GT Theme Park Project

Market Menagerie

The Nifty North

Manifest the West

Soul of the South

The Nifty North

Jenny's Spin Coaster

Spools And Stories

Passed Out Cold

Mission: Decode!

Industrial Inks

Manifest The West

Canal Cruise

Cumberland Car Race

Trail To Go

Cyrus the Reaper

Featuring Cyrus McCormick!

Featuring Cyrus McCormick!

Parts & Relics

Southern Showdown

Pioneer's Plow Coaster

Soul Of The South

Riverboat Adventure

Eli's Cotton Conquest

Cotton & Co.

Featuring Eli Whitney!

Featuring Robert Fulton!

Passed Out Cold

Guests are bound to exit this experience feeling a little dizzy! This VR-based attraction simulates the invention and effects of anesthesia in a life-like hospital setting. After the attraction is explained to the guests, guests are given a VR headset and placed in a room with a group of other participating guests. Through the VR, guests are in a VR hospital as a patient. There, guests are able to observe how beneficial anesthesia was during the market revolution. This was because as population growth in cities skyrocketed, the demand for more medical attention also increased. This called for the need for painless medical care. Before guests are shown the usage of anesthesia in hospitals, they are shown how medical care was before anesthesia in order to truly observe the positive effects. Towards the end of the experience, guests are “given” anesthesia by a nurse because they are a patient in the hospital. Through the VR, the guests will “experience” the effects of the anesthesia and slowly drift off. This is where the ride ends.

Cotton & Co. Clothing

Cotton & Co. Sells: - Cotton Sunbonnets - Sunbonnets were widely used for sun protection while working on the fields. Handcrafted Cotton Quilts - Many families made quilts out of cotton because they were useful around the house, but also for their cultural significance

Eli's Cotton Conquest

On Eli’s Cotton Conquest, guests will get to experience an interactive ride where they face off against other passengers. During the queue, visitors will make their way through a showcase of life in the south before the cotton gin, and what prompted the invention. Without sufficient manual labor, farmers struggled to keep up with the increased demand for cotton in the commercial world. Not only this, but there was an increase in cotton production in the south due to the favorable farming conditions. All of these points are laid out in the walk to the actual ride, complete with virtual reality simulations, interactive games, and sensory elements. Not only this, but guests can also go up to the in-house Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, for pictures, questions, and many more! This ride is modeled after the spinning teacup ride, where the passenger’s spinning of the wheel propels the ride. Once guests get to the ride, they will be in groups of three in their cotton shaped ride seats and will have to “pick cotton” on the large screen in the middle by tapping the cotton when it pops up. The more cotton they ‘pick’ the faster the ride goes! The spinning mechanism is inspired by the rotating design of the cotton gin that makes it 10 times faster than the human hand. After the ride is over, guests go through the second part of the exhibition, which represents how the cotton gin changed the south, specifically by greatly increasing the agricultural production of cotton, innovating the processing of cotton which boosted the industry, and lastly how it contributed to the economic boom in the south.

Cumberland Car Race

Join us for the Cumberland Car Race, an exciting event that celebrates the Cumberland Road, America’s first major highway! This thrilling race invites guests to travel in replicated cars of the 1800s along a scenic route that recreates the original path of the Cumberland Road, which played an important role in westward expansion and unifying the nation in the 1800s. Drivers will navigate through a series of checkpoints that represent key stops present along the Cumberland Road, including replica way stations and towns along replicas of the Potomac and Ohio rivers. As the end of the road appears, drivers will see many other guests arriving West, indicating the road’s role as a major transport path to the West for thousands of settlers in the 1800s. Winners of the race will win prizes that represent opportunities for western settlement that travelers along the Cumberland road received.

Trail To-Go

Here at Trail To-Go, we have a variety of snacks to eat on the go that replicate the delicacies of the West! Our signature snack highlights how as they expanded westward, Americans would often eat anything they found on the trail, often including cornmeal and dried fruits. One of our exotic items include Skunk Jerky, which signifies how people expanding westward would often feast on wild animals found on the trail, which sometimes included skunks.

Spools and Stories

This water-based ride is sure to leave guests with a smile! This slower, small boat ride takes guests through an experience where various figurines demonstrate the story of the Lowell Girls and the Lowell Factory System. The Lowell Girls were young women who left home to work in textile mills. The Lowell system itself was created by Francis Cabot Lowell, who revolutionized the industry by making all the production steps in one mill (making the process more efficient). The ride begins with figures and settings that depict this background. As the ride progresses, it reveals the working conditions and lives of the women working in the mills. It also shows the step by step process of the textiles being made. When the boat comes to the end of the ride, it shows the Lowell girls going back home since sadly, women were only allowed to work until marriage. At that point, they were expected to go back home and be domesticated. This ride is a slower, educational experience that guests will surely learn something from!

Mission: Decode!

Guests must work together to solve this exciting, high-profile murder mystery! In this ride, guests are placed in a slow, escape room styled ride. Each cart on the ride has a large screen through which clues are solved, and each guest has unique morse code buttons in front of their seat. Since the telegraph was used to communicate long distance through morse code, a video of Samuel Morse, the inventor of morse code, is played to the guests before the ride to introduce them to morse code. With each turn, guests discover more clues about who the murderer is. However, since this is a high-profile case, each clue is sent long distance through morse code. Therefore, guests must decode each morse code clue together since each player on the cart has different morse code buttons. Of course, the clues won’t be difficult since most guests likely are using morse code for the first time. This is a unique, slower ride experience that guests will be sure to enjoy!

