Welcome to the fifth edition of my new blog series, the Trick Track. In this series I will be discussing little nuggets of industry-related items...anything from my thoughts on News stories, to new ride openings, quick ride reviews, industry innovations, construction progress, pretty much anything industry related that pops into my head. This week I just wanted to share a few random tidbits and interesting things that came to mind:

SooperDooperLooper Trains

I must say, at least upon first look, I’m quite impressed with what Gerstlauer did in building new trains for SooperDooperLooper at Hersheypark. Many were confused at first as to why the park would get new trains for SDL, seeing as the old trains seemed to still run pretty well. There’s one thing those people are forgetting though, SDL was built in 1977, that’s 45 years ago, and Schwarzkopf retired from the industry in 1995, 18 years ago. That means the coaster has had likely minimal support (since the supplier/manufacturer is gone), and spare parts have probably become very hard to come by, meaning maintenance could go from difficult to literally impossible.

In came Gerstlauer, set with a difficult task. Here is a coaster rich with history, beloved for its terrain layout, classic Schwarzkopf design, and lap-bar only cars. Gerstlauer could have come out with an entirely new design from the ground up, giving us something sleek and futuristic looking, with over-the-shoulder-restraints to appease the always overbearing insurance companies. Instead, likely with insistence from Hersheypark, Gerstlauer effectively “reinvented” the old Schwarzkopf train design, improved on its classic design, and most importantly, kept the restraints with the lap-bar restraints. I can’t speak for how the new trains ride, since I’ve yet to ride the coaster in 10 years, but I will be headed to Hershey this summer, and will undoubtedly report back on how they compare.

Dinosaur Obsession

Seems lately there has been a dinosaur craze worldwide. Just last year, Cedar Fair installed Dinosaurs Alive! at Kings Island to serve as a test bed, giving the attraction a small upcharge to see how it would catch on. Apparently, it worked, was a major draw, and brought in a good chunk of extra money. It was such a hit with families that Cedar Fair has now installed Dinosaurs Alive! at Dorney Park, Canada’s Wonderland, and its flagship park, Cedar Point, for 2012.

Then there’s Dinoconda, the massive 4D coaster that was recently opened up in China at Dino Land, a park known as the “Jurassic Park of the East” and opened in 2009. The park is full of dinosaurs, dinosaur themed attractions, and lush landscaping filled with dinosaurs as well. And now for the future, SeaWorld Gold Coast in Australia will be bringing a dinosaur setup of their own in 2013 very similar to the Dinosaurs Alive! that Cedar Fair ushered in.

It seems the only new dinosaurs we’re not seeing is a new dinosaur attraction at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, which hasn’t seen a new addition since it opened. Most of us loved dinosaurs when we were younger, I know I did, and I still like them now as a young adult. I also love amusement parks, so it seems fitting that the combination could be a big draw for families. I’m all for dinosaur additions as long as they’re properly done, just don’t stand them out in the middle of nowhere.

More Than Just Coasters

One thing that’s important to remember when you go to an amusement park…there’s more than just coasters there. I know we’re all roller coaster enthusiasts, we love coasters, and we travel to parks for coasters. Now if all you have time for is a partial day to hit as many coasters as possible, that’s one thing, but it’s always best if you can take your time and enjoy all aspects of a park. There’s so much more than just coasters to enjoy…there’s flat rides, spinning rides, tower rides, food, shows, shops, landscaping, scenery, and so much more. If you want to get the full experience of an amusement park, you need to do more than just coasters, especially at parks like Busch Gardens, Disney, Universal, or any true theme park. The coasters get us there, the other aspects keep us there. Take Carowinds for example, a park with a large number of coasters, mostly moderate quality, but only a limited number of non-coaster attractions for anyone other than kids…as a result, I don’t generally stay for more than a few hours. At Busch Gardens parks, SFOG, Hershey, Cedar Point, and numerous other parks though, there are enough other rides that I could visit year after year, and still want to stay all day to soak in the experience. So go out and try things, new food, new rides…you might just discover a few underappreciated gems (like Larsson’s Flying Scooters)!