The Uncertain Future of Roller Coasters 

When you mentioned magnetics replacing chain lifts I'm with you. I was part of opening team for ca screamin in disney California Adventure. Most people love the launch, but I was impressed on how it was the first Rollercoaster in the world to use LIMs to lift the train up the largest drop. Sure it uses a lot of power, but it was one of the most reliable parts of the coaster.

I am very optimistic about the future of coasters! I really hope to see RMC come out with an inverted raptor.

I do think Roller Coasters in the near future might be closer to what we had with the Thrillville games. But with how limited our human bodies can handle, only time will tell if we make roller coasters for robots or for human beings. Still though, it's interesting to see where the future of roller coasters are heading. Since Roller Coasters are one of, if not, the oldest entertaining type of leisure activities that can be traced back to the 1600s with 20 - 40 foot/meter tall ice slides.

I Like the Phantasialand in Germany Most. Because they can Not expand in land and they Had to demolish old attractions to build new ones

The fact is, theme parks will always be more interesting than amusement parks. Yeah, the latter have more intense rides sometimes, but the experience isn't nearly as wonderul as the former. Then again, its amazing that we have such incredible places to explore. And that we have the privilege of being able to enjoy them. I count myself very lucky to find myself in such fortunate company.

Great video! You sound like another youtuber ive watched but I cant put my finger on it

Gringotts at Universal is a semi-coaster with a motion base (actuallly 2) built into the track, facing screens. (The tracks actually separate to let the motion base move them, then rejoin so the cars can move)

I think the overall number of roller coasters and parks that have them is going to decline over the long term, especially in the US and Europe. The biggest reason for that is demographics: amusement parks and theme parks cater especially to kids and teenagers, and the whole world is aging and especially the rich world. If they do survive, parks are going to be thinking about more themed experiences that can appeal to adults and even to seniors. Extreme coasters aren't the best thing to fit the bill here. (Nor are kiddie rides! But milder coasters that have more interesting theming and dark-ride elements, maybe.) You can see this pattern well advanced in Japan, where there are lot of old amusement parks genteelly rusting and shutting down, and one of the most celebrated parks is Tokyo DisneySea, where the attractions mostly emphasize elaborate themed environments and the thrills tend to be mild. Also, of course, there are simply more things competing for the average person's entertainment dollar, and people seem to want to be entertained at home more than they used to--the COVID pandemic accelerated some shifts that were already happening. That trend combined with competition from big regional and destination parks already killed most of the old local amusement parks long ago. I do think people still crave experiences that are physical and in-person. But it does mean that park attractions need to distinguish themselves as much as they can from something you can get at home. The over-reliance on screens and projections that we saw some years back is probably going to have to go away unless they can find some way to make these far more immersive than watching a home TV. Because the home TV is getting really good.

Like B&M's revival of the stand-up coaster with the creation of "Pipeline" at SeaWorld Orlando, I think we will see many old models reappear in a modernized form. I'd personally love to see dueling RMC raptor tracks, 3 or 4, in the style of an Arrow steeplechase like my much beloved Soap Box Derby Racers at Knott's Berry Farm. I think we may also begin to see hybrid trains more frequently, perhaps a train with 4 floorless cars and 4 stand-up cars, or a backwards-facing or spinning caboose, as commonly found in parks "down under". Hopefully, some company will bring back the Arrow-style swinging suspended coasters, and maybe even the bobsled track before it goes completely extinct. We could use more 4th dimension coasters in our world, too.

The future is outstanding theming like Phantasialand in Germany offers.

Honestly, I'd take improvements to guest traffic flow, operations efficiency and improvements, and refurbishments to existing rides at this point for Six Flags. Just that alone would be so welcome.

In the west (EU and NA) in particular, I think the industry is entering an era of renewal and improvement of guest experience rather than growth or expansion. Many parks have reached "maturity" with regards to their attendance numbers and land development. There will always be new attractions added, but many rides are reaching or exceeding their original designed service life - so new attractions will often come as replacements for the existing, unpopular and/or difficult/expensive to maintain rides. This is necessary as parks are running out of room and it reduces operation, maintenance, and staffing needs. Popular and iconic rides will undergo renewal (see Nemesis and Hulk). The "coaster wars" era of records being broken every season or two seems to have ended in the west with Kingda Ka stealing Dragsters' crown and the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. It seems that rides that exceed traditional lift hill equipped gigas in height and/or speed just don't have the operational efficiency to give appropriate return on investment. We'll still see an occasional record breaker when the stars align and the investors behind a park want to create international interest - but I wouldn't be surprised if Falcon's Flight comes and goes as the record king due to operating costs or SFQ goes out of business before its' records are approached again. That thing is going to cost a fortune to maintain and operate and when it's 24 years old - even if it's still the tallest and fastest and longest - will it really be driving attention or attendance the same way? If anything we're in the era of the family coaster (not be confused with kiddy coasters) - as evidenced by rides like Big Bear Mountain, Phoenix Rising, Darkcoaster (and similar), etc. Even the smaller regional parks have been grabbing small Gravity Group rides to fill that space. Rides with a lower height requirement that are fun, but not too intense, for the whole family - are the trend. Some of this is driven by cost, but I think some of it is a conscious understanding that modern coasters are a very different (more controlled, less jank+jerk) experience, and one more likely to endear coaster riding to a younger generation. As for guest experience, I've noticed that some iconic theme parks (particularly Cedar Point) are simply not operating at the level that they did 20ish years ago. Some of this is on the guests (less focused on where the are), some on the staff and the management who set the culture, and some of it comes down to consequences of 35 year focused on thrill rides first, second, and 3rd leaving the place without shade, any air conditioned queues, or indoor experiences (other than shows and dining). A re-emphasis on capacity and throughput, along with creating a more engaging (if not necessarily immersive) experience needs to be the focus. Along with comfort. I also think more parks will start implementing a reservation system similar to Disney on peak-attendance days (summer Saturdays, Halloweekend Saturdays - that sort of thing) to give their staff a fighting chance of making the day pleasant for guests. Similarly I think virtual queues (check in, return during a certain 1hr window to join the standby line) will also become more wide-spread - it would be easy to implement them on park apps or using wristbands. Virtual queues are a HUGE win-win for parks and guests as it makes the experience better for the guest by giving them more time on the midway - which is a boon for the park since they're more likely to spend money on a game, merch, food, drink, etc. Or at worst they'll go ride something else that isn't already overcrowded and have a better time.

