A round up of two New Mexico and two Texas family-owned amusement parks
show that by mid-season attendance was going well and new ride and attractions installed were receiving great response.
Two parks, Wonderland Amusement, Amarillo, and Joyland, Lubbock, were both
hit with storm damage in June and are still working to repair all of the damage. Yet, both these parks were back up quickly and having what appears will be a very good 2013 season.
The response to Western Playland’s new SDC Windstorm coaster has been great so far, said park owner Pat Thomson. The coaster, which the park named The Hurricane, opened Memorial Day weekend. It was purchased from Santa Cruz Beach (Calif.) Boardwalk and brought to Western Playland last November. The piece is about 20 years old.
As Chrissy Horton tore off a ticket and her daughter happily took off to a seat on a kiddie motorcycle ride, it felt like any other summer at the Jersey shore.
Casino Pier reopened its rides Friday for the first time since Superstorm Sandy devastated the historic seaside amusement park. Sandy’s surges tore off much of the pier’s upper level and sucked some of its rides, including the Jet Star roller coaster that fell into the Atlantic Ocean and became a symbol of the storm’s power.
“Last summer, we were here all the time,” said Horton, who was visiting from North Jersey. “We were so sad the storm destroyed everything. We have so many memories.
A Sunday outing to Carowinds Theme park quickly turned into a scary ordeal for thrill seekers.
Dozens of people were stuck mid air after a ride stopped working.
Carowinds officials said more than 60 people were stuck on the WindSeeker for about an hour when it suddenly stopped working.
The Disney universe is populated by a countless array of heroes and villains. Think Simba and Scar, Peter Pan and Captain Hook, Cruella De Vil and the 101 Dalmatians.
They’re the stars of screen, stage and page, and it has been in those venues that Disney-philes traditionally have come into contact with the characters they most loved or loved to hate.
The latest generation of Disney theme park-goers — young and technologically savvy — wants more than just to be in Disney World. They want to be in Disney’s world.
There’s a new entertainment district coming to town that hopes to compete with Universal’s CityWalk and Downtown Disney.
It's called "I-Drive Live" and construction is "well underway" in Orlando, according to developer Chuck Whittall, president of Unicorp National Developments Inc.
Whittall took us around the site this week to show us how the project is shaping up along International Drive. He said when the whole thing is done, I-Drive Live will be about one-third the size of Mall at Millenia.
Kathy LeClair had zero woodworking experience when she joined Berkshire Carousel.
Five years after the volunteer-driven project began, the North Adams woman can carve with confidence thanks to plenty of practice, practice, practice.
"I took all the classes I could -- some even twice," she said. "I have my own tools now."
Are you searching for a family activity that will be fun for all ages? Then look no further than Bristol, home to the nation’s oldest family amusement park.
Lake Compounce has something for everyone: For thrill-seekers, there are more than 50 rides and attractions, including longtime favorites like the Boulder Dash (voted one of the World’s Best Wooden Roller Coasters) and Zoomerang roller coasters, and Thunder 'n' Lightning, which rapidly swings riders to heights of more than 90 feet.
New this year is Rev-O-Lution, an adrenaline-pumping ride, spinning and rocking a full 360 degrees, high over the park. Riders sit in seats at the edge of a rotating platform that spins in two different directions. It’s dizzying just to look at from the ground.
For nearly five years, the amusement complex formerly known as Celebration City has been closed and according to ownership, no plans are in place to do anything with the property.
“We are testing concepts in various regions and looking into various concepts, but there is no true and active draw board yet for Celebration City,” said Lisa Rau, director of public relations and publicity for Silver Dollar City. “There is always thinking and always researching ideas but there is no active movement at this point.”
According to Rau, the property value is so high and the investment level so great for a new business that whatever ends up happening needs to make the most sense for ownership and the economy.
By the end of her ride on the Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo., Amanda Scott of Oklahoma says, she felt as if she was hanging on for dear life. The $10 million, 16-story attraction, which opened this year, is touted as having the world’s steepest drop for a wooden roller coaster.
Like the Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas, where a woman fell to her death July 19, the Outlaw Run uses a lap bar as a restraint. But Scott, who says she is “admittedly overweight,” said she felt that her lap bar didn’t go down very far, though it was secure and checked by the park attendant.
