Friday, May 25, 2007

Local Amusement Parks 2007 Part 2


Frontier City. I know that this park is a little more developed than some others on this list, but now that Six Flags ditched it it's returning to it's original local park roots.

Additionally, I think it's cool that the park's new owners are adding a dark ride to the park for 2007. Quick Draw is a 'shoot-em-up' style dark ride where guests aim for targets and collect points while on the ride.

The park has nice theming and some neat rides, and hopefully it will thrive under the new ownership. More info.


Idlewild and Soak Zone. I know that this is part of the Kennywood chain, but it still fits the local park bill perfectly.

This small Pennsylvania park caters to families, and their attraction for 2007 is no different. the Flying Aces is a spinning flat ride that has ten plane ride vehicles attached to it. Riders can control a wing on their ride vehicle to allow for extra height to be achieved.

This type of ride has already proved to be smash hit with ride enthusiasts, and I'm sure that Idlewild's guests will love it as well. More Info.


Knoebel's Amusement Resort. This gem of a park, located in Elysburg, PA, could almost be called the king of local parks. It's long tradition of operating in an almost opposite manor than that of the big regional parks has aided in the park receiving this title.

Started in late 2005, the Flying Turns wooden bobsled coaster should be opening this coming season. Anticipated by many, a ride of this kind has not been seen for decades.

Flying turns joins two other wooden coasters at the park, Twister and Phoenix, and along with many other rides this park has something for everyone. More info.


Kemah Boardwalk. Located in sunny Texas, this boardwalk park is part of a much larger entertainment and shopping district. They have a relatively small collection of rides, to which they are adding a Gravity Group wooden coaster for 2007.

The ride is squeezed into a small space, so it packs a lot of punch in a small area. Gravity Group has received rave reviews for their first two coasters, Hades and The Voyage.

It looks like after the 96 ft. lift hill the ride will be a mess of turns and tight corners. In other words, it looks like a lot of fun. More info.

Lagoon. Being located in Utah does not place this park in a metropolis, however, they park has seen it fit to add some interesting coasters and flat rides over the years.

New for 2007 is Wicked, a steel coaster with an evil side. It's twisted bright green track launches riders at 55 miles per hour up a tower to 110 feet in the air. Riders are then treated to an inclined twist inversion.

The ride looks pretty sweet. It's the first Zierer launch coaster in the United States. More info.


Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. This Wisconsin made a big splash when it opened the Hades wooden coaster in 2005. After grabbing and existing water park and building an indoor ride park, the complex is one giant theme park.

Now in 2007 there's more being added. Apollo's Swing is an S&S swing attraction, and the Posideon's Rage wave pool is being added as well.

The wave pool is a bit insane though, as it's going to have up to 9 foot waves in it. That seems a bit much for a theme park, but we'll let the park work that out. More info.

That's it! Did I forget any?


1 comments:

Benjamin Gagne said...

You forgot Lake Compounce