Could This Be the Year for Flying Turns?

Well, the jury is still officially out, but Knoebels has been making some major progress on the unique coaster which is making the opening of Flying Turns more realistic than ever before.

A full seven seasons in the making - perhaps the longest construction period ever for a coaster - Flying Turns is now testing a new set of trains that are performing well, quite well according to the park.

Those latest trains that were designed are now running regularly on Flying Turns even during the park's operating hours, something they previously avoided.  That gives many fans of the park hope that they will get to one day board the wooden bobsled coaster and experience a ride unique to today's world.

Most of the ride's delay is not structural at all, in reality construction ended years ago and just work on the trains has continued on.  The blend of meeting modern safety standards while still preserving the bobsled feel of the coaster has presented the problems.

This news story, just recently published, talks about the progress being made on Flying Turns in detail.  Even better - there are photos and video of the new trains running the course.  While a 2013 opening is possible, the park is hoping that if they do not make that the coaster could open in 2014.  Just tell me when and I'll get in line!

The Lion King Moves at Animal Kingdom - For Avatar?

© Disney

The popular show Festival of the Lion King will be moving to the Africa section of Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2014, the park has confirmed.

A brand new theater, designed much like the current one and expected the hold the same number of guests, will be built in the Western side of the Africa section, off a path leading from the Tusker House restaurant.  There are no major plans to change any of the show's content when it opens in its new home.  The park also isn't quite ready to say when the performance will move, or if there will be a period where the show is dark during the transition.

The current theater for the Festival of the Lion King is in Animal Kingdom's Camp Mickey-Minnie, which is said to be the future home of the Avatar land.  Really the entire land as it is contains a bunch of meet and greet areas, and the Festival theater.  Fans of the park have grown to love the show enough that they chose to build it a new home instead of retire it.

There has been some speculation that the Avatar project isn't moving forward with the steam that many thought it would have, and fans have had some seriously mixed reactions to the plan.  However, it seems like it could still be in the works since they're spending the cash to move the Festival show.  An interesting development, it will be even more interesting to hear more news of what Avatar may hold and see if the bulldozers start to roll in.

Aerial Antics: Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa

Busch Gardens Tampa was featured in Aerial Antics quite a long time ago, and since then the park has added a major Intamin coaster we're all aware of: Cheetah Hunt.  The unique ride stretches across a big section of the park, making it an interesting look from above.

Cheetah Hunt's station is actually wrapped by the coaster, as seen above.  The refurbished building fits the dispatch area and much of the queue nicely and all under cover from the Florida sun.  Right out of dispatch the trains are launched up and around the helix in the upper right.  After a dive down below ground level the trains hit a second, much stronger launch, and then flies up into the one-of-a-kind aerial-figure eight seen in the center bottom.

A quick drop out of that sends trains down and over the landscape, including a jump over the park's skyride.

The middle of the ride is a series of low hills and curves, following the landscape closely.  This section is to represent a Cheetah running along and hunting its prey, I would assume.  It's not as intense as it might appear but a lot of fun.  I also liked in this shot how they captured a train zooming along!

The far end of the ride utilizes the former river section of Rhino Rally.  The trains barrel through an elevated corkscrew then dive down into a canyon complete with waterfalls.  Soon there's the ride's 3rd launch which gives the trains the energy to cross the park back toward the station.

Cheetah Hunt is quite impressive from the air, I stitched together this large aerial of the complete ride for you guys to check out.  A lot of zig and a bunch of zag later the trains make it back to the station and sadly, the ride is over.  The coaster is a great family ride, much less intense that it would appear with all those launches, really a lot of solid fun overall.

These images came from Google's 45 degree views, you can click over to them here.

Long Time Cedar Point General Manager Retiring

H. John Hildebrant, the long time Vice President and General Manager of Cedar Point will retire at the end of the season, Cedar Fair has announced.

