Aerial Antics - New for 2017 Projects at Various Parks

It has been quite a long time since I've done an Aerial Antics post, but I recently was buzzing around Google's aerial maps and noticed that some new-for-2017 attractions were already featured.  To that end, I thought it would be neat to look at some before & afters of several projects.

Worlds of Fun took on a massive new entrance project for 2017, along with adding two 'classic' flat rides.  The new entrance project also included a large new catering facility as well.  There's a lot to compare in these images, but you can see in the upper right that a former junk yard of sorts became the catering area.  The main entrance received all new gates and different positioning, and the area beyond it is totally reimagined.  Where there used to be a couple buildings there is now a large open space meant for gathering and able to be used for performances.  Large walkways lead down a hill to it, then the rest of the area then blends into the existing park.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom added a brand new spinning pendulum ride, Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth.  It can be seen added to the North of Superman Ultimate Flight.  The ride is pretty shoehorned in, but still is able to swing out almost over the entrance to the park, and then opposite toward Superman's station.

You'll also note that I used a bit older "before" aerial to include Roar's transformation into the RMC'd Joker coaster.  You can follow the layouts and see that while they are similar, there are some notable changes in the new steel track version of the ride.

Kings Island added a large new coaster for 2017, the wooden ride named Mystic Timbers that was created by Great Coasters International.  The ride stretches out over the park's river rapids ride, into a heavily wooded area.  The park was able to keep many trees around the coaster when it was built; take notice that the 'after' photo here was in the spring when the trees did not have their leaves yet.  If it had been taken in the summer much less of the ride would be visible.

Finally, Six Flags Over Georgia redeveloped a section of the park to make room for the instillation of a Justice League themed dark ride.  The park had to remove their bumper car building and change some of the adjacent game stands to get the building to fit.  That allowed not only the building needed for the ride to fit, but also the large Justice League themed entrance plaza to be formed.  You can see the decorative pavement for that area in the after photo very clearly.

Aerial Antics: Valleyfair's Recent Changes + Additions

Valleyfair has completed two recent expansions that have dramatically changed sections of the park, which means we can do some fun aerial before-and-afters!

This section of Valleyfair received much attention in the form of a new themed area and a large catering facility.  The Eastern strip of the park used to be home to go-karts, a Skycoaster and mini-golf, mixed together as Challenge Park.

In 2003 Steel Venom was added along the edge of the parking lot, adding an attraction that wasn't pay-extra to the area.  However, the section was a bit awkward in its presentation, isolated from the main park and mostly filled with additional charge rides.

The mini-golf was replaced in 2013 when Picnic Point, a very modern and upgraded catering facility, opened.  That can been seen with the blue/purple roofs in the lower right of this image.  The following year in 2014 the all new Route 76 debuted, which meant the removal of the go-karts for a scenic new antique auto ride.

Two other flat rides were moved from elsewhere in the park to fill Route 76, and a brand new family spinning 'coaster' ride, Northern Lights, was also added.  These changes really brought the area to life and use the space so much better.

Valleyfair's water park, Soak City, was the home of some big changes for the 2015 season.  Above is the before look at a swath of the area worked on.  The park's wave pool, Breakers Bay, was added in 2009 when the water area became known as Soak City.  The wave pool replaced the park's aging log flume.  The rest of the water park is located to the left of this image, so the wave pool was fairly isolated.

Here is the after look at the water park, which increased in overall size for 2015.  In the upper right is the brightly colored slide tower containing Breakers Pipeline and Breakers Plunge.  It replaced a couple buildings along with some midway and also required Hydroblaster, a wet/dry slide to be removed.

In the middle top of the image you can see a new children's area, Barefoot Beach, which replaced the old Imax theater.  There was enough room leftover for a sand volleyball court to go in next to it.  Below that are expanded changing rooms and some new food and retail stands.

With Valleyfair said to be marked for further expansion in the coming years, it looks like we will have several more before and after images to ponder!  Aerial images from Bing and Google.

Aerial Antics: Nagashima Spa Land

Nagashima Spa Land is an interesting park, located in Japan and home to the tallest traditional-lift coaster in the world (at least until Fury 325 opens).  The park has a great selection of rides and coasters, and also offers a huge water park as well.

The park does not have 45 degree images available on Google, but recently updated pure aerial views.  So we shall make do with these.  Above is the giant double helix turnaround portion of Steel Dragon 2000, now operating with some nice looking B&M trains.  The ride's lifts extends up to 328 feet, the current record for that style of ride. 

The back part of the park features an expansive water area, which includes these two slide towers.  On the left is a very new slide from WhiteWater, which is a "fusion" ride combining a Boomerango and Manta.  On the right is the slide tower that features at least a dozen or more slides coming off of it!

One of Japan's few wooden coasters, this is White Cyclone.  It opened back in 1994 and is an Intamin ride.  The ride's track stretches over 5,500 feet, which is quite considerable for a wooden coaster.

