on as he will attempt to activate the alarm bell early and wake everyone up to safety.

The cars then proceed forward as the familiar haunting tune of “1,2 Freddy’s coming for you”. When the “9, 10 never sleep again” portion is heard, the cars launch forward by linear motors as Freddy’s menacing laugh is heard as a projected image of his face appears before you.

The cars go racing through the projection, they whip around a banked turn into a corkscrew loop and then race up a 90 degree incline where a giant Freddy head it waiting at the top. Once reaching the top you head straight back down towards a screen which gives the effect that you are plummeting towards an endless pit of flames.

You roar through as you hear the menacing laugh once again and you head up into an incline corkscrew. Then you have a series of sharp up on your side banked turns through a maze of pipes and boilers narrowly missing steam spurts and flames. The cars quickly turn a corner and the giant “Freddy Snake” from Nightmare 3 is waiting for you.  Unfortunately, the cars cannot avoid it and they hurtle in to the mouth and then the belly of the snake which is a disguised “brake run”. As the cars come to a slower progression, the walls of the snakes “belly” come alive with the former victims appearing to reach towards the ride vehicles.

Then the tunnel dims and Freddy’s voice echo’s throughout saying “you are all his children” you then gradually begin to go climb upwards as you reach the top you see a Freddy projection holding your Dr. Craven’s alarm clock and he winding the clock hands backwards as the cars then plummet down the Gerstlauer Eurofighter’s signature beyond 90 degree drop in to a series of twists, banked turns and dive loop.

The cars then head straight for Freddy’s outstretched gloved hand who swipes at the cars. The cars drop straight down as Freddy swipes as simultaneously the alarm bell sounds and the cars screech to a halt in the exiting station.

The lights come on and through a “Glass” window (projection screen) is Dr. Craven who is profusely apologizing and expresses his happiness that the guests are all safe. Keen eyed guests may notice that Dr, Craven’s tie is the same pattern as Freddy’s sweater.

Also as you exit through the institutes rear hallways, if you look out one of the window, you can see little girls playing with a jump rope.

"Reel" Design Semi-Finalist #8 - "Tron: Legacy"

SEMI-FINALIST #8

Attraction Name: Tron: Legacy
Based upon: Walt Disney Pictures' "Tron: Legacy"
Contestant: Coaster Matt

I would place this in the Tomorrow Land section of the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World or in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and make this a roller coaster.

The queue would start out by entering Flynn’s arcade. As you go through the arcade guests will see all the classic 80’s arcade games and 80’s music would be blasting through the queue. The guests would then decend downstairs as Sam Flynn did in the first movie when he discovered a secret stairwell behind the Tron arcade game.

The first preshow will begin once guests enter the room where Sam was zapped into The Grid. Kevin and Sam Flynn will be visible on a T.V screen explaining that Clu is attempting to enter the real world. With the guests help, everyone can stop Clu.

After the screens go off, there is a large flash of light and a door will open where guests enter into the Grid.

After going through a few more queue sections, guests will see a roller coaster decked out like one of the Tron bikes. The coaster be made up of cars that will seat two people across and hold a capacity of about 16 people.

The coaster will have on-board audio where you will hear the voices of Kevin and Sam Flynn as well as Clu.

The coaster cars will have lines of the blue and white color schemes like there was in the movie. The ride operators will all be dressed in the Tron outfits with the similar color schemes.

The ride will start off with a launch out of the station. It will not have any inversions and would be a combination of Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Orlando and Maverick at Cedar Point.

This coaster would have plenty of moments for air time, bank turns and a couple more moments throughout the ride where there will be a little more of a launch.

Guests will see large projections throughout the ride where it will appear that another bike (driven by Clu) will be coming towards them.  The other bikes will either turn at the last minute or elevate above or below the car similar to the scenes in the movie.

Ultimately, towards the end of the ride, another projection will make it seem like our train is approaching Clu at very high speeds... sort of like a game of “Chicken”.

At the last second, Clu will panic and make a sharp turn where you will eventually hear the car flip a couple a times and blow up.  Guests will hear Kevin and Sam Flynn at the end saying that Clu has been destroyed.

