This new video of Blue Fire at Europa Park testing has been posted on YouTube by EPFans.info. The ride is said to be testing at slower speeds right now, so that's why the ride looks sluggish at this point.
Pretty cool though! It's a lot like Maverick at Cedar Point I guess.
© 2009 Don Helbig / Kings Island
Disneyland has announced that their "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln" show will return to the park's Opera House on Main Street in late 2009.
The Disneyland classic was retired in 2004 when the Opera House started being home to the "Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years" exhibit.
It's being reported that the show will be different than previous incarnations when it reopens this year.
Read more from the Funland Blog.
Each year Cedar Fair parks produce a nice calendar poster that fans of the parks usually love to try to get their hands on. Typically, this ends up with people trying to obtain them on things like EBay.
This year, a couple of parks have put a digital copy of these posters on their websites for fans to download. What a wonderful idea!
Above we see Cedar Point's which awesomely celebrates Magnum's 20th birthday.
Valleyfair also has one available for download as well.
Capital Nine News has a cool video up of the 'topping off' of Sasquatch, The Great Escape's new thrill ride for the 2009 season.
You can watch the video through this link. The thrill ride is an launch and freefall tower that stands 192 ft. tall.
The ride was relocated from the still closed Six Flags New Orleans.
Here is the last part of our Photo Tour of Hard Rock Park. We'll start with the USA themed section of the park.
Many thanks again to Carol and Scott for all the photos!
Universal Orlando has released a new concept art image for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - this time a retail location.
Labeled as Dervish And Banges, the store will be located within the village of Hogsmeade at the Islands of Adventure theme park. According to Harry Potter lore, this store sells and repairs magical equipment.
That catch phrase under the Kennywood logo can't possibly be sitting all that well with Mary Lou Rosemeyer, who after 22 years with Kennywood - most recently as the Director of Public Relations - is having her job "phased out."
Mary Lou is an industry personality known by many for her dedication to the promotion of all things Kennywood, and even more so for her wonderful personality.
It's a shame that Parques Reunidos would let an individual like this go.
Oh boy... Y'all are going to have to bear with me this week. It is with great shame that I must admit this half German girl does not speak a lick of German!! Luckily, Erlebnispark Tripsdrill--or simply "Tripsdrill", since that's the part I can pronounce--is picturesque to the point that words are hardly necessary. Let's feast our eyes, shall we?
"Distinguished!" Really? That's an odd way to kick off a brochure! But let's not lose sight of the point: Tripsdrill is home to over 100 attractions, and they have spared no theming on any of them. Take this inventive tower ride, for instance. Doppelter Donnerbalken (which translates to something like "double thunder bars") is not only beautifully themed, but I hear it packs quite a surprise for the unsuspecting park guest!
"As to be never arisen." Huh? Something definitely got lost in translation there!
Well if you have a shoe fetish, Flotten Schlappen-Tour should be right up your alley. Another interesting attraction at Tripsdrill is Fensterln am Bauernhaus (lower right-hand corner). If you dare to climb its ladders, you will be rewarded with a greeting from one of the interesting characters who live inside.
Highspeed! Finally, a word I recognize! (Never mind the fact that it should be two words. We'll let this one slide, pun intended.)
You can't tell from this photo, but Badewannen-Fahrt zum Jungbrunnen (Tripsdrill's log flume) actually has boats which were made to resemble bathtubs. How grotesquely charming!! This half-dark ride, half-log flume also boasts some highly unusual theming, but that is a whole other topic. Also of note is G'sengte Sau, the park's Gerstlauer bobsled coaster, though this particular photo does not do justice to its wonderful theming.
Oh my goodness... I am not even going to tell you the translation that Babel Fish gave me for this heading, but suffice it to say that it was NOT appropriate for the respectable little family friendly blog we've got going here!! (I know you're all dying of curiosity now, so go ahead and look it up for yourselves. I'll wait.)
Forgive me, I'm still laughing! But seriously: Here are some rides which would appeal to the smaller set. Tripsdrill also features a petting zoo, which is always a win with the kiddos.
I've grown weary of translating, so I'll let you read through Tripsdrill's pricing structure for yourselves. According to the park's web site, admission also includes a voucher for a free souvenir glass. I wonder if that was also the case back in '05?
"Well, how they find us?" Close enough! Here are your detailed directions. I must say, after studying this brochure and doing a bit of research, I am dying to visit Tripsdrill! The value of good theming cannot be underestimated, and they have it down pat. I reckon Tripsdrill could give the Busch or Disney parks a run for their money in that department.
Cypress Gardens has finally made an announcement about the future of the classic Florida park. They've announced that when they reopen Bill Sims will be the park operations director, he formerly worked at the park with the original founder of Cypress Gardens.
The gardens and water park will be split into two entities. They will be known as Cypress Gardens and Splash Island Water Park. Final ticket prices have not been set, but are expected to be less than the ticket price that was charged for the property previously.
You can read more here.
© 2009 Don Helbig / Kings Island
Kings Island how has an official blog named Kings Island Insider. The more parks with official blogs the better! Obviously we here at NewsPlusNotes are fans of blogs...
Next, one of our readers Andrew was kind enough to send in some photos they took at this past weekend's ACE Winter SOAR event held at the park.
Looks cold!
Here's a great shot of two of Diamondback's trains. Notice the fangs! How awesome.
The helix before the splashdown near the end of the ride. Talk about being over a midway - this will add so much energy to the area come Spring.
The area is still under construction though, lots of midway improvements to make due to Diamondback.
What I'm guessing is the entrance and queue area for the ride.
Thanks Andrew!
© 2009 OrlandoRocks.com
Carowinds has uploaded some really recent shots of the Carolina Cobra to their Facebook page. It must be really great for the park to have a major project nearly completed with so much time left before the season opening.
I know the trains still need to be tested, but the ride and ride area looks ready to go! It looks like the Flying Saturator was never there. But speaking of the trains...
They also have a gallery of the new trains for the ride that recently arrived. Above we get our first peek at the new restraints.
More photos on their Facebook page.
The Journal Sentinel has a very interesting article today about the new trend of the big indoor and outdoor water parks located in the popular Wisconsin Dells resort area moving toward offering dry rides and attractions to keep guests visiting longer.
The area has become so saturated - pun intended - with water parks and water attractions that they are now diversifying through dry rides.
Mount Olympus started the trend back in 2006 when they opened an indoor theme park, and now many others are following suit.
This past December the Kalahari Indoor Theme Park opened and now offers guests a selection of rides and activities to take part in - all indoors.
