In a year of ups, downs, loops and scoops, Attractions Management looks back at some of the biggest stories to hit the headlines, giving possible indicators at what’s still to come in the year ahead.

For April, speed was a theme, with Concorde and Ferrari both in the news, while Disney’s research arm achieved a VR breakthrough for visitor attractions.

Getting physical

Disney’s breakthrough came in the form of a tennis ball, which might sound odd but it was a tennis ball thrown in real life but caught in the eyes of the viewer through virtual reality.

Using the technology developed by Disney Research, users can accurately catch a physical ball while they are immersed in a VR environment, opening up a world of possibilities for the integration of real-world moving objects and virtual experiences.

The experiment involved a virtual ball that tracked the projected trajectory of the real ball, and a target catching location for the user, which also shows the user from which direction the ball is arriving. Inside the Oculus headset, the user can see a simple background, the virtual ball, and his virtual hands. The scene is kept minimalistic in order to achieve an up to 150fps frame rate and reduce latency as much as possible.

In the lab’s pilot study, the ball was thrown 140 times and caught 132 times.

Concorde wows again

Ahead of its October debut, Aerospace Bristol reached a landmark point in its development in April, taking the wraps off of its star attraction – the last Concorde supersonic passenger jet to take flight.

The crown jewel of the £19m (US$24.3m, €22.7m) attraction, Concorde 216 had been wrapped in a protective film by film specialists Packexe, while works took place around the aircraft and the end wall of the purpose-built hangar was constructed.

The Purcell development, located on the site of the former Filton Airfield, is comprised of two refurbished World War One aircraft hangars, which have been transformed into a heritage museum with learning suites, archives and workshops. The last Concorde jet to be built, the aircraft takes centre stage inside a hangar that's purpose-built to showcase the engineering marvel.

Ferrari Land gets the green flag

Peiro Ferrari was on hand at PortAventura in April as the world’s most recognisable motor racing brand made its European theme park debut.

A second gate for the Spanish destination resort, it was hoped that Ferrari Land would help boost annual visitor attendance to five million people.

It boasts Europe's tallest and fastest rollercoaster. Named Red Force, the vertical launch coaster reaches 112 metres (367ft) into the sky, accelerating from 0mph to 112mph (180kph) in just five seconds.

"Ferrari Land is a place where everyone, not just Ferrari fans and enthusiasts, but the whole family can come and learn about the story of the Prancing Horse and have fun," said Peiro, who is the son of the brand's eponymous founder, Enzo.

"I'm happy visitors will get the Ferrari experience, and that means speed, innovation and above all, emotion," he said. "It's our main objective to let people know that everything we do, we do with passion."

Check back with Attractions Management tomorrow for the best bits from May