"John began his career with Cedar Point as a seasonal employee in Rides in 1969. He joined the Company full-time in February 1974 as a staff writer in the Marketing Department and went on to serve in various marketing and leadership roles including, Communications Manager, Marketing Manager, Director of Marketing and Vice President of Marketing.

In 2004, John was given the opportunity to move to Allentown, Pennsylvania as Vice President and General Manager of Cedar Fair’s Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom. He returned to Cedar Point as Vice President and General Manager just prior to the 2005 operating season and has remained in this role for the past eight years."

Mr. Hildebrant will be replaced at Cedar Point by Jason McClure, the current Vice President and General Manager of Dorney Park.  Mr. McClure has previously been the Vice President of Finance at both Carowinds and Kings Island.

The new Vice President and General Manager at Dorney Park will be Michael Fehnel, who has been with Dorney for twenty years.

Congratulations to both gentlemen on their new roles, and happy retirement wishes to Mr. Hildebrant!

From The Vault: Sesame Place 1999 Brochure

Sesame Place is an adorable little theme park, located outside of Philadelphia, where families can take a trip into the world of the whole Sesame Place crew.

This brightly colored brochure is from 1999, right around when the park started to see some expansion.  It is a part of the SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment family, which includes other large theme parks like Busch Gardens.

Sesame Place has a lot of water slides and rides, all aimed at being perfect for smaller kids.  You won't find any extreme, trap door dropping, super speed sliding attractions at the park.  What you will find is a selection of slides and water play areas for families that have appropriate Sesame Place theming.   The park has also for a long time had a bunch of hands-on play activities and shows as well.  And you can't forget the real life recreation of the actual Sesame Street!

While this brochure is from 1999, the previous season saw the addition of a pretty big ride, and that's still being advertised heavily here.  Vapor Trail is a Vekoma family roller coaster that is neither very tall or very fast, but provides a smooth ride that's great for training future coaster fans.  Super Grover is the ride's host, and he takes passengers on a voyage into outer space as they zoom over the edge of the park's boundaries.

Since the time when this brochure was created Sesame Place has added several more rides that have balanced out the dry/water attraction balance.  Elmo's World alone features several rides that let guests take a spin on some of the lovable character's most imaginative creations.  The park also added a nicely themed carousel that has plenty of custom characters for visitors to ride on.  These additions do not mean that no new water rides were added, though, as we saw with the Count's Splash Castle - a huge water play structure that Sabrina and I checked out a few years back.

The park also debuted a new Christmas celebration last year, creating an even longer season for the park.  Hopefully more additions are on the way in the future!

Casino Pier Opens Rides on New Boardwalk

It was a long road back, but the Jersey Shore's Casino Pier has officially reopened its collection of rides for the first time since Hurricane Sandy destroyed the amusement pier last Fall.

Just a couple weeks ago the park was still working hard to get rides open, watching as the busy Summer season slipped by.  No longer do visitors have to wait to go for a spin, though the collection of rides isn't anywhere near as big as pre-Sandy.  That's pretty understandable though since the majority of the pier had to be torn down and rebuilt!

© Casino Pier

In celebration of the grand reopening of the park last night they offered free rides, and starting today they moved back to the normal ticket system.  So far the list of rides include a Disk'O, Car Combo, Motorcycles, Boats, Dizzy Dragon, Speedway, Car Combo and Pirate's Hideaway.  The Wave Swinger and Tilt-a-Whirl are almost ready to go, and could open this weekend if things go well.

The park's new ride, called Superstorm, is not online just yet, but that could still take place this Summer as well.  The photo above is of the newly build boardwalk where the rides are, which is the first level.  By next year the park hopes to have the other level built and filled with attractions - so you could almost look at the rest of this year as a preview.

Congratulations to the park on their reopening!

