Theme park news: Animatronic Obama, Battlestar Galactica dueling coasters, Hong Kong Disneyland expansion

A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:

* Prowler wooden coaster construction time-lapse video at Worlds Of Fun in Kansas City, Mo. 70,000 images, one per minute over eight months.

* First official POV video of iSpeed coaster at Mirabilandia in Italy. (Parksmania)

* Journey to the Center of the Earth 4-D movie starring Brendan Fraser coming to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., from June 12 to Aug. 2. (Screamscape)

* Scale-model pictures of Battlestar Galactica dueling coasters at Universal Studios Singapore. (CoasterForce)

* Cutaway graphic looks inside 50-year-old Matterhorn mountain at Disneyland. See Tink’s break room. (Around Disney)

* State investigators shut down Son of Beast at Kings Island in Ohio after a woman claims she suffered a head injury on the wooden coaster. (Theme Park Insider)

* Monster 300-foot-tall Intamin Giga roller coaster under construction for 2010 at Kings Dominion in Virginia. Pictures at ThemeParkReview. (CoasterCritic)

* Video of Luxo Jr. animatronic show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Cute lamp, boring show. (WDW News Today)

* Disneyland Fire Department extinguishes “minor fire” on Mark Twain steamboat during Fantasmic. No damage or injuries. (Around Disney)

* Animatronic Barack Obama (blue suit, burgundy tie) stands next to Lincoln in revamped Hall of Presidents at Magic Kingdom. Speech recorded in White House Map Room. (Orlando Sentinel)

* U.S. troops renovating 150-acre Baghdad Island amusement park, which was looted after 2003 invasion. (L.A. Times)

* Report: Soarin’ Over the World movie coming to Disney’s California Adventure and Epcot in 2011. Locales: England, France, Italy, Egypt, India, China, Japan and U.S. (Disney and More)

* Disney registers disneyimaginationpark.com domain name. Where would they build it? Or could this be the new name for Disney’s California Adventure? (Jim Hill Media)

* A chained and handcuffed magician plans to escape from a wooden packing crate lowered into a lake on July 4 and 5 at Wild Adventures in Georgia. (Screamscape)

* Wolfman, Chucky and Jigsaw attack 2009 Hollywood Horror Nights at Universal Studios Orlando. You’ll see Saw in mazes/scare zones, on Terror Tram. (Orlando Attractions)

* Report: $900-million expansion to double size of Hong Kong Disneyland. Construction to begin within a year. (Reuters)

* Chessington World of Adventures in Britain institutes guidelines for embarrassing parents: no dancing, hand-holding or spit-washing. (Blooloop)

* Audio-animatronic figure of President Barack Obama (photo above) debuts July 4 in the Hall of Presidents at Magic Kingdom. (Soft opening began June 24.)

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 credit: Walt Disney World]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 7:33 am by Brady MacDonald and is filed under Asia, California, Disney's California Adventure, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, East Coast, Epcot at Walt Disney World, Europe, Family & Kids, Florida, Great Britain, Hong Kong Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Midwestern States, Orange County, Southern States, Theme Parks, Universal Studios Florida. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.