Amusement Park Bans Screaming.

http://www.scandiasports.com/index.html

Looking at their site I didnt see the rules posted but I might have missed them, but the people in their logo are obviously breaking the rules.

Truthfully if this park was a MM or CP I could understand their point better but this place doesnt look that bad for noise levels.

Skyscrapers are pretty damn scary. Telling someone not to scream or make noise seems pretty darn impossible. To be kicked-off off a ride because you can't control a natural instinct is just bad business. With a roller coaster, at least you've got some of idea of what's going to happen (if you've ridden them before). Nothing will prepare you for your first ride on a Skyscraper.

Where I will agree with the neighbors is about the height of the attraction and the lighting. It's just out of proportion, and its prescence must be even more annoying at night with the neon lighting. Where the neighbors somehow left out of the loop? It's very possible. But, perhaps they didn't bother to attend the meetings either.

Screaming is HIGHLY annoying to me. It's the equivalent of someone scratching their nails down a chalkboard within two inches of my ear. ;)

On the other hand I think it's part of the whole experience. Sometimes you just can't control your reactions to something.

Hell, I usually yell out profanities when I am having A LOT of fun on any ride without realizing it. ;) It's all the same thing.

If screaming is going to be banned I am sure I will get life in prison for screaming "YEAH B**** GIVE ME MORE!" on my favorite coasters. ;)

-Tina

*** Edited 4/4/2007 10:28:29 AM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

For an experiment last night I played RCT3 with the volume turned down. Seemed odd.

Of course, it didn't hurt the frame rate any. :)

Like I said, just enclose the seats with a clear cover and also dim the lights.

Then people will probaly just find something else to whine about.

If I lived in that area, I would be more worried about the highway decreasing my property value before one ride that is 168' tall.

I also find it intresting that the home owner is worried about people looking into his backyard from a ride that is moving 60mph in a up/ down circular motion.

Maybe the a-holes, er, ASO have something to do with this?

It makes sense. ;)

-Tina

*** Edited 4/4/2007 5:28:05 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

So this really isn't an early April Fool's Day prank? Wow.

"Hello officer, what seems to be the trouble?"

"I have reports of you screaming on that roller coaster over there. Is that true? Have you been drinking this evening, sir?"

Priceless.

Here is my take on this situation. In some ways I sympathize with the homeowners. I can see how something like that can be an eyesore and possibly drive down property values, especially with the change of clientèle at the park.

That said, I am also a huge fan of tort reform and limiting lawsuits like this. I think that the people should be going to the city council members that approved the zoning for this attraction and demanding that they do something or threaten to have them recalled if anything. It was the city council, in essence, that failed them, not the park. The park went through a formal zoning process to get the ride approved and built.

One other factor to look at is where the media was in all of this. Most news organizations with a shred of credibility keep up on things going on in city government and report on things that they think that will interest the readers of their paper. Now, either they didn't feel that this would upset the people living in the area of the ride, or they did report on it, but the people in the area were not riled up enough about it during the zoning process. Now, if the people were there during the approval process and complained loudly then and it was still approved, then they should be actively seeking to recall the members of their city zoning and building board.

Bottom line is that the best way to get this thing removed from that park is for the citizens go after the people that allowed it to be built in the first place. Going after the park with a lawsuit, in my opinion is wasteful and wrong seeing that the park did have it approved.

CNN has a video up. The ride is VERY close to homes nearby...existing homes, I might add. So I'm sure the screams all day and into the night would get very annoying to those neighbors. And yes, the ride is virtually in their back yards so anyone on the ride can get a good view, although I don't see that as large an issue as dealing with the noise.

^ and ^^

Yay! Two reasonable responses. :)

Look, I'm a coaster dork and I wouldn't want to live next to an amusement park.

If I lived near a small FEC-type place with a certain noise level and suddenly they put up a Skyscraper and people were on it screaming until 1am - I'd be pissed too.

But how did they get *approval* to suddenly dump a Skyscraper in that FEC. Public hearings, land-use meetings, etc., this SHOULD have been caught and DENIED long before footers were poured. YMMV...

*** Edited 4/5/2007 4:54:07 PM UTC by rollergator***

There's a million ways it could have gone down. I suspect the residents were sold on the 'quiet motor /quietest ride we could find" thing and no one accounted for screaming riders into the wee hours of the morning.

The fact that the park mentions they tried to find the quietest ride they could seems to me that everyone involved knew noise levels were an issue.

^ But hasd ANY of those people been to DCA and *seen* the scream shields? You'd think they'd be able to put two and two together...

...unless the CA public schools are no better than FL's... ;)

So THAT is what those highly annoying shields are for on their drop tower? :(

Some people scream on ANY ride, even if it's a lazy pool. ;)

I have seen it happen, especially when it involves kids.

-Tina

*** Edited 4/5/2007 5:40:00 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

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Lord Gonchar said:

Look, I'm a coaster dork and I wouldn't want to live next to an amusement park.

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Definitely.

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If I lived near a small FEC-type place with a certain noise level and suddenly they put up a Skyscraper and people were on it screaming until 1am - I'd be pissed too.

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I don't know if they have a right to be pissed. They did move next to an FEC, which they should have understood might expand with noisy attractions in the future. That's like moving next to a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch and being surprised when they start serving dinner. The possibility was there, after all.

That's always an excuse I see in cases like this.

I'm not sure I agree with that. Why should I have any reason to believe that a place that has mini-golf and batting cages will suddenly put in a giant, high intensity thrill-ride?

Hell, I understand the ebb and flow of things in the industry and even I wouldn't necessarily expect that. I doubt someone who cares nothing about parks and such would understand that expansions and additions (especially of that nature and in this context) are possible.

Not sure I agree with that. I tend to think that most people making the biggest investment of their entire lives are going to consider what the area surrounding their new property is going to experience in the future.

Is that nearby highway extention on the drawing board going to be visible from my street?

Is there a chance that factory might grow and build a loading dock across the street?

Is the crack and whore house going to expand into the neighboring house?

I doubt that many people drop that kind of money on something without considering the "what ifs?"

I don't know about all that. Been in my house about seven years, and I *certainly* never expected some of the new developments being constructed on the far end of 39th. My back yard was REALLY quiet, even during rush hour. Then these new developments were approved, and now with the addition of thousands of additional vehicles, it's tough to even get ON to 39th during the morning and evening rush hours.

Not all expansion can be *reasonably aniticipated*....

Expecting more houses? That's a gray area... could go either way. But if there is a business in place, I imagine most would think about what's going to become of that business in future years.