Archive for the 'Theme Parks' 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.
SeaWorld Aquatica’s 2010 expansion to include 4 new water slides
November 20, 2009 11:33am
The recently opened SeaWorld Aquatica water park in Orlando, Fla. will add four first-of-a-kind water slides in 2010, including a pair of inner-tube rides that go uphill with the help of a hydro-magnetic launch.
The twin Tornado Walls are V-shaped slides that start with a magnetic launch that shoots a six-person inflatable raft up the face of a vertical wall. One of the two launch sequences travels through a tunnel. After reaching the top of the water wall, the rafts race down the incline and along an uphill outrun with a small whoop-de-do hill.
Also on tap for Aquatica in 2010:
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.
Sneak peek: A scene-by-scene look at Hong Kong Disneyland’s Mystic Manor
November 15, 2009 7:00am
Mystic Manor takes visitors on a circa-1908 tour of an ancient artifact collection belonging to a world-renowned adventurer and explorer. Inside the Victorian home on a remote jungle hilltop, Lord Henry Mystic’s museum comes alive when his mischievous monkey opens an enchanted music box.
Set to open as early as 2013, Mystic Manor is part of a nearly $500-million expansion at Hong Kong Disneyland that calls for the addition of three themed lands.
Mystic Manor will serve as the Chinese theme park’s ghost-less Haunted Mansion, with tributes to the classic Disney attractions Indiana Jones Adventure and Enchanted Tiki Room included throughout the ride.
Spoiler Alert: Join us as Disney Imagineer Dustin Schofield, who worked on Mystic Manor, takes us on a scene-by-scene tour of the new attraction:
Big Grizzly Mountain coaster coming to Hong Kong Disneyland
November 14, 2009 4:48pm
The Big Grizzly Mountain roller coaster at Hong Kong Disneyland will take riders through an abandoned gold mine packed with dynamite and overrun by grizzly bears.
Set to open as early as 2012, the runaway mine train ride is part of a nearly $500-million expansion at Hong Kong Disneyland that calls for the addition of three themed lands.
Big Grizzly Mountain will serve as the centerpiece of the Grizzly Trail themed land, the Chinese park’s version of Frontierland. The new ride blends the themeing of Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad coaster with the setting of the Grizzly River Run water ride at Disney’s California Adventure.
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:
First look: Phineas and Ferb characters at Disneyland
November 11, 2009 8:05am
Phineas and Ferb may not have any idea what they’re doing for summer vacation, but they know how they’re spending their Christmas break: “We’re going to Disneyland.”
The perpetually bored stepbrothers from the Disney Channel’s “Phineas and Ferb” animated show turned up as costumed characters at Disneyland this week for a taping of the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade, which airs Dec. 25 on ABC.
It was the first time that the costumed characters have appeared in a Disney theme park, officials said.
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:
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