The Future of Europe In The Air

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The first time we went to BGW Corkscrew Hill was in it's last year. We liked it (though the audio was really hard to understand; I've seen it on youtube since, and understood it just fine, they needed a better audio system).

We only went to the park once that year, so we only rode Corkscrew Hill the one time. Been on EIA a bunch of times, and we think that Corkscrew Hill was much better.

They never should have tried to copy Disney's Soaring. A 3D animated movie that fits the theme of Ireland is, I think, a great concept. I think they should put in a remake of Corkscrew Hill, with:

- Better audio (EIA is instrumental only, but it seems to me they have this now)

- Keep the premise (magically transported to Ireland at a time of mythical beasts), but get rid of the kids as starting points, and use the mythical beasts mentioned in the preshow. In fact, I would use the same preshow video, just rerecord the audio for it.
 
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The dialogue often got muddied up by people chatting and yelling the way people do on regular rides. I don't know if they can do much about this. The added dialog on EITA is also hard to understand, but that is semi-deliberate in order to sound like radio conversation.

During the last year of Corkscrew Hill, they played the ride walkout music in the wildlife reserve scarezone, "Mischief and Mayhem". I wanted to record it on my iPhone, but whoever was with me said "Oh, I'm sure it will be here next year." Obviously it wasn't, and I didn't get to record it. Such a bummer.
 
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EITA has five years at the max in my opinion. It rarely has long wait times and is closed for HOS and CT meaning it's closed for a good chunk of the season. Ireland needs a headliner attraction and it doesn't really have one unless you consider CF which is one of my favorite shows produced by the park. I have a few ideas I'd love to see them do:

1. Close EITA. Board up the entrance as I imagine it can be some what costly to operate the simulator and SEAS in it's current finanical state doesn't need to continue operation on this lackluster attraction. As a replacement attraction to help with capacity have a small bird show in the RPT from opening day to mid August.

2. Bring back Corkscrew Hill except re-master the film so it will be of a higher quality and fit with the new projectors. Also, maybe add smells to the ride such as the smell of ocean water.

3. Gut the interior of EITA show building and the COS so there would be room for a massive trackless dark ride using the technology from Antartica at SWO. Maybe a trip to the nether world as a throwback to COS? :p

4. A Mack spinning coaster similar to Cobra's Curse that uses the show building for dark ride scenes and a themed queue and then the outside portion in between the England parking lot and England itself.

5. As mentioned before in idea three gut EITA and COS except instead of a trackless dark ride what about a dynamic attractions SFX coaster like Escape from Gringotts? While it would be expensive BGW has done a dark ride similar to Uni on a cheaper and smaller scale and still delivered a one of a kind experience, back in 2005. Other than Uni and the SFX coaster going into Ferrari World this would be a very unique attraction that would most likely boost attendance similar to the 8% boost that park experienced in 2005 when they opened Darkastle.

6. This would be a more practical idea but just re-theme the queue and add a new film. It could be made by the park or purchased either way it would be something fresh and exciting for Ireland which is needed at the moment.
 
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Connor said:
Ireland needs a headliner attraction and it doesn't really have one unless you consider CF which is one of my favorite shows produced by the park.
Click to expand...

The problem is even more severe than that honestly- that whole corner of the park desperately needs an e-ticket and it has for decades. Walking the optimal route, the path from Loch Ness Monster to Griffon is over 2,000 feet long- up and down a number of hills. The next longest walk without an e-ticket is the walk from Apollo to Verbolten at just over 1,600 feet and between those two attractions, there are six flat rides to fill the gap. The walk from Loch Ness to Griffon doesn't feature a single ride if you don't count Europe in the Air (which you shouldn't considering its very limited operating season).
 
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Bottom line, to me, is that if they want to keep a simulator ride, it has to be popular enough that they have to keep it open for Christmastown.

Quick list of must haves:
1. Not make people sick from riding it
2. Fit the theme of the hamlet
3. Interesting story line
4. Good audio

Here's a thought: have its grand opening during Christmastown! It would give people something to do when the park first opens besides riding Little Clydes over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.
 
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I was looking at the aerial view of Ireland and it looks like the ride building could be expanded in size, perhaps even doubled, without it being seen from any other part of the park. There are no vantage points from within the park and the trees are thick enough to hide it. If the building were updated and expanded I think you could easily fit an interactive dark ride or maybe something that uses Antarctica's track less technology. I think anything like this would be able to operate all year and would be very popular.
 