At the end of the ride, guests will exit the cars, they will climb back upstairs and enter into the Tron Gift Shop where they can see their on-ride photos and videos and have the opportunity to purchase some Tron merchandise.

"Reel" Design Semi-Finalist #7 - "Starship Troopers: The Ride"

SEMI-FINALIST #7

Attraction Name: Starship Troopers: The Ride
Based upon: Tristar Pictures'"Starship Troopers"
Contestant: Erich

Starship Troopers: The Ride would be a interactive shooting dark ride similar in style to the MIB:Alien Attack at Universal Studios Orlando.

You would enter the attraction waiting in a Que themed to a recruitment center for the mobile infantry. Here there would be screens showing the iconic propaganda and recruitment videos from the original film (especially the ones staring Neil Patrick Harris naturally).

Here the guest will use RFID technology to give the quest “Dog Tags” to wear. At touch screen stations, while waiting for the pre-show, riders will enter their name. Then a re-usable dog tag with a RFID chip in it will be dispensed.

You then enter a pre-show building that looks like a top secret war room. You are told by Carl Jenkins (NPH) that your platoon is on a mission to test out a “Bug Battle Rover”(BBR) that will save lives and save troops. From the rover you will be able to fight the bugs safer than you would on foot.

Your briefing then abruptly gets interrupted by Johnny Rico requesting support as his base is being over-run by bugs. Your platoon is to be sent out with the new rover to support Johnny and his troops. You then move out of the war room to the waiting rover.

Guest load into the Rover The Rovers would be very similar to the MIB cars except each player has a separate screen located next to a gun that guest use to shoot the aliens. The cars would also have speakers on the head-rest.

You then use new isolated worm-hole technology to get to Rico in time. This isolated worm hole would work look like a portal straight out of star-gate Atlantis. You are blinded then with a flash of light and you find yourself in a sea of bugs. The actual bugs would be projections like in spider-man. With a few animatronic ones throw in.  The bugs wouldn't have a pre-determined path to make it different every time.

You would fight the different types of bugs and move towards Rico's Base. Every time your car is hit by bugs the car would shake around. Also you would get messages from the screen in front of you from Rico and Carl as well as your “kill count”

The RFID technology would be used to send personalised messages to players who are doing well or bad. The messages would be something like, "Shape-up Soldier" and "You are fighting hard, keep it up!" Once you reach the base Rico's men join you to go after the alien from the end of the first movie.

Even more reinforcements join you, including Carl Jenkins at this point (Other animated rovers would be visable on screen). Once you capture the bug Carl  says the iconic line “It's Afraid!!!”.  At this point you can see your final score on your screen with a rank to go along with it.

You then would be brought back through a isolated worm-hole into a pardade celebrating your victory where you are “Granted citizenship” then let off the ride to enjoy the privliges of citizenship. Before going into a gift shop you give back the “dog tags”.

The gift shop is themed to the futuristic city from the beginning of the movie with large murals of meteors flying towards it. They would sell a customisable version of the dog tag where you can get your name engraved and it would have a RFID chip allowing you to keep track of all your scores (which could be viewed on a website) and also would store your name so it could be used in place of the re-usable RFID Dog-Tags.

You would also have t-shirts and the rest of what you would expect a gift shop to have. In addition a “Laser Tattoo Shop” would sell air-brush tattoos similar to the ones from the scene in the first film.

The Finalists Are In!

On this week's show, we announced the three finalists for the 2012 "Reel" Design Contest.  They are:

The Stark Expo: The Iron Man Experience - James King
The UP Adventure - Travis and Katie
Ghostbusters: The Ride - Carson from Dallas, TX

These three submissions will be sent off to our panel of industry experts, journalists and fans for the final say.  However, after all the voting is done, there is a chance we could have a tie!

If that's the case, we'll break the tie by going to an audience vote.  Let us know which of the entries was your favorite... and it could decide who wins this year's competition!



Be sure to listen to our next show to find out who wins!

CoasterRadio.com #622 - "Reel" Design Contest Semi-Finals (Part 2)

Last week, we started the Semi-Final Round of the 2012 "Reel" Design Contest.

