Hyper Drive Dodgems - New for 2015

coolskin · Passionate about Pleasurewood

RE: Hyper Drive Dodgems - New for 2015

Bubbles · Passionate about Pleasurewood

Looking really good. Shows a few arias that need a bit of attention.

Martyn · Passionate about Pleasurewood

Yeah, the park looks really....bare.

Hyper Drive looks HUGE though, nearly the entire length of the train!

quin · Enigmatic Expert

whats that in the very corner to the left of the clown slide

Bubbles · Passionate about Pleasurewood

Dunno Quin, I was wondering the same thing.

There are 4 arias I think need a good re-vamp. The bit near the clown slide, the old dino park, everything around wipeout (I know there's a railway line so there's some restrictions but they must be able to do something with it)
And Woody's flying school, looking at those photos the whole aria could be completely redeveloped.

Martyn · Passionate about Pleasurewood

That corner where the clown slide is, is a park. The wooden play equipment that was next to Wipeout went there along with the clown slide.

But yeah, there is still room for improvement all over the park.

voiceoverguy · Serious Squawker

I think it's interesting that the train is still there!

Matt · pleasurewoodplace.com

Thanks very much for sharing those, voiceoverguy. Yep, the train carriage will form part of the themeing for the new Hyper Drive Dodgems.

Bubbles · Passionate about Pleasurewood

I dunno why they don't move the whole playground bit next to the clown slide.

Martyn · Passionate about Pleasurewood

It's good to have a couple of playgrounds dotted about, although both do lack anything particularly fun.

I think that plastic playground should go next to Wipeout and have it as a toddlers play area. Sands pits an all. Then where it was stick in one of them mega play areas you see in plenty of European parks.

Looking at them aerial shots again, have the Balloons always been THAT blue?

Bubbles · Passionate about Pleasurewood

Id prefer if they just had one super cool playground either next to rattlesnake or the clown slide.

Martyn · Passionate about Pleasurewood

I don't have the time to put the pics on here yet, but there is a few on Facebook.

Sorry, but it looks naf. It just looks like a really old Dodgems, (because that's what it is).

Everything about this investment puzzles me.

GB1 · Woody Wannabe

I have taken a look at the photos on facebook and afraid it does just look like a set of old fairground dodgems... Strange buy indeed. Surely they could have got an old flat ride and re branded it better? Or the cash could have given the tales from the coast a total new look and re brand it as a new ride. Not really going to pull in the crowds is it?

coolskin · Passionate about Pleasurewood

Still better than the random new picnic tables and painted fences we use to get... look at how much has gone in over the last few years...its all good guys

-- Edited by coolskin on Friday 3rd of April 2015 02:47:49 PM

Josh · Passionate about Pleasurewood

Nothing wrong with continued investment! it just begs the question as to why that particular ride.

Martyn · Passionate about Pleasurewood

But we're not talking about previous rides coolskin, we're talking about Hyper Drive.

It's £80,000 for a basic old dodgems ride, which the park already has.

I was disappointed when we first learnt the mystery new ride was some Dodgems, but when I saw the artwork, I thought "well this could be interesting, lets see what they do". But they've not really done anything, have they? They've painted the train and the cars, but it's still just a standard dodgems. Which is taking up a nice bit of 'quiet space' for people to sit down and take a breather. Picnic benches would have been better IMO.

From every angle I look at it, it just doesn't seem to make any sense.

Yet stick them down by the Rattlesnake, replacing the old(er) dodgems and it makes perfect sense. And that is by far the most puzzling aspect of this investment.

coolskin · Passionate about Pleasurewood

Yet you have not been and seen it yet - you like many are only judging by the pictures posted online - the train does look up close really good, finished off nicely as does the que lane. It is always tricky to get a good picture of things at least give the attraction time and for feedback to filter through etc.

