Archive for the 'Theme Parks' Category
Vote for your favorite wooden and steel roller coasters
February 6, 2010 6:58am
The polls remain open for fans to vote for their favorite wooden and steel roller coasters in the United States. We’ll declare a winner of the unscientific survey at the conclusion of voting.
Poll: Vote for your favorite wooden and steel roller coasters.
With the help of our expert panel, we selected our top 10 wooden and steel roller coasters in the U.S.
Photo galleries: View the top 10 wooden and steel roller coasters.
With more than 1,000 votes tallied so far, The Voyage at Holiday World holds a commanding lead in the top wooden coaster poll, with The Beast at Kings Island running second and Dollywood’s Thunderhead in third. El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure hovers in the middle of the pack.
In the top steel coaster poll, two rides at Busch Gardens Europe are battling for the lead: Apollo’s Chariot and Griffon. Cedar Point’s Millennium Force and Six Flags New England’s Bizarro trail close behind the leaders.
Recent theme park stories
> Six Flags Magic Mountain adding Mr. Six coaster for 2010
> Michael Jackson returns to Disneyland in ‘Captain EO‘
> ‘Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln‘ at Disneyland weds nostalgia and technology
> ‘Toy Story‘ musical replacing ‘Aladdin’ show at Disney’s California Adventure
> Six Flags Magic Mountain to reclaim ‘Coaster Capital of the World‘ title in 2010
> Wizarding World of Harry Potter to open at Universal Studios Orlando in spring 2010
> Fantasyland to get extreme makeover at Disney World by 2013
> Star Tours reboot coming to Disneyland and Disney World in 2011
> When, where and how: Marvel characters in Disney theme parks
> Director Peter Jackson spills details on new King Kong attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood
> Sneak peek: Scene-by-scene preview of World of Color water show at Disney’s California Adventure
Photo galleries
> Top 10 wooden roller coasters in the U.S.
> Top 10 steel roller coasters in the U.S.
> Top 10 most anticipated U.S. theme park rides and attractions for 2010
> Top 10 most anticipated California theme park rides and attractions for 2010
> Top 10 rides and attractions at each of the Disney World theme parks
> Top 10 rides and attractions at both Universal Studios Orlando theme parks
Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland. Follow Funland on Twitter and Facebook.
— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times staff writer
Photo: Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure. Credit: Six Flags Great Adventure
Top 10 wooden roller coasters in the U.S.
January 30, 2010 7:01am
For our Top 10 list of the best wooden coasters in the United States, we turned to a panel of experts from the top roller coaster and amusement park websites.
Photo Gallery: View the Top 10 wooden roller coasters in the U.S.
Poll: Vote for your favorite among the Top 10 wooden coasters
The Top 10 is dominated by woodies at smaller parks along the Midwest coaster belt, a 1,000-mile stretch roughly following I-70 through Missouri, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The list includes a pair of coasters from one park as well as a couple of surprise picks outside the elite ranks.
Princess Tiana sings in New Orleans Square, joins royal court at Disneyland
January 29, 2010 12:56pm
After a successful run in “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee,” Princess Tiana from the animated movie musical “The Princess and the Frog” will disembark from the Mark Twain riverboat for a show on dry land starting next week at Disneyland.
Beginning Feb. 5, “Princess Tiana’s Mardi Gras Celebration” will feature Disney’s first African American princess singing with a live band in New Orleans Square. Backed by the Jambalaya Jazz Band, Tiana will perform songs from the animated movie during “atmosphere” shows occurring five to seven times daily.
Tiana’s tentative song list includes: “Down in New Orleans,” “Almost There,” “When We’re Human,” “Ma Belle Evangeline,” “Dig a Little Deeper” and “Gonna Take You There.”
Top 10 steel roller coasters in the U.S.
January 29, 2010 8:57am
For our Top 10 list of the best steel coasters in the United States, we turned to a panel of experts from the top roller coaster and amusement park websites.