The first five Semi-Finalists were revealed, debated and disected.

Listeners of Coaster Radio took to our blog, Twitter Feed and Facebook Page to let their opinions be known.  It seemed as if every listener had a different entry that they liked best!

On this week's show, EB and Mike reveal the final five Semi-Finalists and discuss each entry in detail.

What parts of the attraction concept work?  What are some things that might need to change?  Could the design actually work in a real-life theme park?

Then, the guys take on the difficult task of eliminating seven contestants, so that only three finalists remain. Next week, those finalists will be judged by an esteemed panel of industry experts... including:

* Neil Patrick Harris
* Gary Goddard, Founder and CEO, The Goddard Group
* Dan Koch, President of Holiday World and Splashin' Safari
* Korey Kiepert, Engineer & Partner at The Gravity Group
* Dave Altman, President, American Coaster Enthusiasts
* Arthur Levine, Theme Park Guide, About.com
* Lance Hart, Editor of Screamscape.com
* Andre from Miami, FL - The 2006 "Reel" Design Contest Winner


Be sure to listen next week, when the judges' voices are heard!

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"Reel" Design Semi-Finalist #6 - "The UP Adventure"

SEMI-FINALIST #6

Attraction Name: The UP Adventure
Based upon: Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar's "UP"
Contestant: Travis and Katie

The UP ADVENTURE is a highly themed and exciting journey as you follow the adventures of Carl, Russell, Dug, and Kevin on their expedition to Paradise Falls in their flying balloon house.

The ride harkens back to the glory days of Disney dark rides such as the Haunted Mansion and newer attractions such as The Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Monsters Inc.: Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!

The adventure begins even before you step into the queue with an elaborate backdrop setting of the jungles of South America and the beautiful Paradise Falls off in the distance (even with the house near the top of the falls). This backdrop serves as a façade to hide the show building behind it (such in the way that Cadillac Range at “Carsland” will hide the building of “Radiator Springs Racers.”

Artwork supplied by Travis and Katie

While waiting in the queue, you’ll explore the jungles and even search for clues and solve challenges, provided by Russell along the way. Other queue elements may include walking through the actual house itself. Once arrived at the station, guests will board their vehicle, sitting about 4 per car around a circle, modeled after Carl’s house with balloons sitting right above (cleverly disguising the suspended vehicle’s components.)

Then, in the style of Peter Pan’s Flight, the house lifts off into the sky and you are soaring over the city with the landscape below. Throughout the entire attraction, Michael Giacchino’s score will accompany the ride as you move from scene to scene. Guests will also ride by animatronic figures of Carl and Russell in their balloon house.

Once your vehicle flies out of the city and out into the country, guests encounter a fierce thunderstorm that will send the vehicles into a mild, but noticeable spin. Wet raindrops and lightning flashes will also occur. After the storm, the houses will ride through fog before being revealed to a large room of Paradise Falls and the jaw-dropping landscape around you. You will swoop down towards the Cliffside until being swept aside by a strong wind that drives you into the rock labyrinth where you encounter Dug (the golden retriever dog) tracking Kevin (the exotic bird).

Carl and Russell follow closely behind, eventually bringing them both along before an army of dogs stops them in their tracks and you encounter the “Spirit of Adventure” zeppelin and the film’s villain, Charles Muntz! Muntz and his dogs attempt to capture Kevin and also set Carl’s house on fire. Muntz rides away with Kevin in a cage, but the house is not completely damaged.

You join Carl and Russell as they attempt to rescue Kevin and you are soaring in and out of the sky, spinning all which ways throughout the sky, in constant battle with the Spirit of Adventure. After a few twists and turns to add to the climax of the story, Carl is seen with a rescued Kevin, Russell, Dug, while Muntz floats away on a few stray balloons (since no one dies in a ride).

Although the infamous house is seen floating away with the clouds (like in the movie), Carl and the gang fly back home in the Spirit of Adventure and you gently fall through the clouds and see Carl’s house resting next to Paradise Falls.


It would be amazing to see a great family adventure attraction based on this film (personally our favorite Pixar film that doesn’t receive enough attention). While everyone may be offering up high energy roller coasters and high tech thrill rides, we decided on a classic family attraction that can be enjoyed by everyone for many years.