This is not the first time the park has had two attractions that are very similar and they both worked

Matt · pleasurewoodplace.com

coolskin wrote:
This is not the first time the park has had two attractions that are very similar and they both worked

Interesting. Which attractions are you thinking of, Coolskin?

coolskin · Passionate about Pleasurewood

When we had the Voyager and Sky Screamer - both swinging boats that were twins and went upside down - ok so one was huge and very unreliable yet the smaller white one we had lasted many seasons - they were both popular rides

Martyn · Passionate about Pleasurewood

^ Don't you mean The Tempest?

And with regards to Hyper Drive, you're still missing the point coolskin. It may well look better in person, but it's still just another set of Dodgems, there's nothing that sets them apart from any other dodgems. It doesn't matter how well presented the queue is, it is what it is - a bizzare addition to the park, especially when there's another poorly maintained version of the ride in the same park.

It would be the same as them adding an exact clone of Enigma, with just one train, but with a nice fresh coast of paint.

Matt · pleasurewoodplace.com

Coolskin is right, back in 1998 Sky Screamer and Voyager were both present and almost identical other than their sizes. I would, however, argue that this was one of the poorer periods in the history of the park in terms of attractions and investment.

That was also the era of the Super Trooper, Drift King, Waltzers etc.

mrbrightside · Exceptionally Expressive

It is a bizarre choice. Would have been ideal to replace the old dodgems and breathe new life into that end of the park. The finish of the train etc looks good but the actual structure and cars scream 'fairground'

We are allowed to be negative coolskin ;)

Bubbles · Passionate about Pleasurewood

There's a possibility they haven't finished 'theming' it yet, but just got the basics up and running for Easter?

And I don't think the old dodgems will stay much longer.
I don't mind The hills having a dodgem ride, it's a classic and appears to be popular, and I liked the theme and I've grown to like the location with integrating the train as well, I just hate the fact they've got two of them, and I'm a bit disappointed to read they aren't any better than fairground versions.

They could have just re-themed the old one.

It's a bit of a lazy investment and sounds like a really expensive one just for Dodgems, but as they park has spent lots of money recently I hope this was a way to have a 'cheap' year, and recoup some funds, plus they don't need a super ride this year with Hobs and MM still quite new, I just hope it's because they're planning something cool for next year, either with TOTC, the castle and replacing the old dodgems.

Or it's down to the new management going back to basics, you can't deny things appear to have gotten worse since that change over. I wish they'd kept the attitude of 'small park thinking big' Oh Well.

Martyn · Passionate about Pleasurewood

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a 'small' investment year. Heck, with how much has been invested I wouldn't complain if they didn't add anything new for a year or two. I just think that the money could have been better spent elsewhere.

And I wouldn't say things have got worse since Alexis and Ben left, I'd say it's just not progressing as much as it was.

coolskin · Passionate about Pleasurewood

It was a odd time Matt yes with those additions all of which I am sure were rented. Yes sky screamer was 94-99 at least, voyager was just the 97 or 98 season...it was so blinking scary !! Ah yes the tempest !!! So yes three upside down boat rides in over 30 years.

Bubbles · Passionate about Pleasurewood

But the tempest was substantial not like the sky screamer which is just naff.

coolskin · Passionate about Pleasurewood

Yes the tempest was , yet the voyager was bigger still than the tempest - still remember the groans the motor would make when it got half way up to going 360...

sky screamer yeh was tiny and random and had seatbelts fitted half way through tis life at the park

Bubbles · Passionate about Pleasurewood

I don't know voyager, never saw it. I remember Tempest being quite big but then everything looks big when you're a kid. I was too small to ride it back in the day.

Sky Screamer was ok but as I'm quite small those seatbelt were not helpful lol, I could easily slide out.

coolskin · Passionate about Pleasurewood

^^Bubbles have checked with Matt as we did have photos of Voyager on here. I am also looking for the original scans too

coolskin · Passionate about Pleasurewood

Sorry this is off topic I l know so feel free to move yet this video shows the voyager ( whether its the same one ) in operation in the mid 1990s at a fair - the colour wave is the exact one we had at the hills

www.youtube.com/watch