Rumored Coasters and USA Park Plans for 2020
With the current thrill ride season already underway for many parks in the lower half of the US, it’s time to look ahead to next year. Quite a few places are receiving major developments, and in some cases those ‘developments’ are record-breaking coasters. Here’s what we know so far: • Hersheypark will get a brand-new B&M hyper (+200ft tall); • Mako (a 150ft dive coaste...[Read More]
Why Changing Rebel Yell’s Name is the Right Move
Last week Kings Dominion announced that it was going to rename one of its roller coasters from Rebel Yell to Racer 75. The ’75’ refers to 1975, the year that the ride opened. And of course ‘Racer’ refers to its ride design featuring two tracks where trains race each other throughout its hilly course. The name is also reminiscent of similar ride Racer at sister park Kings Is...[Read More]
Carowinds to Add New Kids Rides With Camp Snoopy
In 2018, Carowinds will be transforming Planet Snoopy to Camp Snoopy. Aside from a new theme, the childrens’ area will be getting six new kids rides and new amenities. Here’s a video providing an overview of the new rides and updated area: After Fury 325, Carowinds is Shifting Their Focus to Families After making a huge splash with a mammoth roller coaster in 2015 thanks to Fury 325 (r...[Read More]
SeaWorld Parks Are Teasing Something New
SeaWorld is teasing something new with these three posters. Each likely represents one of their parks, which are SeaWorld San Antonio, SeaWorld Orlando, and SeaWorld San Diego. They also reference three websites which are digital versions of the teasers: Oceanradiance1.com Oceanradiance2.com Oceanradiance3.com SeaWorld is obviously promoting new attractions, but I’m not sure if they’re...[Read More]
Man Dies After Being Hit by Roller Coaster at Cedar Point
On Thursday evening a man died after he was struck by a roller coaster at Cedar Point. After riding the Raptor, James Young, jumped over a fence to retrieve his cell phone. Here are details from the park and police, via CNN: Young, a 45-year-old special-education teacher, had been at the park with friends when he hopped on the Raptor around 5 p.m., Sandusky Assistant Police Chief Phil Frost told r...[Read More]
Kentucky Kingdom Announces Storm Chaser, New RMC Roller Coaster
Kentucky Kingdom’s rebirth rolls on with yesterday’s announcement of their 2016 roller coaster, Storm Chaser. The Rocky Mountain Construction roller coaster will use the steel supports left by the defunct Twisted Twins dueling woodie. It’ll be just a bit on the small side for an RMC coaster (2,744 feet long, 100 feet tall), but will have a lineup of exciting elements. The most no...[Read More]
Poll: Should the American Dream Miami Mall & Theme Park Be Built?
Last week, plans for a multi-million dollar mall and indoor theme park complex were released. The developer, which owns the Mall of America and the West Edmonton Mall, announced plans to build American Dream Miami, a 200-acre mall and theme park in northwest Miami-Dade. The project, touted as one of the largest malls in the world. – South Florida Business Journal A Ski Slope in South Florida...[Read More]
The Latest on Houston’s Grand Texas Theme Park
Maybe I ‘m a bit jaded after covering proposed parks over the years that never came to be, but it looks like the Grand Texas Theme Park project might be the real deal. The Houston-area theme park is scheduled to open in New Caney, Texas in the summer of 2015. AstroWorld’s Greezed Lightning Will Not Be Returning to Houston Recent updates include news that AstroWorld’s Schwarzkopf ...[Read More]
Valleyfair Adding Route 76 – A New Area & Family Ride
Valleyfair will be opening a new family area in 2014 called Route 76. It will be located near Steel Venom and it will incorporate a relocated rides like an Antique Autos car ride, Tilt-a-Whirl, and Scrambler. The signature ride of the area will be a new family ride called Northern Lights. Similar to Cedar Point’s Pipe Scream that was announced a few weeks ago, Northern Lights is a Zamperla f...[Read More]
2013 Theme Park Year in Review
Here’s a wrap up of 2013 including the state of roller coasters and some of the biggest news stories of the year. The Year of the Wooden Coaster Comeback If 2012 was the year of the wing roller coasters, then 2013 was definitely the year that wooden roller coasters made a comeback. We saw genre-bending roller coasters with wooden coaster characteristics, but elements like loops and other inv...[Read More]
Silver Dollar City's Old Time Christmas Event
When I interviewed Brad Thomas, he shared that nobody does Christmas like Silver Dollar City. Apparently, with over 5 million lights (350 miles worth!) he wasn’t kidding. Here’s an excerpt from a press release about Silver Dollar City’s An Old Time Christmas: One of the nation’s most acclaimed Christmas festivals, Silver Dollar City’s An Old Time Christmas presents tw...[Read More]
TPS Report – The Smiler Accident, The Bat, & More News
Theme Park News Update – Late October/Early November I’ve been away from the blog for quite some time. So, I thought that I’d share some of the biggest news stories of the past couple of weeks. In a good old TPS Report (TPS = Theme Park Syndicate), here’s what’s been happening in the theme park world: Accident on The Smiler: Riders Hit By Debris (Guide Wheels) In what...[Read More]