Nagashima Spa Land's coaster collection also includes two real gems, at least in my opinion.  Here we see the Looping Star, and original Schwarzkopf coaster of the same name.  With relatively few of these rides still around, I hope this one lasts for years to come.

And the park actually offers another Schwarzkopf ride, this one a shuttle ride.  Creatively named Shuttle Loop, the ride uses a flywheel launch to send trains up each of the 137 foot towers, and of course through a vertical loops.

The park has a new coaster going in as well, this time a B&M flying coaster named Acrobat - a clone of Manta at SeaWorld Orlando.

To check out the rest of the park, click here to head to Google maps.

Aerial Antics: New Carowinds Views

It has been several years since we last looked at Carowinds from above, and I noticed that new aerials have become available of several recent additions.  That said, let's check out what the park has been up to.

Easily one of Carowinds' largest additions in recent years was Intimidator, a B&M mega coaster.  The ride straddles the South Eastern corner of the park, and in this photo the ride was still brand new.  The vibrant red track stands out among the rest of the park.

Going back a bit further in time we take note of Nighthawk, the Vekoma flying coaster formerly known as Borg Assimilator.  When the Paramount themes were dropped the coaster received a makeover, including the bright yellow track and dark blue supports seen in this aerial.

Here's a link to Bing's Birdseye views, which while outdated still are fun to look at.

Google has extremely recent aerials available, and while not at a 45 degree angle, there's still lots of new stuff to look at.  Here is the park's old catering area, along with an antique car style ride.

Both of which were gutted and turned into Dinosaurs Alive!  This is a very expansive path for the attraction, and at some point in the future this will provide great space for another expansion!

The center area of Carowinds has seen a lot of change in the past few seasons.  The water that Nighthawk passes over has seen two big changes, and a large plot of land leftover from the Log Flume removal was also utilized.

Here's the "after" look at the area.  In the lower left we see WindSeeker, along with a nicely redeveloped midway around it.  This past season saw more changes, with the addition of the park's Skycoaster now extending over the water as well.  Just across the way from that is the very large Harmony Hall Marketplace, a brand new dining area for the park.

Carowinds' water park, Boomerang Bay, has also expanded recently.  Above is a "before" shot of a corner of the water park, showing off a nice open area that was perfect for development.

And the park took advantage of that, and added two brand new modern water slide experiences in the area.  Dorsal Fin Drop and Surfer's Swell feature bright colors and liven up this part of Boomerang Bay.

In order to make room for the mighty Fury 325, Carowinds had to clear out some space inside the park's gates to build the station, queue, etc.  Here is a "before" look at just that area, with the park's go-karts and the now-moved Skycoaster under one turn of Hurler.

And here's the space, totally gutted, and quickly being filled with giant footers for an even more giant new roller coaster.

Here is one last set of "before" and "afters," meant to show just how massive the redevelopment project of Carowinds' parking lot and entrance really is.  Of course Fury 325 is a big part of that, but the project is really huge.

If you compare this sorta "after" shot (sorta because they're not done yet in it) you can really see how different the entrance road is.  The new toll plaza sits on a greatly expanded entrance road, and most of the older roads after it are already being reduced to dust.  And yes, if you look close at the top of the image you can see plenty of Fury 325 supports and track out in the field!

The updated Google images feature at least three additional newly painted coasters, along with other changes as well.  Click over and have fun finding them!

Aerial Antics: Kentucky Kingdom's Chang + New 2014 Aerials

I noticed some recently updated aerials of Kentucky Kingdom and thought it might be fun to take a look at the transition of Change into water park expansion, over the course of 5 years or so.

Chang was built at Kentucky Kingdom in 1997, as the largest stand-up coaster at the time.  Built by B&M, the ride eventually had three different paint schemes while at the park.  First there was a bold all yellow look, then came lime green track with purple supports, and finally royal blue supports with yellow track once more.  The above photo is of Chang still at the park, sporting its third and final color scheme.

At the end of the park's 2009 season it was announced by then-owner Six Flags that Chang was being removed in favor of a water park expansion, to be named Bonzai Beach.  The park even went so far as to hang a banner in front of the ride announcing the expansion.  However, suddenly in the winter of 2010 Six Flags essentially ditched the park, announcing it had no intention of opening it again.

Chang had already been removed at that point, which left a graveyard of footers and not much else where the ride once stood - seen above.  This is how the site sat for years while failed negotiations took place to reopen Kentucky Kingdom.  Chang then opened at Six Flags Great Adventure as the Green Lantern in 2011.

When Ed Hart and company finally got a lease in place to reopen the park, the heavy work quickly started in 2013 to make that once announced water park expansion a reality.  Granted it isn't the same that was planned by Six Flags, but more water park is exactly what ended up replacing the home of Chang.

