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Theme Parks

Theme Parks Tone Down the Excitement

April 18, 2006 at 12:14 PM | 0 Comments

Thrills! Tepid, yawn-inducing thrills! For the theme-park loving contingent of tourists who will fan out across the nation this summer, the new roller coaster season is likely to be a lot more mild than those in years past. Many of the large theme park operators have determined that whiplash and nauseating rides tend to put a dent in concessions.

Teenagers, with whom those rides are the most popular, don't spend all that much at the park anyway, but families do, and they prefer rides that are low key. Once again, the list of new rides is in the subscription-only Wall Street Journal, so here's what speed freaks have to look forward to underwhelming them this year. They seem, on the whole, pretty boring:

Pirates 4-D at Busch Gardens: Surround-sound, vibrating seats, and a voice-over by actor Leslie Neilsen all mimic the experience of watching Chinese DVD pirates make 400 copies of Maid in Manhattan in less than twenty minutes. Or there's something about sea pirates.

Killer Whale Ballet at SeaWorld: The name is entertaining enough for this one. There's a "Dine with Shamu" feature opening there this summer, too. Maybe SeaWorld is hoping to cut back on costs by feeding children to the famous Orca.

Bugs Bunny National Park at Six Flags: Rejoice at the reservations-only brunch! Nothing says action-packed quite like Eggs Benedict. Daily parades and clearly marked exits spell excitement here.

Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge at Hersheypark: Riders sit in two competing cars with a laser pointer and shoot at targets while the operators pump in the smell of peanut butter and chocolate. Then there are "sweet rewards" waiting at the end. Hmm, what could they be? Oh, right. Six peanut butter cups.

Phew. We need to sit down after all that.

[Image via Forever Souls/Flickr]

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·   Rethinking the Thrill Factor [WSJ]