Zamperla Opens New Volare Coaster at Flamingo Land

© Flamingo Land

The latest of Zamperla's Volare "hang gliding coasters" has opened at the United Kingdom's Flamingo Land theme park and zoo.  The compact layout ride is called Hero at the park, and is themed as if riders are defending the Earth from an intergalactic attack.  But mostly I think riders just get to have the sensation of flying in the individual four seater cars!

Flamingo Land had a big grand opening for the new roller coaster, which included a slew of local heroes to help with the celebration.

© Flamingo Land

The above article quotes the investment of Hero at 9 million pounds, which converts into over $12 million.  Flamingo Land has a couple of other new additions this year, so I can't help but wonder if that price tag includes more than the coaster.  That seems pretty high for a Zamperla Volare!

Hero starts with a spiral lift hill to save space, and features a twisted layout with just under 1,300 feet of track.  The individual cars treat the flying passengers to two heartline rolls at speeds approaching 30 miles per hour.

The coaster is the 8th Volare to open in the world, following three in North America (one relocated), three in Asia, and one in Europe. 

A New Euro-Fighter for Germany: Karacho

There are many international amusement parks that I will admit I do not know much about, including Germany's Erlebnispark Tripsdrill.  However, the brand new Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter than the park has recently opened could make that a different story!

The recent designs in the Euro-Fighter category each look better than the last, and this one is named Karacho.  The coaster features a launch that sends the cars out of a darkened tunnel (which contains a heart-line roll to boot) up into a nearly 100 foot tall top hat element.  After that there are several elongated inversions, including a great dive loop into a tunnel immediately followed by an oddly shaped corkscrew.  At the end of the video make sure to check out the awesome theming on the back of the cars!

Tripsdrill, as the park is commonly referred to, is also home to Mammut, a large wooden coaster, and G'sengte Sau, a Gerstlauer bobsled ride.

I've said it before, but a ride like Karacho would fit so many mid-sized parks over on our side of the pond.  You have to wonder why there haven't been more of them built?

A Christmas in July Announcement from Disney California Adventure

Disney Parks have chosen to celebrate Christmas in July by announcing a special Winter version of World of Color for Disney California Adventure.

Named World of Color - Winter Dreams, the new version of the popular nighttime fountain show will be specially created for the holiday season.  The updated performance will feature new animation from popular Disney films such as Bambi and Toy Story, but also new content from Frozen, a feature film that will be released around that time.

The show will be hosted by Olaf, a humorous character from Frozen.  The animated comedy-adventure film will be in the vein of many of the company's classics:  "Fearless optimist Anna sets off on an epic journey—teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven—to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter.  Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom."

In the video above the show's designer, Steve Davison, hints that Winter Dreams will feature all new effects and other "ideas" which will differentiate it from the regular World of Color show.

Winter Dreams - World of Color will premier at Disney California Adventure on November 15th.

A New Plan for Playland With More Rides

© Rye Playland

The plan for the future of Playland Amusement Park has continued to evolve, and the latest news is good for fans of the amusement park's rides.  Sustainable Playland, the organization that has been tapped to take over the park, has reversed their earlier decision to remove up to a third of the park's amusement rides.

The news that the organization plans to remove or relocate only a few of the park's rides came on the day they signed a lease to manage the Westchester Children's Museum for a period of ten years.

Sustainable Playland has replaced the previously selected ride operator, Mega Funworks, with Central Amusement International, the operations arm of Zamperla that runs Luna Park in Coney Island.  Central Amusement had submitted a proposal to take over all of Playland (details can be seen here) and now state that their plan will be similar, though scaled back.  Still, based off of the success they have found in Coney Island this development is a good one, indeed.

The latest plan also diminishes the size of the 'great lawn' that Sustainable had planned, which was the major cause of the removal of most of the rides seen above.  The plan for a smaller great lawn is now on the books, with the Log Flume and most of the rides staying put.  The large splash ride seen at the top of the photo will still be removed at some point in the future.  Overall, the vast majority of the current rides will remain and if Central Amusement carries forward with even some of their plans new ones will be added.

