Weekly Rewind 7.17.10

Coaster club members should be interested in knowing that Valleyfair will hold their Coaster Craze event this Friday, July 23rd. The park will have plenty of ERT for guests, as well as a question and answer session with park management. Full details are available here.

Arnold's Park is holding an All American Memories Contest where you can submit your favorite park memories for a chance to win four tickets to the park. The contest will run all summer long so there's more than one chance to win! Read more and enter on Arnold's Park's website.

Cedar Fair has announced that they are going to be refinancing their current debt at the end of this month. Hopefully this will allow the company some breathing room in the coming years - breathing room that will allow for new capital expenditures we hope!

We already know that Busch Gardens Williamsburg is planning a large tower attraction for next year, but if you want to read the planning notes for the approval of the ride you can click here. There are no new details available, but it's still something to check out.

Check out this scene by scene description of Ariel's Undersea Adventure, currently under construction at Disney California Adventure. The Funland blog breaks down what riders will encounter along the way of what sounds like a great dark ride.

The Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney's Animal Kingdom has always been a favorite attraction of mine, and soon guests will be able to experience it in a new way. The park will offer extra charge exploration tours of the Harambe Reserve in small groups. Details are still in the planning stages, but it sounds like a great experience.

Plans for a massive eco-theme park in Texas are still being kicked around, although no dirt has been moved yet. EarthQuest is to sit on 500 acres of land when it opens, potentially in 2013. The project has already been delayed, though, so I wouldn't book your plane tickets just yet.

Learn some more about the technical wizardry that went into creating Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Islands of Adventure with this article. The super high-tech ride is thrilling thousands of Harry Potter fans each day, and has received rave reviews.

Coaster101.com is holding another photo contest this year. Categories include Original Photo, Edited Photo, and Humorous Photo. Head over to their site to check it out and submit your snap shots.

In a few weeks the Kentucky State Fair will open without the use of the former Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom park. Officials are optimistic the Fair will do okay without the park, but some are not convinced. Hopefully the state works with the new operator they've lined up to get the park open so the 2011 Fair doesn't suffer as well.

I'm still so looking forward to Knoebel's opening the Black Diamond next year. That makes this recent article a must read for me. The park is letting two designers (not saying who, though) come up with plans for the dark ride stunts, then they'll pick one. I can't wait!

Interviews with Dick Kinzel are always worth a read. This one covers his feelings on Shoot The Rapids, what's new next year, and more. He also mentions that 1994 was the park's best year ever, with 3.6 million visitors.

Ghost Town In The Sky can't get a break, huh. After receiving a new owner who pulled them from bankruptcy, access to the park was blocked by a massive mud-slide. Now the park has no shot at opening this summer. How cruel, fate!