"Reel" Design Semi-Finalist #5 - "Enchanted"

SEMI-FINALIST #5

Attraction Name: Enchanted
Based upon: Walt Disney Pictures' "Enchanted"
Contestant: Michael from Brazil

As we all know, the movie “Enchanted” pokes fun at Disney movies, so an attraction based on this film would logically poke fun... at Disney attractions!

The ride would take place in Giselle's cottage. The pre-show would introduce us to the story: Giselle had a dream about she meeting her true love, so Pip decides to reconstruct the dream in ride format. We then become guests in Giselle's dream, learning about her adventure with Prince Edward and his evil stepmother.

Each scene would poke fun and be an homage to something different.

The first scene would have Giselle being an audio-animatronic, while everything around her is obviously cardboard, followed by the introduction of Prince Edward fighting against an animatronic troll that isn't working (disco lights would be used in this scene to simulate motion). After he saves her, we visit the Queen's dungeon, and we find out her evil plan to stop the two from ever marrying- she turns into an old hag in an effect similar to the one in Snow White, but ends up being blinded by the lights and complaining about the special effects team.

While Giselle waits in her room (that is still being painted by audio-animatronic Imagineers due to them "moving too fast through the dream"), the Queen captures the Prince.

Giselle, deciding that a "soon to be princess has to do what a soon to be princess has to do", goes after him, and almost stops the Queen, until she turns into a menacing dragon. However, noticing that she will lose if the ride goes to the "next scene", the Queen sends the guests directly to the backstage area of the ride, complete with video projection cast members running around, trying to fix the situation

The guests do return to the ride, and come back to see the final scene, complete with chorus, fireworks, visual effects, singing animatronics and Pip telling them that "a ride is a dream your heart makes".

"Reel" Design Semi-Finalist #4 - Ghostbusters: The Ride

SEMI-FINALIST #4

Attraction Name: Ghostbusters: The Ride
Based upon: Columbia Pictures' "Ghostbusters" and "Ghostbusters II"
Contestant: Carson from Dallas, TX

Guests enter a re-creation of the Ghostbusters Firehouse from the movies, where they are to be given a tour of the vicinities by Ghostbusters accountant Louis Tully.

According to the story, this was Tully's own idea—it seems the various expensive escapades of the Ghostbusters have put them in a financial rut, (mostly due to a prototype Ecto-2 vehicle that has gone way over budget).  Louis decided that they could use the tours to generate additional cash.

A live actor portraying Louis Tully takes guests through the firehouse (which is filled with props and jokes from the movies)  and then down into the basement where he shows the guests the Ecto-Containment Unit.

Louis begins to explain to the guests the wonderment of the unit when a projection of Slimer the green ghost appears. Louis is startled by the ghost, and falls backward, hitting the containment unit. The unit begins to malfunction, and the lights go out. Projections of ghosts are then seen flying out of the unit and out of the building.  The lights return to find Tully, cowering behind a desk. He proclaims to the guests that there may be a slight problem and their tour may be cut short.  The voices of the Ghostbusters are heard over Louis' radio. They tell the guests that they need their help to capture all the escaped ghosts.

They will ride in the "somewhat secure" Ecto-2 prototype.

A garage door opens in the far side of the room to reveal the load station where the 8-person vehicle is waiting. The vehicle is an EMV (themed to an upgraded version of the Ghostbusters vehicle from the movies).  The vehicle is in the style as the ones used in “The Indiana Jones Adventure” at Disneyland, with a mounted proton gun component.

The guests follow the Ghostbusters through the streets of New York City, shooting at ghosts to increase their "Capture Count." Ghosts may be in windows, hiding behind walls and in alleyways, in trash cans, manholes, buildings, and just about everywhere else. Various ghosts and creatures from the films are used throughout the ride, including Vinz Clortho and Zuul, Terror Dogs, Vigo the Carpathian and The Librarian Ghost.

The climax of the ride Is the transformation of Gozer into the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, where the guests zap him until he turns red and explodes.