The article also points out that Noah's Arc - a huge and popular water park in the Dells is also renovating their indoor attraction called Noah's Incredible Adventure into Curse of the Crypt to appeal to guests seeking dry attractions.
Wet'n'Wild Emerald Pointe has announced a new water slide attraction for the 2009 season: Dr. VonDark's Tunnel of Terror.
According to the press description, "Dr. Von Dark's Tunnel of Terror features a 40-foot drop, back-to-back vertical drops and two 360-spins done in total darkness."
The ride is a Proslide Tantrum attraction, which basically is a family water slide that features smaller Tornado style funnels along the way.
The park's official website has some information to check out as well.
Up next in Scott & Carol's photo tour of Hard Rock Park during it's opening season we cross the ocean and head over to the British Invasion section of the park.
Easily one of the most talked about rides at the park before it opened was Nights In White Satin - The Trip. A totally unique and certainly one of a kind dark ride themed to the Moody Blues song of the same name.
Sally Corporation created the dark ride for the park, and I recommend checking out this link to Sally's page for their work to learn more.
Next time, in our last part, we'll check out the remaining two themed lands of Hard Rock Park.
Are you free on March 21st? Big Bird wants to know if you can make it to his birthday party!
It’s Big Bird’s birthday on March 20 and Sesame Place is giving the yellow fellow a special party on Saturday, March 21 at the theme park. With some of his favorite foods and festive decorations, Big Bird will celebrate with all of his friends to make this bash the best!
The party begins at 2 p.m. where everyone can enjoy pizza, French fries, and more. Then, Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Zoe will lead the guests in a sing-a-long version of “Happy Birthday” to Big Bird. Of course, birthday cake and ice cream will be served to everyone and all guests will receive a special party favor to remember Big Bird’s big day. Adults may dine for $15 and children for $12.
I think it's pretty cool that Sesame Place is thinking outside the box and having an event like this during the off season.
In our second part of our Hard Rock Park photo tour, kindly provided by Scott and Carol, we're going to look at the Rock & Roll Heaven section of the park.
A new website devoted to Universal Studios Florida's new coaster, Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit has been launched.
While there you can check out official information on the ride, play games, and check out a new construction blog the park has.
They've tried in the past with no success, but Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom has finally received an updating zoning plan for its property located in South Whitehall Township, PA.
The previous zoning plan for the property included many different sections with varying heights for allowable rides. The new plan has two regions, the standard region and restricted region. According to today's Morning Call article, "The standard region, which is most of the park, will be open to rides up to a mean sea level elevation of 540 feet. From ground level, the maximum height of a ride could range from 160 to 230 feet. The restricted area is along the eastern boundary of the park and will allow rides up to 30 feet tall."
Apparently the park also has the ok to add three more tall rides to the park, at that point forward taller rides can only be added if others are retired from the park.
This will allow the park a much smoother approval process for new attractions, and allow them a better level of secrecy when developing new rides.
Really soon. Six Flags Over Georgia will open for the 2009 season on February 28th, a week from tomorrow. That marks the earliest opening in the park's history and will make the park have the longest operating season on record, as well.
The park has also slashed the price of a season pass down to $49.99 - which is a seriously good deal. Many park's regular one day admission price is more than that!
The park has also uploaded some construction photos of the new attraction of the year, Monster Mansion (slated to open in May) on the park's website, found here.
Done with the major structural bents, at least. But the rest of the ride looks pretty darn far along as well, the station has had a ton of work put into it, the ride photo building is almost done, and the transfer shed has a roof and looks ready to keep the trains protected.
Be sure to check out the frequently updated official photos and webcam.
With the sale of Hard Rock Park now official and plans to reopen underway, now seems like a fair time to look back at the park during it's first season of operation. Especially since the park will probably see a slew of changes when it reopens this summer.
Scott and Carol had the opportunity to visit the park this past year were able to get some really great shots of the park. We'll start our look back at the park today with this first set.
I like to say we have to start at the start - and with that let's first look at the park's entry land - the All Access Entry Plaza.
The entrance plaza for the park, which in a layout design sense is reminiscent of Island's of Adventure's Port of Entry, features this beautiful decorative gates at the park's entrance. Talk about a photo op! Actually, Hard Rock Park is full of plenty of great little spots for interesting photos.
Here's the car that Scott & Carol took to the park. Okay, no, that's not true - but it's pretty neat, eh?
Don't worry though, ride fans, the next segment of the tour starts the scream machines!
© 2009 Holiday World
© 2009 Holiday World
Some of these items would have had a full post but because of the volume of news items I'm going to condense into a Daily Spin. Let's go.
Valleyfair has posted some new photos of the park's new wave pool for the 2009 season, Breakers Bay. They also have photos of the other amenities being built for the park's Soak City water park. You can see those on the park's webpage.
Hard Rock Park is having tons of news come out now that a sale is expected today. This article talks with the new operators about how the park wants to keep the Hard Rock name, and lower admission and season pass prices. This one talks about how the park will honor last year's season passes, and wants to focus on adding three or four children's rides to the park along with keeping the big rides consistently operating.
The Disney Parks have unfortunately had to give in to our rough economic times and yesterday announced a new round of layoffs as well as some serious plans to combine many back-office jobs for all the U.S. theme parks. Imagineering will be affected as well - it really doesn't seem like there's any good to report from this one sadly.
A new logo and blog have been announced for Schlitterbahn Vacation Village, a massive water park and resort development in Kansas City, Kansas. Easily one of the largest amusement related projects slated for this year, the resort promises all the latest in water park fun combined with great shopping, dining, and resort hotels.
The next step in Six Flags New England and Six Flags Great Adventure's viral campaign for their coaster makeovers has rolled out - you can visit LexCorp security and play around to discover some new information about the rides!
Heading far off from North American soil we land in Sweden and check out the fast construction of Insane, a new Intamin '4th Dimension' coaster. After the first couple being built last year, Insane at Grona Lund will be the biggest version of this type of ride.
Since Mike has treated you to a flurry of 2009 brochures over the past couple weeks, I am going to kick it old school and take you BACK a decade or two! Now for the record, this is another one of those brochures whose year of publication is nowhere to be found. A little birdie--a very reliable one!--told me it's from the early '90s. But being the maniacal park history buff that I am, I couldn't resist the urge to dig a little deeper in an attempt to nail down an exact year. My conclusion? It's a toss-up between 1991 and 1992, but I am leaning toward the latter.
