Are vehicles theming?

[Thomas]

How on Earth did you find that old picture of that bus? I think there's a general consensus that sometimes such as the Storm Surge car, vehicles as theming are not as effective as a theme that lends itself well to abandoned vehicles: Swarm, Nemesis, 13 etc.

 

[Poisson]

How on Earth did you find that old picture of that bus? I think there's a general consensus that sometimes such as the Storm Surge car, vehicles as theming are not as effective as a theme that lends itself well to abandoned vehicles: Swarm, Nemesis, 13 etc.

Remembered the number plate, typed it in on Google images. Used to be a Sheffield bus but then moved to Rugeley (in that picture) then went to a private collector I think and then ended up at Towers. All of that was found out by Flickr and Google Images browsing.

 

[Laura]

The only answer worth reading is Sam's. Maybe I'm just a really bad 'ethusiast', but I think reading more into it than what Sam said is just pretentious and anal.

I also find it annoying when obssessives "read into things" that aren't there, but everything that I and others have said is real. Being aware of how theme design works is actually really fascinating. Good theme parks DO employ teams of people to develop exciting new ideas.

This mindset is something that has been bothering me for a while.

I wouldn't say it's pretentious to discuss theming and what it includes. Theming is generally designed to make guests feel a certain way or like they're visiting a certain place, but at most parks it only goes so far and the rest comes down to your own personal interpretation. I wouldn't expect everybody to feel exactly the same way I do about a particular area of Towers for instance.

I think this is a very fair comment. If we want to interpret a theme a certain way then surely we have every right to? The vehicles Merlin seem to like using for theming are going to work for some people and not for others, as this thread clearly demonstrates.

I don't think it's fair to call people on a theme park discussion forum pretentious for discussing things to do with theme parks. If you *think* it's pretentious then that's fine - but why not say that the subject doesn't bother you either way, or you don't think about it. That would be a fair and useful comment.

There have been some similar comments in the Smiler marketing thread that have also made me feel uncomfortable about expressing my thoughts/feelings about certain theme park elements.

I might be loopy but I don't think my enthusiasm for parks hurts or offends anyone - so the thought that I might get shot down for being 'obsessive' on a forum like this does fill me with unease. Of course this is 'the internet' and a 'free country' so people can say what they want, but I do find it a little isolating that on a dedicated forum I am still going to come up against people calling me a freak for enjoying 'reading into' things. No one has to feel the same way as everyone else...that's why we have a discussion board.

 

[Ted]

I think they do count as themeing, but only really used in the right context rather than just "being there"

Vehicles such as the Mushroom Cloud tours for Nemesis, The crash jeep in Katanga Canyon, and the ride op cabin that serves as the police on Swarm all are good examples of vehicle themeing. Stuff such as the car by Storm Surge, or the police car by Saw to me are just there for the sake of being there and don't really add that much to the ride.

 

[RustyRider]

Fun fact: The hulk car wasn't designed for the ride itself but was actually a prop used in the film, fast & furious: Tokyo drift and was driven by "twinkie" it was then shipped to a uk buyer via portbury docks, (I have a picture somewhere with me stood by it, as my dad worked there) apparently though, the guy sold it as he was too embarrassed by how hideous it actually was when he seen it in the flesh! Not sure where it went after that though...

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=odjFXsri6xw