The deal still is not 100%, however, as Sustainable Playland has yet to receive final approval for their plans and is currently reworking some details before a final submission.  I'm glad to see that the outcry of folks against removing so many rides has taken hold, however!

Darien Lake Prepping for a new Lake Monster?

This is the time of year when attentions slowly start to turn toward next season as we park fans are an eager bunch.  The latest big rumor/news is coming out of Darien Lake, which appears to be getting ready to put the Predator out of its misery in favor of a new Lake Monster extreme wooden coaster.

The park sent out a survey that in a very bold way made it clear they are thinking of creating Lake Monster (called that for now, at least) a new wooden ride that would appear to be in the style of Silver Dollar City's Outlaw Run.

It sounds like the plan would be to use a part of the Predator and then trash the rest, creating a brand new ride in the end.  The survey mentions 3,190 feet of track including the first ever "wing over drop" which to me sounds like how GateKeeper and X-Flight start out.  A "zero g camelback, hop reversal, & suspended corkscrew" round out the other intense sounding elements that are mentioned.

In the aerial of the ride above you can see just how close Predator sits to the actual lake, so if the new ride was able to go out over it that would add another layer of thrill.  Screamscape reports that the survey mentioned a 2014 opening date, meaning that if true Predator's days are very numbered at this point.

While no manufacturer is confirmed, the fact that Herschend Family Entertainment also manages Darien lake makes it seem like Rocky Mountain would be a natural fit.  However, the images the park used to demonstrate the Lake Monster also included one of Hades 360 at Mt. Olympus, a Gravity Group creation.

Sounds like everyone might have a very good reason to visit Western New York next year!

Aerial Antics: Silverwood Theme Park

Here is a new entry to the Aerial Antics category, Silverwood Theme Park.  The park is located in Idaho, near Coeur d'Alene.  Originally operated as an airstrip - which you can still see running the length of the ride side of the park, it turned into a full theme park in 1988.  The park's authentic steam train was originally the big draw - and still is very popular - but many other rides and attractions have been added since.

The entrance to the park is in a bit of an odd location - you cross under a major highway to get there from the parking lot, and though the entrance area is very pretty, and quaint, it's sort of stuck out in the open by itself.  I'm not sure what the park uses that enormous grassy area for - I would think it must serve some purpose other than to look nice.

Once visitors move into the theme park side of the property they encounter a wonderfully landscaped area filled with rides.  The aerials do not zoom in too much, so you'll have to bear with me here.  You enter the park from the bottom of this photo, and you can see how the rides and attractions spread out from that point.

The park's log flume takes up some land in the center of the area, and the Corkscrew coaster is also located here.  The Corkscrew came to Silverwood from Knott's Berry Farm when it was replaced with the Boomerang.

As Silverwood expanded the park created Roller Coaster Alley, the midway that winds between these two wooden rides.  This is also where this year's new thrill ride, SpinCycle, is located.

The first to have opened is toward the top of the photo, the out and back design named the Grizzly, or I should say Timber Terror.  The name Grizzly didn't last too long due to coasters of the same name at the former Paramount parks.  The ride opened in 1996 and was designed by Custom Coasters.

The bottom ride, a twisted layout that features a handful of underground tunnels, was also from Custom Coasters and opened in 1999.  Oh, and it is named Tremors, which I've also though was just the perfect name for a coaster that roars underground.

If the park's latest roller coaster looks familiar, that's because it came to the park from Six Flags Great America where it operated as Deja Vu.  The Vekoma designed Giant Inverted Boomerang is now located at the far end of Silverwood, where it has operated since 2008.

The park's train really has an amazingly large layout, especially for a theme park.  The ride section we were just looking at is the tiny bit on the upper left - the red dots trace the entire path of the train's course.  That's a really long ride though the woods!  And yes, of course you do stop and the train gets robbed.