We are desperate for an RMC in the UK! Every ebthusiast here is clamouring for one, so I hope they expand into the UK!

I know, planet coaster music when I hear it

amazing quality

Lagoon Utah is a smaller one and they charge prices higher then most across the company and are packed every day

My prediction will be universal great Britain will get built with any luck. i could maybe see a park having a cyber punk themed land because i imagine it would be popular

I think we're going from records to more firsts.

What will happen with roller coasters that are already a century old, like the Coney Island Cyclone and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk Giant Dipper? Will they continue to be maintained and supported?

Damn the editing on this is like of a 200k+ channel, really good :)

leviathan, Sea World Australia is great example of a great theming at the same time the thrill is too the max

I’ve never seen your videos before. Quality content!

Very good, high-quality video. Well done!

17:34 I really wish mission ferrari wasnt such a flop, It was so innovative

I feel like, with quite a few parks here in the US. they have quite a bit of land to add solar panels and or smaller turbines to easily skirt of some usage from the grid as well as maybe saving money spent on outside electric (?). (Can't really add a whole nuclear plant to them though) but that could push a start to better power. I think on some map searches I've seen solar panels placed on buildings, and Disney World has a couple farms itself so who knows

19:10 As for the power used and environmental impact of Theme Parks at least Efteling is doing some serious efforts in that regards. They aim to be climate neutral bei 2030 and even climate positive by 2032, meaning they are putting a lot of effort into that. These efforts include having Solar Panels on Show buildings (i.e. Symbolica was was build with them already in place) and AFAIK the Parking lot, replacing their coal powered locomotives for the Park Railway with electric ones, and there are currently very strong rumors that they are going to disable and replace the fire effects in their Aquanura show with different effects as soon as this years planned maintenance for that show. And they are doing all this while being a Park that is open every day of the year. I don´t have actual numbers, but if they succeed in their goals to become climate positive in the future it would be a great showcase that you can operate a immersive Theme Park that has little to no impact on the environment while being in operation.

Love your video!!! Also your voice sounds soooo familiar

Amazing video ! Keep it up

Good video!

The future of rollercoasters will be full of ups and downs.

Welcome to the future

Prediction: 300 metre rollercoaster. Not feet, but metres, and they will be common. Every important theme park will have at least one of them.

Excellent video

Six Flags in the beginning strived to be a cheaper and closer to home option to Mickey Mouse. you do that by not putting themes on rides

What are all the new parks getting built in the us that you mentioned?

Efteling is focusing heavily on its environmental impact, partly due to new laws. They want to be climate neutral by 2030 and climate positive by 2032. One of the latest decisions is to no longer use flames with there attraction, but they recently also completed solar panels (12000) on parking lots, large batteries to store that energy and decrease impact on the national grid. They also buy in 100 percent wind energy and have a warm cold storage system to heat and cool buildings. Recycling and electric cars and bikes for employees and so many other measures should ensure them reaching there goals.

I still feel like thoosie's have a lot of blindspots here that are apparent in this analysis. The main one is the lack of the D work. Demographics. No park owner says to themselves, "I want a coaster with strong forces and high capacity." Thats thoosie talk, engineering focused. Park owners want a ride they can market to a specific demographic, their entire angle is marketability and cost efficiency, because THAT is their job; NOT engineering. So what are our current demographic shifts and what do they mean for the future? If you want some clues all you have to do is look at Epic Universe. They have very smart people who probably did a lot more research than we could ever find on what appeals to the current and near-future demographics of park goers. That being said families always have, and will continue to be the biggest demographic. But NOT the families that you went to parks with in your childhood. Not the same ones who went to parks 15-20 years ago. A lot of thoosie community seem to be stuck in the past assuming the parents of most families are Boomers with Boomers tastes. That isn't the case anymore, current parents are Gen X and an increasing demographic of millennials. You can see Epic responding to this in their choice of featured IPs (for example, horror in general has seen a large rise in popularity in every generation since the boomers, hence Dark Universe). Internationally things may be more complicated but here in the US, Epic will become the blueprint most parks try to emulate because they are being the first to respond to cultural and generational trends and it will probably pay off for them big time.

One thing I have noticed with US parks is the lack of solar panels on the massive show buildings, while Efteling put them on the relatively small show building of Symbolica. Plus US parks have huge parking lots, which could power a large part of the park. Especially in the more sunny locations. If Efteling can do it in rainy Nederland why can’t US parks in Florida not do it.

Let me see roller coaster in space. Do roller coaster not work through gravity.😂 Or am I being ridiculous 😂. Although if u could would airtime still be a thing🤔😉😋

6 Flags should have nothing to do with Saudi Arabia, focus on your own damn country...smh have fun maintaining that Coaster with all the sandstorms and heat

I feel like America is just to pussy for a vekoma tilt coaster but hopefully the one in Mexico is a success 👍

So you say we Europeans have won the war?;-)