RollerCoaster Tycoon/Gentle Rides

Although many guests complain that they want to ride something more thrilling, gentle rides have their place in a theme park and are an essential part of the scenario Gentle Glen. Gentle rides are generally low in intensity, excitement, and nausea, making them perfect for guests that prefer a mild experience. Thrill-seeking customers will usually ride a gentle ride after riding a high intensity ride as well. Some attractions such as the Haunted House or the Observation Tower are classified as indoor rides, meaning guests will enter them during the rain since they cannot get wet. Some rides have music built in like the Carousel or the Bumper Cars, which add atmosphere to the park.

Bumper Cars
Cost: $440 Size: 4 by 4 Indoor: Yes Appearance: RollerCoaster Tycoon

The Bumper Cars (called "Dodgems" in the UK versions) is a generally fairly popular ride. The advantages of building a Bumper Cars attraction is that it plays a unique style of music and is considered an "indoor ride" so guests will be be more willing to ride it in the rain. The major downside to the Bumper Cars is that it will only activate once all of the cars have been filled. This means that guests may be waiting for a while before the ride can begin. However, the number of cars can always be changed so this shouldn't be an issue.

Car Ride
Cost: $440 upwards Size: Variable Max Height: 26 ft. Indoor: Yes (Pickup Trucks) Appearance: RollerCoaster Tycoon

The Car Ride attraction is a simple, slow moving tracked ride. The fact that it runs on a track means that it takes up much more space than other gentle rides, but it also means that it can be made much more interesting as well. Adding plentiful scenery along the ride can potentially boost the excitement rating higher than some thrill rides. The "Crazy Critters" ride from Crumbly Park (shown on left) is a good example of how creative and attractive this ride can be. The Car Ride will be considered an "indoor ride" if the vehicles are covered such as the pickup trucks.

Circus Show
Cost: $500 Size: 3 by 3 Indoor: Yes Appearance: Corkscrew Follies

The Circus Show is an indoor attraction that takes place within a big top tent. We never get to see under the canvas, so we can only guess what goes on under there. The Circus Show can hold up to 30 people per show and its sounds and canvas roof during rain will attract guests, but circuses tend to become unpopular in most scenarios once the initial excitement begins to fade.

Crooked House
Cost: $260 Size: 3 by 3 Indoor: Yes Appearance: Corkscrew Follies

The Crooked House is a misshapen attraction with jagged rooms designed to disorient people. Though the excitement rating is decent for a gentle ride, guests tend to avoid this attraction to find a more thrilling ride once the novelty wears off. Despite the single broken window on the roof, it's still considered an indoor ride and is the cheapest of the bunch.

Cycle Monorail
Cost: $540 upwards Size: Variable Max Height: 29 ft. Indoor: Yes Appearance: Corkscrew Follies

Also known as Mini Helicopters in the UK, the Cycle Monorail is best described as a hybrid between a Car Ride and a Cycle Railway. Like the Car Ride, the Cycle Monorail runs on a track, but the vehicles are pedal-powered helicopter cars. Unlike the Cycle Railway, the Cycle Monorail can go uphill and downhill. If the track is littered with themed objects, the Cycle Monorail has the potential to reach a medium excitement rating while keeping a low intensity. It's the perfect ride for mild, sightseeing guests.

Cycle Railway
Cost: $440 upwards Size: Variable Max Height: 19 ft. Indoor: No Appearance: Corkscrew Follies

The Cycle Monorail is a slow-paced ride that cannot change elevation. With a cruising speed of a whopping 2 miles per hour, the Cycle Railway is rarely ever over a low excitement rating. Because of this, it is hardly ever worth the money to build it due to the fact that guests will skip it for more exciting rides. However, with the use of themed objects or other excitement raising techniques, it is possible to get a medium excitement rating.

Ferris Wheel
Cost: $450 Size: 1 by 4 Indoor: No Appearance: RollerCoaster Tycoon

The Ferris Wheel is a large rotating wheel with 16 chairs, each holding 2 guests. The Ferris Wheel gets the highest excitement rating placed at the top of a hill or other place where the guests are guaranteed a good view.

The number of rotations (2 by default) can be changed in the operations tab. Each time a new pair of guests enters, the Ferris Wheel spins around the number of times indicated, then goes to the next chair and unloads. This process is repeated, meaning that a pair of guests really goes for the number of rotations specified times 16. So when the wheel is set to 2 rotations, any given guest will be on the Ferris Wheel for 32 rotations. This can add up quickly and results in lowering the excitement rating as guests complain about being on the ride for too long. It's recommended to keep the wheel at 1 or 2 rotations at most.

Flying Saucers
Cost: $560 Size: 4 by 4 Indoor: No Appearance: Corkscrew Follies

Similar to the Bumper Cars ride, Flying Saucers works by keeping air under pressure beneath the floor and sending the air to the flying saucer cars through valves in the floor. The cars then float on the cushion of air this creates. Unlike Bumper Cars however, the Flying Saucers ride is not covered so the guests will avoid it during the rain. However, it still plays rocking music, which will make guests that aren't even on the ride a little happier.