Zachary said:
The walk from Loch Ness to Griffon doesn't feature a single ride if you don't count Europe in the Air
Click to expand...

That hasn't even occurred to me in a long time. One problem though is that the park has always been very strategic about where they place rides and where they don't. The original developers and higher-ups were adamant about the park having a tranquil "garden" atmosphere, with minimal noise interference to separate it from being an amusement park. They added two exception areas(Oktoberfest and Festa Italia), and built San Marco to be a garden for ride contraptions.

That is one of few things about the park that hasn't changed. They would have to be very strategic in order to not lose the "natural" atmosphere charm.

Don't get me wrong, I was "born to ride" (along with other BG things), but I don't want the park to toss their brass (garden) roots to the wind just like that.
 
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How hard would it be to do a holiday overlay for Christmas town or Hallowscream using the eita ride simulator. I am thinking of a Santa's flight simulator ride or a haunted hayride simulator ride. Not sure if it is too complicated to pull one film and add another for the different seasons.
 
Relatively speaking, it would not be difficult. The park would simply need to change the video, reprogram the simulator, and perhaps add some thematic decorations to the queue area.

SeaWorld Orlando actually transforms their similar "Wild Arctic" simulator into "The Polar Express Experience" for Christmas. I think something like that could be wildly popular here in Williamsburg.
 
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I guess the issue is the expense of filming (or animating) the movie and creating the programming for the simulator to match it. Once that is done, changing out the film and programs should be easy and cheap.

Do you think the demand for such experiences is worth this expense? Plus, of course, the operating expenses.
 
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With the wild arctic, they literally just clipped out bits from the polar express and put them together. Maybe they could do the same for eita for christmas.
 
I have never liked the shows where they have edited down a feature film into a ride film. The entire experience is very disjointed and unnatural. I've seen been on the one for the movie Rio and Polar Express and thought they were both bad.

I'm not against 3D/4D Simulators being based on a film or television franchise, I just want them to create a custom film set in that franchises universe with its own unique story; not a compacted clip show of the original film.
 
Questor was definitely my favorite with that tunnel scene and the waterfall drops. Corkscrew hill was horrible with the shaking while on the back of a horse. Never got to see KAC, but Europe in the air was lackluster as far as excitement goes. If they could somehow project on a 360 degree screen and have a rotating simulator that would great.
 
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I don't know if this would be within the "spirit" of BGW, but what if they closed the building for a year, gutted and rebuilt, and did a moving simulator shooting ride (like MIB, Reece's Xtreme Cup Challenge) based on a story line of an escaped leprechaun or something like that?

Could still offer a simulator aspect, add in an indoor dark ride element, and have a story that fits the hamlet.
 
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I've long wanted an interactive "shoot-em-up" dark ride in the Europe in the Air building. My fantasy involves a Sally dark ride that relies almost entirely on elaborate physical props, but realistically, simulated graphics like in Darkastle would be the more likely (and feasible) approach.

Regardless, I'd absolutely love some cavernous-themed dark ride centered around Irish folklore. The idea of a more elaborate, more in-depth Boo Blasters on Boo Hill ride makes me drool. It would be so much fun, and a perfect family ride for Killarney.
 
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Shitcan the whole ride idea and open a better pub. Or just keep it closed off until a better idea comes along (Virtual Reality, maybe?). Simulator rides typically suck and none of them age worth a crap. The space doesn't seem big enough to make a dark ride worth anyone's time and I'd rather they sink their money into revamping ailing rides in need of more attention (see: DarKastle).
 
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Just a thought...what if they used V/R headsets for riders? Still keep the main screen for people with mild motion sickness or other reasons that would keep them from wearing the headset. With the new V/R roller coaster in Six Flags Georgia, it seems like this avenue of entertainment would be an interesting addition to theme parks on various styles of rides.
 
This doesn't make sense on a simulator. The purpose of the VR is so that you experience real world G-Forces and speed while being in a virtual environment. A simulator ride lacks all of that and relying on the video and motion base to trick your mind into thinking you are actually going somewhere. Just doesn't make sense to wear VR with this ride system.
 
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