Diagon Alley Details Webcast Anouncement

Universal Studios Florida has sent out an announcement that a major announcement of the details of their new Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley will be done during a live webcast on January 23rd at 10:30 am.  The new Harry Potter expansion is so big that even its announcement requires an announcement!

In the above video, released by the park today, actor James Phelps (who played Fred Weasley in the Potter films) only hints at what's coming without giving away any details.

So how can you make sure you're a part of the webcast announcement?  Follow this link and make sure to register beforehand and you should be set.  I'm looking forward to seeing what Mr. Weasley has to say on the 23rd of January!

Soak City Palm Springs Receives Wet 'n' Wild Branding

The most recent water park to be sold by Cedar Fair, formerly known as Soak City Palm Springs, will now be know as Wet 'n' Wild Palm Springs.  The park is currently owned by CNL Lifestyle Properties, and managed by Premier Parks LLC. 

In addition to the new name, Wet 'n' Wild Palm Springs will also open a new attraction next year.  A Flow Rider surfing simulator will be opened, allowing for surfing to take place in the desert!  Popular at many other water parks, the surfing simulator utilizes a thin sheet of water under high pressure to create an artificial wave that guests can surf or board on.

“The property in Palm Springs, which we acquired this August, has been a great addition to our existing water park portfolio,” said Curt Caffey, senior vice president and managing director at CNL Lifestyle Properties. “By rebranding it as Wet ‘n’ Wild, we hope to both maximize our value for our shareholders and raise awareness of the park in Southern California.”

Wet 'n' Wild Palm Springs will join two other branded parks owned by the company, located in Arizona and Hawaii.  The new owners are pushing the value of season passes and adding additional entertainment next year, including Dive-In Movies.

Hersheypark Announces New Family Rides for 2014

Hersheypark has announced the addition of three new family rides and several new dining options for the park's 2014 season.  This past season the park expanded their Boardwalk water park with a new sprayground and several water slides, and the year before that saw the massive introduction of SkyRush.

Via Hersheypark

The biggest of the three new rides is a family roller coaster, the park's 12th in total.  The ride features an oval shape and is meant for the whole family, including smaller guests.  It will be located in Music Box Way, near the park's Fender Benders.

The two other rides will be added in Comet Hollow, and will be a set of Tea Cups and also a Happy Swings.  From the photos and descriptions, all three new rides appear to be from Zamperla.

The park will also add a Chickie's & Pete's, known for their crabfries, and a frozen yogurt stand.  A Chickie's and Pete's opened at Dorney Park this past year and found much success, so it is great to see the brand expanding into more amusement parks.

From The Vault: Kings Dominion 1988 Brochure

Let's travel back in time to the end of the '80s, specifically 1988 at Kings Dominion.  A new roller coaster debuted that year, so there was a really good reason to pay a visit to the park.

But before we get to that, here's some very 1980s looking folks with balloons!  That's a really interesting choice for a cover photos, not a ride, not an attraction... but balloons.  On the back cover we have the all-important dates and times - but no ticket prices!

The new coaster for 1988 was the Avalanche Bobsled, the "only ride of its kind in the country" - when it opened at least.  The "twisting and turning" slopes of the ride made it a unique offering, especially the seating arrangement.  Avalanche certainly wasn't the biggest coaster opening in the country, but the park went for a different style of ride and that got them a lot of attention.

Naturally the rest of Kings Dominion had plenty to offer.  You can read some of the text, but note that you could see Gorge Jetson and his dog, Astro at the park - plus the Hanna-Barbera characters were available too.  I see a Smurf!

See, you simply cannot have more fun anywhere else!  Rides like the Berserker and the stand up coaster Shockwave would help in that goal, plus there were live shows, dolphins, and more!

A Great Snowy Evening Read

© The Goddard Group

I know it isn't snowing everywhere, but it is in the Northeast and that means it's a great night to hunker down and read some fun stuff about parks.  I came across this article recently and that means today is a perfect day to share it!

Jurassic Park the Ride is a favorite of many, mostly because it brought to life a book/movie that so many were enamored with, myself included.  First opening in Hollywood and eventually Florida, the ride also exists in Japan as well as a modified version in Singapore - all at Universal Parks.

The great website Inside Universal recently published a two part series looking at the development of the ride with Gary Goddard of the Goddard Group.  He played an integral role in developing the attraction, and the story gives some great insights into that process, neat tidbits about the ride, and original concept art for the ride showing how things could have been.

The story also touches on other Universal attractions he helped developed, all very interesting stuff.  Check out part one at this link.

New Details Shared Of Universal Orlando's Diagon Alley

Well, perhaps it's nothing that we didn't already sorta know, but it's still nice to see Universal Orlando releasing anything official about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley.  The resort released some addition information on the much anticipated expansion at the same time they revealed CityWalk's new additions this week.

The video features Mark Woodbury, President of Universal Creative, along with two others who have been working day and night on the London version of Potter's world.  They go into some detail about both Hogwarts Express and the Leaky Cauldron restaurant, along with explaining the level of detail that will be utilized in both the London facade and Diagon Alley.

Better yet, they promise new details to be released at the start of the new year, so we won't have to wait much longer for more information.