Tussand's Building Style

I was just checking out some photos of Thorpe, inspired by the thread on their 2005 plans, and it struck me as to why when their rides are so popular, the Tussand's "style" has never really "crossed the pond". Are there less restrictive building codes in England that allow tracks to be closer to paths, and wind over paths more? Or is it just that U.S. parks spend so much money on the actual ride, they have nothing left to do such things as bury it in the ground, or put paths through corkscrews or build volcanos around coasters?

And yes, I know there are a few, but all of the well-themed or "buried" (either underground or within the rest of the park setting) coasters are not the tops over here, the ones that are essentially built in parking lots are. Just curious if anyone thinks we'll ever see a Tussands style ride in America anytime soon, especially since some of the parks are ... let's see how to phrase this so I don't get attacked ... becoming a little cramped?

Edit: Even RCT likes this building style, I do it all the time ;) If its good enough for RCT, its good enough for America! ;)

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"You know we got a good thing goin and I don't wanna see it end" --Reel Big Fish
-- Brett
*** This post was edited by PittDesigner 4/25/2003 8:00:55 AM ***

Building codes in Britain are somewhat less restrictive than in the US. However, much of the style is just that. Or, that and the severe zoning restrictions at Alton Towers. The holes in the ground are the only way that Alton Towers can have coasters.

Six Flags focuses on the ride. Disney focuses on a family experience.
SF won't theme like Nemesis, Disney won't build a ride like Nemesis.

The only company that comes near Tussaud's is Anheuser-Busch. Kraken and Alpengeist are pretty good !

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Roarrrr...

Tussauds parks are rather small and have a small height limit so they take a long time to plan before they place any ride the think of so many designs before they even ask premission to build anything and to maximise the ride they will theme like hell because of the limits on the rides.

you can't say that rct2kid, look at the other european tussaud parks such as heide park, with there 200ft woodie. it's just that people are really crammed into small spaces in England, and you don't have the fast forests to build a whole theme park. alton towers is pretty remote, and still gets a huge number of complaints from the locals.

but yes, it would be good to have more visual rides, but then you have to think, some coasteres are good for the amount of paths, but some are made to be built in the deepest of forests, with no other people around.
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Colossus [1]
Nemesis: Inferno [6]

Just an interesting thought!

Is it possible some of the reasoning is insurance related? Especially when talking about extensive pathways around and under ride track, perhaps insurance rates in the USA dictate how close the general public can be allowed to the track without staff supervision.
*** This post was edited by coasterrod 4/25/2003 11:56:20 PM ***

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UK NeMeSiS said:

you can't say that rct2kid, look at the other european tussaud parks such as heide park, with there 200ft woodie. it's just that people are really crammed into small spaces in England, and you don't have the fast forests to build a whole theme park.

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The parks in England are as big as they could be everywhere else. They just have alot of complaints from locals and no trees can be cut in the woods.
Take a look at www.john-wardley.demon.co.uk (John Wardley, designer of Tussaud's).

Heide-Park was an individual park until 2002. Then it became a Tussaud's park.
Colossos was a project of 1999-2000 and opened in 2001.
The only thing Tussaud's has done, is finishing the Free-Fall project "Scream" (see www.heidepark.de )...and building some game stalls.
However, next season, we can expect another exclusive roller coaster.

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Roarrrr...

When I think of a perfect example for this kind of ride, I think of Colossus at Thorpe. The Brazilian 8-Looper which the ride based on sits on a sheet of tarmac, yet Colossus has footpaths going under and over it as well as lakes underneath. All adding up to a great ride.

If the coaster refured to in the post above is the rumoured Gigacoaster from Intamin then don't expect it, it hasn't got planning permission.

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