The ride ends with AA representations of the Ghostbusters (covered in Marshmallow) thanking the guests for their help, and that payment for the tour won't be necessary. However, peter Venkman adds that donations will be accepted to cover the mass amounts of property damage caused by them and the guests. Slimer once again appears with a board that tells the guest how well they performed in accordance with their "Capture Count."

The unload transitions into a Ghostbusters retail opportunity, as well as a character dining opportunity with the Ghostbusters that is housed on the second story of the firehouse.

"Reel" Design Semi-Finalist #3 -"Night Fury"

SEMI-FINALIST #3

Attraction Name: Night Fury
Based upon:Dreamworks’ "How To Train Your Dragon"
Contestant: Ryan Farrugia

Night Fury, based off the film "How to Train your Dragon," is located in an area of a theme park designed to look like Berk.

The ride is a wing roller coaster in the same style as Raptor at Gardaland and Swarm at Thorpe Park; the trains are designed to look like a long Night Fury dragon, and the seats and restraints designed to look like they were handmade out of wood and leather.

Like all good rides, the story begins as we enter the queue through Gobber’s blacksmith shop. Hanging on the wall are different attachments for Gobber’s hand; from the back of the shop you can hear him hammering on his anvil stopping so guests can hear him ask out loud where Hiccup has run off to now.

Exiting the blacksmith shop, and along the queue towards the station, guests will notice statues of dragons with wooden signs classifying each one and their individual traits.  Outside the station is a sign welcoming you to Hiccup’s Dragon School, the interior of the station is covered in large hand drawn pictures of dragons straight from the dragon manual seen in the film.

Hiccup’s voice plays over the sound of the crowd, informing them that they’ll be training a new Night Fury he found for Astrid.  He also instructs passengers how to secure themselves to their dragon and that Night Furys can be temperamental, so it might be wise to hold on.  The far side of the station is windowless so the layout will be a surprise to the guests in the station.

The ride is situated around, and over, a small tree lined lake filled with rock structures and arches.

The ride begins with a 90-degree turn out of the station and a quick climb to the top of the 105-foot lift hill before dropping towards the center of the lake and through an 85-foot vertical loop around a large rock arch rising from the water.

The loop exits into a banked turn, rising 70-feet above the trees before inverting into a half-loop towards the ground.  Exiting the half-loop, the dragon takes riders along a banked 45-degree low to the ground high speed turn, immediately exiting into a corkscrew over a river fed by a waterfall close by.

The Night Fury turns 270-degrees around a boulder into a zero-G roll over the lake before swooping up into the mid-course brake section.  Riders are barely given a chance to catch their breath as the dragon swoops towards the ground in a banked 180-degree turn.

The track turns 90-degrees back towards the lake and quickly turns riders head over heels in two consecutive barrel rolls between rows of large rocks and arches jutting out from the water’s surface.

Back into the trees, the dragon turns 90-degrees before rising up in a final 270-degree helix into the brake run.

Riders exit through an unloading station where Hiccup thanks them for the help over the speakers.

Signs pointing towards the exit also point to the Night Fury pen where two animatronic Night Fury dragons (Toothless and Astrid’s now tamed dragon) can be seen sleeping next to each other and making their purring/snoring noise from the film.

"Reel" Design Semi-Finalist #2 -"Tales from the Crypt Presents: Last Rite"

SEMI-FINALIST #2

Attraction Name: Tales from the Crypt Presents: Last Rite
Based upon: Universal Pictures’ "Tales from the Crypt: Demon Night"
Contestant: Wally Phelps

Guests will queue in the Crypt Keeper’s mansion after passing the marquee that reads, “Tales From the Crypt Presents Last Ride”; however, the wording changes intermittently with to “Last Rite”.

Guests will be lead into the titular crypt that holds a few hundred people to see the preshow in which the Crypt Keeper himself introduces the “kiddies” to the attraction with equal parts wit and horror to set the mood.

After the preshow, guests enter the load area where they will strap into the flume type attraction.  The area is in contrast to the queue and preshow area as it seems you stepped into a bright colorful carnival type attraction with joyful music.