The park made a really big expansion in 2003 when they opened Boulder Beach, a full water park.  I think they've found quite a bit of summertime success with the water area, and have worked to expanded it with new attractions.  I wouldn't be surprised for a minute to see them continue to build into that open space surrounding Boulder Beach!

To check out Bing's aerials of Silverwood Theme Park for yourself, click here.

From The Vault: Enchanted Forest Brochure 1995

This brochure, from Enchanted Forest in Salem, Oregon, is undated but was sent to me in 1995.  The park was a labor of love for the man who created it, Roger Tofte, and when it finally opened in 1971 after many years of hard work, the twenty wooded acres soon became a haven for families in the area.

Oregon isn't exactly the land of massive theme parks, and Enchanted Forest is about as unique and opposite the big themers as it gets.  The tagline for the park on the cover here, "Oregon's Most Unique Land of Fun and Scenic Beauty" is not only a mouthful, but also a different way of spelling things out.  The park features many fairy tale themed attractions, all created specifically for the park over a long period of time.

There are only a handful of actual rides at the park, but plenty of interactive activities and displays to check out.  Here you can see the giant Witches Head that you can enter, and you can also see Humpty Dumpty perilously on the edge of that wall...  The Fantasy Fountains were originally a big draw for the park when they opened, but do not go expecting a World of Color sized production! The Haunted house is a walk through style that's three levels, though I doubt that there are any real intense scares in there since it is aimed at kids.

The center of the brochure features a map of the park, which is very simple but gets the job done.

In the upper right corner is a drawing of the Ice Mountain Bobsleds, one of the weirdest coasters I've seen.  The oddness of it makes it quite interesting, though, at least to me.  Check out this point of view video and you'll see what I mean.

If you study the rest of the park you'll see that there aren't many rides around, mostly static displays and buildings to explore.  There's the Three Bears House, Alice in Wonderland, a Castle and the Seven Dwarf's Cottage, for example.

Since the time when this brochure was printed the park has kept expanding.  Shortly after the Big Timber Log Flume opened, which is also quite unique and has a large coaster like drop out of the water.  More recently a handful of more traditional kiddie rides were added, and a large shooting style dark ride, named the Challenge of Mondor. The ride uses neat trackless vehicles that send riders around the show building.

For more on this interesting little park, check out their official webpage.  The history section on there is very detailed and worth a read.

Lake Compounce Enjoying New Space with Bayou Bay Wave Pool

Here's one attraction that we haven't followed up on here at NPN since it opened for the Summer, Lake Compounce's new wave pool named Bayou Bay.  The large addition is located as part of the newly renamed Crocodile Cove water park.  The park's water area recently received a massive amount of new room for expansion when a road was moved, freeing up acres and acres of space for the park to expand into.

Above is a photo shared by the park of the newly completed pool, before vegetation was able to grow in.  The first thing I think of when I look at this, more so than even the wave pool itself, is look at all that free space around it!

Another perspective shared by the park is really telling about just how much room the water park can be expanded into.  If you look at the larger photo you can see the former end of the water park on the left, followed by last year's addition - mat racing slides named Riptide Racer.  Then further along is the new wave pool and beyond that and bordering the lake is just tons of free space.

Like most parks that have both rides and water attractions, the draw of the water park is just huge in the Summer, and I'm sure we will see plenty of continued expansion in that direction in coming years.  I think a water coaster would do just great in some of that open area!

Carowinds and Komen Team Up for the Cure

From July 22nd through August 18th Carowinds will be holding Carowinds for the Cure, a fundraising initiative for Susan G. Komen Charlotte.  During the event guests can purchase a reduced ticket to the theme park for $41.99, with one dollar from each ticket sold going to Komen Charlotte.  Additionally, special merchandise will be for sale at the park, with part of the proceeds going to the organization.

