PW June 07 P4-5.qxd 5/25/07 12:57 pm Page 4
PRESS HERE TO SEND TO A FRIEND
Park News
www.parkworld-online.com
ParkHoppin’
Space Shuttle
by Paul Ruben
Experience takes off
New NASA attraction now open
Mad Cowboy Disease
NASA’s Visitor Complex at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, has
In the Western United States during the late 1800s, cattle were introduced Shuttle Launch Experience. This authentic $60 million
driven to market along the old Chisholm Trail. The trail stretched launch simulation was due to open May 25, taking visitors on their
from Southern Texas northward to Abilene, Wichita, and own Space Shuttle voyage to Earth’s orbit.
eventually to Newton, Kansas, where they were shipped The experience deploys sophisticated motion technology and high
eastward. The adventure-packed life of a cowboy always fidelity audiovisuals to duplicate the sights, sounds and sensations
appealed to me, so just last month I decided to trace part of the of launching into space fully vertical in launch mode position. The
Chisholm Trail. project has been three years in the making and was conceived by
I flew into Wichita. Then I drove 10 miles north along the a team of astronauts, NASA experts and attraction designers.
Chisholm Trail to Wild West World, America's newest theme park, “Shuttle Launch Experience will forge a lasting impression for
which is located smack damn in the middle of cow country. everyone,” believes Daniel LeBlanc, chief operating officer of
I went there to meet up with developer Thomas Etheridge, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
CEO of Wild West World. Thomas is a good cowboy. You can The journey begins as visitors enter the Shuttle Launch Simulation
tell because he always wears a white cowboy hat wherever he Facility, inspired architecturally by Space Shuttle facilities at
goes. In the movies good cowboys Kennedy Space Center. As visitors ascend along the gantry,
always wore white hats. Not only astronaut testimonials set the stage for what is to come.
is he a good cowboy, but he's a After passing through the heart of Shuttle operations for the pre-
fourth generation rancher who, launch briefing, crew members enter the crew pod in the Shuttle’s
along with his wife, cowgirl cargo bay and strap in for launch. For the next five minutes, the
Cheryl, still raise cattle today on a pod’s 44 passengers see, feel and live the trip to 17,500 mph
500 acre spread about 10 miles above. As the Shuttle bay doors open, what follows is a
from the park. breathtaking view of Earth seldom seen in the first person.
Their children will continue their Charged with ensuring Shuttle Launch Experience is the most
cattle operation as mom and dad realistic launch simulation ever created was California-based BRC
manage Wild West World plus the Imagination Arts, which also designed the NASA Visitor Complex’s
Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper Apollo/Saturn V Center back in 1997.
and the Hopalong Cassidy Talking to Park World about the project over the winter, BRC’s Bob
Cowboy Museum complex. Rogers commented: “It has to offer the best of scholarship and the
It was at Wild West World I best of showmanship in order to satisfy the demands of NASA. The
expected a showdown. If I was engineering information presented has to be perfect, the science in
going to out-cowboy Cowboy it has to be perfect, but on the other hand, it all has to earn its
Tom, I had to cowboy up. You money back. It’s going to do that by drawing attendance out the
know, I had to look the part, right Orlando area, the most competitive entertainment market on
down to the bad guy's black hat earth.”
and a six-shooter. How do I look? BRPH Companies Inc served as the architect and construction
You should know that in real life I'm in favour of gun control but manager for Shuttle Launch Experience. The crew pod simulator
might just shoot anyone who disagrees. fabrication is by Oceaneering. The ride concept designer and
Before I met Thomas I encountered two other cowboys who engineer is The Wheel Thing Inc. Technomedia Solutions provided
shared some wise cowboy advice. “Always drink upstream from audiovisual and show control, while HW Davis Construction is the
the herd,” one said, and “don't squat with your spurs on.” The general contractor of the facility.
other was more profound. “There's two theories to arguin' with a
woman,” he explained. “Neither one works.”
While I eventually found Thomas, the showdown never
happened because I was distracted by two rollercoasters in his
new park. Before I rode them (numbers 731 and 732) I had to
leave loose objects behind, including my six-shooter, and then I
needed to sample many of the other rides; it's my job. Along the
way I met up with two old friends, Cowboy Len Soled of Rides-4-
U and Cowboy Dick Chance of Chance Morgan, there for the
park's grand opening. They had supplied many of the park's
rides.
Wild West World's theming is thorough. The rides are
reminiscent of the old Chisholm Trail, and classic icons are found
throughout the park. There's a Conostoga Wagon, a Stage
Coach, even an ATM Machine. You can read more about Wild
West World elsewhere in this issue.
4 JUNE 2007
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56