And when the ride reached its top speed, Scott says, her body shape changed and spread out from the gravitational forces, leaving a gap between herself and the bar. She recalls moving around so much during the ride that by the end she was clutching the seat in front of her.
Waterbury's mayor is leading an effort to buy and restore the former Holy Land religious theme park.
Mayor Neil O'Leary tells the Republican-American that more than 100 people have donated a total of $30,000 in the first month of fundraising by the group, Holy Land Waterbury LLC.
The organization hopes to raise $350,000 to buy the property.
The Zippin Pippin is back in operation after the roller coaster stalled Friday for the second time this week at Bay Beach Amusement Park.
The ride was three-fourths full with roughly 15 passengers about 1:30 p.m. when it got stuck on a lift hill—the same location the ride stalled Monday, said Bay Beach assistant manager Jason Arnoldi.
Riders were assisted off the coaster using stairs beside the hill and the cause of the stoppage was possibly electrical, he said. The ride re-opened about 4 p.m.
Kings Dominion is going on a monster hunt.
The Doswell amusement park is looking to fill 646 positions for its annual Halloween Haunt.
There were plenty of screams inside the Six Flags New England human resources building on Sunday as auditions were underway for this year's Fright Fest.
The amusement park is looking to fill 200 positions, with the main job description as being able to scare people.
It is a job people must enjoy, as the park said 75 percent of the spots are usually filled by people who worked Fright Fest the year before.
With or without the famous “eye,” these cool sweet treats are worth a trip to the Disneyland Resort or Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort for “Limited Time Magic” fun between July 29 and August 4.
The Disneyland Resort sundae just makes us smile with two scoops of mint chip ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles, candy eye and horns in a crisp waffle cup. You’ll find the delightful treat at Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor in Disneyland park and Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream at Disney California Adventure park.
When much of a movie’s action takes place in a water park, it’s got to be special. And the family-run Water Wizz, in East Wareham, Mass., had just the fun, friendly vibe the new indie The Way, Way Back needed. “Maya Rudolph’s family was riding the slides,” says owner Patricia Kells of one of the stars.
The Arkansas Department of Health says a Little Rock water park has closed after officials said the facility was likely the source of a rare and potentially deadly brain infection.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Dirk Haselow said Friday that the owners of Willow Springs Water Park voluntarily decided to close the park after meeting with health officials.
Health officials recently confirmed a rare form of meningitis called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (MEN-in-joe-en-SEFF-uh-lie-tis), or PAM, in Arkansas. That condition is caused by an organism commonly found in warm freshwater that can travel up the nose and into the brain.
Fifty years after Capt. August Julius Petersen left $65,000 in his will for Braintree to build a pool at Watson Park, the town celebrated on Sunday the opening of the Petersen Splash Pad, a mini water park with mist sprays, water fountains, spray guns and other fun features.
Fort Lauderdale appeals to family with affordable prices, a huge variety of attractions and pet-friendly accommodations.
And unlike Florida’s theme parks, the destination is a prime summer get-a-way with lodging and attractions that are not driven by theme-park demand, according to Joshua Winston, director of domestic sales for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“This is the best time of year for deals and affordability,” Winston said.
So far, so good.
That's how the General Manager of the Bangor State Fair Mike Dyer has described this weekend.
The GM said Saturday, which ended up being the first day of the fair, drew about 7,000 visitors. That's after the original opening day was rained out.
Michael Ramos was perched on the lower horizontal bar of the letter "F" of the "California" sign in front of the State Fair on Sunday.
"My cousins and I wanted to take a picture of us with a letter for each cousin," said the 18-year-old Elk Grove resident after security officers told him to get down.
Ramos was among thousands of visitors to the California State Fair on the final day of its run this year.
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is set to become home to two movie star dolphins, as Hollywood film crews plan to return this fall for a sequel to the hit family film "Dolphin Tale."
Gov. Rick Scott joined aquarium officials Friday to announce the anticipated follow-up to the 2011 film that's credited with nearly quadrupling attendance at this small waterside attraction and creating scores of film and tourism jobs.