Industrial Inks

This apparel store is known for its funny, caricature-styled graphics on various clothing items. One of our bestsellers is a t-shirt with a caricature-style modern-day officer worker sipping coffee. This is a modern-day spinoff of the rise of factories and factory workers during the American Market Revolution. Furthermore, another bestseller of ours is a t-shirt with caricature-style drawing of a typical modern-day middle class family. This one is also a modern-day spinoff, but this shirt represents the rise of the middle class in the growing urban environments.

Parts & Relics

Need a break from the rides? Come to Parts & Relics, a souvenir shop that is filled with the rustic atmosphere of the 1800s. The highlight of Parts & Relics is its extensive collection of replicated miniature interchangeable parts from the 1800s! Guests will be able to explore the different types of innovations that interchangeable parts were used for and create their own miniature version using miniature interchangeable parts, even if they are not experienced! Some innovations that interchangeable parts were used for included muskets, clocks, and the cotton gin. This experience mimics the time when interchangeable parts allowed relatively unskilled workers to produce a large number of weapons and other technologies at a lower cost, which facilitated a mass production of goods and raised employment. Guests can use manual books provided by store staff to create their innovations and take them home as a souvenir!

Canal Cruise

Come take a ride on the Canal Cruise! Here, guests will be shocked as they travel east in flat-bottomed “packet boats” modeled after the canal boats of the era. This ride is supposed to simulate farmers shipping their products across markets, the primary reason for the construction of the Erie Canal. Along their journey, guests in the boats will encounter scenes that depict life along the canal, which include merchants trading goods and new towns. As they approach the end of the ride, guests will arrive at a panoramic scene of the New York City Harbor of the 1800s, involving large sailing ships that symbolize the Erie Canal’s important role in making New York the chief port of the United States that opened up opportunities for immigration and efficient trade of goods.

Cyrus The Reaper

Visitors will be spooked by this Halloween special! This attraction will be set in a haunted corn maze with an evil farmer Jack on the loose. Cyrus H. McCormick, the inventor of the mechanical reaper who is operating a replication of the innovation, is motivated to catch the season’s eternal harvest through a quicker method than manual labor. The mechanical reaper does just the job! Cyrus’ quick operation of the Mechanical Reaper symbolizes the machine’s efficiency in food production as farmers were able to double their crop size in a shorter time period, further advancing innovations in farm machinery. Since Cyrus moves fast, guests must navigate through the maze before time runs out to avoid becoming part of Cyrus’ eternal harvest!

Jenny's Spin Coaster

Visitors will be wowed by this fast paced ride! This ride is meant to simulate the spinning jenny, an invention that revolutionized textile production. Each cart on the ride is a spindle in the machine. The ride begins slowly to reference how thread used to be made on the spinning wheel, one thread at a time. Each spindle cart is by itself for this portion. Throughout this portion, an audio recording and props are placed throughout to offer some history about the transition from the spinning wheel to the Spinning Jenny. Then, suddenly, guests will be propelled forward as the ride will pick up pace as the spindle weaves faster due to the invention of the Spinning Jenny. At this point in the ride, the other spindle carts become visible again as a Spinning Jenny has multiple spindles. The ride accelerates faster and faster until it reaches the full-180 degree loop towards the end. Guests are guaranteed to experience heart palpitations by the end of this ride!

Southern Showdown

Ready for a challenge? Step up and take a shot at the southern showdown, where you and another competitor will face off in an intense shooting battle. One person is shooting with the new state of the art revolver, while the other is using the traditional musket. The revolver allowed for shooters to take 6 shots without reloading, while the musket only allowed for one shot per reload. It was invented because of the need of self defense for settlers and U.S.’s growing military. During the challenge you will be shooting replicas of home intruders, criminals, and wild animals. The revolver contributed to the honor of the South as southerners used the revolver for self defense, and law enforcement used it as well, allowing the revolver to symbolize courage and bravery. The creation of the revolver spurred the growth of the fire arms industry, and both trade and agriculture increased as a result of the increased protection the revolver provided. Whoever gets the most takedowns wins!

Riverboat Adventure

Tired? Take a break on the Riverboat Adventure Ride, a laid-back ride where guests enjoy the scenery of the 19th century south while also experiencing an engaging story about southern life told by the inventor of the steamboat himself, Robert Fulton. He invented the steamboat to address the limitations of traditional water transportation, which only allowed people to move downstream. Fulton goes into detail on the necessity of the steamboat and how it revolutionized trade and transport by shortening journey times and leading to the addition of new trade cities along the river like, New Orleans. It also led to the expansion of cotton plantations as a result of the increased market access the steamboat opened up. Not only this, but passengers will have the option to dine on board with a delicious spread of authentic southern food, the most popular treat being cotton candy spun in front of you by Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin.

Pioneer's Plow Coaster

In this fast paced ride, passengers will travel through the fields of the south while riding in a steel plow that imitates the action of plowing through the soil. The steel plow was created because of the problems farmers were facing with the farming process and productivity on the field, as traditional wood and iron plows were not durable enough to cut through the thick Midwest soil. There was a necessity for increased agricultural production and efficient farming tools. With the introduction of the new and improved steel plow, the economy boosted as a result of the increased crop.