These days, Waldameer is synonymous with Ravine Flyer II. But let me assure you that there have always been plenty of reasons to visit this park. Featured on the cover of this brochure is the park's veteran woodie, Comet.
Waldameer is a veritable treasure trove of classic rides. A few of the rides pictured here, such as the Old Mill, now exist only in memories. But others, including the Whacky Shack and Pirate's Cove, can still be enjoyed at the park today.
One ride which is not featured in this particular brochure--thus casting doubt on my year calculation--is the Sea Dragon, which debuted at Waldameer in 1992. Normally I would expect a park brochure to be advertising the heck out of any new ride scheduled to open that year; but then again, it was a simpler time and Waldameer was a simpler park.
The late '80s and early '90s saw a tremendous amount of funds being allocated to the expansion of Water World. In fact, it is this very spread which led me to the conclusion that this brochure must have been published in 1992. Per the ProSlide web site, Water World's Bermuda Triangle slide complex (lower left-hand corner) was installed in 1991. So it stands to reason that the park would not have photos of this attraction prior to its opening!!
The 1992 season was pivotal for Waldameer, as it marked the beginning of a 10-year expansion plan which introduced many of the rides we've come to know and love. But Waldameer's expansion certainly did not end in 2002! The park will welcome a Mega Disk'O in 2009, and they plan to give YOU an opportunity to help name it. For more details on this upcoming contest (not to mention some wicked cool off-season photos and a plethora of fun park facts), be sure to follow the Waldablog!
The first of Diamondback at Kings Island's trains has slithered onto the track! No clear shots of the cool decorative front piece but it's awesome to get our first glimpse of them!
More photos can be seen on the ride's official page.
So who exactly is this FPI MB Entertainment company that just purchased Hard Rock Park? Good question. The new owners put out a press release as a little getting-to-know-you type of deal which helps answer this query.
"FPI MBE investors responsible for purchasing the park are: Roundbox Advisors; Freestyle Park International, a division of MT Development; Baker Leisure Group; Thomas M. Hiles of Wilmington, N.C.; and D. Tim Duncan of Myrtle Beach, S.C. Hiles and Duncan were two of the founding members of the original Hard Rock Park and Duncan served on the board of directors of the park."
MT Development is a real estate developer out of Russia. They seem pretty big from their website.
Another highlight is Baker Leisure Group, which is a long standing theme park and entertainment owner, operator, and consultant. Oddly enough they've actually worked for Hard Rock to find new locations for restaurants over the years. Here's a .pdf of their resume.
The release also states the park is still tentatively planned to reopen Memorial Day. I wish the best for them!
Quassy Amusement Park, in Connecticut, has approached their local planning and zoning officials about adding three new rides to the classic amusement park.
The additions would include a wooden roller coaster for 2010, a drop ride for 2011, and a new waterslide for 2012.
Edit: And just like the bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Hard Rock Park to FPI MB Entertainment for $25 million. The sale should close by Thursday. The judge told the latest bidder they were a little too late with their offer and overruled their objection to the sale. FPI MB wants to keep the name Hard Rock Park as well. Read the breakdown of events at this link.
I have a feeling Hard Rock Park is going to be a daily news item now that the bidding for the sale of the park is at it's peak, of sorts.
Regardless, news has now broke that a third party has express serious interest in obtaining the failed theme park.
A group called Coastal Entertainment LLC has filed an objection to the sale of the park to FPI MB Entertainment - also it looks as though Hard Rock has made it clear they do not want the ability to use the Hard Rock name transferred with the sale either.
The new group also contends that the quick sale to FPI is not in the park's best interest - but that fails to recognize that in order to get the park back open this summer things must move very fast.
I have a feeling this will play out sorta like a daytime soap, so we'll see.
© 2009 SFNEOnline.com
© Paul Holzschuher / KIExtreme.com
© 2009 RCPRo.com
Here is the last of the new Cedar Fair brochures that I have: Worlds of Fun. Obviously the big deal at the park this summer will be Prowler.
I love that they are celebrating Timber Wolf's 20th anniversary! 
The park offers a lot for guests, although unlike most parks these days the water park is not included with admission to the theme park.
Worlds of Fun does offer a resort side with the Worlds of Fun Village where guests can stay overnight right next to the park. And we can't forget the ever popular Haunt - Worlds of Fun has worked very hard to expand this event in recent years.
The park also offers some special events throughout the season which is always a nice touch - especially these days where everyone is looking for more bang for their buck.
© 2009 bradleyhart
In the midst of the negative headlines that have been gracing front pages all across America lately, Quassy Amusement Park is sending its loyal fans and potential new visitors an entirely different message: Bad economy be darned! "Affordable Family Fun" is here to stay.
The park has responded to the economic crisis which has swept the nation by announcing that they will not be raising ticket prices for the 2009 season. This is a very generous decision given the fact that the park will not be getting the same "break" on its operational costs, which continue to rise.
But wait, there's more! In an unprecedented move, the park has announced that it will feature three world-class performing troupes this summer, with the potential of a fourth act being booked for early summer. Park co-owner George Frantzis II stated, "Many parks are cutting back on their live entertainment, if not doing away with it altogether. It would have been easy for us to have gone down the same path, but instead we are putting our best foot forward and making a statement to the communities that have supported us throughout the years." Quassy's Vacation Village Resorts Lakeside Theatre stage will welcome the following acts on a rotating basis in 2009:
Sometimes in the middle of winter, you just have to leave the snow shovel alone and think of summer. Looking forward to times when you want to be cooler and you have to mow instead of shovel. In Indiana no one is ever very far from some type of motorsport venue. To help raise every ones spirits, the Indiana State Museum invited both children and adults to the “Gathering Before the Green Flag” celebration the last full weekend in January. 
Host Mike King gathered everyone around the staircase where a singing group did a traditional prerace tribute to America and every driver participating waved their green flag . Hearing Mike over the P.A. made many in attendance wish it were May. While the weather outside was frightful, the wheels were so delightful. They were everywhere on all three levels of the museum. Over seventy wheeled vehicles were expected. Trackside, a radio show from !070trhefan.com hosted by Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee recorded a special show at the museum, and they attracted some interested observers during their session.
And there weren’t just wheeled vehicle. Two racing boats, both large and small were there. You needed your coat to examine the Unlimited Hydroplane, Miss Madison, sponsored by Oberto Beef Jerky, but it was worth the chill. The other one was a small racing boat for children to begin their careers. Unlike other parts of the US, going fast is an Indiana tradition, which is why many consider it the motor racing capital of the world. There is even a Hoosier Auto Racing Fans fan club which works with various tracks by hosting special events during the racing season. It is one of the oldest racing fan clubs
The motorsport tradition in Indiana is a family one, and it goes far beyond mom and the kids watching dad play. Many female drivers participate throughout the state and there are special classifications for children as young as five to get started racing against other children.
