PortAventura Ferrari Land Construction Update + New Coaster Signage Installed

© PortAventura

Almost exactly one year from the start of the construction of PortAventura World Parks & Resort's third theme park, named Ferrari Land, construction crews placed a huge shield logo on the side of the area's new signature roller coaster.

The famous "prancing horse" Ferrari logo, seen above and measuring almost 40 feet tall, was carefully lifted into place during a media event to celebrate the occasion.  The vertical accelerator coaster is the tallest in Europe, standing 367 feet tall, and will reach speed of 112 miles per hour.

© PortAventura

The new roller coaster (designed by Intamin) is actually one of the first items in the new Ferrari Land to be installed, and is scheduled to be complete in just a few weeks.  The rest of the park is about halfway done, with major foundation work now complete.

Next up will be the instillation of buildings and other attractions, with thematic work taking place after.  The park will carry an Italian theme, including the iconic buildings of Maranello, the home of Ferrari.  Luis Valencia, Direction of Development for PortAventura noted that they are "currently involved in construction of the buildings that will shape the area dedicated to traditional Italy, such as the trattoria, and the area designated for the simulators.  Once the construction phase is complete we will start working on the theming of the buildings."

© PortAventura

Other attractions at the park will include an "electric car circuit" that will have a track stretching over 1,640 feet, with vehicles based on Ferrari GP racing cars.  There will also be the driving simulators referenced above, two "bounce-back" tower rides, a kid's area and a "real pit stop" where visitors can "change the wheels of a F1 racing car."

Ferrari Land will occupy almost 15 acres of land adjacent to PortAventura's main entrance and the Hotel PortAventura.  The PortAventura resort has been on a major expansion kick lately, attempting to raise attendance and become a vacation destination for all of Europe.  Ferrari Land is their largest investment in that plan yet, costing well over $100 million to complete.  It is slated to open in 2017.

Hershey's Chocolate Tour to Have Grand Reopening May 14th

The wait is almost over!  The grand reopening of the famous Chocolate Tour at Hershey's Chocolate World will take place on May 14th, at 8:30 in the morning.

The attraction, which has pleased millions with a free piece of candy at the end, has undergone its first major renovation in 10 years, and now features the "latest in digital technology" along with new animated characters and scenes all while still telling the story of how Hershey's chocolate is made.

© Hershey's Chocolate World

As if the new ride isn't exciting enough, the first 500 fans in line will receive special commemorative gifts and chocolate bars!

Changes to the ride itself include a major update to the barnyard scene that takes place near the start of the attraction.  It was announced earlier that Gabby, Harmony and Olympia - the singing cows made famous in the last version of the ride - would be headed to a happy retirement.  Fans of the experience have already voted to name 5 of the 7 new cows in the ride - Mocha, Caramel, Strawbella, Blossom and Cocoa.  The 6th cow will still be named via social media vote, and the 7th by Hershey employees.

The rest of the ride will feature all new LED lighting, 13 animatronic characters, new informative graphics in the queue, sets that feature projection mapping and holographic effects, a new photo memory feature and a new ride narration and theme song.

The ride has been previewing during various states of the renovations, so some fans have already seen a preview of the changes.  However the full show will be waiting for new visitors on May 14th and Hershey's Chocolate World!

Heard On... Cedar Fair's Q1 2016 Earnings Conference Call

Almost hard to believe that another round of quarterly earnings calls have arrived, with some of our favorite park operators reporting their 1st quarter of 2016 results.  Cedar Fair announced record results for this past quarter, and as always their conference call gave more detail.  Here are some notes from that call:

• The company's latest goal was to hit $500 in ebitda by 2018, and now believe that they will hit that number before that target, possibly an entire year early.  In short, things are going very well for them.

• The record Q1 results saw $58 million in revenues (up 25%), record attendance and strong opening weekends at California's Great America, Carowinds and Kings Dominion.

• Deferred revenues, which are on the books from the sale of season passes, dining, beverage and photo passes, are up 14% or $13 million to $105 million.  That means the company has sold quite a bit more of these this year.

© Cedar Fair

• Knott's Berry Farm, the only park open for all of the 1st quarter, posted record attendance and in park spending.  The park's adjacent hotel has also posted record results.  The park has become a "regional entertainment destination" with a focus on seasonal events that draw guests back.  This year the park has already hit an all-time record for season passes sold and the revenues from them.

• The company is excited to open their new for 2016 attractions, noting that Valravn at Cedar Point is already generating a lot of publicity, and Carowinds' new water park is of "a new generation" with tons of special features and amenities.

• Cedar Fair will continue to embrace and grow each park in line with their own regional brand.  Knott's and Carowinds were studied first, Cedar Point and Canada's Wonderland were just completed, and Valleyfair and California's Great America are up next.  Based on the in-depth studies of the parks, both marketing and expansion plans will be formed.

© Cedar Fair

• The company has 1,300 acres of undeveloped land around its parks, and wants to start to use some of it for additional growth.  The new sports complex at Cedar Point is being looked at as something that could come to other properties.

• Other developments could include new hotels, camp ground expansions and shops and dining adjacent to park entrances.  California's Great America is an example of where this could first work, using Levi Stadium as a natural draw.  This development is part of a larger rezoning plan for expansion at that park, drawing off a very under-tapped market of dense population surrounding it.  They hope for expansion results on the level of Carowinds for the park.

