Expo 3000 - A New Beginning

In the first article on Wonder World, the park I created with RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, I gave a brief tour, showing how it initially looked using only scenery sets that were included in the game. During the period that I was building Wonder World, two expansion sets were released. But the biggest impact on the RCT3 community was the new ability to create your own custom scenery for the game. It soon became apparent that Wonder World could be greatly improved and made to look much more realistic and closer to the original model I had built years before. So once I learned how to create and import my own scenery, I decided to give my park a new face-lift.

Here's the Wonder World entrance which takes you underneath the Space Port building and into the first land, Expo 3000. This was created before any of the expansions were released and obviously, before the ability to import custom scenery.

The new version, using new scenery from the expansion packs and custom scenery. 

So now begins a more in-depth tour of Wonder World in its final incarnation. This tour will span across several articles, each featuring a specific section or major attraction. You will see how Expo 3000 and Circus Center both doubled in size. And while the use of custom scenery in Expo 3000 was limited, the other lands were nearly re-built from the ground up as my cs designing skills improved. I also need to point out that not all the custom scenery used was my work. Many wonderful cs sets created by other talented members of the RCT3 community were also incorporated into the final version of the park.

So on to the tour, beginning with Expo 3000.

Wonder World...The Story Begins

Once upon a time, a young theme park enthusiast, who also enjoyed model building, decided to combine his two passions by designing and creating a model of his own theme park. He created a base of styrofoam and matboard, roughly 2 x 3 feet. And out of cheap materials such as cardboard (cut from old cereal boxes), cardstock toothpicks, paper mache, plaster of paris, tempera paint, and lichen (used to make trees and shrubs for model railroad kits), he began to build a model of a small theme park that would come to be known as Wonder World.

After about six months time, the model was "finished". It was shown to the public, briefly, at a college art show. Now you might think that this was the folly of a young art student, and that the model would be stored away, and soon forgotten. But that, of course, was not the case. The model would continue to grow, as new areas and lands were added, meticulously built in sections that all fit together like one big jigsaw puzzle. Over the next few years, Wonder World nearly tripled in size, and was still not complete. But the artist's interests began to shift to computers and more specifically, computer gaming. The pieces of Wonder World were carefully boxed, and stored away in the garage. As time went by, it seemed that Wonder World would remain forever hidden away in storage.

Then, one day in 1999, a computer game called Rollercoaster Tycoon was released. Developed by Chis Sawyer and MicroProse, this theme park management simulation game allowed players to build virtual theme parks on their computers. Well I was instantly hooked. Oh yes... I am that crazy guy who spent hours upon countless hours, designing and building a miniature theme park simply for the shear pleasure that it gave me. And now, I could do the same thing, without all the mess, on my computer. Soon, a sequel to Rollercoaster Tycoon was released, followed by a third. And it was with Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 (RCT3), that I really fell in love. With this installment, including two expansion packs, you could build nearly anything that you could dream of. And you could ride the rides and experience your parks in a fully three dimensional setting. And then I got the idea...I would build Wonder World with RCT3!

The original Wonder World model.

Red River Hogs at the San Diego Safari Park

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park, located in the San Pasqual Valley, is roughly 32 miles NE of the San Diego Zoo. Both are run by the Zoological Society of San Diego. But they are two very different attractions. The Safari Park features animal exhibits similar to the zoo, but also includes huge expansive areas where herds of animals roam across natural habitats in a 1,800-acre reserve.

You'll need to take a tram to view the free-range areas of the park, but there are plenty of exhibits to view on foot. The Red River Hog exhibit is one of them. And during a visit to the park, I was lucky enough to see the 4 new young piglets, recently born at the park.

 Red River Hog Sign

Manta Construction at Sea World San Diego

On May 26, 2012, SeaWorld San Diego opened a new mega-attraction called Manta, a Mack launched roller coaster featuring two launches and speeds of up to 43 miles per hour. The new attraction would also include a bat ray aquarium and touch pool. The following collection of  photos were taken during the last few months of construction.

Fancy rockwork taking shape, surrounded by the bright blue tracks of the soon to be opened, Manta coaster.

Food & Shopping at the Elephant Odyssey

Being one of the largest areas of the San Diego Zoo, you're bound to get hungry during your trek through the 7.5 acre, $45-million Elephant Odyssey. Luckily, the designers of this exhibit had the good sense to add a counter service restaurant. The Sabertooth Grill features fresh ingredients from local farms. On the menu, you'll find offerings ranging from wraps and burgers to rice plates and fresh fruit salads. A large dining patio, adorned by sculptures of prehistoric animals, offers a great view of the elephant habitat.

Sabertooth Grill

Elephant Odyssey at the San Diego Zoo

These photos were taken on a trip to the San Diego Zoo in April of 2012. This exhibit opened on May 23, 2009 and features a 2.5 acre elephant habitat. Elephant Odyssey also features sculptures of prehistoric animals from Southern California's ancient past alongside its present day counterparts including lions, jaguars, tapirs, guanacos, cabybaras, camels, and California condors.

Entrance to Elephant Odyssey