I was gonna write up something more complete, but after losing all of my work once, I'm feeling sorta demotivated so... Welcome to the cliffnotes version!
Huge thanks to @Thomas for the initial idea and both @Mushroom and @Thomas for a ton of brainstorming and input. So, what do we want?
@Mushroom, @Thomas, and I want a Zamperla NebulaZ in Rhinefeld.
Yes, I know, I hear you all screaming "BUT MY AMBIANCE!" and we agree—the quaintness of the Rhinefeld streets is a major aspect of the appeal of the hamlet. Retaining that was a central goal here. That said, the three of us also agreed that this region of the park needs a notable flatride and that the Wilkommenhaus plaza currently feels lifeless and underutilized.
Here's our proposal: Position a NebulaZ centered between the Wilkommenhaus-area buildings right on the other side of the existing half-wall. There's a drop-off on the other side of that wall and a slope down towards the ravine that makes recessing the ride platform below path level super easy. The height difference would do some work hiding the ride platform and offer better views of the ride from the Wilkommenhaus plaza. Here's a map of our layout:
The inside of the yellow dotted circle is the required ride area for a NebulaZ. The platform is a little larger in our proposal so it doesn't feel too terribly cramped. The queue structure is sized to match Alpie's extended queue building. A nice ride entry sign is depicted in blue and you can see a rough idea for the queue, QuickQueue, and exit paths depicted as well. Everything outside the red dotted area would be largely untouched by this addition.
I placed the ride entrance outside of Rhinefeld to keep the grade of the ride area more consistent. No substantial ramps or stairs will be required as they would be if the ride was at groundlevel and the entrance was next to Wilkommenhaus. Additionally, this allows us to introduce some excellent kineticism to the Wilkommenhaus area without all the guest flow implications of having a ride queue enter from there. Plus, the paths outside the Rhinefeld gate are just so perfectly setup for a ride entrance in this position. You can see what I mean, here:
Another great thing about this placement is that a healthy greenery buffer can be retained between the area in front of the Rhinefeld candy shop and the proposed attraction. Between some tree retention and the existing wall, visual intrution once you get inside of Rhinefeld's gates should be perfectly acceptable. For context, the current situation:
Once you get further into the hamlet, the ride will vanish entirely until you pass under the breezeway and enter the Wilkommenhaus plaza.
So, theme. A fairground ride plopped into one of the most subtle and refined hamlets in the park has the potential to be a disaster. Well, this ride provides us with an ideal theme option for Germany: Clocks. Big clocks. Small clocks. Cuckoo clocks. Grandfather clocks. Every type of traditional mechanical clock imaginable—all of them belonging to a time-obsessed inventor (AND HIS PET CHICKEN ROLFIE, see post #4). His latest invention? This ride, the ZeitMaschine. (Zeitmaschine being "time machine" in German.) I imagine a color scheme that plays off of Wilkommenhaus' own but with a mechanical slant.
I don't imagine very intricate queue theming, but a few "frankensteined" clocks in the queue and on the entry portal would be fantastic.
So, thoughts?
Huge thanks to @Thomas for the initial idea and both @Mushroom and @Thomas for a ton of brainstorming and input. So, what do we want?
@Mushroom, @Thomas, and I want a Zamperla NebulaZ in Rhinefeld.
Yes, I know, I hear you all screaming "BUT MY AMBIANCE!" and we agree—the quaintness of the Rhinefeld streets is a major aspect of the appeal of the hamlet. Retaining that was a central goal here. That said, the three of us also agreed that this region of the park needs a notable flatride and that the Wilkommenhaus plaza currently feels lifeless and underutilized.
Here's our proposal: Position a NebulaZ centered between the Wilkommenhaus-area buildings right on the other side of the existing half-wall. There's a drop-off on the other side of that wall and a slope down towards the ravine that makes recessing the ride platform below path level super easy. The height difference would do some work hiding the ride platform and offer better views of the ride from the Wilkommenhaus plaza. Here's a map of our layout:
The inside of the yellow dotted circle is the required ride area for a NebulaZ. The platform is a little larger in our proposal so it doesn't feel too terribly cramped. The queue structure is sized to match Alpie's extended queue building. A nice ride entry sign is depicted in blue and you can see a rough idea for the queue, QuickQueue, and exit paths depicted as well. Everything outside the red dotted area would be largely untouched by this addition.
I placed the ride entrance outside of Rhinefeld to keep the grade of the ride area more consistent. No substantial ramps or stairs will be required as they would be if the ride was at groundlevel and the entrance was next to Wilkommenhaus. Additionally, this allows us to introduce some excellent kineticism to the Wilkommenhaus area without all the guest flow implications of having a ride queue enter from there. Plus, the paths outside the Rhinefeld gate are just so perfectly setup for a ride entrance in this position. You can see what I mean, here:
Another great thing about this placement is that a healthy greenery buffer can be retained between the area in front of the Rhinefeld candy shop and the proposed attraction. Between some tree retention and the existing wall, visual intrution once you get inside of Rhinefeld's gates should be perfectly acceptable. For context, the current situation:
Once you get further into the hamlet, the ride will vanish entirely until you pass under the breezeway and enter the Wilkommenhaus plaza.
So, theme. A fairground ride plopped into one of the most subtle and refined hamlets in the park has the potential to be a disaster. Well, this ride provides us with an ideal theme option for Germany: Clocks. Big clocks. Small clocks. Cuckoo clocks. Grandfather clocks. Every type of traditional mechanical clock imaginable—all of them belonging to a time-obsessed inventor (AND HIS PET CHICKEN ROLFIE, see post #4). His latest invention? This ride, the ZeitMaschine. (Zeitmaschine being "time machine" in German.) I imagine a color scheme that plays off of Wilkommenhaus' own but with a mechanical slant.
I don't imagine very intricate queue theming, but a few "frankensteined" clocks in the queue and on the entry portal would be fantastic.
So, thoughts?
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