Coaster Zeroscaping - CoasterBuzz

Lately I have noticed that many parks engage in what I call "zeroscaping" beneath their new coasters. Essentially, they don't put anything on the ground beneath the coaster except maybe some gravel. Sometimes there's just dirt. I think this really detracts from the visual impact of some rides. The first coaster that comes to mind is the Ga. Scorcher, it just had rip-rap beneath it and greatly detracts from this coaster's aesthetic value. It's an eyesore, actually. I imagine parks do this to save money from landscaping, but still, it's a practice I want to stop. What other rides are like this?

Colossus, Raging Bull, The Great American Scream Machine (SFNJ), Batman The Escape, The Villain

How would you redo them, also?

Medusa at SFMW is horrible, it's over the old parking lot. Colossus is the same way. I would at least tear this up and put in grass maybe some water or something, looking at cement really stinks.
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http://www.bolliger-mabillard.com

Same with Shockwave at SFGAm.
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TiM

There isn't exactly room to put anything under the villain.
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Kicking screamin' Gucci little siggy.

It supposed to be barren underneath Raging Bull though it has high grass etc. liek the plains. As for Shockwave, the theme is abanndoned parking lot.
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Does CCI know how to make a bad coaster?

X~Flight . With this ride your faceing the ground ...you would think this type of ride needs some landscapeing . Last Summer we soared over mud puddles and rocks... by the end of the season a little grass was pokeing through... Maybe it will look nicer next season.
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You really need to get some more BRAN in your diet

X-Flight surprised me the most as well, and now that you mention it, that is odd for a ride where you're looking at the ground!

The nicest I've seen on a new installation has to be Talon. Granted, it's a lot of mulch and very young trees, but it looks nice and I suspect it'll get better every year as the trees continue to grow.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

I thought Mantis was pretty bad at CP, over the pond or whatever they call it... the gravel around the edges just makes everything look more stagnant than it already is.

At least we got some nice green grass under Batwing. Trees close to a coaster are nice, but probably are expensive for the park since they have to be trimmed for safety.

Yeah there are some rides at SFOG that are very close (some go through) the trees, but it's really not as big a deal as one might think, you only have to trim them once a season if you do it right. It looks much better working WITH the environment than clear cutting everything.

x-flight's "lawn" is coming in great. i jujst wish something would be put down there to give some visual effects. I think they should've kept the parking lot so it would at least have an excuse for being over a lot (it's theme is an airport)

Leave it to Six Flags... they're always on top of their game.

The best theming any SF parks do is the underground sewer effect for the B:TRs. Hmmm, I'm wondering, maybe that's the areas of the parks they've left "unthemed"...LOL!
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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

hey.....don't diss the shockwave like that, it does have some grass and trees by it, note i did say SOME. But ya, i agree with u all, there needs to be landscaping and not gravel (rocks). Gravel is the hardest thing to clean. All the little crap garbage gets in it. And i do agree that it detracts looks. I'm sure guests want something to look at other than gravel.

Lot's will disagree, but I really don't mind that Shockwave stands on a parking lot. And that goes for any coaster that does. Sure, it's really nice to have near misses with trees and whatnot, but the parking lots not that bad. Lets you focus on the quality of the actual ride.
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You're mama told you that you're not supposed to talk to strangers. Look in the mirror, tell me do you think you're lifes in danger?-Ozzy
http://sfgamunoffical.tripod.com/template1.htm

What interesting to me is the no maintainence landscaping and themeing. Batman the ride - "Lets make it a underground sewer with lots of garbage and grafitti" Thats not too hard to maintain. Then the Viper area at sfgam - Basically overgrown plains, no maintainence there. Not a bad idea.

Actually there is a thing called zeriscaping down here in the southwest. It is the mixing of indigenous desert plants with very small uses of grass to mainly conserve water. The Las Vegas Valley Water District actually pays you for changing your lawn into zeriscape form. Most new houses and developments have limits on water features and the amount of grass you can have.

As for theme parks, I think that landscaping can make a ride. For example Revolution today has all those trees giving it a unique feeling especially at night. On the other hand however, I think it depends on the ride itself.