"Dolpin Tale 2" will expand the story of Winter, a rescued dolphin that has learned to swim with a prosthetic tale, while introducing another dolphin rehabilitated by the aquarium, Hope.
Myrtle, a green sea turtle and undisputed queen of the New England Aquarium, has a new home along with some new neighbors. After 10 months and at a cost of nearly $18 million, the aquarium’s star exhibition, the Giant Ocean Tank has just reopened. When Myrtle was returned to her throne in early July, she joined more than 2,000 aquatic animals comprising nearly 140 different species—approximately three times the number of animals previously on display.
The new tank is 26 feet at its deepest point, 40 feet wide, and holds 200,000 gallons of water, kept at approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the perfect temperature for its biodiverse inhabitants. When it was first constructed in the late 1960s, the tank was so large that the rest of the aquarium had to be built around it.
The Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Oregon Coast Community College Foundation (OCCCF) has established a new partnership for the 13th annual Oyster Cloyster.
Under this new partnership, proceeds from the event will benefit both organizations equally.
Oyster Cloyster brings chefs and food enthusiasts together for a celebration of the oyster, an iconic symbol of the fishing and aquaculture industries in the region.
A local museum is making a big splash in the national spotlight.
The newest addition to the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium in West Palm Beach was featured on National Geographic's reality TV show "Fish Tank Kings". The show features the adventures of Fort Lauderdale based aquarium specialists "Living Color Aquariums" as they redesigned 14 massive fish tanks.
The aquarium was designed to take guests through a tour of Florida's marine ecosystems, with over 90 varieties of fish including sharks and seahorses.
Petty Harbour, the picture-perfect fishing village that was the setting for the movie Orca, now has another claim to fame: a new mini-aquarium featuring a rare blue lobster and a colourful array of ocean life.
It's a place where kids young and old can learn about the vast world under the waves. And it has given new purpose to a once bustling space in the Petty Harbour Fishermen's Co-op plant that went quiet after the moratorium on commercial cod fishing off much of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1992.
The Adler Planetarium is launching a $5 million fundraising campaign to renovate the Doane Observatory and expand its hours.
Renovation work on the Doane Observatory will include a new outdoor observation park and new programming, as well as improvements to the telescope, restroom and HVAC system, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
The fundraising campaign was announced this week during a Chicago Rotary Club luncheon by the museum’s president and CEO, Michelle Larson, Crain's reported. The effort is being led by the museum's board, which is chaired by John Estey, executive chairman of S&C Electric Co.
The trustees of the 72-year-old institution have formed an architectural committee, hired a consultant and are in the process of identifying an architect for a project that could potentially quadruple the museum’s exhibition space.
“It would, in one fell swoop, put us in a much higher league,” said Hugh Davies, the museum’s director. “It’s a league we have been playing at in terms of the quality of our publications and the quality of our exhibitions, as recognized by the Getty and everyone else. But we’ve never, ironically, had the opportunity to show our collection in all its depth and strength.”
The project — it could add approximately 30,000 square feet of exhibition space to the museum’s historic site overlooking the Pacific Ocean — would allow the museum to more effectively showcase its highly regarded permanent collection. It now totals approximately 4,700 pieces, with examples from the most of the important figures in art in North America since 1950.
AROUND THE GLOBE
20th Century Fox will open its first international theme park in Malaysia, in 2016, as a partnership with local property conglomerate Genting Malaysia.
The licensing deal with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products, will feature 25 rides and attractions at the park based on movies including “Ice Age,” “Life of Pi,” “Rio,” “Alien” and “Night at the Museum”.
The park is an upgrade of 25 acres of Resorts World Genting, the hilltop theme park and hotels destination that Genting has operated for the past 35 years at a site an hour outside Kuala Lumpur.
Amusement parks in Finland have seen plenty of fun-seekers of late. Gate figures for the traditional parks of Helsinki's Linnanmäki and Tampere's Särkänniemi are up.
Investment has made a difference. More variety of rides and activities have been a draw, while efforts to attract more corporate clients and tourists are also paying off. In addition, the strategy of installing free rides has helped boost attendance. At the Helsinki park, the number of vistors is up this year by around 10 percent over the same time last year.