This year visitors will also be able to "adopt-a-duck" as part of a raffle that could result in winning a brand new car!  Each duck can be purchased for $5 in the park and then be thrown in the pond underneath the Nighthawk rollercoaster.  One luck duck (literally!) will be picked on August 18th and the owner of the duck will win either a 2013 Toyota Camry or a 2013 Honda Accord.

Carowinds and Komen Charlotte aim to raise funds and awareness to encourage those undergoing treatment, celebrate survivors, and educate visitors on the importance of mammograms and early detection.  “We are proud to partner with Susan G. Komen Charlotte again this year,” said Bart Kinzel, Carowinds vice president and general manager. “Fighting this disease is a community effort and we’re committed to saving lives, and raising awareness.”

For more information on the events, check out Carowinds' 'pink' homepage at this link.

WhiteWater Builds New Fusion Waterslide in Japan

© WhiteWater

How cool does this new slide tower look?  The "fusion" waterslide, called such because it blends two of the company's products into one attraction, has opened at Nagashima Resort in Japan.  The park is home to the massive Steel Dragon 2000 - complete with new trains from B&M - which can be seen in the background of the image.

But back to the waterslide.  Designed by WhiteWater, the attraction fuses together one of their thrilling Family Boomerango slides with one of their new Manta slides and then doubles the entire attraction!  Using a mirror image duplicate, both slides start from the same launch platform but interact with each other the entire way down.

© WhiteWater

As described by WhiteWater, "the journey begins with the classic sensation of rafting, leading into a screaming, velocity-building drop that launches riders up the famous Boomerango wall, making them feel like they are “going vertical” then weightless all the while getting a bird’s eye view of what is coming next.  They fall back and barely have time to catch their breath while racing warp speed across a flat section propelling them right into the rushing waters of the Manta where maximum oscillations and a plunge to the finish will leave them breathless and eager to ride again and again."

For more photos of the new slide, along with some point of view video, check out this page from WhiteWater.  Add this one to the list of waterslides I'd like to see in our neck of the woods, indeed.

GateKeeper Hits 1,000,000 Riders

© Cedar Point

That was pretty fast!  Just midway through July, Cedar Point's brand new Wing Coaster, GateKeeper, has welcomed its one millionth rider. 

The lucky thrill seeker to mark the milestone was Maria Saenz of Milford, Michigan.  It was really her lucky day, and as the lucky rider she received a $500 Cedar Point shopping spree, a VIP tour of the park, and Fast Lane access to GateKeeper for the rest of this season.  Pretty cool prize pack just for riding a roller coaster!

GateKeeper opened at Cedar Point in May, and has developed a massive following since.  With much of the season left for the park, could the new coaster reach two million riders?  Quite possibly!

Grand Texas Theme Park Coming to Houston Area

I will admit that I haven't paid much attention to the plan for the Grand Texas Theme Park to open in 2015 just North of Houston, Texas.  It seems that every so often a new theme park is announced for somewhere in the U.S. and it's extremely rare that they actually get built.  I guess you could say I'm not quick to get excited about such projects.

Still, it's fun to dream, and some developments do seem to get further along than others.  The Grand Texas project for instance, actually has purchased land (over 600 acres) to start developing on - though the investor factor, always so important, is not totally clear to me.  One article mentions that work on investments has been ongoing for years, but I have not seen more detailed information.

If built, the park would be themed to the history of Texas, though that is a bit obvious from the name of the property.  Included would be an assortment of rides, shows, activities, a water park and possibly an RV resort or hotel.

Another project, named EarthQuest, which was announced years ago and never got off the ground, was planned in the same area.  Even if eventually built (and most doubt that) developers believe the two parks could coexist due to differences in theme and size.

One of the main developers behind Grand Texas is Chuck Hendrix, a former general manager of Six Flags AstroWorld.  He current is the CEO of Innovative Leisure Partners, and from this interview it sounds like he would like to change his legacy from being the man that closed AstroWorld (though he himself certainly did not) to the one who built a brand new theme park for the area.