Using engines barely bigger than ones on a weed whacker, these tiny carts offer opportunities for everyone to be just Sarah or Tony. The “Gathering before the Green Flag” event brought representatives from almost all the racing organizations together by encouraging everyone to talk with drivers, get autographs, and even sit in the cars.
No other state has the variety of motorsport events hosted by the Hoosier state. The fastest boats, the fastest cars, the fastest motorcycles, you can see them all run somewhere in Indiana. During the museum event, you could even sit in lots of them. Sprint cars, dragsters, stock cars, and motorcycles were everywhere.
Some of the old classic roadsters that raced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before most of the attendees were born graced the displays, but those were purely for looking, but not touching. Many people don’t realize that many of the old roadsters that sped around Indianapolis Motor Speedway also raced on dirt tracks all over the Hoosier state. They were all represented at the museum. IMS is the only venue in the world to have events for IRL/Cart, Formula One, NASCAR, and MOTO GP.
Indiana State University and Indiana-Purdue University at Indianapolis both offer motorsport majors for the college bound. IUPUI is affiliated with Sarah Fisher Racing and ISU has a Top Fuel racing team. They brought their dragster to the event along with racing tree simulation game for attendees to test their reaction times. It was interesting to hear one of the attendees who was discussing his career options with the ISU student being told that due to the economic conditions he was also pursuing getting a CDL to latch on with a team in that way for a starting position. Speaking of dragsters, a junior dragster was also available, to be tried on for size. More than one parent was subjected to the trembling lip of a mute appeal while they sat there. Being able to talk to participants gave parents a less pressured opportunity to gain background information on potential participation.
A full size stock car invited comparisons to some of the smaller classes. Many of the reduced size models also feature reduced size engines for safety’s sake but they feature the same style as their larger brethren. Many of the large tracks also have smaller circuits suitable for these vehicles and run events on the same weekends. It is not unusual for the trailers hauling the cars to have more than one class of participant vehicle inside at these events. A mini Indy speedway track has been built at the Indiana State Fairgrounds to host events.
One of the popular classes doesn’t have an engine at all. The Soapbox Derby or Gravity Drag class features downhill racing with the emphasis on the drivers also participating in building their car. Recently another option has been offered, the Challenger division. Cars with dual steering setups allow more widespread participation. Professional drivers ride behind the participants and have brakes for safety’s sake but they are only there to prevent dangerous situations, they don’t correct the kids driving mistakes. After the races the drivers hang around a little to sign autographs and pose for photos giving all the participants some very precious memories.
Back at the museum, racing fans could interact with some of the insiders, like Donald Davidson and Bob Jenkins. Dan Wheldon’s 2009 pit crew was on hand to answer questions and sign autographs. Ron McQueeney from Indianapolis Motor Speedway gave a presentation about photographing out at the track. He supervises a collection of several million images that date back a hundred years as this is the speedway’s centennial celebration season. Donald Davidson gave a lecture on the history or the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The track has traveled a full circle, with motorcycles returning to the track back in 2008. One of the finer points of Pole Day is seeing what cars the museum chooses to display during the day in the plaza.
The Indy Racing League cutaway car that you see on race broadcasts was there, and the attendees could ask questions of the people in the booth. Whether they had heard the questions seventeen times that morning or not, they patiently explained how things worked and pointed out some of the more interesting things on the car. If you look closely, you could discern subtle differences in the evolution of the chassis.
More racing fans waited patiently to have there motorsport memorabilia appraised. Helmets, fire suits, and assorted other items were examined by professionals is sort of a “antique road show on wheels.” No cameras or stardoms, just a good idea of how much to insure any personal items, if they can be replaced. Just outside the door a beautiful display of unique racing art filled the alcove. Open wheel cars of various eras were pictured in many road settings to stimulate memories of many classic races of year gone by.
So there you have it. Lots of racing excitement with nary a rotating wheel. Cold on the first day and over an inch of snow on the second, nothing can top racing in Indiana. With some of the tracks holding test and tune days in April, exhaust thunder on weekends will return shortly. And the family racing tradition of Indiana will rekindle another generation on those warm summer nights.
Scheduled to open this June, Schlitterbahn Vacation Village in Kansas City, KS, has been making some serious construction progress lately.
The 360 acre, $750 million development will have a full indoor and outdoor water park, but will feature much more than just that. Several types of overnight accommodations will be featured, along with the Riverwalk section of retail and dining establishments.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is on track for opening their new Sesame Street Forest of Fun area this spring. The park has sent out some photos of the new park section under construction as well.
"Construction crews have been pouring cement, raising rafters and making way for the area's new rides and attractions since August 2008. A crew of artists in Florida have been building and painting the elements that will theme the new area."
The new section will feature "four new rides will offering kid-sized versions of popular attractions, including a junior roller coaster designed for parents and children to ride together. The kid-zone also will feature wet and dry playgrounds, a photography studio with Sesame Street's characters and live stage performances."
Here we see Oscar's Whirly Worms, a flat ride that the entire family can enjoy together.
This is the station structure going up for Grover's Alpine Express, a family roller coaster. The ride is a custom designed Zierer family coaster.
And here's a general view of the new area being worked on, the building in the background is Abby Cadabby's Treasure Trove, the sections new gift shop.
Cedar Fair released their full 2008 financials yesterday, press release here, and then had a conference call to discuss the details, transcript found here.
Here is a copy of Michigan's Adventure's 2009 brochure for your reading pleasure.
Rumors of a 'connected' park via a new midway have proven false, at least for 2009. Perhaps it was planned, then pushed back to 2010 or so. Regardless, the brochure does not hint at much new for the upcoming summer.
Michigan's Adventure's brochure has been pretty darn general the last couple years, and this year has not strayed away from that.
The park does offer a very full water park as part of admission, and Cedar Fair has added to the ride side as well since purchasing the park. New last year was Thunderhawk, the moved Vekoma SLC inverted coaster from Geauga lake.
And as usual for this year, not much detailed info on hours and prices on the back!
It now looks like contracts have been signed and Star Trek The Experience will be moving to the Neonopolis Mall this spring in downtown Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Sun reports that a contract has been signed with CBS to move the attraction in time for it to be partially open when the latest movie in the Star Trek franchise releases in May.