Linnanmäki now has 11 free rides, but for an average family of four, a day at the amusement park is not cheap -- the tab can often run into the hundreds of euros.
Genting Malaysia Bhd hopes to recoup its RM400 million spending on its upcoming, full-fledged Twentieth Century Fox (Fox) outdoor theme park in Genting Highlands within five years of operations, beginning 2016. Its theme parks senior VP Thomas Ng told The Malaysian Reserve that the company does not foresee any problem in doing so.
“We are looking at hopefully (a return on investment of) no more than five years, for the amount that we (have) invested. Of course, the amount is still being worked out.
While the initial committed amount is RM400 million, we believe it (the investment) will be higher,” Ng said this on the sidelines after the signing ceremony on the new theme park between Fox and Genting Malaysia.
Peppa Pig is a children's TV phenomenon. Since airing on Channel Five in 2004 the show has grown in popularity and is now on television in 180 countries. So it is no surprise there is now a theme park based on Peppa Pig, her family and friends, writes Chris Smith
And not even torrential rain could dampen the spirits of my daughter on our visit, such is her love of all things Peppa.
Peppa Pig World opened in April although it is not a theme park in its own right; it is located in a three-acre corner of Paultons Park in New Forest, Hampshire.
This week news has reached us that The Walt Disney Company is, for the time being, shutting down all future projects in development for the parks after the opening of the Ratatouille ride. What could this mean for the future of the resort? In this article we will try to give an answer to this question by means of logical deduction.
The last announced expansion for Disneyland Paris is of course the Ratatouille dark ride, opening next summer. This high-tech, state-of-the-art attraction with trackless motion-base vehicles and larger-than-life 3D projections has been in development for a number of years. At the beginning of this year EuroDisney S.C.A. itself finally confirmed the rumours: the rat is coming.
But the projects Disneyland Paris has in development for after the opening of Ratatouille are a lot less fleshed out except for some very persistent rumours. News has reached us that The Walt Disney Company has stopped investments for future projects after Ratatouille, taking effect immediately.
Aspro Ocio Group, the operator in Europe with the highest number of parks and leisure centers, expects to increase its turnover to double in the next five years, as stated by its president, Juan Carlos Smith, in a press conference this Friday.
For this, the Spanish firm ponders the arrival to the Asian market, one that has "growth potential", but does not include the entry of new capital since Aspro Ocio is the largest European group financial capacity, according to Smith.
My daughter is almost two years old. I am still struggling to keep up with her amazing level of energy and her dedicated attention to playing.
It has been quite a task to keep her physically occupied. Considering the gloomy weather we have been experiencing lately, I am grateful for the existence of indoor playgrounds. Another good point to note is that they are available in most major shopping malls.
A BBC survey has found that more than two-thirds of the British public believe the $13.4 billion (£8.77 billion) cost of the London 2012 Olympics was worth the money.
The survey, carried out for the public broadcaster, also indicates that 74 percent of the U.K. population would "welcome the Games back to Britain."
The survey findings, published a year after the beginning of last year's games, aims to shed some light on whether the sporting event that became a televisual feast for the BBC, will leave a positive legacy.
Our listing of Ireland’s top visitor attractions was published this week with Guinness Storehouse topping the bill and retaining the top spot for a second year running. The iconic Dublin attraction grew its visitor numbers by almost 6% to 1,087,209 to hold on to top spot for the fee-charging attractions followed closely by Dublin Zoo (1,029,417). The National Gallery of Ireland continued its dominance of the free attractions listing – recording over 660,000 visitors last year.
The listing of top fee-charging attractions together with top free attractions can viewed here.
Jean Nouvel has won the competition to design the National Art Museum of China. The structure—to be designed in collaboration with Beijing Institute of Architecture Design (BIAD)—takes its cues from the fine strokes of calligraphy, according to the Financial Times.
Nouvel also told the newspaper that the museum will be based on a single brush stroke. “Pupils [of calligraphy] used to spend half a year just on that first line with a brush,” the French architect said in the interview. “That first line contains all of Chinese culture—painting, writing, and the energy of Chi.”