This story gives some additional details on the plans for the park's attractions, and it sounds like it won't be focused on only huge thrills.  Calling the park "experimental" and "in tune with family entertainment," it seems to me that plenty of physical activities, such as the zip lines seen above, will round out the offerings.

Right now the plan is to open Grand Texas in 2015, with work starting by the end of this year.  For now you can follow updates from the source on the park's official Facebook page.

Summertime at Lake Winnie's Soak Ya

© Lake Winnie

I was browsing through some photos that Lake Winnie has shared of their Summer season, and was really impressed at how nice their new Soak Ya water park turned out.  The entire five acre area was added this season, a major undertaking for the "South's Favorite Family Amusement Park."

© Lake Winnie

The Soak Ya water park features a variety of different attractions, including two sets of water slides (both tube and body slides) and the lazy river that you can see above.  The park put extra care into the appearance of the area, including creating rockwork surrounding the pools and channels - a nice touch.

© Lake Winnie

The lazy river empties at one point into a zero depth entry area, where guests can also relax in the water.  There's an activity pool located nearby that will help use up the energy of excited kids, and for even smaller visitors there are kid-sized slides and play structures to keep them busy.

The best part is that Lake Winnie has plenty of room if they choose the expand Soak Ya!

Six Flags to Unveil 2014 Additions on August 29th

Good news, just like for the past couple years all of the Six Flags parks will reveal their 2014 additions in one big event, this year on August 29th.  That means in just six weeks we will all find out what new rides and attractions will be coming to our local parks - something to look forward to!

Six Flags Great Adventure confirmed the announcement date in their August news update: "Six Flags Great Adventure and its sister parks throughout North America will announce exciting plans for the 2014 season.  Great Adventure will release details about a record-breaking addition that will surely top “must-do” lists next year."

There have been rumors of a drop tower being added to the side of Kingda Ka at Great Adventure, and that certainly would be "record-breaking" and without a doubt head to the top of my "must-do" list if it happens!

One rumor that also appears to be gaining more and more strength is the total renovation of Six Flags Mexico's Medusa wooden coaster.  It has been said that the ride is next in line to receive the Rocky Mountain treatment, and the park has started to hint that the ride is going away.  They posted "¿Sabías que Medusa ha tenido a más de 9 millones de pasajeros a lo largo de sus 13 años en Six Flags México? Este Verano dile ‪#‎AdiósMedusa‬ ¡te esperamos!" on their Facebook, which translates into "
Did you know that Medusa has had more than 9 million passengers during his 13 years at Six Flags Mexico? This Summer tell ‬ ‪ # AdiósMedusa you expect!"

Not sure about that last part of the translation, I'm sure something got lost in there.  But using the hashtag ByeMedusa seems pretty clear to me!

Lots to look forward to!

'New' Miracle Strip Lining Up Vintage Rides for 2014

Miracle Strip at Pier Park is moving ahead full steam on their plan to move and open a much larger amusement park in 2014.   If you are not familiar with the park's plans, check out this story we did back in February explaining the relocation.

The next generation of Miracle Strip will feature a host of new "old" rides, as the park takes great pride in obtaining classic attractions and renovating them with a lot of TLC.  Above is a photo the park shared of a Galaxy coaster that they just purchased.  They also announced that they obtained a Chance Chaos ride, something that was once very popular at amusements parks across the globe.

But wait, there's more!  Above is another classic ride they snatched up, I'm not sure exactly what this one is so if anyone knows by all means fill me in!  They also mentioned a Loop-o-Plane - yes that crazy spinning flat ride you've seen around - and a nice set of bumper cars as other recent acquisitions.

Miracle Strip is still planning on renovating and rebuilding the famous Starliner wooden roller coaster, even showing off a shot of the train in storage.  They're working on the funds for that large project, and we continue to wish them the best of luck!  I'm looking forward to watching construction of this new park, filled with classic amusements, take place.