Despite the bright, happy looks, something just seems to be off kilter just enough to make you uncomfortable.  The ride starts out on a leisurely boat ride thorough a scene of whimsical singing animals as you get to a large conveyor that pulls you up the first hill; however, as you ascend the ride seems to be falling apart as the joyful music is replaced with dramatic music as you fall down a pitch black hill into a far more sinister scene.

Heat and the scent of burning surround you as demons crowd the shoreline waiting for your arrival.  Even the water has turned red.  A translucent figure scares the demons away (all achieved with digital projection and pepper’s ghost effects) and explains that there has been an awful mistake and he will guide you to safety.

After several close calls with demons on the shore and in the air in the next room that seems to be in flames, you are at a fork in the river that our guide tries to guide you to the safest route, but a large monstrous demon with sharp teeth springs out of the water taking a swipe at the boat, leading you the wrong way as you attempt to escape.

The boat goes down another drop and into a speed tunnel with a few hills and hops with projections on the walls giving the illusion of greater speed and red illuminated mist until you see our guide battling the scariest, most gnarly demon yet shouting at us to stay in the boat for the demons cannot get you there.  The demons watch as the boat is lifted onto the final drop.

As the guests get closer to the top, angelic voices sing and a white light illuminates you, but when you reach the summit, the guide appears to wish you safe passage, but transforms into the very demon he was fighting!  The room goes red as you plunge several stories into a splash down as the demon’s growl fades to the Crypt Keeper’s maniacal laughter.

You float past the Crypt Keeper as he makes a bad joke about trusting strangers as you are taken to the unload area that leads into the scariest part:  The gift shop.

"Reel" Design Semi-Finalist #1 - "Stark Expo: The Iron Man Experience"

SEMI-FINALIST #1

Attraction Name: Stark Expo: The Iron Man Experience
Based upon: Paramount Pictures’ "Iron Man' (2008) & "Iron Man 2" (2010)
Contestant: James King

This attraction would be placed in Tomorrowland at Disneyland and at Future World in EPCOT.

Riders would enter an indoor version of Stark Expo, where the queue line would have actual items on display from the 1974 New York World's Fair. It would also feature video of Pepper Potts (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) and Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) thanking you for visiting.  They would tell you that Walt Disney was friends with Tony’s father, Howard Stark and that Tony decided to continue the friendly partnership with the Disney Company so that they could showcase of all the great advancements by Stark Industries.  In the queue, you would see a replica of Tony Stark's garage, a timeline of his life and a cabinet showing all stages of the famous Iron Man suits.

The riders then grab a pair of “Stark Speks” (3-D glasses) and board a car that can hold 8 riders.  Each seat will have a small video screen in the front of each person. Each seat also has speakers in the head rest for audio.

The ride begins as a tour of future products coming from Stark Industries... Everything that we see is typical of a classic Disney dark ride style. Once you approach the 4th scene of the ride, what would see is really a 3-D projection which is attacked by Iron Monger (who we find didn't really die at the end of the first movie.) The ride goes from a typical dark ride into a Spider-man type-ride as the car starts to move and have 4-D effects.

Immediately, the video screen shows Pepper calling to Tony to “get the suit on” to save the guests. Iron Man eventually arrives and starts to fight Iron Monger. Pepper stays on the video screens the whole time trying to keep the guests calm. After an intense battle, Iron Man is able to get you back to an unloading dock.  A cast member appears and tries to trigger the latch bar release, but then Whiplash appears, attacks the car, scares away the cast member and the ride continues.

Eventually Iron Man has to have War Machine help fend off the bad guys. The fight scenes are a mix of animatronics and 3-D projections, with one full size animatronic of each character near the end of the ride.

Once Iron Man and War Machine are victorious, you are lead to the real unload station.  After you exit the car, an interactive audio animatronic of Iron Man says goodbye. In typical Tony Stark fashion, he tries to pass off the experience as “just a mild disturbance.”

CoasterRadio.com #621 - "Reel" Design Contest Semi-Finals (Part 1)

For weeks and weeks, people from all over the world have been dreaming up new ideas for theme park attractions based on hit movies.

They've tried to carefully re-tell a story from a beloved film using the latest and greatest technologies available to the amusement industry.

