Stormriser
Submitted to the Themed Entertainment Association: TEA Flat Ride Competition at
Cal Poly Pomona November 2021 | Winner of "Best Overall Attraction"
The goal of this project was to create a flat-ride attraction that would immerse guests with its story, set design, and unique technical element. This Intamin SkyJump attraction took guests on a thrilling plunge from the skies above in the middle of a raging storm.
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Story Synopsis
Guests are about to embark on a world-class storm-chasing experience, however, upon entering the queue, they realize that maybe this may not be the safest experience - after all, your pilot is Crazy Joe! Guests climb onboard the Heli-Pod as they await for Crazy Joe to latch onto them from his helicopter and pick them up at the tower. As guests approach the storm, Crazy Joe embraces his inner daredevil and heads straight into one of four randomized weather scenarios (Tornado, Lightning Storm, Heavy Rain, or the very rare meteor shower). Without any regard for guest safety and properly maintaining a safe distance, Crazy Joe's actions result in the Heli-Pod detaching from the helicopter, causing guests to free fall to the ground - thankfully, these Heli-Pods are equipped with parachutes!
Ride Walkthrough
Stormriser is themed to an extreme weather facility ran by Pilot Joe. Heis letting guests tour the facility today and is offering free tours. Guests will get to experience a unique helicopter ride unlike any other through the use of the Heli-Pod, adding a new level of thrill to their helicopter ride experience.
As guests walk throughout the queue they are introduced to their pilot, who now goes by the Crazy Joe, rather than Pilot Joe. He's been flying for 30 years and is close to retirement, but is ready to give the guests one last wild ride. He is excited to get going and says that the station's sensors are picking up some activity. As guests enter the queue they walk through the facility’s maintenance bay, where a damaged helicopter is currently being worked on, causing guests to question Crazy Joe’s experience as a pilot.
As guests are loaded on, Joe continues to talk to the guests through the ride vehicle's speakers, going over safety procedures. Once guests are secured, the screen drops down.
An augmented reality view of the park is displayed as the vehicle rises to the proper drop height. Joe speaks over the intercom pointing out the history of the park and certain landmark features.
As the vehicle nears its maximum height, a natural disaster occurs out of a list of presets. These include, a thunderstorm, meteor shower, heavy rain, and a tornado. In each scenario, Joe says to brace and hold on tight as the extreme weather event rages towards the helicopter.
The seats then flip to the up position and the screen flips away from the riders and the vehicle drops as the Heli-Pod becomes “detached” from the helicopter due to Crazy Joe’s irrational antics. Thankfully, the Heli-Pod is equipped with a parachute, allowing for a safe, yet thrilling descent. The weather station team let out a sigh of relief as the vehicle comes to a halt.
Riders unload and are told that they are welcome to visit the weather station anytime. Guests then exit through a photo purchase and gift shop area onto the main path outside the attraction.
Operations
StormRiser utilizes a modified Intamin SkyJump ride system. The Skyjump system resembles a standard drop tower, but includes the additional feature of rotating and dropping guests nearly parallel to the ground. StormRiser incorporates an additional wrap-around screen that encloses the guests for the majority of the ride length. This screen is able to move upwards, allowing riders to enter and exit the attraction properly. Total ride cycle time will be about 2:50 for 8 guests and has a cycle rate of 400 people per hour. Two separate ride vehicles can be in operation at once.
Unique Element
The unique element being added to the SkyJump system is a wrap-around LED screen. The screen moves up and down depending on the phase of the ride. It is up during the loading, unloading, and drop phases. It is only down during the midcourse phase, when the ride is climbing up to its maximum height. As the screen will be in the up position as it descends, the rider load and unload times will be minimally affected.
The screens themselves will weigh most likely around a couple hundred pounds, indicating the existing overhang structure will have to be reinforced. Additionally, pistons added to make the screen rotate will have to be connected from the spine of the ride vehicle to the overhang.
A wrap-around screen and onboard speakers will allow guests to be immersed within this experience. An augmented reality video will easily bring deadly storms, tornadoes, and meteorites into the familiar Pasadena backdrop. These events can be swapped out and chosen at random to give guests a unique ride experience each time and allow for the ride to be updated for the future.
Competition Submittal
Below are the pages submitted to the Themed Entertainment Association: TEA Flat Ride Competition at Cal Poly Pomona.
