Saturday, November 20, 2010

Weekly Rewind 11.20.10



Cedar Fair's largest unit holder is not happy with the company's current leadership structure, and wishes to have a separate individual be Chairman of the Board and CEO.  They asked for a special meeting to vote on their request, which Cedar Fair has agreed to.  No time and date are set, yet, but it could be soon.

Lagoon hasn't provided much detail on their new family coaster for 2011, but has added the ride's name and the above graphic to their website.  According to Wiki a Bombora is a series of big waves that break offshore over a shallow part of the sea.  Hmm.

Trouble with PARC Management - CNL Properties, owners of 18 parks and FECs in the US are looking to break their deal with PARC to manage the properties.  Seems that PARC is having problems meeting their financial obligations.  CNL hopes to have a new operator for the parks by next season.  The big question is who?

A sad looking short film that hit the web showcasing the remains of Six Flags New Orleans that said the park would be demolished in January has prompted officials to call those plans 100% untrue.  In fact, they say there is still an offer to redevelop the park pending.  What plan is that, I wonder?

The Zippin Pippin may be going a bit over budget (but additional fundraising should fix that), but the ride is also continuing to make quick progress.  The ride's tallest bent was recently lifted into place.  Photos can be found here.

Legoland Florida is proud of their recycling efforts currently going on while they renovate Cypress Gardens.  The park will reuse 18,000 tons of concrete from former walkways as base for new paths, and moving and then replanting 660 trees while construction finishes.  Nice!

IAAPA 2010 has drawn to a close, but the coverage of the event is in full swing.  Theme Park Review has a full roster of photos, videos, and interviews available from the convention. 

Busch Gardens Tampa is getting ready to open Cirque Dreams at the theme park on December 3rd. According to the park, "Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy is an exotic encounter inspired by nature’s unpredictable creations, brought to life by an international cast of soaring aerialists, spine-bending contortionists, acrobats, jugglers and musicians."

Ed Hart has a new series of videos up on YouTube answering questions from fans about the reopening of Kentucky Kingdom.  This time he tackles some ride questions, like if Twisted Twins will reopen - to which he says yes, the park will spend $3 million for a total renovation and new trains.

Busch Gardens Tampa has been making progress on Cheetah Hunt as well - the park now has track and supports up!  RCPro has a nice update showing off the recent additions.  I'm loving the colors of the ride.

Check out this release from Cantilevered Coaster Systems, which just joined with Setpoint to try to commercialize their idea for a new type of coaster.  They're currently offering two different layouts that would cost a park between $4 and $6 million.  But will any parks bite?

If anyone was wondering if former President of Freestyle Music Park will try to move any rides to his new Orlando Thrill Park development, the answer is no.  He says he has no connection to Freestyle at this point.  That nice B&M ride is still available folks!

Six Flags appears to be saving some cash next year on licensing fees by dropping several themes from all the parks.  Rumor has it that the Wiggles, Thomas Town, Tony Hawk, Evel Knievel, and possibly more themes will not exist at the parks in 2011.  Six Flags Fiesta Texas has already posted their Holiday In The Park ride list - and Tony Hawk is simply called Big Spin, and all the Wiggles rides have generic names now.  Very interesting, indeed.


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