Banksy’s Dismaland and theme parks as an art medium

I want theme parks to be taken seriously by academics. I want them to receive the same critique that fine art, literature, film and now gaming "enjoys". Firstly because I just find it interesting to read someone else’s over-thinking on my favourite subject, but also because I like to think it benefits the medium in some way. When questions get asked about the lacking female representation in gaming for example, some developers respond with increasingly better female representation in gaming. It's far from perfect, but we're on a road started by that discussion. Criticism matters.

Photo by Nic Jenkins

Audience misinterpretation of hyperrealism in theming…. Or, “why Dinoland USA is interesting but ultimately flawed”.

I was reading what fellow theme park nerd friends had to say about Disney’s Animal Kingdom recently, specifically Dinoland USA. The usual comments: the area is vile, doesn’t fit in or feel very Disney-like in execution and other perfectly valid and true criticisms… But I felt the need to chime in and defend the cleverness of the theme.

Then I thought, wait, what am I doing? The answer: Playing devils advocate, mostly.

See, Dinoland USA is perhaps the most self-representational, metaphorical, hyperreal commentary on the amusement industry that exists as an actual attraction. And that’s kinda cool from an “arty-farty lets have a discussion about theme park theory” point of view.

Park Map Design

A while back during a discussion with friends, I suggested that most guests do not utilise park maps for what you’d think was their primary purpose - navigation.

And so ever since then I have been mocked for the supposed lunacy of my claim...

Here, Cupcakes and Coasters attempts to mock me by apparently demoing using a map to conclude that there are definitely no roller coasters at this recreational park.

Boring Environments

I’ve recently had some design work that has thrown up a big question in my mind…

I believe that there are some narratives that would be powerful and interesting journeys to take guests on, but their associated visuals are just dull. Is that my personal taste, or is there some objective fact in this?

Instinctively, I want to tell you that theme parks, unlike film, are in danger of their stylistic qualities being misunderstood. I’ve discussed this phenomenon quite often on this blog when I talk about realism. Functional objects used as theming will be read not for their implied stylistic connotations but as functional objects, because theme parks, zoos, restaurants, museums and the like are, above all else, functional spaces.

General Public Opinion Survey Discussion

I wanted to discuss some of the findings from the General Public Opinion Survey that I posted the results of back in March…

Admittedly, I really did not spend long coming up with the questions, finding the best platform to host the survey or finding suitable candidates to answer it. But the results are still interesting. I recommend having the results open as a separate window or tab to reference whilst you read this post!

There’s this rhetoric that gets flung around fan communities when speculating new rides, aiming to find a gap in the experiences delivered by their current selection. This logic rarely bares resemblance to reality. Canada’s Wonderland best illustrates this, recently adding Leviathan – a taller version of Behemoth, ride they had only put in a few years prior. So I wanted to find out if ride types matter to average guests. Do the seemingly obvious comparisons between certain attractions occur to them?

The 230ft Behemoth (top) and the 306th Leviathan (bottom) at Canada's Wonderland are both the same type of roller coaster, built by the same manufacturer only 4 years apart.

Photos by Canada's Wonderland

Observations from Lakemont and DelGrosso’s

My rough plan for this year hasn’t exactly panned out, so instead I thought I’d offer a short review of two rarely visited or talked about parks.

I was in Pittsburg with a friend the other day. With Pensylvania so full of amusement parks, we obviously had to stop by somewhere…

We’d already been to Kennywood a couple of years ago and we were not fans, so decided to try out Lakemont. A tiny park, but it boasts the world’s oldest roller coaster still in operation and North America’s last surviving side friction – Leap the Dips. It’s also home to a Chance Toboggan (a ride type I’d yet to try) and another wooden coaster named Skyliner.

I was expecting the park to be nice enough. Pulling up to the place, the park itself is overshadowed by a contemporary business park that we had assumed was more like an outlet village similar to the one found at Lightwater Valley in the UK. It’s a real shame that it is not, it would perhaps draw much-needed visitors to the amusement park.

The ticket price for entry and a wristband for all rides and the waterpark, with the exception of Leap the Dips, was only $5 on a Friday. That seemed insane. Most ticket-based parks will charge that per large ride. The modest ticket price soon becomes apparent though, there’s nothing at this park. Literally. Well, there is a waterpark, and arguably $5 for any waterpark however awful is pretty damn good, and I suspect that’s what most local people come here for. But this park was completely dead. For a Friday afternoon sandwiched between 4^th July and the weekend, this was crazy quiet. I cannot fathom how the park makes enough money to even cover staff pay.