Fluorineer
Mega Poster
...what would they actually do with it? I hope, a speculation-thread like this is welcome in this forum and also I also submitted it in the correct place. If not, bear with me.
One thing that I can't really wrap my head around is, how would they be able to continue with their recognizable Phantasialand-style if they happened to double their usable space over night? Considering how the extreme immersiveness, enclosedness and continuity throughout the park basically has become their panacea for creating an outstanding experience for their guests. You can totally see how this tiny space has grown over a period of 30 years and on top of that has significantly picked up the pace in the past 10 years in terms of theming. Do you think, they would be able to continue their style like that if they happened to start something new from ground up, which would even be on the other side of the street, meaning they would have to give up their extremely fluent transitions between the themes?
Also, do you think that Phantasialand will be limited in ride choices due to their high standards of theming and if so, how and why do you see these? I for instance could perfectly imagine them getting a GCI-Woody (or heck, even jump on Gravity Group's innovation train and do something crazy, it's Phantasialand) or a water coaster, those are just two roller coasters that would fit perfectly into their line-up and also would allow for insanely great theming. And both of these rides would be large enough to "carry" an entire area, which would be required as they are probably going to get a multitude of new areas in that big of a space. A ride that would also fit their line-up but that I totally couldn't see though is a Hypercoaster. Not only thanks to the locals (hey guys, might want to take a trip to Rust, it's actually possible to work with your local park TOGETHER) but also because that's just something that would stick out as a standalone ride without it's theming, and also not even really allowing for immersive theming. However, an Intamin Mega-Lite would also be sweet. Why the heck aren't more parks building these things? Oh well...
Next question would be the kinds of themes you would love to see in a Phantasialand-expansion. What comes to mind are a couple of themes that are generally very popular, but usually are not being done great on most occasions. Perfect example is the dystopian theme, which is usually just an excuse for having a bunch of scrap and junk laying around, so that you can say "hey, that is the theming". Raptor at Gardaland has probably the best dystopian theme that I have experienced in person, and even though it's done quite well, it still smells Merlin from miles away. I think if there's one park who could actually do that kind of theme perfectly, it's Phantasialand. Especially if they go with an unusual choice and don't pick the obligatory B&M for such an area, but instead something like a Woody. How ironic would that be, a theme that hasn't been done great like ever, combined with a coaster type that most people consider to be "not requiring any theming".
Only problem could be, if they actually manage to pull of a great dystopian area, it might turn out to be so well done, that's it's more uncomfortable than anything. Might be a reason why they went with friendly themes by now
What I actually can't see anymore is them building a water park, mainly because the Aqualand Köln is skyrocketing and will continue to do so in the future. This is precisely, why socialism failed: during the time it takes the local politicians to make a single ****ing decision, the private sector pulls the largest waterpark in the entire country out of its ass.
They'd also have that pretty large lake in the middle of that area, and considering the whole reason why this is taking so long is that the Ententeich is a natural reserve (because you know, killing fish with a hook in their mouths and saying that is protecting the environment is million times better than building an amusement park and creating a proper compensation area where douchebags can't cast their fishing rods), they'll probably be forced to keep it and not even do a lot to that, similar to what happened with Wakobato (what a waste of money and space). To make up for that, maybe they'd go for an aquatic theme. You know, nice and abstract, just as Mystery and Fantasy, could totally fit their style and is also a theme that is generally done terrible, if done at all. And they need another water ride anyway, River Quest's height requirement is a real killer in their line up. Mack's watercoasters and Super Splashs with the new restraint systems only require a height of 1,00m, so that could be exactly what they are looking for, especially because these things are no joke. Poseidon is one of the largest crowd pullers of all Germany and that is an old ride which would be done so much better these days.
So yeah, what do you guys think about this? If this is ever going to happen (which is worth another discussion in itself), what would you like to see, what do you believe would they actually do, and how would it change Phantasialand and it's overall experience?
One thing that I can't really wrap my head around is, how would they be able to continue with their recognizable Phantasialand-style if they happened to double their usable space over night? Considering how the extreme immersiveness, enclosedness and continuity throughout the park basically has become their panacea for creating an outstanding experience for their guests. You can totally see how this tiny space has grown over a period of 30 years and on top of that has significantly picked up the pace in the past 10 years in terms of theming. Do you think, they would be able to continue their style like that if they happened to start something new from ground up, which would even be on the other side of the street, meaning they would have to give up their extremely fluent transitions between the themes?
Also, do you think that Phantasialand will be limited in ride choices due to their high standards of theming and if so, how and why do you see these? I for instance could perfectly imagine them getting a GCI-Woody (or heck, even jump on Gravity Group's innovation train and do something crazy, it's Phantasialand) or a water coaster, those are just two roller coasters that would fit perfectly into their line-up and also would allow for insanely great theming. And both of these rides would be large enough to "carry" an entire area, which would be required as they are probably going to get a multitude of new areas in that big of a space. A ride that would also fit their line-up but that I totally couldn't see though is a Hypercoaster. Not only thanks to the locals (hey guys, might want to take a trip to Rust, it's actually possible to work with your local park TOGETHER) but also because that's just something that would stick out as a standalone ride without it's theming, and also not even really allowing for immersive theming. However, an Intamin Mega-Lite would also be sweet. Why the heck aren't more parks building these things? Oh well...
Next question would be the kinds of themes you would love to see in a Phantasialand-expansion. What comes to mind are a couple of themes that are generally very popular, but usually are not being done great on most occasions. Perfect example is the dystopian theme, which is usually just an excuse for having a bunch of scrap and junk laying around, so that you can say "hey, that is the theming". Raptor at Gardaland has probably the best dystopian theme that I have experienced in person, and even though it's done quite well, it still smells Merlin from miles away. I think if there's one park who could actually do that kind of theme perfectly, it's Phantasialand. Especially if they go with an unusual choice and don't pick the obligatory B&M for such an area, but instead something like a Woody. How ironic would that be, a theme that hasn't been done great like ever, combined with a coaster type that most people consider to be "not requiring any theming".
Only problem could be, if they actually manage to pull of a great dystopian area, it might turn out to be so well done, that's it's more uncomfortable than anything. Might be a reason why they went with friendly themes by now
What I actually can't see anymore is them building a water park, mainly because the Aqualand Köln is skyrocketing and will continue to do so in the future. This is precisely, why socialism failed: during the time it takes the local politicians to make a single ****ing decision, the private sector pulls the largest waterpark in the entire country out of its ass.
They'd also have that pretty large lake in the middle of that area, and considering the whole reason why this is taking so long is that the Ententeich is a natural reserve (because you know, killing fish with a hook in their mouths and saying that is protecting the environment is million times better than building an amusement park and creating a proper compensation area where douchebags can't cast their fishing rods), they'll probably be forced to keep it and not even do a lot to that, similar to what happened with Wakobato (what a waste of money and space). To make up for that, maybe they'd go for an aquatic theme. You know, nice and abstract, just as Mystery and Fantasy, could totally fit their style and is also a theme that is generally done terrible, if done at all. And they need another water ride anyway, River Quest's height requirement is a real killer in their line up. Mack's watercoasters and Super Splashs with the new restraint systems only require a height of 1,00m, so that could be exactly what they are looking for, especially because these things are no joke. Poseidon is one of the largest crowd pullers of all Germany and that is an old ride which would be done so much better these days.
So yeah, what do you guys think about this? If this is ever going to happen (which is worth another discussion in itself), what would you like to see, what do you believe would they actually do, and how would it change Phantasialand and it's overall experience?