| The 2001 mini manual opens with "A Word from John Wardley", a ride designer whose coasters include Nemesis and Oblivion at Alton Towers and Megafobia at Oakwood, with tips on designing a coaster as a journey that keeps its surprises to the end. | inside cover, "A Word from John Wardley"p. 3 | Manual |
| The manual's rules for building a coaster piece by piece: the last piece must join the station platform to close the loop; track may pass over or under itself with enough clearance but may not cross itself at the same level; a rise can't turn straight into a drop without a straight piece between; supports reach only so high; and track goes underground only where the land is prepared. | p. 12, building Roller Coaster 1p. 12p. 12p. 12p. 12 | Manual |
| A test run gives each custom ride three ratings, excitement, intensity and nausea, which the manual scales from 0 to 10, though intensity can go over 10. Higher excitement lets the ride charge more and makes it more popular; it comes from the ride type and design, speed, pacing, nearby scenery, the view, close passes by paths and other rides, and novelty. Intensity comes from the forces, inversions and speed; a ride rated over 10 may find no riders even for free. Spinning, sharp turns and inversions raise nausea. | p. 54, Building a Custom Ridepp. 55-56, Characteristics of the Ridep. 56p. 56p. 56p. 56 | Manual |
| Nearly every shop or stall has a front with a serving window, and that side must face a path for guests to use it; the Information Kiosk serves from all sides. Shops need no entrance, exit or queue. | p. 20, Shops and Stallsp. 20 | Manual |
| The Guest Info window lists each guest's current thought and action, and its second tab totals every guest's thoughts in order of frequency, so a complaint near the top flags a problem. Each guest's own window shows their recent thoughts, their spending in the park, and their preferred ride intensity and tolerance for nausea. | p. 34, Keeping Your Guests Happyp. 34pp. 82-83, Guest windowpp. 82-83, Guest windowpp. 82-83, Guest window | Manual |
| The manual teaches needs as chains of cause and effect: guests who eat will need bathrooms and litter bins, salty food makes them thirsty, and a hungry guest looks out for a food stall. | p. 34, "Foresee and fill visitor's needs"p. 20, Shops and Stalls | Manual |
| The manual says how often guests get lost depends entirely on the footpaths: avoid dead ends, complex routes and long trails to nowhere, and sell park maps at Information Kiosks, which make a guest much less likely to get lost. A lost guest can be picked up and dropped on a central path. | p. 32, Lost Guestsp. 32, Park Mapsp. 32 | Manual |
| The park rating, from 0 to 1000, reflects the guests' overall impression of ride design, layout, tidiness, value and efficiency. The manual warns that it shows that there is a problem but never what the problem is. | p. 34, Park Ratingp. 34 | Manual |
| The manual's tutorial scenario gives the player until October of Year 1 to bring 250 guests into the park and raise the park rating to at least 600. | p. 8, The Tutorial | Manual |
| The manual says the player has borrowed from the bank to improve the park, and that this loan is the working capital; besides it, the only money is what guests spend in the park. The park value, another report, weighs land and equipment, the quality and profit of the rides, and the park rating. | p. 36, Financesp. 36, Fiscal Reports | Manual |