Weekly Rewind 12.5.10

Cheetah Hunt, at Busch Gardens Tampa, continues to grow bigger each day.  In additional to the first launch and turn, crews have started to build the first tower element.  Check out the photos.

Universal Studios Hollywood will host "Max to the Rescue: Whoville's Have A Heart Animal Adoption Fairs" on December 11th and 12th.  Max, who was a shelter dog himself, will greet guests who may become the adoptive parent to one of his friends.  The event is being held the opening weekend of Universal Studios Hollywood's Grinchmas event.  More on this great event here.

Cedar Fair has set the record date for unit holders to be eligible in the vote that Q Funding has requested.  This is when the distribution could be forcefully raised, and Dick Kinzel's position of Chairman and CEO separated.  No date and place for the vote meeting was listed.

Its not much, but Canada's Wonderland recently shared a photo of WindSeeker construction.  Looks like they are digging up a big area for the new 301' ride.  Can't wait to see more from the park.

Visitors to Myrtle Beach will have a new way to get panoramic views of the beach next year.  The almost 200 ft. tall SkyWheel is currently being built, and has a planned opening of May.  The attraction will have enclosed glass gondolas allowing it to operate year round.

Valleyfair has also been hard at work on Planet Snoopy, their new children's area for the 2011 season.  A new gallery of photos was posted the park's website showing off all the work.

Silver Dollar City was named one of AOLs 10 Best Christmas Light Displays this year.  Silver Dollar City features the Christmas on Main Street light and sound show, 1,000 decorated Christmas trees, a Holiday Light Parade, the Broadway-style production of “A Dickens' Christmas Carol,” festive holiday foods and over four million lights.

Busch Gardens created a nice video showing off the work being done for Vanish Point, the new slide tower at Water Country USA.  The wild slides are sure to be a hit at the park next year.


Does it have to be time to see photos of amusement parks covered in the snow? I wish we could fast forward to Spring!  Darien Lake already got covered in the white stuff, and while the photos are pretty I still don't look forward to a long Winter!

Zippin Pippin weekly update time!  The turn from the top of the lift to the drop is almost complete, and work on the footers for the outstretch of the ride are well underway. The ride is also up for a Pepsi Refresh grant, which can be voted for here.

Aerial Antics: Myrtle Beach Pavilion

This week's Aerial Antics will be short, sweet, and sorta sad. If you remember back to our look at the before and after of Six Flags AstroWorld, then this will seem familiar.

Here we have Myrtle Beach Pavilion, stuffed to the gills with fun rides and attractions. There was the Custom Coasters created Hurricane wooden coaster, a mad mouse, log flume, river rapids ride, and plenty more.

And here we have an empty field. Myrtle Beach Pavilion closed in September of 2006, after operating for 48 or so years. Once the land was cleared, it just sat, which is really a shame. The Hurricane coaster was demolished, and it's trains sent to Kings Island for use on Son of Beast. The Wild Mouse was purchased by the Nascar Speed Park in Myrtle Beach, where it is now in storage:

See. There it is, just sittin' around waiting to be built. The Nascar park also purchased a kiddie coaster from Pavilion as well.

Such a shame that the park was demolished and the land not even utilized. Here's a link to the aerials.

Daily Spin 6.6.09

As the "on" season kicks into full swing, the ever innovative marketing gurus at Hersheypark continue to assault our senses with technology. This week the park reminded the Facebook community to check out the "Hersheypark Today" mobile web site (mobile.hersheypark.com), which provides up-to-the-minute information on burning topics such as ride statuses and entertainment schedules. Definitely something to check out for all you technophiles who are cool enough to own an iPhone or some other fun toy that actually makes surfing the web on a mobile device somewhat enjoyable! On another technological front, the team has supplemented the supremely entertaining Hersheypark Hits the Road blog with an equally entertaining series of videos that capture John and Luke's antics during their recent trip to the Sunshine State. These videos are available for your viewing pleasure on Hershey's YouTube channel as well as the blog itself. Hilarious!

Speaking of technology, this week Morey's Piers launched their brand new web site, a facelift that was 10 months in the making. Norris Clark, Director of Sales and Marketing, called the effort "the most involved project the marketing department has undertaken in years". I must say their hard work has paid off, because the site looks great! Among other things, a slew of new multimedia components have been added, including a new and improved 360-degree interactive tour, audio introductions to each of the main navigation areas by their respective team leaders, and the option to view the site in "day", "night", or "thrill" mode. Be sure to check it out!