I wouldn't be too excited to get in line to take a trip on the Kingon Encounter or Borg Invasion, though - the article points out that what will most likely be ready come May will be the museum, food, and retail side of things.
The two attractions would then come online sometime in the next year.
It's still nice to see a well themed attraction get a second lease on life, anyway.
NewPlusNotes is pleased to bring you an exclusive interview with Barry Kumpf, General Manager of Lakemont Park in Altoona, PA. Barry was kind enough to let us pick his brain on everything from the aftermath of Boyertown to the amount of work required to maintain the world's oldest roller coaster. Let's hear what he had to say!
NPN: Tell us about your personal history with Lakemont Park and how you came to be General Manager of the park.
Barry: It was 1994. The owner of Lakemont Park, Ralph J. Albarano, Jr., had decided that he needed a new General Manager. At the time, I did not know Mr. Albarano, nor had I ever been involved in the amusement industry. Mr. Albarano telephoned a mutual friend who is the director of a local YMCA and asked him if he would be interested in being the General Manager at Lakemont Park. This mutual friend told Mr. Albarano that he was not interested, but that he was aware of someone that was looking to make a career change and that this person would do him a very good job. That was me! The rest is history. I met Mr. Albarano in his office for an interview, he called me a week later and asked that I meet him at the park and he offered me the opportunity. I accepted. He met me at the park on June 20, 1994, handed me a set of keys, shook my hand and said, "Good Luck!"
NPN: Despite its brevity, the "Boyertown USA" era brought some profound negative changes to Lakemont. Among other things, many people have lamented the loss of trees and landscaping which occurred during that period. Now that twenty years have passed since the demise of Boyertown, how far has the park come in recovering from this "damage"?
Barry: I am asked about the trees more times every year than the Disney staff is asked, "What time does the 3 o'clock parade start?" While it is true that the Boyertown era brought with it the loss of many beautiful trees at Lakemont Park, we have planted nearly 200 trees since my arrival and some of the ones that we planted in the early to mid-1990s are now over 20 feet tall. Soon, these trees will completely shade the main walkway coming into the park. The other thing that Boyertown did that was positive is that they put all new plumbing in the park and removed all of the overhead electricity and telephone lines and put them underground.
NPN: Blair County Ballpark [home of the Altoona Curve] has been your next-door neighbor for nearly ten years now. How has the presence of a minor league baseball team affected Lakemont's business and attendance?
Barry: There is no question that Blair County Ballpark and the Altoona Curve have become a great asset to the quality of life in the Altoona/Blair County marketplace. As far as its effect on the park, it actually "cuts both ways". On the negative side, we know that we have lost some group business to the ballpark. On the positive side, we know that we have visitors to the amusement park that we would not otherwise have, if they had not "built a day" around both the amusement park and the ballpark.
NPN: While other parks' admission prices continue to skyrocket, guests can still enjoy everything that Lakemont Park and the Island Waterpark have to offer for less than $10 a day, or even as little as $3 if they visit on a Wednesday. How do you manage to keep your prices so low?
Barry: We prefer to say "Family Affordable". You have to know your market. There is a reason that there is Wal-Mart and Neiman Marcus. A $39.99 or $49.99 per person amusement park would simply not work in our marketplace, even with the most elaborate of today's attractions. When we started "Dollar Day" many years ago, we offered the program on one Wednesday per month. During those years, our average guest count for that one Wednesday per month was 9100. There were one and two hour waits to ride some of the rides. That simply is not the product that we want to deliver, so we began offering the special promotion every Wednesday. Now our Wednesday guest count is closer to 5000 persons and all of our guests enjoy their day much more!
NPN: Your annual Holiday Lights on the Lake event continues to be a great success. How did this event originate? Do you have plans to further expand it?
Barry: I was sitting at my desk one day in the middle of winter, paying bills. I said to myself, "This is ridiculous!! We have this 51 acre property sitting here dormant and we still have bills coming in, there must be something that we can do to generate some revenue." So I started to give it some thought and found that there were other similar venues offering Christmas programs and I began to explore the possibility. I found a light display vendor who was willing to work with me on a "revenue share" program. That first year, our budget was $25,000. We had 21 corporate sponsors and just over 10,000 vehicles went through the display. This past year, our budget was much greater than $25,000, we had 135 corporate sponsors and just under 30,000 vehicles toured the display!
NPN: You were General Manager during the years that Leap-The-Dips underwent its massive restoration. What was it like to be part of a team that accomplished such a daunting historical feat?
Barry: I was very proud to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Leap-The-Dips Preservation Foundation, the non-profit group comprised of local business leaders that raised the funds necessary to restore Leap-The-Dips. Those people met every month, had fundraisers, gave of their time, talent and treasures, to help assure that this roller coaster had a home here at Lakemont Park. It was actually quite a rewarding experience!!
NPN: What are some of the unique challenges that come with maintaining a roller coaster as old as Leap-The-Dips?
Barry: Although quite smaller than our other wooden roller coaster (the Skyliner), the Leap-The-Dips requires much more maintenance than the Skyliner. Every year it seems as though we are replacing several pallet loads of lumber and the cars require constant maintenance. Our staff does a very good job in assuring that the Leap-The-Dips is operational nearly every day as we understand that we have guests that travel long distances on occasion just to ride it.
NPN: The enthusiast community obviously has a very healthy appreciation for Leap-The-Dips. What is the general public's reaction to this last-of-its-kind classic ride? Do you think they appreciate its significance?
Barry: I can't say enough about how wonderful the park enthusiasts in general and the coaster enthusiasts in particular have been at supporting the effort to restore the Leap-The-Dips and to patronize the park now that the Leap-The-Dips is operational. Unfortunately, I don't believe that the local community has this same passion for what has been accomplished here.
NPN: What prompted the decision to remove the Mad Mouse back in 2003? Will we ever see another full-scale steel coaster at Lakemont?
Barry: We took the Mad Mouse out after an independent engineering firm had inspected the ride and had advised us that within a very short period of time (2-3 years), the ride was going to require considerably more annual maintenance. Barring any unforseen circumstances, there is no chance that you will ever see a "full-scale" steel coaster at Lakemont Park.
NPN: Will we see anything new at Lakemont Park or the Island Waterpark in 2009?
Barry: As you may or may not be aware, the road that runs parallel to Lakemont Park (Park Avenue) is in the process of being converted from a two lane road to a five lane road with adjacent bicycle path and "green space". As we do not know what kind of impact this construction will have on our guests' ability to visit with us, we have opted not to pursue any new rides or attractions until the construction is complete in 2010 or 2011. Guests to the park will probably notice a change in our food and beverage operations. After 11 seasons with Boston Culinary as our food and beverage concessionaire, we have made a change to Bailey's Concessions. This change will result in new menu selections and more competitive pricing as well as food promotions throughout the season.
