Archive for the 'Europe' Category
Water parks vie to open first U.S. looping water slide
November 22, 2009 10:19am
The race is on to see which water park debuts America’s first looping water slide — a gravity-defying attraction that has awed Europe and Asia.
Noah’s Ark water park in Wisconsin and Jay Peak ski resort in Vermont both plan to unveil the combination water slide-thrill ride on Memorial Day Weekend 2010.
Canadian-based manufacturer WhiteWater confirmed that the two locations would install the first AquaLoop slides in the United States.
Ride-makers roll out new thrills for 2010 at Las Vegas expo
November 19, 2009 5:34pm
Roller-coaster and thrill-ride manufacturers from around the world descended on Las Vegas this week for the annual amusement park convention, offering a sneak peek at what we can expect to see in 2010 and beyond.
In my conversations with show exhibitors, I came away with one overarching message as I toured the massive International Assn. of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) show floor: All the latest and greatest rides are heading to Asia and Europe in 2010. By and large, recession-weary American theme parks are sitting on their thin wallets.
Here’s a few of my favorite new rides and attractions on display at the expo:
> Twist N’ Splash from Germany’s Mack Rides combines a spinning teacup concept with a Splash Battle water ride. Riders squirt each other and landlubbers with water cannons. Two European parks will get the new ride, officials said.
See London like Sherlock Holmes did
November 13, 2009 2:00pm
You can now prowl around the London locations tied to the new action-mystery movie “Sherlock Holmes,” thanks to the nation’s VisitBritain tourist agency.
The agency has developed a microsite to tout the film’s Holmes-related venues.
High on the list is the Sherlock Holmes Museum, at 221B Baker St., Holmes’ residence in the novels by Arthur Conan Doyle. While there, visitors can pick up a booklet that leads a Holmes-themed London walking tour ($6).
Another location, St. Paul’s Cathedral, was used for interiors and exteriors of the new film, which debuts Christmas Day. The 300-year-old landmark’s impressive geometric staircase is featured, but the landmark’s interior would be worth a few hours at any time. Read the rest of this entry »
Hong Kong Disneyland to add ‘Toy Story’ themed land
November 13, 2009 8:54am
Visitors stepping into Toy Story Land at Hong Kong Disneyland will feel like “Star Wars” action figures in a land of Barbie dolls — smaller-than-life interlopers in a land of larger-than-life toys.
Super-sized Tinker toys, Lincoln logs and dominoes line the walkways as towering “Toy Story” characters Rex the dinosaur and Woody the cowboy welcome visitors at the twin entrances to the lushly landscaped land.
Set to open as early as 2011, Toy Story Land is part of a nearly $500-million expansion at Hong Kong Disneyland that calls for the addition of three themed lands.
The three new rides include:
Hong Kong Disneyland expansion to add three new themed lands
November 12, 2009 8:54am
Disney brass and Chinese government officials hope a nearly half-billion-dollar investment over the next half-decade in Hong Kong Disneyland will boost attendance at the struggling theme park.
The ambitious expansion plan calls for three new themed lands featuring a mountain-range coaster, a Haunted Mansion dark ride and a “Toy Story” kiddie area.
A land-by-land look at the expansion:
National World War II Museum rallies the troops, plus Tom Hanks, for premiere
November 6, 2009 10:14am
Everyone from war veterans to movie luminaries are rallying today, Nov. 6, in New Orleans to inaugurate the expanded National World War II Museum, which has doubled in size and added a theater with a film experience that promises to plunge visitors into the wartime world, complete with (fake) falling snowflakes, seats that shudder as munitions explode and other special effects.
Among today’s attendees is Tom Hanks, executive producer and narrator of the 35-minute movie “Beyond All Boundaries” (photo above), which will screen at the museum’s new theater. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Patricia Clarkson, Neil Patrick Harris, Brad Pitt and many others.
Today’s events were sold out, museum spokeswoman Kacey Hill said. But there was still plenty of room on Saturday, dubbed “Family Fun Day,” when a range of free activities will be offered, she added. Here’s the 411:
The Michael Jackson theme park that never was, but still could be
November 5, 2009 12:29pm
Michael Jackson dreamed of a theme park based on the J.M. Barrie story of “Peter Pan,” complete with looping roller coasters, 3-D flight simulators, water rides, stunt shows, dinner theater, nighttime spectaculars and hotels.
The Disney and More blog has the full story of how the dream nearly became reality, including blueprints and concept art from the envisioned project.
In the late 1990s, the King of Pop partnered with Burbank-based Landmark Entertainment Group — the creators of the Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure and the Jurassic Park water ride at Universal Studios Orlando — to draft a plan for Peter Pan’s Neverland theme park.
The concept looks remarkably similar to Disneyland past and present, with all the Peter Pan parts of the park (pirate ship, dark ride, skull rock) amplified and embellished with plenty of pixie dust.
Peter Pan’s Neverland envisioned a grand entrance into Victorian London with replicas of Kensington Gardens, Big Ben, Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.
On Neverland Island, reached by boat, there were six themed lands:
Read the rest of this entry »
Ireland: Flights, car and 6-night castle stay for $948
November 3, 2009 5:57am
For a special short getaway to Ireland this winter, recruit your favorite three friends or family members. Based on four people sharing a three-bedroom villa, a fly-stay-drive package offered by Sceptre Tours can be had for as little as $948 per person, including taxes, from Los Angeles. Your castle awaiting on the Emerald Isle is Adare Manor Villas, ranked the third-best resort in Europe in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards.
Deal: The package for you and your three companions includes round-trip airfare to Shannon, Ireland; six nights of accommodations in the village of Adare in County Limerick; a car rental; entrance to the Belleek Pottery Visitor Centre, along with a tour and museum admission; and a coupon booklet for the region.
Your group will share a three-bedroom unit at the Adare Manor Villas. If you can get yourself past the golf course, shopping and other activities on the 864-acre grounds, you might consider day trips to Limerick, Killarney, Bunratty, the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry scenic route, among other destinations. Read the rest of this entry »
10 smokers’ paradises: A guide for globe-trotters
October 31, 2009 6:00am
With so many places around the world instituting smoking regulations, increasing taxes and, quite literally, kicking smokers to the curb, it’s getting harder to find cigarette-friendly vacation spots.
But not every country is trying to kill that buzz. On the flip side, some of them, such as Greece, are attempting to crack down but are failing miserably.
You may feel alone smoking in some major U.S. cities, so we’ve compiled a list of countries with the most prevalent tobacco use among people aged 15 or older, based on 2005 data from the World Health Organization.
Nonsmokers, too, will want to take note of the list. As you might guess, a smoker’s paradise can be, in turn, a nonsmoker’s hell.
German Rail Pass deal: 20% off, plus free Berlin tour
October 22, 2009 5:57am
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall — it fell on Nov. 9, 1989 — Rail Europe is offering a special deal.
Deal: Buy a four-day German Rail Pass at a rate that is 20% less than regular pass prices. Plus, you’ll get a voucher, valid for 24 hours, for a Berlin City Sightseeing Tour thrown in free. Valued at $25 per adult, the tour is on a hop-on, hop-off, double-decker bus.
The rail pass, good for first- and second-class travel, is valid for four days (not necessarily consecutive) in a month. The discounted passes cost $301 per adult, $151 per child (6 to 11 years old; kids under 6 are free), for first-class seats, and $231 per adult, $116 per child, for second-class seats.
Ordering on the Rail Europe website is straightforward, and no extra fees are added to the above-mentioned prices. At time of writing, the website noted that shipping is free on all rail orders for an unspecified “limited time.” Read the rest of this entry »
