Скачать или смотреть The Disneyland Coaster That Never Was | Spark Gap Reimagined

I recently revisited Spark Gap, an attraction concept originally developed for the unbuilt Discovery Bay land that was designed for Disneyland. This ambitious project was conceived in the late 1970s and envisioned a technologically advanced San Francisco of the 1800s. Discovery Bay would have occupied an area north of Big Thunder Mountain, in what is now home to Galaxy’s Edge.

To my knowledge, very little is known about Spark Gap beyond a singular piece of concept art. Based on that art, it appears the attraction was intended as a supporting D-Ticket, designed to round out the land’s offerings rather than serve as a headline experience.

Using the original concept art as a foundation, I reimagined Spark Gap as if it were being designed today. I expanded the theming, developed a complete coaster layout, and modernized the ride experience to better reflect contemporary pacing, thrills, and storytelling, while staying true to the spirit of the original idea.

The layout was developed using force vector design, which is a modern technique used to develop roller coaster layouts in which the layout is designed around the forces the rider experiences, rather than just the track geometry. This helps to create a smoother, more comfortable and intentional ride experience. There are a few great open source FVD programs out there, the one I use is called KexEdit (highly recommend for any nerds out there). From there, I used NoLimits 2 and Blender to model and visualize the attraction. My goal was a family-friendly coaster that would maintain a modern take on a D-Ticket experience, something in the vein of Slinky Dog Dash at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Capacity was also a key design consideration. The ride is designed to operate with up to four trains, features separate load and unload stations, and has a theoretical hourly capacity of approximately 1,200 riders per hour.

There’s something especially inspiring about unrealized ideas, particularly those developed before modern 3D visualization tools existed. I enjoy exploring and visualizing these concepts in ways that simply weren’t possible at the time of their inception. Projects like this are a fun way to explore the 'what-ifs' of themed entertainment history. It's a good reminder that a good idea is never truly thrown away.

#ThemedEntertainment #ThemeParkDesign #AttractionDesign #ConceptDesign #RollerCoasterDesign #3DVisualization