Uh, quick warning beforehand: Sorry for going slightly off-topic in this post.
I know my point of view is biased, but I can't help but see this announcement and compare it to TusenFryd. Liseberg is arguably the largest theme park in Sweden (I'm not entirely sure, but I think Gröna Lund compares when it comes to visitor numbers) and its proximity to Oslo by train makes it a bit of a competitor to TusenFryd even in the Norwegian market. And all I can say in light of this is that Liseberg keeps one-upping TusenFryd in nearly every possible aspect:
- They talk about periodically "walking through" the park and sprucing up area by area. Every year, a new section of the park gets some attention, or even a total makeover. Some corners of TusenFryd haven't been touched in a decade or more.
- "It's not enough to buy rides and plonk them on the asphalt any more". TusenFryd's latest shenanigans tend to involve a flat piece of land and an amusement ride, and precious little else - save from the obligatory fences to keep guests from randomly wandering into dangerous areas.
- The old-ish Kanonen is removed to make room for a better, more modern ride. Old-ish as in, Liseberg has built three coasters since it was built in 2005, and now need room to build their fourth. TusenFryd still retains Loopen (1988) as one of its star attractions, despite nobody ever liking it. SpeedMonster, being one year younger than Kanonen (and otherwise comparable to it in many aspects, even down to the colours) is still TusenFryd's foremost attraction. Since SpeedMonster, TusenFryd built one measly second-hand Vekoma Junior coaster.
- TusenFryd built a really good and impressively large flat in SpinSpider. Then they apparently forgot about it, since it's crewed by only one staff member on all but the busiest days (resulting in one dispatch roughly every 10 minutes). Now Liseberg builds an equally large, functionally identical ride with better restraints, citing SpinRock's low capacity as a reason for rebuilding it. If they follow up on it, they will take away practically every selling point TusenFryd had over Liseberg in the flat rides department.
- They cite the importance of thinking big several years in a row. Since practically half of my posts on here are rants about how rarely TusenFryd ever builds anything worthwhile, I don't think I have to say much on this point - but oh, I still will. TusenFryd has openly stated that their strategy involves one big ride every three years. Among these "big rides" they count 2013's Thor's Hammer and this year's rapids ride. In the intermediate years, they usually build squat all.
In short, for those who pay attention, Liseberg just established themselves as superior to TusenFryd in every way. A 17-minute video about doing things right, creating good visitor experiences, and the importance of renewal. If only they had snuck in a paragraph or two about the importance of good and affordable park food (which Liseberg famously does a lot better than TusenFryd anyway), they'd have filled the entire bingo board.
I know I'm supposed to fawn over my home park and all, and as a Norwegian I'm contractually obliged from birth to bash Sweden, but I'm seriously considering to change my allegiance unless TusenFryd has something big in store for 2017 or '18. But since this year's river rapids apparently counts as a three-year investment, I haven't got my hopes up very high.
Go Liseberg!
Sure, they are a very familiar coaster type, but Dive Machines are great for showing off an impressive view, with that long lingering turn around at the top. Can't wait to see all the city lights from the top of this then plummet down!
