During 2018 and 2019-2020, while I was recovering from a broken foot and broken ankle, respectively, a specific type of video on YouTube caught my interest, Theme Park History videos. Videos detailing the history of (mainly) American and European theme parks, their significant rides, and the trials and tribulations of maintaining said rides. As weird of an interest as it sounds, it was fascinating for me, mainly because I've always been interested in learning how things work. But it did give me an interest in becoming a theme park ride operator? Not really, there isn't a lot of prime real estate for theme parks where I live, and the two that I have gone to would be seen as subpar to someone who's used to places like the Disney parks, Universal Studios and Alton Towers. However, one side effect of that was that it renewed interest for me in the Lego Creator Fairgrounds sets, an unnamed sub-theme of Creator Expert. Thanks to COVID, I explored that interest a little with three of the five sets released so far. The Haunted House, the Ferris Wheel, and today's subject matter, the Roller Coaster.
Regarding the title of this review, "Expert" is a bit of a stretch with this set. There aren't any complicated structures in the build. However, some interesting pieces in sections, particularly with the stand roofs and the internal mechanism to get the coaster going, are intricate. Still, the overall structure of the coaster is very basic. As with the Daily Bugle a few weeks ago, the bulk of the set is repetitive, building columns and cross beams in a way that would be necessary on a real roller coaster, but comes off as excessive on something this small. Unlike the Bugle, though, it doesn't feel as repetitive as it actually is, thanks partly to the differences in the structure of the column pieces. The same, however, cannot be said for one of the last parts of the build, the chain for the lift hill. You're connecting 203 of those chain pieces to pull off the mechanism, which feels as tedious to do as it sounds. However, it is a necessary evil as there was no other way to pull the launch mechanism off. I don't expect Lego to make an electromagnetic launcher any time soon. That would lead to a lot of pain and misery for everyone (in some cases quite literally).
The big selling point of this setback in 2018 was the new track pieces and the new cars to go with them. I love these pieces in concept as it allows for a more streamlined process in creating roller coasters among other motion-based Lego sets. The big problem I have with them, though, is that they feel limited when you consider the possibilities of coaster design. You have six main elements to play with here, a straight track (with a mix of snort and long rail pieces), a flat turn, a gentle incline and two variations of a sharp incline, one straight and one with a curve to level off at the top or bottom. It's a solid variety, but I don't see them being useful if you want to create coasters with more exciting layouts. Inversions with these would be tricky at best (I think designing a loop would require bending the plastic), and getting the cars onto more extreme angles would be impossible. With the way the cars themselves are designed, I also don't think an inverted coaster would be possible. It's a shame, as a Lego Roller Coaster has infinite potential to it, both for creating rides and indulging in real-life Roller Coaster Tycoon and making roller coaster themed death traps for riders. While the lack of elements isn't inherently this set's fault, it was the one to introduce the concept after all; it's a little disappointing that the catalogue hasn't been expanded to include pieces to pull off these kinds of ride elements. Maybe someday we'll be able to make coasters with inversions out of Lego without needing to break the rules.
As mentioned before, the Expert branding doesn't make a lot of sense here because for as big of a set as it is, in terms of part count and general footprint. The bark of the coaster is worse than its bite, but the result is impressive to see. Automating it works mostly well; it depends on any minor defects in the pieces due to the reliance on friction. It looks great alongside the other Creator Fairgrounds sets, though with the current selection of track, you're not going to be making a wide array of track designs any time soon. But, like with real theme parks, the best way to hide repetition is with varied theming. That is a task far easier to accomplish with the wide variety of parts at a builder's disposal.
