One ride - three fun themes

There are always an unlimited number of creative and fun ways to solve any problem. Three recent clients are installing the same ride into their parks. It's a small, but delightful spinning coaster. In the current version the cars sport a colourful ladybug paint scheme and the ride is dubbed Bug Whirled. Our job is to build an identity around this theme. Similar to the post of yesterday we went with a circus theme but this time it is all about bugs. We perched the performing mechanical insects on tree stumps to elevate them and also allow us to seamlessly blend the marquees into a green and landscaped environment.

The theme for the second ride was of course all about the Gruffle Pirates at Scallywag Bay. In this case we elevated the ride on tall pylons to twelve feet off of the ground in order to make it exciting. We asked the manufacturer to enlarge one of the loops just enough to insert a tower ride in the centre. The signs for this attraction reflect the Gruffle characters who operate the rides. Tupper counts his 'Pieces of Eight' (a nod to the figure eight layout of the ride) and Specs waits atop his sign, the lookout for the spinning tower ride called 'Crow's Nest'. The cars for the pieces of Eight ride were themed as barrels to go with the theme.

For the Cultus Lake Adventure Park the spinning coaster was tucked under the larger coaster. We dubbed this ride 'Blastin' Barrels' and again used the barrels as the ride cars. We fastened the sign name to a stack of barrels as the post and build a mine shaft inside a small mountain for the queue. The runaway train was perched precariously overhead to add to the drama.

Problem solving

When our kids were small we loved to play a creative game. One person would scribble a line on a piece of blank paper and the other would then take the pen and add to that line to make it into something clever. I don't ever remember anyone ever being stumped. The game was often played when we went out to dinner. It kept the kids busy and quiet when we were waiting for our dinner to be served. The game also was a wonderful way to teach our youngsters the art of problem solving.

Designing theme parks is often similar to that fun drawing game we used to play. A client presents us with a ride (most often very colourful) that we have to fit into a theme. It can be a real challenge at times. A recent project was a ride with colours that wouldn't have been our first choice. Repainting the ride wasn't a viable option. Instead, we enthusiastically embraced what we were given and designed a clever theme around it.

Boing!

Our smallest projects can often be as much fun as the large ones. A friend asked us to design a small sign for their farm. They have miniature horses and the property has many springs (water) coming from the ground - hence the name. They also liked a small maquette I had done some time ago as a fund raiser for Pipsqueak Paddocks. It was modelled after a 'horse fly'.  All of those elements (suggested by the client) were combined to create the design. It is going to be a fun little project.