Some have been drawing up blueprints and schematics, others have been sketching out storyboards, while others have been writing simple paragraphs detailing their ride experience.

Today, we find out which ideas will take their first steps on the road to super stardom.

Today, we begin the Semi-Final Round of the 2012 "Reel" Design Contest.

On this week's show, EB and Mike reveal the first five Semi-Finalists and discuss each entry in detail.

What parts of the attraction concept work?  What are some things that might need to change?  Could the design actually work in a real-life theme park?

We'll announce the next five Semi-Finalists on next week's show.  Then, we'll narrow the Top 10 entries down to three finalists.

Those finalists will be judged by an esteemed panel of industry experts... including:

* Neil Patrick Harris
* Gary Goddard, Founder and CEO, The Goddard Group
* Dan Koch, President of Holiday World and Splashin' Safari
* Korey Kiepert, Engineer & Partner at The Gravity Group
* Dave Altman, President, American Coaster Enthusiasts
* Arthur Levine, Theme Park Guide, About.com
* Lance Hart, Editor of Screamscape.com
* Andre from Miami, FL - The 2006 "Reel" Design Contest Winner

Plus, we also have a LIVE REPORT from the Disneyland Resort.  Apparently, there has been a disturbance outside of the Terror or Terror at Disney California Adventure. We have a live microphone on-site to get to the bottom of the situation.

All that and much more, this week on CoasterRadio.com!

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

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Or you can listen online by using the podcast player on the right hand side of this page. 

Talk about this episode by leaving a comment here on the blog.

The "Reel" Design Contest - Wildcard Round!

The 2012 "Reel" Design Contest judging begins today... with our Wildcard Round!

During the NCAA tournament, after they pick the first 63 teams, they have a "Play-In" game between two more teams to decide who is the last team in the "Big Dance."

We decided to do something similar with our movie-themed contest.

We chose eight out of 10 semi-finalists, but had a hard time choosing the final two.

So, we created a "Wildcard Round" where we take our next four favorite entries and debate them until we have two left.

And, we decided to do this during our weekly video podcast that can be found exclusively on Facebook.

If you have "Liked" us on Facebook, you'll be able to watch and see which two "Reel" Design entries move on to the next round!

We'll have the first five Semi-Finalists on this week's show which drops Friday morning!

Don't Be Intimidated!

The deadline for the "Reel" Design Contest is quickly approaching!

Anyone interested in partcipating has to get their ride design in to us by the end of the day on Monday, February 20th.

We've been getting a lot of great entries.  But, we've also been getting a lot of e-mails from people who say they don't want to enter because they feel "intimidated."

They've heard that people are sending in schematics, blueprints, sketches and digital re-creations of their rides and they feel that they might not have a chance if they only send in a few written paragraphs.

Well, let me put your fears at ease.

At CoasterRadio.com, the thing that impresses us most is creativity.

Last time around, someone won just by sending in a few paragraphs that described the ride in detail.  They didn't have any supporting materials.  They got our attention and eventually won the contest with an excellent, compelling idea.

If you have an attraction design that is original, tells a compelling story and does things we haven't seen before, it's going to get our attention and impress our distinguished panel of judges..

So, don't be intimidated! Send us your entry by Monday night!  Good luck!

Advice From a Past Winner

Back in 2006, we had a lot of excellent entries for our first "Reel" Design Contest.

One of the underdog submissions was from Andre from Miami, Florida.  He sent in a description of a ride based upon the movie "Mirrormask."

Andre had a tough road ahead of himself in terms of judges' reaction... because none of us had ever heard of the movie before.

But, Andre's ride description and idea was so innovative and creative, that he moved to the head of the pack and won the contest.

As the reigning champion, Andre will be one of the judges for the Finals of this year's "Reel" Design Contest.  We asked him to think back to 2006 and give some advice to this year's contestants.  Here's what he said:

As the winner of the 2006 "Reel" Design Contest, Mike asked me to  share my experience with the premier competition.

