Weekly Rewind 3.20.10

Cedar Fair's very last minute postponement of the vote of whether or not to be purchased by Apollo did not go over well with it's current investors. After a lot of debate, the company has stayed quiet on the issue. If you want a hard investors-sided look at what they're doing, check out this NYTimes article.

CBS' new Undercover Boss has been quite that talk at my water cooler lately. And now there's an episode that fits with our favorite industry! On the episode airing Sunday, March 28th, CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment will go undercover to see how the average employee of the company works. Should be interesting!

Paulton's Park is getting ready for the vote to take place on whether or not they may keep their Edge ride operating at the park. If you remember back, the park was accused of building both the Edge and the Cobra without permission. The park has received over 1,400 messages of support so far - hopefully helping to influence the upcoming vote. They previously won approval to keep the Cobra.

Disney and More has a nice piece on the making of Walt Disney Studios Paris' new Toy Story Playland. Lots of very over sized set pieces will dot the area. Not sure I'm a fan yet of the area, but I'll decide that when it's open!

The News Leader out of Missouri has a nice article on Silver Dollar City's 50th anniversary this year, looking back at how the park grew over the years. Part of the celebration includes a special website where you can list your favorite memories celebrated at the park.

La Ronde has announced a new interactive laser tag attraction for the park: TerminatorX. Two teams will battle against Skynet inside a set quite reminiscent of the Terminator films. While in French, they have a site up for the attraction.

Such a big announcement that it needed it's own announcement! Universal Orlando will be announcing the opening date of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the full details of the main ride of the area on the 25th. They've released a preview video as well, available here.

Staying in that very same wizarding world, Universal is giving away an awesome trip for a teacher and their class to the opening events of the new section. The class just needs to explain why they are extraordinary in a short video, and if they win they get to go! Check out the official site for details on how to enter.

Just for fun - here's a photo of Jordin Sparks, winner of the sixth season of American Idol, who visited Busch Gardens Tampa Bay last weekend with her cousins and family to ride roller coasters and hand-feed giraffes on the park’s 65-acre Serengeti Plain. That giraffe really likes her!

Car & Driver magazine has a fun article comparing Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster's launch to that of the acceleration of a Bugatti Veyron. Guess which of the two had a more intense launch?

Carowinds is gearing up for the opening of the park for the 2010 season on March 27th. The park recently had a construction tour that not only showed off the new Intimidator coaster, but also all the changes that came with Planet Snoopy. See the photos here.