[Editor's Note: Read more about the Park Avenue expansion in our Lakemont Park update from a couple weeks ago.]
NPN: Do you foresee Lakemont Park and the Island Waterpark expanding in the future? Is the real estate even available for such an expansion?
Barry: We have PLENTY OF ROOM to expand, what we need is a government bailout!!!
NPN: If money and real estate were both freely available, what ride/attraction would you love to bring to Lakemont Park and/or the Island Waterpark, and why?
Barry: If money were not an issue, I would add a wave pool and a steel coaster. These two attractions would seperate us from our two closest competitors, DelGrosso's and Idlewild.
NPN: Do you have any additional comments or information you'd like to share with our readers?
Barry: I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has visited Lakemont Park in the past. If you haven't visited with us in the past number of years, please plan to do so. While we do not have any of the major thrill rides of today, we do have a very nice product at a very competitive price. Stop in the office, ask for me, say that you read my interview on NewsPlusNotes and I will be happy to show you around!!
The NewPlusNotes team sincerely thanks Barry Kumpf for taking time out of his busy schedule to share his thoughts with the enthusiast community. Lakemont Park truly is a gem, and we wish the best of luck to Barry and his staff as they lead this wonderful traditional park into the future. If you happen to be traveling through Pennsylvania this summer, be sure to pay them a visit! One spin on Leap-The-Dips and you just may fall in love with the industry all over again...
Here's the 2nd part of NewsPlusNotes' exclusive preview of what Dorney Park's 2009 Haunt will feature.
Pirate Passage is said to be a new outdoor scare zone occupying a prominent path in Camp Snoopy... after hours of course. The name sums up the area's theme pretty well, I'd be on the lookout for some evil Pirates in this one.
Next up is a rumored new indoor maze that should take the place of ScreamWorks: The Asylum. Guests to the Asylum will be checked into a prison as fresh meat, only to be forced to find out what happens when the prisoners take over. Expect at least one awesome execution scene.
Dr. of Doom is no more, welcome to the Psycho Circus in 3-D kiddies. Expect even more horror clown theming along with a stronger circus theme in the entire area surrounding the attraction.
But wait... there's more! Returning attractions can be found all over as well. Club Blood, CornStalkers (some story improvements), Kill Hill, Terror Square (modified path), and Headstone Hollow (totally new, innovative path with more props and cohesive theme) will be back scaring everyone for a second year.
Add to that a new themed show at Center Stage and a production in the Ghoultime Theatre and you've got yourself 13 awesomely frightening attractions.
I'll see you there!
Six Flags has updated the park maps for all of their properties on their official website, and I must say it's a welcome change!
The new maps are very accurate and include many details compared to the old ones. For instance, they even have the fire on X2 at Magic Mountain, seen above. They also are all uniform in style now, previously some were great, some were okay, and some parks (think Great Adventure) had really poor maps.
Here's a link to Six Flags Magic Mountain's, and from there you can click around and view the others.
Big news this morning for Hard Rock Park - it looks like it might reopen after all. It obviously won't be Hard Rock Park anymore, but a group has stepped up with a $25 million offer to purchase the park as is.
FPI MB Entertianment, LLC is the group behind the offer. It's newly incorporated, so it probably exists only to attempt to purchase the park. At that point it is not known who is behind FPI, or if they have any theme park experience.
The group wants to close on the purchase by Feb. 20th, which is extremely fast - but they want that because they intend to reopen the park on Memorial Day.
I'm sure a lot of news will continue to come out regarding this deal, but things are quickly looking up for the park!
So I know it's only February, but for Haunt lovers you can never start early enough! I'm happy to report that Dorney Park will be greatly expanding their Halloween Haunt program for the 2009 season, coming off of the mega expansion the event saw in 2008.
With that, I'm happy to exclusively be able to start to share some details of what may be coming to the event this fall. Details are not final, yet, but some rumored information is leaking out.
Some attractions will return, and many will be new, but the big news is that the total number of Haunt attractions in 2009 will be 13!
Gauntlet is said to be a new outdoor scare zone located on what was the 'home stretch' of Headstone Hollow last year.
A theme that originated with Knott's Scary Farm in California, the Gauntlet will take those who enter on a twisted trip through one medieval town gone horribly wrong.
A new maze said to be located in an unused area of the park near Thunderhawk will be Death Trap. To be a partially enclosed maze with no ceiling, this one also promises to feature some of the most gruesome torture and death scenes ever!
One of the more exciting new mazes should be Backwoods: Camp Cudie. Rumored to be located in the untouched woods located behind Steel Force's station, this one is sure to be a scream.
What happens when a friendly camp goes horribly wrong? Groups will be separated among different paths and only then will they find out.
The folks at Wonderland Park have been hard at work preparing the new West End area for the beginning of the 2009 season. Let's check out their progress!
Riders ascending the new Drop of Fear will be treated to some spectacular views of the Texas Tornado in action. This 1985 Hopkins coaster--one of the few of its kind ever built--stretches all along one side of the West End.
If you had the opportunity to ride the formerly enclosed Hornet at one of its previous host parks, you may be wondering exactly what that tangled mess of track looks like. Well feast your eyes, because there she is in all her glory! All she needs is a bit of clean-up and landscaping and she'll be ready to welcome her first riders.
This view from afar shows what the West End will look like to passers-by. Wonderland's skyline is becoming quite impressive!
Fiesta Swing is still awaiting its seats. Nevertheless, it looks quite cozy next to its new neighbors. The park's Big Coaster sits to the right. With the addition of Hornet, the park will now boast four steelies.
Thanks to Wonderland for contributing these wonderful shots!
Don't blink around here today or you'll miss a bunch of posts... they say when it rains it pours and that's the truth! But we love news and goodies so let's continue with Kings Island's 2009 brochure.
Diamondback, understandably, is the focus of the 2009 season.
But Kings Island has lots to offer, plenty of other rides and attractions, shows, food, shopping, entertainment, and more.
And they are consistently awarded best Kid's Area by the Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards. So your little ones will have plenty to do while at the park!
And don't forget the massive water park, Boomerang Bay, which is part of the park's general admission. Cedar Fair focused on live entertainment at the park last year, and that trend continues again this upcoming season.
And Haunt will be back this fall to scare the you-know-what out of you with 13 terrifying attractions!