  

On the most recent aerial images available, you can see the final product, known as the Hurricane Bay Beach Club.  The expansion contains a fast water adventure river, family style wave lagoon, some extremely tall speed slides, a twisted family raft ride, and another slide tower with multiple slide styles.

I guess in a sense the promise that Six Flags made to expand Hurricane Bay came true, just 5 or so years later and not on their dollar!

The updated views also allow us to see the air-time machine known as Lightning Run, along with a new set of Larson Flying Scooters.  Next year a new pendulum ride will fill the rest of the open space behind the Scooters.

Check out the updated views on your own from Bing.

Aerial Antics: Family Kingdom

I'm still dreaming of a warm getaway, so here's an aerial look at a great beach spot!

Ahh, to be at a beach right now as nice looking as the one above, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  That amusement and water park you see weaved among the hotels and other attractions is Family Kingdom, which has been in operation since 1966.  It goes without saying that the park has a fantastic location!

The big attraction at Family Kingdom is the Swamp Fox, a classic wooden roller coaster that dates back to the park's opening.  It was badly damaged during Hurricane Hugo (1989) and had to stay closed for a season or two, but was repaired and has been operating since.  The coaster featured a 'traditional' layout, a large figure eight.

Family Kingdom has a nice selection of other rides and attractions, including this log flume that's located over by the park's go-karts.  I must say... it looks like it might benefit from a little landscaping!

Immediately adjacent to the ocean is the small water park that is a part of Family Kingdom, named Splashes.  You can see that it has a number of slides, and also a small area that looks like it is meant for little kids.

Family Kingdom has a dark ride, named The Great Pistolero Roundup, seen above.  Sally created the ride, in which riders are equipped with guns and score points throughout the ride.  Seems like a pretty unique attraction, and most of it in located in a former restaurant!

Family Kingdom is currently advertising four new rides, including a Twist 'n Shout coaster (from Magic Springs) and a couple kiddie rides they just picked up from the former Hard Rock Park.

Aerial Antics: Celebration City

No longer featuring much celebrating at all these days, today we look at Branson's Celebration City - a short lived "night time" theme park.  Meant to be somewhere to head after Silver Dollar City closed for the day, the operation only lasted from 2003 to 2008.

Here we see the entrance area to Celebration City, which was very nicely done - fitting since the park was created by Herschend Family Entertainment.  The park's theme was that of America in the 20th century, with areas themed to past times like a 1920s boardwalk and Route 66.

The park's shoot-the-chutes has a very short life at the park, operating only in 2008.  It was moved from Geauga Lake once that park closed, and is still sitting on the property in Missouri as far as I am aware.

The center of the park featured nice full landscaping, another trait of the park's operators.  Nowadays it has some pads where flat rides used to be located, but most of the buildings look like they've remained in tact.  At least two of these rides (a scrambler and flying scooters) headed further south when Celebration City closed and now reside at sister park Wild Adventures.

The park's go-karts appears as though they could be ready to go in a hurry if need be.  In the upper right is a large pad that I believe used to be the home of a steel coaster known as the Jack Rabbit, which has also been relocated to Wild Adventures.

The night time aspect of the park was emphasized by a large laser light show that was projected onto the massive rock walls seen here.  It helped entice guests to stay till the end of the evening and watch from the large grassy area seen above.  Also in the lower right corner you can see the S&S Double Shot tower, named Accelerator.

Here's a handful of rides that hadn't left the property when these aerials were taken.  The coaster was known as Thunderbolt, and has since been relocated to Colorado.  Also seen are a Ferris wheel and sea dragon... probably since removed as well.  Also take notice of the large Celebration City logo on the roof of the building!

Last, but certainly not least, here is the Ozark Wildcat.  Designed by Great Coasters International, it is currently the company's only coaster to not still be operating.  Like most of the company's rides it features a twisted mess of track, and had Millennium Flyer trains.

To check out Bing's aerials of the park, click here!

Aerial Antics: The Destruction of Whalom Park

The post from a few days ago featuring a brochure from Whalom Park got me thinking about what the area might look like nowadays.   Google Earth features different aerials of the park over the last twenty years, giving us a chance to see the park in both a before and after destruction state.

1995 - As a starting image, here's the park when it was still operating.  Granted it's not the most clear image, but you can get the idea of how the small park was laid out.  Lake Whalom can be seen on the far right of the image, and the Flyer Comet toward the upper right. 

2005 - At this point the park had sat closed for around five years.  Most of the structures are still standing, and in this much more clear image you can see a lot more detail.  Flyer Comet was still there, though most of the flat ride pads are lacking any sort of ride.  The Tumble Bug was located just to the left of the Flyer Comet, though only the circular area the ride sat in is visible in this one.

2008 - Moving on to after the park was torn down.  The trees were spared but that was about all, though you can see some of the outlines where certain rides were located.

2010 - Finally in one of the most recent views we can see what replaced the park.  Some condos were going up as part of a development on the former home of the park.  Sad, but that's progress for you I guess.

All images are © Google Earth.