At first, I wasn't thinking anything relevant as to Vurtual Reality. However, May comes and I go online to check out new rides at different theme parks. I was on the website for Six Flags Magic Mountain and I saw an odd picture. It looked like to be a rider wearing a Samsung VR headset, so I clicked on it.
The picture was advertising for not a new roller coaster, but an older one that went through a makeover with new paint and trains. The world's first vertical looping coaster, "Revolution" is now known as the "New Revolution", with new revolutionary ideas of keeping an old ride trendy again. The New Revolution is the first virtual reality coaster in North America, just outside of LA. You ride the coaster wearing a Samsung VR headset, which produces a 360 degree view of the programmed enviornment.
Now personally, I see many advantages with these headsets:
- It gives the rider the option to enjoy riding it with or without the VR headset (My preference, just ride it the first or second time without the headset and then all other times with it).
- I could also give the rider the option of more than one programmed enviornment.
- With the headset's 360 views and the vibrations and G-forces of the roller coaster, you'll literally feel like you're in another world.
- Theme parks could charge an additional fee for using this technology (Six Flags currently inlcudes the ride and the headsets free with park admission, but that could change).
- The ride is easy to change as the app that plays the virtual world can be reprogrammed. That way it keeps the riders interested in riding it again next season (or even next week).
- If a theme park has a not so popular roller coaster that's not getting as many riders (like Revolution before its makeover), before tearing it down, consider Virtual Reality.
- It can attract more customers and publicity to your park.
Now for the disadvantages:
- It's expensive. You have to syncronize all the programmed objects and the cameras to move to a roller coaster's exact movents and timings. And of course, not one program fits all, as roller coasters come in many different shapes, sizes, and lengths.
- More things to maintain. Especially keeping the VR headsets clean and preventing the program from crashing.
I could see something like a virtual reality roller coaster be installed or upgraded from older coasters in different parks around the country. I can see competing parks like Cedar Point and Kings Island using this type of technology. I also see Universal Parks and perhaps Disney Parks using this kind of stuff as well. I'd give 5-15 years for this idea to become trendy.
P.S. If Disney Park Imagineers decides to do someting similar to Samsung's VR headset for a roller coaster, I have an idea for the theme. Something to do with orchestra music and the 1940 Disney film, "Fantasia".