Wild Adventures theme park has announced their 2009 concert series, and they've got some big names to share this year! Why not finish a day of riding coasters with a great performance?
"Never before have such big names as Keith Urban, Vince Gill and Amy Grant, Bret Michaels and Chris Tomlin performed at Wild Adventures in the same concert season. These high profile performers are just the beginning of the star studded concert series planned at Wild Adventures, included with your 2009 Season Passport or general park admission."
More information is available on the park's official website, but the schedule includes:
Keith Urban - March 14th
Vince Gill & Amy Grant - April 18
Chris Tomlin - July 18
Bret Michaels - October 10
Workmen have been busy in and around the station area of the new Diamondback roller coaster at Kings Island, including building the exit ramp and putting the roof over the storage area for the trains.
In addition, the beginning stage of the landscaping around the splashdown area has begun.
Finally some good park business news! It seems that Legoland in California is doing quite well these days, at least according to this profile article from the North County Times.
First, Terminator: Salvation at Six Flags Magic Mountain is progressing quickly now that vertical construction is well underway. Seen above, the GCI Intern Website has been adding new photos of the ride's progress like the 'deadman' turn above.
Here's the latest photos direct form the Interns.
Second, Worlds of Fun posted some aerial shots of Prowler taken from the top of the Boomerang roller coaster. These GCI rides are just stunningly beautiful from these vantage points. I'd certainly make the jump to see this pictures.
Next up we have Cedar Point's new brochure. If anyone was still wondering if the park had anything new this year... the answer is no. Small improvements I'm sure, but nothing huge.
Now in their 11th year of winning Best Park from the Golden Ticket awards.
Magnum XL 200 is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year. Very nice of the park to recognize that. I remember it's 10th anniversary like it was yesterday... but apparently it was 10 years ago...
The park is still calling their event Halloweekends to keep the family appeal going. And they have lots of entertainment, like the All Wheels Extreme sports show - which is now being branched out to other parks.
As we all know Cedar Point offers much more than just the park - as if that isn't enough! You can stay in one of their many hotels, check out Soak City to splash around, have some fun at Challenge Park, and when it's cold (i.e. now) you can still visit the indoor Castaway Bay water park!
Again, hours and prices are not on the back of the Cedar Fair brochures this year. Go on the website to find out that stuff!
As promised, a complete batch of photos from our off-season tour of Dorney Park has been posted to the NPN Facebook page. Since Mike has already provided so much great coverage of this event, I've added my comments to the album itself. If you ever have the opportunity to visit a park during the off-season, take advantage of it! It will afford you a whole new perspective on the amount of care and maintenance required to keep our favorite rides running smoothly. Many thanks to the Dorney Park staff for hosting this wonderful event!
I got my grubby little hands on a bunch of Cedar Fair park 2009 brochures, and with no disrespect from our resident brochure queen, Sabrina, I'm going to feature them because I haven't seen them online yet. Let's start with Dorney Park.
The park is celebrating its 125th anniversary this summer. Quite an accomplishment considering many of the 'big' parks of today opened in the '70s or later!
I know it's small, but on the Possessed photo it says "The coaster formerly known as Voodoo" - smells like a new acronym to me, TCFKAV!
Also, new for 2009 is the Good Time Theatre which will feature the ice show Snoopy Rocks! On Ice.
Lots of general stuff here, but our friendly 2-great-parks-for-the-price-of-1 logo is back this year! Phew...
Here's some good stuff, the Haunt section. Another huge expansion this year, now the park will have 13 haunted attractions and that means there will be several new ones!
I cannot wait for this year's event, it sounds like it's going to be just awesome.
A change to Cedar Fair brochures I noticed is that none of them have the operating hours or prices on the back anymore, now they direct people to the website for more info. Smart move, this allows for less confusion with park buyouts and price changes.
More to come!
© 2009 Valleyfair Zone
Here's the continuation of yesterday's batch of photos from the Dorney Park winter tour.
Being able to walk the employee parking lot does provide some sweet views of the park, like the one above. From here Dominator really... uh dominates the skyline. (lame joke)
The ferris wheel looks very bare during the off season.
Inside the park's maintenance buildings provided some cool shots of the park's coaster trains under their winter rehab. Here we see Possessed's trains just hanging out. (another bad joke!)
Thunderhawk's trains are being worked on as well.
And here's Hydra's trains being worked on. It's really amazing to consider the time and effort that goes into all the ride cars and trains each winter.
We will finish with this photo of a naked Possessed car. The ride can seem even more intimidating when you think that this is what you sit on going 70 mph!
Thanks to Chuck from Dorney Park for hosting the tour!
Sabrina will be posting an exclusive set of photos from the tour on the NewsPlusNotes Facebook page - we will let you know when they are up.
Dorney Park gave its annual off season tour to enthusiasts today, traditionally the day before ACE's annual Eastcoaster event. I was able to attend and snapped some winter time photos for everyone to enjoy. Let's begin...
Above is the site for the Good Time Theater, the park's new attraction for the 2009 season. Yes, not much has been done at this point. The site has been cleared but not much beyond that. If I heard correctly the building is prefab so when it goes up it'll be real quick.
The off season is a time to see all sorts of ride parts and vehicles in interesting places, like these kiddie ride helicopters inside a pavilion.
Just a nice shot of a snowy, quiet midway. Quite different than during the summer months when the park is open!
Possessed is having its new sign worked on, and so at the moment it's entrance is looking pretty plain.
Another big change is the removal of Laser from the park. Here's the scene when you are approaching the ride... quite shocking the first time you are standing there.
The ride was pulled out and shipped off and the park hasn't had a chance yet to clean up the remnants. Mostly where's in there are the wooden blocks the ride sat on.
A closer view of the mess that's there for now. Laser's spot will be a grassy area for the upcoming season.
One last view of the queue for the ride still standing, and Possessed behind it.
Another nice winter view. Thankfully the weather finally gave us a break and give some nice sun for the tour today.
And here we have the obligatory shot for when you're in the employee parking lot, Steel Force stretching across the skyline.
I have more photos for tomorrow!
Lots of little news bits today, starting with a more indepth article on developer Nakheel's indefinite delay of starting the Busch Entertainment parks in Dubai. It included the above photo of a model of the development, sadly a high res version isn't available. Check it out.
It's A Small World at Disneyland in California reopens today after a refurbishment that included the addition of a new American scene along with many Disney characters being added to the attraction.
As has been covered before, many Disney purists see the additions to the classic attraction as an affront to the theme and message of the ride, while other fans are happy to see such time and effort being put into keeping things fresh.
