Can a Wooden Rollercoast be Art?

This weekend I took my son to the old amusment park here in Budapest. The Vidampark... or Happy Park. It is a lovely mix of turn of the century charm with modern rides that scare the pants off you. I love it.

As a child, this WAS the entertainment mecca. Scary rides, lots of icecream, holding hands with my girlfriend... you cannot beat this! And as I walked around the historical (ancient?) park with my family, I could not help but get nostalgic.

Having been to Universal Studios park in Florida last Winter, the old Vidampark holds all the charm and enjoyment of what being entertained is (was) supposed to be.... Take for instance: Let's get lost in the house of mirrors! Or let's go play Dogem Cars! or the Ultimate! Let's go ride the wooden rollercoast --- Circa 1906. Yes, that's right! Over 100 years old.

Let's make some things clear: First, New rollercoasters have banked curves, rubber wheels and use G-force to smoosh us around corners. We are turned upside down, left and right and then around again. All at break neck speed and it is a thrill!

The old 1906 version doesn't have the speed to thrill you. I doubt the vehicle ever went over 20km an hour! But what it doesn't have in G-force, it makes up with design. First, each of the narrow cars has NO seatbelt. As a parent, this was impossible! Second, the chair on the rail car is loaded on springs and moves with ease in all directions as you make your way down the track. The sensation of being shaken around is enhanced by a constant shaking noise which constantly reminded me of the AGE of this coaster and the car too! And that itself is a nightmare! All combined, it is a wildly different sensation than the modern day coaster.

So, what it lacks in speed, the old coaster artistically and by design, gives a different thrill besides G-force. While shaking all the screams out of you with a true multimedia experience, it reminds us how our simpler past still entertainsus with true human fear factor. And rather than playing with shear gravity, the spectacular design of these cars instill their thrill on springs and loose bolts. And it is a thrill indeed! But one that is mixed in with nostalgia that gives us a feeling of another time, another place, and, indeed, another era altogether.

What a thrill!