Photo Gallery: View the Top 10 steel roller coasters in the U.S.
Poll: Vote for your favorite among the Top 10 steel coasters
The Top 10 is dominated by Six Flags and Busch Gardens coasters along the East Coast — stretching from Massachusetts to Florida. The list includes eight coasters from one manufacturer (Bolliger & Mabillard), but the top two spots belong to its chief iron rival (Intamin AG).
Six Flags Magic Mountain to add Mr. Six’s coaster for 2010
January 27, 2010 11:23am
Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia will add a kiddie coaster in summer 2010 called Mr. Six’s DanceCoaster, themed to the frenetically dancing senior citizen who serves as a spokes-character for the amusement park chain.
Magic Mountain’s 17th coaster moves the California amusement park into a tie with Ohio’s Cedar Point for the coveted title of “roller coaster capital of the world,” according to Roller Coaster Database.
Scheduled to open on Memorial Day weekend, the 679-foot-long steel coaster will be located in the northwest corner of Magic Mountain between the looping Déjà Vu coaster and the Johnny Rockets Shakes and Fries food stand.
Legoland Florida theme park opening in 2011
January 21, 2010 8:31am
California soon won’t be able to lay claim to the only Legoland in the United States.
Legoland Florida will open in late 2011 at the former Cypress Gardens theme park in Winter Haven, about 40 miles from Disney World.
Parent company Merlin Entertainment reportedly paid $22 million for the 145-acre property about an hour’s drive south of Orlando.
Snoopy kicks Spongebob to the curb at California’s Great America
January 16, 2010 10:06am
Snoopy and his ol’ pal Charlie Brown have vanquished Spongebob Squarepants and Scooby-Doo from California’s Great America in an animated shakeup taking place at theme parks across the country.
California’s Great America will remake the existing Nickelodeon-branded Nick Central kids area as Planet Snoopy, bringing the round-headed kid, his beagle, Peppermint Patty, Woodstock, Lucy, Linus, Sally and the rest of the Peanuts gang to the Santa Clara theme park.
Debuting March 28, the new Planet Snoopy themes for the existing Nick Central rides will include:
Michael Jackson theme park planned for singer’s hometown
January 13, 2010 10:55am
Work is expected to begin this year on a 100-acre Michael Jackson entertainment complex that would include a museum, performing arts center, hotel, golf course and theme park inspired by the pop singer’s Neverland Ranch.
“Everything is in the planning stages at this point, but we’re moving on a fast track and we’re looking forward to actually breaking ground sometime in 2010,” said Odie Anderson, president of the Jackson family project in the pop singer’s hometown of Gary, Ind.
Stratosphere SkyJump takes thrills to new heights in Las Vegas [Video]
January 12, 2010 4:51pm
If you’ve ever felt like jumping off the top of the Stratosphere after losing all your money in Las Vegas, you’ll soon get the chance — without the messy conclusion.
Opening in April, the $3.6-million SkyJump thrill ride atop the 1,149-foot-tall Stratosphere Las Vegas Hotel & Casino will feature a controlled free fall similar to skydiving or base-jumping.
Connected by a cable to a high-speed “descender” machine, riders wearing jumpsuits and harnesses will leap from the edge of the observation tower toward a landing platform 855 feet below. Guide wires will keep jumpers from slamming into the tower’s cement columns.
New name, same result: Bizarro retains best-coaster crown
January 12, 2010 11:24am
The name may have changed, but the world’s best roller coaster retained its crown for the fifth year in a row.
Six Flags New England’s Bizarro, formerly known as “Superman – Ride of Steel,” was chosen as the best steel roller coaster for 2009 in an unscientific yet comprehensive annual poll of 656 coaster enthusiasts.
Renamed for Superman’s evil clone, the 2009 Bizarro transformation added on-board audio, fire effects and fog tunnels to the 200-foot-tall megacoaster.
