Theme park news: Bye-bye Big Bad Wolf, Club 33 waiting list, fact-checking Epcot’s future, Darth Vader dance-off

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

> Popular Mechanics fact-checks five Epcot rides that predicted the future. (Orlando Updates)

> Waiting list for one of 480 membership slots at Disneyland’s private Club 33: 18 years. (OC Weekly)

> Video awesomeness: Darth Vader dances to MC Hammer’s “You Can’t Touch This” at Star Wars Weekends 2009 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Longer version. (Orlando Attractions)

> Free X2 after-hours ride time on Friday nights this summer at Six Flags Magic Mountain plus 2 free tacos and milkshake with paid admission.

> On-board employee testing of oft-delayed Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster at Universal Studios Orlando set to begin next week. Yeah, right. (Orlando Sentinel)

> Screamscape: Six Flags America in Maryland to build 10-ride Thomas Town in 2010.

> Busch Gardens Tampa Bay official hints at new Sesame Street area. (Orlando Sentinel)

> Man faces charges for allegedly planting a fake bomb under his own car in Cedar Point’s parking lot.

> Police arrest parents for leaving foster kids (ages 2 & 4) at Disney World hotel while they go to pool for 2 hours. (Around Disney)

> Fire destroys an Alton Towers Skyride station at Cloud Cuckoo Land in the UK. (Screamscape)

> Pix: Efteling theme park (Netherlands) adding 4,500-foot-long, 80-foot-tall dragon-themed dueling wooden coaster for 2010. (Screamscape)

> Mourning begins: Big Bad Wolf suspended roller coaster to close at Busch Gardens Williamsburg on Sept. 7 after 25 years. (Coaster Fanatics)

> Photo: Mickey Mouse joins “Two and a Half Men” star Angus Jones and his brother Otto as they celebrate Otto’s third birthday at Disneyland.

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: Disneyland

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This entry was posted on Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 7:04 am by Brady MacDonald and is filed under California, Cedar Point, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, East Coast, Epcot at Walt Disney World, Europe, Family & Kids, Florida, Great Britain, Los Angeles, Magic Kingdom, Magic Mountain, Midwestern States, Orange County, Southern States, Summer, Theme Parks, Universal Studios Florida, Washington D.C.. 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.