Holiday World To Focus On Comfort And Family In 2011

I'll let Dan and Pat Koch do the talking, but Holiday World and Splashin' Safari has announced their plans for the park's 2011 season, in which guest comfort and families will be the focus.

Fun new attractions for kids will be added in both the theme and water parks, and the entire property will see changes aimed at taking the guest comfort level up yet another notch. Improvements and additions to changing and rest rooms, lockers, parking facilities, and food service establishments are mentioned in the announcement.

While no major new rides was announced, it sure sounds like a lot of capital will be spent on improving the parks again next year. And for a lot of parks, doesn't having a year with smaller additions usually mean a big year to follow? Perhaps!

Luna Park Enjoys Successful First Year

Business has been quite good during Luna Park's inaugural year, according to new reports. The park, which opened Memorial Day weekend, has already seen 400,000 visitors this summer.

Coney Island in general has seen increased business all around, with an estimated 14 million people visiting the beach and boardwalk this year. Much of that is attributed to the reopening of an full-fledged amusement park along the beach.

To continue the summer season's success, Luna Park will feature Nights of Horror at Luna Park starting on October 15th. The park will add a fifteen hundred square foot haunted house and the entire park will feature spooky music, ghouls, and lightning. The event will run weekends through Halloween.

The park is set to expand next year with the addition of the Scream Zone, an area filled with new rides and attractions. While specific rides to be added haven't been announced yet, two large coasters could be planned for the site.

Sea World San Antonio 2011: Sesame Street Bay of Play

Sea World San Antonio has announced a new family area for the park's 2011 season, named Sesame Street Bay of Play. The new land will sit on three acres of park that was formerly known as Shamu's Happy Harbor.

New rides that are aimed at smaller children will dot the area. A new Carousel will feature everyone's favorite Sesame Street characters. Big Bird’s Spinning Reef, a Ferris wheel, Elmo’s Dolphin Dive, a vertical drop ride, and Abby Cadabby’s Rocking Wave, a ride that rocks forwards, backwards and sideways will be added. The area will also contain Little Bird’s Splash which will feature 22 water elements such as bubblers, geysers, jets and dumping buckets.

The park's 4-D Sea Star Theater will also show Sesame Street Presents Lights, Camera, Imagination! which features Elmo, Big Bird, and the rest of the Sesame Street gang. The film features in theater special effects such as wind, bubbles, and water sprays. The new area will also have photo and retail locations.

The Sesame Street Bay of Play is scheduled to open in Spring, 2011. The official press release can be read here, and some concept art photos are available on this blog.

The Tower of Terror II Opens

Australia's Dreamworld has reopened the Tower of Terror thrill attraction, but now it's technically the Tower of Terror II. The ride underwent a refurbishment and is now operating with the cars launching and traveling up the tower backwards. This means that riders are now face first as they hang briefly well over 300 ft. above the ground.

The ride originally opened in 1997 and was noted as the first coaster to reach 100 miles per hour. The recent upgrade and conversion is of importance to Six Flags Magic Mountain fans, where it is highly rumored that Superman will feature similar upgrades. That ride is currently closed with signs in front of it promising a reopening in 2011.

The new cars feature over-the-shoulder restraints, but with the new cars it is possible that the full speed launch could return to Superman, something I'm sure fans would absolutely love to see.

September Poll Update

This month's NPN Poll is now a very close race. We're asking what our readers' favorite B&M Mega Coaster is.

Right now things are pretty close between Diamondback at Kings Island,

Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure,

and Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Make sure you vote over on the left to have your opinion counted!

Edit: Don't stuff the ballots! Six Flags Over Georgia's Goliath just received 100 or so votes in the past few hours. That's just lame!

Diving Into Heide Park In 2011

© Heide Park

The track that has been being delivered to Germany's Heide Park is apparently for a new B&M Dive Machine coaster, although it is said that the ride will be smaller than other models. The park's official blog is touting the new $10 million addition, which will be located in the Pirate Bay area, which added a new splash battle attraction this season. Hopefully some nice Pirate theming will be added to the ride - it lends itself nicely to a big splash area!

I really enjoy B&M Dive Machines, and even though this one will be considerably smaller than the others I bet it will still be a great ride. I anticipate more photos of the ride when it starts going up.