Real Rides & Roller Coasters of Katy Perry’s Chained to the Rhythm
This week pop star Katy Perry released the music video for her new single, “Chained to the Rhythm” featuring Skip Marley. It features a 1950’s-inspired futuristic theme park and some great special effects. The video merges real rides, completely fictional rides, and real rides with some out of this world, physics-bending features. In the video, Perry brings some deep topics to a ...[Read More]
Riders Stuck on Rip Ride Rockit
Earlier this week, 12 riders were stuck on Universal Studio’s Rip Ride Rockit. The train had stopped near the top of the ride’s 90-degree vertical lift some 150 feet in the air. Firefighters rescued the riders nearly 3 hours after the incident began. Here’s a news story including the 911 call:video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player There are no details on the ac...[Read More]
Hobbit-Themed Area Could be Coming to Islands of Adventure
I came across an interesting rumor on Screamscape recently. Apparently there may be plans for a Hobbit-themed area at Islands of Adventure. And according to this article, Universal even used the success of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to convince the Tolkiens that they could create a successful project that’s true to the source material. Could Harry + Hobbits = Too Much Fantasy? I had...[Read More]
Harry Potter & The Forbidden Journey Review
On my recent trip to Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure, my family’s focus was on Seuss Landing. My oldest daughter is a Dr. Seuss fan and loves The Cat in the Hat TV show. We enjoyed rides like the Caro-Seuss-el, One-Fish, Two-Fish, and of course The Cat in the Hat dark ride. As our evening at the park was coming to an end, we made our way to the impressively-themed Wizarding Wo...[Read More]
Featured Photo #22 – Coaster People
Recently, I was asked about the highlights of my 5 years of blogging. Getting to talk to the people behind our favorite theme parks and roller coasters has to be one of the biggest thrills of this adventure. Back in 2009, I had the opportunity to speak with Louis Alfieri who was one of the designers behind Rip Ride Rockit. It was unbelievably cool to hear specifics behind the design process of a n...[Read More]
Top 3 States for Roller Coasters
In a potentially controversial edition of Top 3 Thursdays, I’m going to share my Top 3 States for Roller Coasters. Instead of a top three ranking, I’m going to list the the three states and explain why. Here’s the list in no particular order: Pennsylvania – Quantity, Variety, & History Pennsylvania is the roller coaster mecca in my opinion. There’s a lot of histor...[Read More]
Top 3 Amusement Park Resorts
This Thursday I’m going to take a look at the best amusement park resorts in the U.S. I’ve been to quite a few parks over the years, but I’ve only stayed a one resort; Walt Disney World when I was 8. So, how could I do a top 3 list? I can’t, but the travel experts over at the Hospitality Management Schools Blog can. They recently sent me their list of the 10 Best Amusement ...[Read More]
Top 10 New Roller Coasters for 2010 Part 1
With the start of the 2010 roller coaster season underway, it’s time for my annual top picks for the best new roller coasters. This year was tougher than usual as there weren’t many new coasters opening in the States. Also, there were a few attractions with very little information for me to go on. After much deliberation and repositioning here’s Part 1 of my Top 10 New Roller Coa...[Read More]
Theme Park Travel Odyssey 2009 Edition
2009 Theme Park Travel Odyssey Time to recap my 2009 theme park trips. This was a busy year with a number of interviews, media days, and fun theme park trips. I’m even going to include a lost trip that I don’t think I’ve referenced on the blog. From the warm tropic atmosphere of Orlando to the mean streets of Manhattan, my travels took me to 10 theme parks. But, it all started ba...[Read More]
Rip Ride Rockit vs Time Machine | Roller Coaster Showdown
Who Wins in a Battle of the Rocking-est Roller Coasters? Roller coasters have been incorporating music and on-board speakers for some time now. But two roller coasters that opened this year have taken the riding and rocking theme to new heights. The Time Machine (formerly Led Zeppelin – The Ride) was revamped by the new owners of Freestyle Music Park. The B&M looping roller coaster featu...[Read More]
The Disney-Marvel Purchase & Islands of Adventure
Will Spidey Be Climbing Disney’s Castle? Are the Heroes Leaving IOA? File this one under: “No one saw it coming”. Yesterday, Disney announced that they were planning to buy Marvel for $4 billion. In case you’re not into comics or haven’t been in a theater for the last decade or so, the Marvel brand includes popular super heroes like: Spider-Man, the X-Men, Wolverine, ...[Read More]
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Finally Ready to Rock
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Open – Video & Early Reviews Last weekend, Universal Studios Orlando began a soft opening period for their delayed Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. With the ride’s uniqueness and many state-of-the-art features it’s no surprise that it took a little longer to get everything just right. Then on August 19th, the park sent out a press release stating that the ...[Read More]