Welcome to the seventh 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.

Stupid Lawsuits Grate My Nerves

So here’s an interesting story, I had a longer blog on it, but have shrunk it down. Anyway, here’s the jist of this lawsuit: There was a story released by 9 News of Australia about a woman who is suing a Gold Coast waterpark after becoming “stuck” on a waterslide at the park. Apparently, she failed to gather enough speed to complete the “loop” on the new Aqua Loop attraction there last year, which has a bit of an angled, inclined loop, and slid back and forth to a stop between the drop and “loop.” Pretty harmless right? The woman claims she became panicked, afraid another slider would careen down the tube and crash into her, so she scrambled around and drug herself out of the pipe through a built-in escape hatch, resulting in a partially-torn rotator cuff in her left shoulder as well as “ongoing mental issues.” She claims that the park failed to inform patrons that they could become stuck and access an escape hatch if necessary, and that not knowing how to safely exit resulted in her injury. Now, she is seeking $400,000 in damages: $250,000 for economic losses over 35 years, $21,200 in general damages, and nearly $85,000 for future paid care.

There just seems to be SO much wrong with this. FIRST, it seems highly unlikely the park did not inform the woman how to get out, likely she just either wasn’t listening, or failed to read the signage in front of the ride. SECOND, when was the last time anyone went to a waterpark and was hit by another slider? It’s probably less likely even than two coaster trains colliding, because lifeguards wait until there is a certain distance between riders, and on this attraction, until riders safely make it through the loop. Basically she unnecessarily panicked and injured herself as a result.

That said, could I see her possibly asking the park to pay her immediate medical bills (i.e. surgery if needed)? Yes, sure. As frustrating as her story seems, I can perhaps go with her, until she claims “ongoing mental issues” and then I must stop and raise the BS flag…if THAT caused you “ongoing mental issues” you’d better not step outside of your own house…EVER. If that can “scar” you, then you’re going to be terrified of the outside world. And $250K over 35 years for “economic losses” when she works child care? Ok so she may be limited from picking a kid up for a bit while her shoulder heals, but even some bad tears don’t take but a few years to get fixed, not 35 (not to mention she’ll be 67 by then).

I don’t want to sound heartless, but it just sounds rather sketchy to me, and unnecessary lawsuits against parks really frustrate me because it inevitably hurts the experience for all involved (due to tighter insurance requirements). A bit of common sense and personal responsibility would go a long way if more people practiced it.

Bluegrass Blues

Many of you may have heard that the Koch family, and Bluegrass Boardwalk Inc, are pulling out of the project to restore the operation of the former Kentucky Kingdom. It seems the hoops required for leasing the park, all the layers of government regulations and stipulations have turned them away from the project. The Koch’s would still like to OWN another park, but LEASEing the park just seems to be a bit too much.

And who can blame them? When the Fair Board (aka government) decides they want more money out of the deal, they jack up the lease rates, and when the owner doesn’t want to pay, sues them for breaking their lease/contract. Why do they think the park has been in this situation several times before. It’s so funny/ironic too, here is a Fair Board that constantly claims they want “nothing more” than to see the park open, and yet they’ve thwarted two seemingly unstoppable forces, Ed Hart and the Koch family, who could almost guaranteed bring the park back to life. Yea, sounds like the Fair Board is trying really hard to make things work *rolls eyes* It’s clear they only want this deal to work out if it’s so drastically in their financial favor that it makes it financially impossible for the other side to make it work.

I really hope the Fair Board wises up and realizes they’re not going to make ANY money with everything sitting there vacant and unused, not to mention ticking off locals who want the park back and many others with lies that are becoming increasingly more easy to see through. Still wishing for the best for Kentucky Kingdom, but with Ed Hart and the Koch’s now defeated, things seem a lot less hopeful.

Tree of Life Covering

We posted an article this week about the Tree of Life at Disney getting netted-style coverings over the queue for It’s a Bugs Life, which winds around the giant concrete tree to the attraction inside. A couple weeks ago, a branch apparently broke off and fell down, which resulted in the netted covering to protect guests. It’s a bit unfortunate, as one of the fun things to do was walk around the queue and spot all the different animal and creature carvings in the tree, and take pictures, something the netting will no doubt limit a bit more. That said, Disney did a great job creating a netted covering that keeps its interference to a minimum, and looks very natural and fits in quite well. And if it keeps guests safe from a potential hazard without really hurting their experience, then it’s worth it in my book.

My Personal Favorite Ride Moment

There is a thread circulating around the forums lately on your favorite ride moments so I thought I’d share my personal favorite to date. It comes from an unlikely candidate, a once imposing now relatively average sized coaster, somewhat awkward in its steel rail-wooden structure layout, and it’s relatively simple layout of moderate thrill factor…Gemini. I’m a sucker for racing/dueling coasters, no doubt, I love the added characteristic of racing, the fun interaction with guests on board the other train (i.e. pretending to row faster, making yourself “aero-dynamic”, or just giving a stare-down), but Gemini has something more. Ride on an “inside” seat of Gemini, closest to the opposing train, and you can do high-fives with the other train on the low speed turns. I don’t know what about it that’s so much fun, but everyone seems to go giddy getting to slap hands with the opposing train (their enemies) on the ride…from kids to adults, everyone seems to have so much fun with it. Of course, be responsible with it, don’t do it during high speed areas and hills, but when it’s safe, have some fun! If you’re on the other side, continue to give stare-downs while trying to make your train go faster.