Two-for-one Rides

With the economy in a deep recession amusement parks are going to have to do what they can to save money. This includes not building expensive, mega-attractions.  However, major new rides still need to be built in order to keep guests coming back year after year.  This is the perfect scenario for more parks to start building what I like to call two-for-one rides: two separate attractions that share the same structure.  The two major reasons for doing this is to try and save money as well as space.  The attractions don't even have to open in the same year, as long as the design plans for the future, which is great for marketing purposes. A perfect example a two-for-one ride can be found at Dreamworld park in Australia. The Intamin designed structure is called the Dreamworld Tower and it supports the world's tallest free fall ride in addition to a reverse freefall coaster, currently the fourth fastest roller coaster in the world (rcdb.com). The Tower of Terror coaster opened in 1997 and is similar to the Superman: The Escape ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain.  The top speed is an exhilarating 100 miles per hour. The Giant Drop opened a year later with a colossal 390 foot drop.  Not only did the park save money by building a single support structure, they also conserved the real estate needed to build these monster thrill machines. The attractions were opened in different years which enabled Dreamworld to market each ride as a separate, new attraction for that year. There is a great video of the ride posted on YouTube and don't forget to pack your brown undies! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zcgGl3xuBs&feature=player_embedded I think there are a lot of benefits for building these two-for-one type of rides, all you need is just a little forward thinking and proper planning for the future!