Passholder previews start today, and this article gives a somewhat biased (it seems to focus more on the 'down side' of the changes) but still general overview of the situation.
Regardless of everyone's thoughts on if the changes are good or not, I do think the stylized Disney characters are cute!
In a year where most parks are going without any large expansion, it's nice to hear stories like this one of a park caring about one of it's classic rides.
Six Flags Great Adventure is giving it's iconic Big Wheel, the park's 150 ft. ferris wheel, a total refurbishment during this off-season.
The massive attraction, which opened with the park in 1974, will be taken apart, refurbished, painted, and receive new, energy efficient LED light bulbs. The new bulbs will allow the park to do more dramatic lighting patterns on the ride while at night.
If you've seen a ferris wheel with these new LED lights then you know how wonderful this change can be!
Carowinds is currently repainting Nighthawk to a vibrant yellow track with blue supports. The ride, formerly known as Borg Assimilator, previously had a green and black color scheme. This will certainly liven up this section of the park!
When the creative minds at Kings Island sat down to design this brochure back in 1992, I imagine the conversation went something like this: "I bet some chick will try to scan this brochure for an enthusiast blog some day. Let's make that task as difficult as humanly possible! BAH HA HA HA!" Nevertheless, in an effort to preserve their creative vision I have taken extra pains to present this brochure in the manner in which it was meant to be viewed. Enjoy!
The year 1992 holds special significance in Kings Island history for two reasons. First and most obviously, it marked the park's 20th anniversary. But it was also the year that the park was purchased by Paramount Communications. Consequently, this would be the last plain vanilla "Kings Island" brochure the world would see for a good fourteen or so years.
The ride which premiered as "Phantom Theater" in 1992 has had many names and faces through the years. Prior to its stint with the phantoms, its previous incarnations included Enchanted Voyage and The Smurfs Enchanted Voyage. Today it welcomes the young'uns as Scooby-Doo and The Haunted Castle.
Kings Island wanted to make darn sure that its prospective guests were aware of all the opportunities to cool down on a hot Ohio day! In addition to the standard amusement park fare, the park also offered a full-fledged water park called WaterWorks.
And here is the granddaddy of them all, the brochure page that never ends!! A good portion of this spread is dedicated to describing all the special festivities that were set to take place in honor of the park's 20th anniversary, including daily parades, decorations, and special historical presentations. The rest pretty much speaks for itself, although I'd like to draw special attention to the fact that they managed to start a sentence with the phrase, "The beauty of The Beast..." I love it. And speaking of The Beast, I seem to recall hearing that it will be celebrating a special anniversary of its own this year...
If you happen to be in the area this summer, you may also want to check out the other nearby attractions listed here. Why not have a side dish of college football to go along with your main course of hypercoaster? Sounds like a winning combination to me!
It’s been only a few weeks since construction began, and the Wahee Cyclone is really taking shape! Most of the brightly colored green and blue fiberglass pieces are in place and soon it will be ready to welcome thrill seeking, water loving guests!
Pull out your bathing suit and start recruiting family and friends to ride the Wahee Cyclone! The countdown begins with 51 days until the newly renovated Splash Island Water Park opens on March 28.
It may be covered in snow right now, but come April Diamondback at Kings Island will start to thrill riders and you could be one of the first!
The park has announced that they will have an online auction for the first 96 riders on the park's opening day. All proceeds will go to A Kid Again, and organization which aids children with life threatening illnesses and their families.
The bidding is not live yet, but when it is will be accessed through this link.
This one will certainly be filed under 'saw that coming' - Busch Entertainment says that plans for Busch branded theme parks in Dubai have been shelved for the time being.
Plans were to open a Busch Gardens, Sea World, Discovery Cove, and Aquatica on an man made island in the shape of a killer whale.
The company and it's developer plan to "reassess" the development this summer. I'm not holding my breath on this one, though.
I love when new park brochures start to pop up, it means that we're a decent chunk of the way through the awful winter months! The first one I've come across is Dollywood's, and can be found here.
The park had to postpone their Adventure Mountain attraction until 2010, but there is still a selection of new entertainment at the park for this season. Check it out!
Head to the Six Flags home page and what do I see? A creepy old dancing man staring at me.
Well... he may be creepy but he works so I'm not totally surprised that Six Flags has brought back Mr. Six after a few year absence from their marketing campaigns. Mr. Six sorta because a pop culture phenomenon after his debut in the theme park's commercials in 2004.
I'm sure we'll see plenty of this guy in the commercials for the parks this summer, as well as in the parks themselves.
Alabama Adventure, which consists of Magic City USA amusement park and Splash Beach Water Park has announced a new attraction and concert series for the 2009 season.
Splash Beach Water Park will welcome UpSurge!, a $1 million slide on which "riders will experience 216 feet of flume sliding exhilaration before plummeting down and back up a vertical half-pipe ending in a refreshing splash pool of 25,000 gallons of water."
The half pipe aspect sounds familiar, and the flume before it makes this sound very much like a White Water West Boomerango slide, perhaps even like this one shown on their site.
Edit: I found a photo of what I'm thinking this could be, here's a Boomerango - just ignore the bowl slide in there too. (the park actually already has one of those)
The park will also have another year of big performances in their concert series, such as Raven and other popular acts.
The Sun News is reporting that Hard Rock Park actually had a buyer that pulled out of the deal just hours before it was set to be complete.
The company is a Texas based real estate developer named Marlin Atlantis. Checking out their web page it looks like they've developed a bunch of really nice planned communities, but nothing on the entertainment side of things. That said, this would be a totally new direction for the company with no prior theme park experience (best I can tell).
The article says that Marlin Atlantis wants to spread into the entertainment industry and remains interested in the park. The company also says that a "Hard Rock Park lender" was the cause of the lost deal, not Marlin Atlantis.
Apparently there is still some hope for the park as several companies are still interested in the property even though it is in Chapter 7 status.
I just took a glance over at the webcam for Worlds of Fun's Prowler coaster, and it looks like they're just about complete with most of the ride's track! From what I can tell they still have mostly the station and transfer areas to build.
The park really has done an amazing job at keeping updated photos for the ride on their site at all times. Major props to the park for generating so much interest this way!
Here's a link to the gallery for the ride on the official site.
January's Poll Results are in and the overwhelming winner of "worst amusement park closing" was Geauga Lake.
The park has more than double as many votes as the 2nd place finisher, Hard Rock Park. I'm guessing that even after a year and a half-ish that wound is still very much so open.
