Ever since we launched the poll to select the name of our new wooden roller coaster in 2017, we have been hearing from fans that they might prefer “none of the above” to the three choices offered: InvadR, Battle Klash and Viking Raider.
The name contest is part of our initiative with this ride to let fans participate in shaping the experience, making this the first crowdsourced ride at any theme park. While our guests seem thrilled at the idea of having a voice in the attraction, and picking its name, many have panned the options they have to choose from.
I have been involved with naming attractions in our parks for more than 20 years, and I can tell you it is one of the most challenging and frustrating assignments we have. Rarely does a name sound right at first. When we first settled on Griffon and Mäch Tower I wasn't a fan, but I can’t imagine those attractions being called anything else now.
Furthermore, we almost never have agreement on attraction names. I was an advocate of the names Tempesto and Verbolten, but others were not. “It sounds too much like a pasta dish,” they griped about Tempesto. And if others would have had their way, we might have been calling the coaster in Oktoberfest “Revenge of the Black Forest.” (No kidding.)
Fans have raised some valid questions about the process of attraction naming, and how we arrived at these choices. Here are answers to some of the most frequent comments.
Who comes up with attraction names, and how?
There is not just one “who” but many people who contribute ideas and narrow the field down to the final selection (or, in our case, the final three for fans to decide). Brainstorming is done by our park teams, corporate brand and creative-development groups and various creative agencies. They all take into account the type of attraction, theme, target audience, location in the park, fit with other names in the park and the potential “ownability” of the name. From there lists are culled to a short list of contenders that our legal team vets for any trademark conflicts, producing a list of final recommendations. It then usually comes down to a decision involving senior executives.
So who picked these three choices?
The same process outlined above was used this time, except we stopped with three final options and decided to let fans pick the winner. The combined list of options at one time must have exceeded 100 potential names. We didn’t necessarily intend to end with three choices; it could have been as few as two or as many as five or six, depending the number of viable options after all the initial ideas were screened.
I don’t like these names. How about (fill in the blank) instead?
A lot of folks have offered alternate ideas. Some of them are great – but already taken. Believe me, we would love to name our ride after a certain hammer-swinging Norse god, but the fine folks at Marvel Comics would have something to say about that. You might also be surprised (as I often am) at how many other names are already registered by other companies, or are too similar for comfort.
Why must you misspell names, such as the “K” Klash and removing the “e” from InvadR?
I’ve got to admit, this is a personal peeve of mine, too. But sometimes we modify words intentionally to coin a proprietary name that speaks to the particular attraction. Verbolten is a prime example: we added the “l” to the German word verboten to highlight the lightning bolt effect in the ride.
Some of the choices this time were meant to reflect common Viking spelling preferences, but incorporated with English words most consumers would recognize. That’s why Battle Klash has a “k” instead of a “c”. And InvadR follows the pattern of numerous Old Norse names that end in “r”, often capitalized, such as AlflakR, GeflaugR, JórulfR, VrangR, KetilalfR and BramR. We aren’t trying to suggest InvadR is a Viking word, but rather using the style of other Viking names with a common English word that fits the ride. (And it probably didn’t help that we have posted it online in all capital letters, so one doesn’t see the effect of the capital R.)
Are you really letting fans pick the name? Is the vote legitimate?
I promise you, this is all on the up-and-up. We are comfortable with any of the three names getting the nod, so it really is the fans’ choice that will prevail. And any other polls we conduct for future ride features will be the same.
“InvadR” seems to be winning the vote. Is that what you really wanted, so you picked two lame names to compete with it?
I wish we were that telepathic and could predict how the voting would go. If we had those powers, I bet we could make a lot more money selling our talents to a few political candidates. In fact, there are strong advocates on our team for each of these names. There would be no reason to go through a charade of voting if we had one name we were determined to pick ourselves. And don’t forget: voting continues through April 1, so the totals could change a lot between now and then.
Thanks to all who have voted for your favorite name – even if you aren’t thrilled with the choices. We are looking forward to rolling out other opportunities for fan participation over the next year, and expect the spirited feedback to continue.
-Dan, Marketing Vice President
