Survivor: The Ride
From LoveToKnow Themeparks
Theme park guests with a taste for reality television will delight in one of the most innovative rides in the world – Survivor: The Ride at Great America in Santa Clara, California, a Cedar Fair park that brings this amazing reality show to life.
About Survivor
The hit television show Survivor debuted in May 2000 by pitting sixteen contestants against one another on Palau Tiga, an island in Borneo. Through brutal challenges, harsh living conditions, and extreme tactics, the goal was to outwit, outplay, and outlast every other contestant on the island, a feat that Richard Hatch accomplished to become the first Survivor winner.
The startling popularity of the show immediately spawned additional seasons of Survivor, and while the basic premise of the game has remained the same – surviving physical, emotional, and psychological challenges – the show has migrated to many different locations, including Malaysia, Africa, Australia, Thailand, Brazil, Panama, Guatemala, Fiji, and China. At no location can the show’s fans participate in their own reality challenges, however, until this innovative ride opened in 2006 at what was then Paramount’s Great America, a park with a reputation for bringing movies and television shows to life in thrilling ways.
Theme Park Reality: Survivor: The Ride
Though Paramount sold Great America and the park was acquired by the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company in early 2007, the Survivor theme of this amazing ride has remained intact. Eager riders are treated to a review of classic Survivor moments as they wait in the queue where video montages, photographs, and trivia plaques line the waiting area. As riders draw closer to the boarding platform, they are surrounded by tribal masks, 40 foot high burning torches, and other exotic theming that sets the mood for this challenging ride. This anticipation is further enhanced by the tribal music playing in the area that sets the blood pumping and gears up riders’ nerves for the ultimate endurance and immunity challenge.
Survivor: The Ride is a unique interactive riding experience, with a circular platform mounted on a wave-shaped track. Riders board the platform and are divided into two “tribes” according to the colors of their seats. All seats on the platform face outward and riders are secured with snug harnesses. As the ride begins, riders are “challenged” to perform tribal chants and dances, and the losing “tribe” is sprayed with water from mounted tribal masks facing the ride. The circular vehicle spins throughout the ride, ensuring that every rider has some small taste of the high cost of this reality ride. The maximum height of the ride is approximately five stories, and at each end the platform continues to spin as it reverses course and sends the riders on another undulating lap.
Riding Tips
Because of the multiple directions of motion, Survivor: The Ride can be very disorienting, and riders who are sensitive to motion sickness may want to avoid attempting the challenge. Similarly, guests with heart, neck, or back problems or guests who may be pregnant should heed the safety recommendations and avoid riding. The ride’s lines can be quite lengthy, and it is best to try to ride right away when the park opens or to wait until crowds disperse later in the day to avoid the longest waits.
Other Reality Rides
Survivor: The Ride is not the only interactive theme park ride in existence. Several other large rides incorporate water features, such as the Flying Super Saturator roller coaster at Carowinds in North Carolina, where guests have the opportunity to aim geysers, sprays, and cannons at riders. The Roller Soaker at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania takes the experience to another level; in addition to allowing waiting guests to soak riders, the riders also have control of water tanks that can deliver a surprise splash to guests waiting in line (a “dry” line is available for guests who don’t want to get wet right away).
Not all interactive rides incorporate water, however. Men In Black: Alien Attack at Universal Studios Florida arms riders with laser guns and enters them into pitched battle with alien invaders in an attempt to save the world, and Mission: SPACE at Epcot Center is a simulated space voyage that relies on riders’ cooperation to safely complete its mission.
Survivor: The Ride is one of several interactive theme park rides that base the ride experience on the actions of the riders. While there are not many such rides available yet – the massive engineering coordination necessary to keep interactive effects cooperating smoothly is both costly and delicate – this type of amusement park ride is a thrilling experience sure to survive and exceed guests’ expectations.
Learn More
This page has been accessed 1,832 times. This page was last modified 21:03, 6 November 2007.
© 2006-2009 LoveToKnow Corp.
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