Enquiry and Use of Sources

Theme Park Research

Alton Towers

Colours

Alton Towers’ website colours reflect the logo in terms of the fun like appeal that it presents to the user. The background of the website is a dark blue which leads to a lighter blue with images of a castle, again reflecting the logo. The colours are attractive and gain the viewers eye through the use of the bright fun colours. The colours give the target audience for children a vibrant feel to it with a sense of it being uncongenial.

Layout

The layout of the Alton Towers’ website is very central however it is broken up into sections through the choice of boxes. This gives the website definition and also allows the user to view each section at a time. The main section that stands out at the user is the one at the right hand side, this is advertising the Alton Towers Hotels for Short Breaks, also included in this section is the Theme Park and Waterpark booking tickets, this gives the user easy access to ordering their tickets and is very eye catching against the other sections.

The layout of the links positioned at the top of the website are uncongenial in the sense of how they have been styled and the use of colours that have been used. The links aren’t made from a standard box they have been shaped to fit into place with one another. The colours compliment the website itself and work well with what they user would potential select.

Fonts

The fonts that have been used of this website are consistent throughout the website, from the font that the links have been created with to the type style that has been used on each box section. This gives it a consistency throughout the website, from using the same font styles allows the users to concentrate on the websites different aspects rather than looking at the different style fonts. In terms of this it makes the user look at the website for the rides that they have displayed on it rather than getting distracted with colours and font styles.

Layout

As for the layout of this website it is very central as it displays in the centre of the screen, I believe this gives it a better look as this is where most people look on a screen. Also the links are positioned at the top of the website with the remaining area taken up by different sections presented as a scroll.

Target Audience

As for the target audience of Alton Towers I would say it is targeted at the age ranges from young children to adults as there are many different types of rides within Alton Towers that are aimed at the younger age groups while they have the horror rides and more thrilling rides for the adults and older age groups.

Rides from Alton Towers

TH13TEEN

This is the micro-site for thirteen, is a steel roller coaster at Alton Towers in England. The ride was constructed by Intamin and opened on 20 March 2010. It is the world’s first vertical freefall drop roller coaster – on which the track and train freefall approximately five metres in darkness. The ride replaced and is built on the former site of Corkscrew, which resided at Alton Towers for 28 years between 1980 and 2008.

The micro-site for thirteen gives off a dark feel to it creating that horror feeling to represent the ride itself. This gives the user of the website a fright experience which gives the user a need to ride on this ride.

As for the colour scheme that has been used includes the darker range of colours these include the use of a dark green for the background and with the use of black and white it helps to set the scene of a horror ride. The logo of thirteen has been made with again the horror theme as it has the black edges around it and going through to the dark green and getting lighter at the number 13.

Within this micro-site a video of the ride has been added to it this it the advertisement that was released to the general public in order to promote the ride. This takes up most of the website on the home page as this will attract the viewer to wanting to come to Alton towers in order to have a go on the frightening ride.

Congo River Rapids

Congo River Rapids is a river-rafting ride made by Intamin. The ride is located in the Katanga Canyon area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. The rapids course come close to the Runaway Mine Train as it passes through the tunnel, and also features twin waterfalls that the boats pass between. It also shares a name with a ride at Busch Gardens: Africa in Tampa Bay, Fl. Both rides have different layouts.

The colour scheme is bright with the seating area of the rapid being in a bright yellow this features the Alton Towers logo on it and seats up to 8 riders however in earlier years the boats were only able to hold 6 riders but changed to 8 to increase passenger throughput.

Thorpe Park

Colours

Thorpe Park’s website colours have been used in order to attract the attention of the user as well as compliment the colours that have been included within the logo. The background of the website is in a dark blue which has a texture to it; also on this website is a banner advertises the new coming events for those particular upcoming days. The colours used are bright and attractive colours using the bright yellow to catch the viewer’s eye.

Layout

The layout of the Thorpe Park’s website is central but the banner on this website uses the whole width of the screen. Also on the banner there are the tickets where you can gain more information about the ticket prices as well as a link for you to plan a break with Thorpe Park. The website gives out important just below the banner as this is what the user of the website will see next. Underneath that we can just about see the different types of rides that are available from Thorpe Park this allows users to get a quick look at what is on offer at the theme park.

The links are positioned at the top of the website next to the Thorpe Park logo; this is just above the banner. They are just type that has been made to reflect the yellow banner. This compliment the website and works well with what they user would potential select.

Fonts

The fonts that have been used of this website are consistent throughout the website, from the font that the links have been created with to the type style that has been used on each box section. This gives it a consistency throughout the website, from using the same font styles allows the users to concentrate on the websites different aspects rather than looking at the different style fonts. In terms of this it makes the user look at the website for the rides that they have displayed on it rather than getting distracted with colours and font styles.

Layout

As for the layout of this website it is very central as it displays in the centre of the screen, I believe this gives it a better look as this is where most people look on a screen. Also the links are positioned at the top of the website with the remaining area taken up by different sections presented as a scroll.

Target Audience

As for the target audience of Alton Towers I would say it is targeted at the age ranges from young children to adults as there are many different types of rides within Alton Towers that are aimed at the younger age groups while they have the horror rides and more thrilling rides for the adults and older age groups.

Rides from Thorpe Park

Saw – The Ride : The World’s Most Terrifying Coaster

You’ll be strapped in, fired through a gauntlet of twisted metal then dragged up 100ft and dropped through rotating blades. Survive and you will appreciate life or sit there and rot.

The adrenaline-pumping facts include:

- A nerve shredding beyond vertical 100ft drop- 3 insane inversions- Speeds of up to 55 MPH- Pull up to 4.7Gs- 2,297 feet of mean metal track

Saw – The Ride is a custom Euro-Fighter roller Coaster in the Thorpe Park theme park in the United Kingdom. It is themed around the Saw horror film franchise. The codename “Project Dylan” was used during construction to keep the movie tie-in secret, until the full details were announced on Friday 13th October 2008. The name “Dylan” in fact came from the project director’s cat, with no actual relevance to the ride. A small tag reading “PRO. D9LAN” is printed on the side of the Saw Store.

There isn’t really a colour scheme to the Saw Ride however they have made sure it has the scream factor like the film does. From The image above it is clear to see that the Saw Ride leaves much to your imagination of what could happen around each turn and twist.

Detonator – Count Down to Terror

Detonator is a tower ride at Thorpe Park in Chertsey, Surrey, England. It was manufactured by Fabbri and is a “Mega Drop Tower”. It opened in 2001 along with two other “flat” rides, Vortex and Zodiac. It is around 115 ft and is not released via a computer. The ride operator at the bottom has a button which he / she can press to make the car go at any time once the car has reached the top. Once released, the car is fired downwards by pneumatics rather than simply falling under gravitiy, the ride reaches a speed of 46 mp at the base of the drop, giving the impression of weightlessness for riders.

Summary

Having now looked into two different theme parks and having researched a total of four rides I now understand the type of rides that a theme park looks for and how they function. With this information I can now start to develop my own ideas into a theme park ride that I believe people would want to ride on.