In other seaside news, the North Myrtle Beach City Council has approved new amusement park guidelines which will allow the proposed plan to build a small, family-oriented park along Ocean Boulevard to move forward. The park, which will be called O.D. Pavilion and Amusement Park ["O.D." referring to the Ocean Drive section of Myrtle Beach], is scheduled to open August 1 and will stay open through Labor Day weekend. If all goes well, it will reopen next year for a full summer season. You can read more about the park in this article from The Sun News.

Carol and Jerome Albert, former owners of Coney Island's beloved but now defunct Astroland, have donated one of the stars that used to adorn Astroland's entrance to the Smithsonian collection according to this article. The 8-foot tall, 200-pound star, which features 160 light bulbs, is slated to be put on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Northern Virginia sometime in 2011. Margaret A. Weitekamp, a curator at the National Air and Space Museum who hand-picked this particular star, noted that the Alberts had originally offered to donate Astroland's famed rocket simulation ride but that particular item proved to be "a little more than the Air and Space Museum could handle". But since the rocket has since found a good home-not-away-from-home as well, the story has a happy ending. Or at least, as happy of an ending as you can get when it comes at the expense of losing Astroland. At least we will not lose its history!

Is There Yet Another Park in Myrtle Beach's Future?

The amusement park scene in Myrtle Beach seems to have fallen into a perpetual cycle of expansion and contraction. In the wake of the Pavilion closure, followed by the Hard Rock Park/Freestyle Music Park drama, it now appears that Myrtle Beach may be gearing up to welcome another newcomer.

The Sun News reports that two local businessmen are backing a proposed plan to build a small amusement park around 91 S. Ocean Boulevard. Those backers are Mark Lazarus, owner of Wild Water & Wheels, and H.G. Worley, who co-owns the land on which the park would be built. Dreamland Amusements, a company which specializes in providing amusements for state and county fairs, is being tapped to supply the rides.

While precious few details are revealed in the article, it does mention that the park would be named "OD Pavilion and Amusement Park" and would feature a Ferris wheel, small roller coaster, games, and "other rides". No gate admission would be charged; instead, each ride would cost approximately $2-$3, which is pretty much in line with what nearby Family Kingdom Amusement Park charges for ride tickets.

Plans for the new park are dependent on a change to the North Myrtle Beach city code which has already been unanimously approved by the board and now awaits sign-off by the City Council. If all goes well, the park could open as early as August 2009.

In light of all the emotions stirred by the Pavilion's closure, a new park which pays tribute to that tradition--even down to its name--could do well in Myrtle Beach. Over the past year, the local community has made it clear that they are interested in good old-fashioned seaside family fun as opposed to blockbuster theme parks. The real question is, how would the arrival of a new "traditional" park affect Family Kingdom's business?

Below is a map illustrating the distribution of some of the past, present, and [potentially] future parks in Myrtle Beach. Clockwise from the upper left-hand corner, the blue markers represent Freestyle Music Park, Pavilion Nostalgia Park, the former site of the Pavilion, the proposed site for OD Pavilion and Amusement Park, and Family Kingdom. There is not a lot of breathing room between the last two!

Myrtle Beach: And Then There Was One

Amusement industry headlines have been absolutely littered with all the bad news coming out of Myrtle Beach over the past couple years. The classic Myrtle Beach Pavilion had no sooner met its untimely demise than the news began to break about the fate of its flashier upstart cousin, Hard Rock Park. But while the industry at large was busy focusing on these stories of gloom and doom, a silent success story was being written by nearby Family Kingdom Amusement Park.

© Family Kingdom

This charming little park, which stands proudly as one of the last true seaside amusement parks in the United States, has gained from its competitors' losses and shows no signs of following in their unfortunate footsteps. In fact, TripAdvisor recently named Family Kingdom the #5 best amusement park in the country outside Orlando. And you'll be hard pressed to find a newspaper or magazine article about the Grand Strand which fails to mention this family favorite.

But don't take my word for it--Family Kingdom's web site includes links to a whole host of articles covering the park's rich history and continuing popularity. A few of their rides really have a story to tell! It's also interesting to note the caustic tone taken toward Hard Rock Park in some of these articles, and that's putting it gently. Regardless, one common theme rings clear: A whole lotta love is still bestowed upon Family Kingdom, and it is well deserved.