© Cedar Fair

• More "techtainment" or the merging of technology and entertainment, will show up at the parks.  The recent additions like Wonder Mountain's Guardian and Plants Vs. Zombies are examples of this style of attraction and have been deemed a success.  The operators feel that Mass Effect will be the best use of technology in a park on a new for 2016 attraction in the U.S.

Six Flags Releases New Concept Art for Thrill Park in Dubai

© Six Flags

Here is our first official look at what Six Flags has planned for the park that is being developed in Dubai under a licensing agreement.  Known as Six Flags Dubai, the park is expected to open in 2019 as a part of Dubai Parks and Resorts' second phase of development.  When completed, the theme park will be located near the Lapita Hotel and Riverland Dubai, close to at least three other theme parks.

© Six Flags

The park will have 27 rides and attractions, from large coasters and interactive dark rides, to smaller family attractions.  A large part of the park will be indoors so as to be air-conditioned, including the entrance promenade with a "VIP mezzanine, space for private and catered events, along with an assortment of retail and food locations including a signature bakery and deli. Guests will have access to three attractions from inside the plaza and the park’s signature roller coaster will encircle the entire promenade."

© Six Flags

The theme park is described as "intricately themed" with planning design work done by Forrec, a well known theme park planning company.  The larger version of the concept art above shows several large rides that stand out, such as:

• A clone of Goliath, a Rocky Mountain wooden coaster at Six Flags Great America
• A large steel coaster, perhaps a hyper or large launched ride, that interacts with the entrance plaza
• An Intamin ZacSpin or "ball coaster"
• One of Mack's new Power Splash water shuttle coasters
• A clone of Gerstlauer's spinning coaster, like Six Flags New England's Pandemonium
• One of the 400+ foot Star Flyer swing rides
• A pair of S&S tower rides

Other attractions that can be seen or are mentioned in the press release include a 4-D interactive dark ride, virtual reality experiences, a large stunt show, water rides and family attractions.

Six Flags Entertainment will not actually build or own Six Flags Dubai, as this development just licenses the use of the name and the help of the company to design the property.

Mass Effect: New Earth Opens at California's Great America May 18th

© California's Great America

The official opening date for California's Great America's new "4D Holographic Journey," known as Mass Effect: New Earth, has been announced.  Starting May 18th park visitors will be able to travel through the galaxy on the ride, which features the "world's largest and highest resolution 3D LED screen."

Created after the series of popular Mass Effect video games, the ride is a simulator style attraction that combines 3D film with motion seats, live actors and in-theater special effects to create a journey that is literally out of this world.

© California's Great America

The park recently released this photo of the giant 3D LED screen with the live actor and some special effects going off as well.  The resolution of the giant screen is really stunning, utilizing more that 8.2 million pixels to create the images.

California's Great America released the below video showing off the technology that has gone into creating Mass Effect: New Earth - it's really quite a step forward for a Cedar Fair park in my opinion.

If you haven't already checked out this video, I highly suggest giving it a watch.

While the grand opening isn't until May 18th, the theme park has been starting some previews of the new attraction in recent weeks.  The ride is very much still in the test and adjust phase, with early rider feedback being used to maximize the experience.  If you want a bit of a spoiler review, here's a link to a recent one.

Between the recent Triotech dark rides and the Plants Vs. Zombies and Mass Effect attractions, I'm quite excited to see how Cedar Fair will further embrace new technologies in the coming years!

Legoland California Ready to Open New Ninjago World with Innovative Darkride

© Legoland California

Starting May 5th, visitors to Legoland California will be able to train, explore and battle in the park's new Lego Ninjago World themed area.  The latest expansion of the ever-growing theme park features all the Ninjago characters along with interactive exhibits that test kids' balance, agility, speed and creativity.

The themed area also includes 22 new Lego models and Zane's Temple Build, and area where visitors can free build with a large supply of Legos.  Rounding out the offerings of Lego Ninjago World are Ninja Kitchen, a new dining facility, and Wu's Warehouse, a retail store.

© Legoland California

The major attraction that will have guests lining up in droves is Ninjago The Ride, North America's first interactive dark ride featuring Maestro hang gesture technology.  The feature retires the traditional 'blasters' found on similar rides, allowing guests to shoot fireballs, shockwaves, ice and more at enemies using just their hand movements.

“We’ve really taken Legoland California’s principle of ‘hands on, minds on’ to a whole new level,” said General Manager of Legoland California Resort Peter Ronchetti. “We’re firing the imagination to another degree taking the idea of using gestures to propel fire, ice, etc…it has never been done before and it’s bridging the gap between the old way of using physical props, bricks, and the like, with the new world of virtual technology.”

Riders collect points as they move through the ride, with winning totals displayed at the end.  Real effects such as heat, smoke and wind make the 3-D experience into a 4-D one.

SoCal Attractions 360 was on hand at the ride's media event, and filmed this tour of the new area, ride queue and the actual ride experience.

Once aboard the 4-passenger vehicles, riders travel "through 13 different scenes encountering villains such as snakes, skeletons, ghosts, Lord Garmaddon (king of the Skulkuns) and ultimately, The Great Devourer…a giant serpent who can only be defeated by all of the ninja riders working together and using all the elements."  The above video shows how riders can tell how they're doing on-screen by following the color assigned to them on the ride vehicle's dashboard.

While the ride and new area are just getting ready to officially open in California this week, the parent company of the parks is already planning similar Ninjago expansions at Legoland parks across the globe, including Legoland Florida in 2017.