At that time I had just watched the film “Mirror Mask” and was inspired because the visuals were so stunning. After giving it a bit of thought, it was easy to translate the visuals and the journey taken by the main character into an interesting and exciting dark ride

While listening to the results podcast and hearing the other great ideas being presented, I have to admit that I was really surprised and thrilled that my idea was chosen as the winner. I really felt like the underdog since I decided to base my idea on a film that really wouldn’t be considered a blockbuster.

To those considering entering the contest this year and may be hesitant because you may not think that your idea is good enough, I say just do it. You may be pleasantly surprised. Good Luck!

CLICK HERE to learn more about the 2012 "Reel" Design Contest.

The "Reel" Design Contest Returns!

You've probably looked at a theme park attraction and said...

"I can do better than that!"

Well, here's your chance.

This is the time of year when all of the different Hollywood blockbusters are being honored at the various award ceremonies.  What does this have to do with theme parks and roller coasters?  Well, many of the best theme park attractions in history have based upon popular films.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Back To The Future, Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, Jaws, Star Tours, Kongfrontation, Superman Escape, Terminator 2: 3D, Jurassic Park, Men In Black, The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, Revenge Of The Mummy and countless other attractions have had their storylines adapted from popular movies.

For our first contest of 2012, we want you to design a theme park attraction around the movie of your choice.

Then, it will be time to have your submission judged by an all-star panel, including....

* Neil Patrick Harris
* Gary Goddard, Founder and CEO, The Goddard Group
* Dan Koch, President of Holiday World and Splashin' Safari
* Korey Kiepert, Engineer & Partner at The Gravity Group
* Dave Altman, President, American Coaster Enthusiasts
* Arthur Levine, Theme Park Guide, About.com
* Lance Hart, Editor of Screamscape.com
* Andre from Miami, FL - The 2006 "Reel" Design Contest Winner

The winner will receive the first-ever "Reel Design"Award!  YES! An actual award that has your name engraved on it!  You'll go down in Coaster Radio history!

Here are the rules:

1) Write one or two paragraphs that describe your theme park attraction and e-mail it to feedback@coasterradio.com.  Make sure your description includes the film your attraction is based on, the attraction's title, a description of the ride (including any storyline) and any other themeing or design elements that make it stand out.

2) Make sure the attraction is realistic.  Don't send us details of an attraction that couldn't be actually built with today's technology and budget restraints.  If we had to set a budget cap, it would be around 80 million.  You can make your attraction a dark ride, a roller coaster, a flat ride, a walk-though experience or anything else you can imagine.  Just make it realistic.

3) The entries that catch our attention will have a mix of imagination, creativity and fun.  Remember, we'll be reading the finalists on a radio-style show, so your entries have to be descriptive and entertaining.

4)  You can send in supporting materials if you'd like (such as drawings, sketches, No Limits and Roller Coaster Tycoon creations), but it will be the description of your attraction that we are most interested in.

5) Ten semi-finalists will be chosen and will have their theme park attraction discussed on CoasterRadio.com.  We will then narrow that down to three finalists who will have their attractions judged by a panel of industry experts.

6)  All entries must be received by Monday, February 20th, 2012.

To get an idea of what this contest sounded like when he first did it in 2006, here is a link to that show!

Direct Podcast Link

Good luck!

CoasterRadio.com #617 - Mannequin Accidents = PR Gold!

There were some crazy stories in the press this week... and a lot of them had to do with theme parks.

For instance...

Disney decided to drop a decades old rule that Walt Disney himself instated.  Starting next month, workers will be allowed to sport beards and goatees. Hipsters rejoice!

Thorpe Park in England said that their new coaster "The Swarm" was apparently having some trouble making its height clearances during testing.  Apparantly, some of the test mannequins came back without their limbs.  But the park's PR team didn't see this as a negative... they saw a golden opportunity!

I like this story for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it gave the the opportunity to post a still from one of my favorite 80's movies ever - Mannequin.  Emmy was one hot Egyptian, man.

The guys also take an opportunity to preview upcoming shows and contests!  You won't believe what is in store for February!

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

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Click here to subscribe through iTunes.

Click here for our podcast RSS Feed.

Or you can listen online by using the podcast player on the right hand side of this page. 

Talk about this episode by leaving a comment here on the blog.