Ghost Train
Cost: $570 upwards Size: Variable Max Height: 32 ft. Indoor: No Appearance: Corkscrew Follies

The Ghost Train ride is one of the more versatile gentle rides. The cars run on a single guide track, but the track can go uphill or downhill. Because it is on a guide track, you don't have to worry about inertia carrying the car. Ghost Train rides also have the ability to go underground. This has the benefit of not only raising the excitement rating, but if the ride is built mostly underground, the ride will be considered "indoor" and will not scare away guests during the rain. The Ghost Train also has several unique track features, such as the spinning tunnel, which raises the excitement rating if used sparingly or at the bottom of hills. One of the downsides to this ride is that if there is a curve after a particularly long hill, the cars derail and crash. Make sure that the cars don't go around small curves at faster than 15 miles per hour or larger curves at faster than 20 miles per hour. Otherwise, the Ghost Train has enormous potential and is worth building for it's flexibility and underground features.

Haunted House
Cost: $340 Size: 3 by 3 Indoor: Yes Appearance: RollerCoaster Tycoon

The Haunted House is a 3 by 3 tile building that is meant to scare guests. Despite its intentions, it usually only comes off as a low excitement ride. Placement of scenery and themed objects around the building itself or the queue line can raise the excitement level, but don't expect the excitement rating to be very high for this type of ride. Although it is considered an indoor ride, guests will usually avoid this ride for more exciting ones unless it is raining.

Hedge Maze
Cost: $216 upwards Size: Variable Indoor: No Appearance: RollerCoaster Tycoon

The Hedge Maze is, well, a maze made of hedges. Guests enter the maze and have to find their way to the exit. There are two built in mazes to choose from, but you can also build your own. The maze construction controls may seem strange at first, but it is simple. There are three tools that help build the maze: cut, fill, and move. The cut tool cuts a row in the hedge, the fill tool fills in a gap with hedge, and the move tool simply moves the yellow square cursor. Remember though, unlike most rides, deleting a section will cost you money.

As far as ride design goes, the guests only care about how long it takes to reach the end of the maze and not the complexity of it. Too short and it isn't very exciting. Too long and they start to complain about being stuck on the ride. A compromise to this is to build a one path maze that is just long enough. Though it may look strange, it is the best way to control the amount of time guests are in the maze. For a more amusing ride, build a maze several squares long that is completely open and watch as the guests wander around trying to find the exit that is in plain sight a few feet in front of them.

Merry-Go-Round
Cost: $460 Size: 3 by 3 Indoor: Yes Appearance: RollerCoaster Tycoon

The Merry-Go-Round is a covered ride that allows up to 16 guests to ride around in a circle while fairground music plays. The Merry-Go-Round is a staple to any amusement park: as a covered ride, it is preferred in the rain and its constant fairground organ music will please not only people on the ride, but those nearby. In addition, its novelty will guarantee that it stays in style for much longer than many other gentle rides.

As a side note, the Merry-Go-Round has one of the more amusing break downs known as "Control Failure". Every once in a while, it will speed up to double speed and begin shaking violently. Although an interesting sight to see, if the mechanic doesn't fix it in time, the carousel will explode and kill all riders instantly.

Miniature Golf
Cost: $740 upwards Size: Variable Indoor: No Appearance: Corkscrew Follies

The Miniature Golf course is a semi-customizable ride that allows guests to improve their putting skills. The ride comes with four possible holes with a fifth one added in the Corkscrew Follies Expansion pack. Construction of a Miniature Golf attraction consists of building either one of the courses or building a path. Similar to many other rides, it must start and end at a "station platform".

When building a Miniature Golf attraction, it is not necessary to build more then 4 or 5 holes. If the course is too long, guests will begin to complain about the wait time. As far as the holes themselves go, hole A is generally the fastest, while holes D and E tend to be the bottleneck of the course. When building the holes, keep a diversity, but build only one or two of holes D and E.

Observation Tower
Cost: $592 upwards Size: 3 by 3 Max Height: 61 ft. Indoor: Yes Appearance: RollerCoaster Tycoon

Observation Towers are towers with a covered car that elevates guests up to give them a better view of the park. Like other covered rides, people will flock to Observation Towers in the rain, but will otherwise usually look for more thrilling rides. The Observation Tower will always have a low excitement rating that doesn't improve very much with ride height or scenery and theming objects. However, Observation Towers built at higher elevations have better excitement ratings than those built lower. A good excitement rating can let this gentle ride get away with a high admission fee, so pick a beautiful location and make it tall.

Space Rings
Cost: $288 Size: 3 by 3 Indoor: No Appearance: RollerCoaster Tycoon

Space Rings is a set of four contraptions that spin guests around, disorienting them. Although this ride is in the gentle ride category, its nausea rating is somewhat high. Make sure to place benches or a bathroom outside its exit and build it away from food stalls. Also keep in mind that although the ride time is adjustable, it can only hold four people at a time. This means that guest turnover will be relatively low and, therefore, this ride should have a fairly short queue line.

Spiral Slide
Cost: $330 Size: 2 by 2 Indoor: No Appearance: RollerCoaster Tycoon

The Spiral Slide is a small gentle ride that is useful when space is limited. The simplicity of the ride means that it doesn't need as much maintenance and it will break down less often. Unfortunately, it can only hold a maximum of five guests, so a small queue is recommended to keep guests from waiting in line.

In the Ride Options menu, it is possible to modify the number of rides any particular guest gets. This is a great way to boost popularity when the novelty excitement begins to fade. The downside is that some idiot guests will continue to go back for another ride while constantly complaining that they've been on the ride for too long.