Amusement Park News

Available as a family coaster or for dark ride attractions, Extreme Engineering in Athens, TX, has engineered and is now shipping to Quatar – their new Cloud Coaster. It's a roller coaster for our time, a suspended roller coaster that the company's executive vice president Phil Wilson describes as being “COVID compliant.”

The suspended roller coaster has single rider seats, is cost-effective, and has cycle times allowing over 200 riders per hour. It can be used indoors or outdoors, and even attached to an existing ride structure.  And the easily customizable Cloud Coaster has now shipped to the Middle East.

There it will be used at an as yet undisclosed location: a new theme park in Quatar.

Currently, the company has its Cloud Coaster at Vinpearl Lane in Phu Quoc Vientam. Open since September, Vinpearl's Cloud Coaster attraction takes guests through a tropical jungle, with tropical birds decorating the ride to give guests the sensation of flying with the birds. The coaster uses a 400 linear foot track and provides a view of the attractions in the park.

Extreme Engineering has been producing family coasters, engineering design, and adventure rides globally for over 25 years. The company has received 15 industry awards, including a recent Award from IAAPA's first Virtual Expo.  The new coaster has already garnered three industry awards and was ranked as the top attraction by USA 10.
In Qatar, the Cloud Coaster will open in the beginning of 2021 and feature a raised platform for queues. It will be installed indoors and lift riders high above the park.

The park will use a cartoon character to provide the storyline within the Cloud Coaster ride.  Planned to feature an immersive storyline, this Cloud Coaster's track is over 600 linear feet, allowing for sudden drops, turns and uphill lifts. It is ADA friendly, and uses a Class 3 ride vehicle. The location for the coaster is indoors – as will be the entire theme park. The cartoon character will be engaged throughout the park thematically.

Extreme Engineering describes the theme park as “one of the largest indoor theme parks in the world.” 

The Middle East iteration of the Cloud Coaster will be the first such cloud coaster in the region and the largest indoor project in the world.  Riders will enjoy a fast yet controlled and safe speed making it emblematic of the future of family coasters.

Jurrasic World VelociCoaster

In other ride news, closer to home, Universal Orlando Resort recently released a sneak peek video of the new Jurassic World VelociCoaster ride cars. The video was posted to the park's Twitter account. This ride, too, is a first: the first coaster based on Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, with an original storyline and a high-speed chase that takes riders alongside a group of hungry Velociraptors.

The new ride vehicles feature both an Ingen and Jurassic Park logo and include claw marks on the front of the vehicle. It has a single lap bar restraint. Shaped in black and blue, the VelociCoaster cars as well as the ride itself are built to thrill, taking the extreme coaster riders at a speed of more than 70 mph and up to 150 feet high. VelociCoaster will accelerate through two launches and take guests on the theme park's steepest drop from a rise of 155 feet skyward. Riders will also sail upside down across 100 feet of track in a zero-gravity inverted stall. They will also experience 12 seconds of airtime and weightlessness.

Giant raptors and all, the new roller coaster is scheduled to open in summer 2021.

Zamperla Launcing Big WaveZ

Zamperla is launching their new The Big WaveZ attraction.  This thrill ride provides a chute attraction and that of a drop tower. A video gaming experience will take place after riders are lifted to the top of a high tower. There they can control the ride's conclusion for a truly interactive thrill experience.  Even splash size is controlled by the outcome riders achieve in the game portion of The Big WaveZ.

The ride features Z+ sensors and cameras that are designed to grab riders' every move, for a personalized ride experience. This personalization and gaming control customization makes the ride repeatable an infinite number of times with maximum variety.  

The ride allows Zamperla to combine storytelling and ride technology, shaping a unique ride that propels guests into the ride's action and allows them to define their own adventure. This combo of cutting-edge technology and personalization makes the storyline uniquely compelling.

From the future of family roller coasters with Extreme Engineering's prize-winning Cloud Coaster to the upcoming authentic-look of the Velocicoaster at Universal Orlando, to Zamperla's technology-rich splash ride, 2021 is shaping up to be a year with a lot of advanced thrills after missing them in 2020.