Aerial Antics: Celebration City

No longer featuring much celebrating at all these days, today we look at Branson's Celebration City - a short lived "night time" theme park.  Meant to be somewhere to head after Silver Dollar City closed for the day, the operation only lasted from 2003 to 2008.

Here we see the entrance area to Celebration City, which was very nicely done - fitting since the park was created by Herschend Family Entertainment.  The park's theme was that of America in the 20th century, with areas themed to past times like a 1920s boardwalk and Route 66.

The park's shoot-the-chutes has a very short life at the park, operating only in 2008.  It was moved from Geauga Lake once that park closed, and is still sitting on the property in Missouri as far as I am aware.

The center of the park featured nice full landscaping, another trait of the park's operators.  Nowadays it has some pads where flat rides used to be located, but most of the buildings look like they've remained in tact.  At least two of these rides (a scrambler and flying scooters) headed further south when Celebration City closed and now reside at sister park Wild Adventures.

The park's go-karts appears as though they could be ready to go in a hurry if need be.  In the upper right is a large pad that I believe used to be the home of a steel coaster known as the Jack Rabbit, which has also been relocated to Wild Adventures.

The night time aspect of the park was emphasized by a large laser light show that was projected onto the massive rock walls seen here.  It helped entice guests to stay till the end of the evening and watch from the large grassy area seen above.  Also in the lower right corner you can see the S&S Double Shot tower, named Accelerator.

Here's a handful of rides that hadn't left the property when these aerials were taken.  The coaster was known as Thunderbolt, and has since been relocated to Colorado.  Also seen are a Ferris wheel and sea dragon... probably since removed as well.  Also take notice of the large Celebration City logo on the roof of the building!

Last, but certainly not least, here is the Ozark Wildcat.  Designed by Great Coasters International, it is currently the company's only coaster to not still be operating.  Like most of the company's rides it features a twisted mess of track, and had Millennium Flyer trains.

To check out Bing's aerials of the park, click here!

Weekly Rewind 1.24.10

Something is afoot at Disney. The Orlando Sentinel reports that the Mouse's charges are hard at work on a "NextGen" technology project which promises to fundamentally alter the Disney theme park experience. But don't expect details to be forthcoming in the near future; the project appears to be shrouded in a heavy duty veil of secrecy.

The last hurdle standing in the way of a Demon Dropping in on Dorney Park this summer has been crossed. This past Wednesday, South Whitehall Township gave the park the green light to proceed with construction of their hand-me-down first generation freefall ride--which is fortunate, considering all of the ride parts have already arrived! Site preparation is scheduled to begin in the coming weeks, so we'll keep you apprised of the progress. A June debut is expected for the ride.

According to the Branson Tri-Lakes News, Herschend Family Entertainment is no closer to deciding the fate of the former Celebration City site than they were when the park closed its gates for good in October 2008. They're hoping to establish some sort of family attraction and have begun to explore their options, but a park spokeswoman has stated that they are still in the "initial stage" of the process. There's still no word on what will become of the famed Ozark Wildcat coaster.

Amusement industry enthusiasts aren't the only ones who have been following the retheming of Alton Towers' Spinball Whizzer coaster with interest. "Gamer" web site 1up.com has also taken notice, and reports that the newly rechristened "Sonic Spinball" will open to the public on February 13.

While most parks have long since announced their plans for new 2010 attractions, some are still holding out...and teasing us to boot! Enchanted Forest in Turner, Oregon posted a mysterious status on their Facebook page back in mid-December which hints at a "top secret" project that is currently underway in Western Town, but they have yet to reveal any further details. Likewise, Magic Springs recently tweeted that "big news" is coming soon. We'll be keeping a close eye on these two!

One park which will not be getting a new ride in 2010 is Lagoon. Despite sightings of what appeared to be coaster track back in October, the local news reports that economic factors have forced park management to forgo plans for a major new attraction this year.

I'm ashamed to admit that I never did get around to entering Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's baby giraffe naming contest. (There was research required, and I'm a bit maxed out on time these days!) Fortunately, more than 650 fellow giraffe lovers did take the time to submit entries, and five finalists have been selected. You can vote for your favorite name on the park's web site through January 29. The winner will be announced on February 1.

Here at NPN, the worst news we'll ever have to deliver is that a park or a beloved ride is being demolished. But as sad as those events may be, there are many people in this world who have real problems, and PARC Management is making it easier for you to help some of them. By making a donation to the PARC Foundation, you can make a difference in the lives of those affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti. As Magic Springs and other PARC properties have been announcing on Facebook, an anonymous individual has generously offered to match all donations up to $10,000 which are made through February 5, which means your contribution will go even further! If you haven't already, please spare what you can to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

Celebration City - Any Hope For Reopening?

No real news has come out about the future of the closed Celebration City amusement park, located in Branson, MO, since it shut its doors after the end of the 2008 season. When it closed, Herschend Family Entertainment said it was exploring new "development concepts" for the property, including an aquarium, shopping and restaurants, and more.

It's rumored that the trains from the Great Coasters International designed Ozark Wildcat are being moved to Wild Adventures for use on Cheetah, but this has not been confirmed. To my knowledge, GCI's Millennium Flyer trains have never operated on a coaster that wasn't designed by them. Wild Adventures did say that Cheetah will receive $1 million in renovations this off season, so perhaps a full retracking is in order? Could be exciting.

It's also looking pretty sure that Wild Adventures' new coaster for 2010 will be the Jack Rabbit from Celebration City, along with two other rides from the park.

Perhaps Herschend is just waiting on the economy to pick up to make a move on the site, but as of now things are rather quiet. You guys hear anything I missed?

Aerial Antics: Celebration City

Sadly now just a piece of history, here's an aerial I stitched together of Celebration City theme park located in Branson, Missouri. I really hope something good comes for the GCI wooden coaster, the Ozark Wildcat.

Celebration City Closing Forever

Herschend Family Entertainment has announced that they will be closing the Celebration City theme park for good. The park's last operating day will be tomorrow, Saturday, October 25th.

The cause of the closing is a "shift in business strategy," however the company" is already exploring various new development concepts for the site including an aquarium, other family attractions, re-theming the current park and also, destination retail and dining."

A fair guess is also that economic issues are at play as well, keep in mind that Herschend just postponed Dollywood and Silver Dollar City's (then unannounced) new for 2009 attractions to 2010 due to concerns over the nation's economic status and the cost of materials.

All Photos © Carol Holmes

The nighttime theme park first opened in 2003 in the busy tourist area of Branson, Missouri. Highlight attractions include the Ozark Wildcat, a GCI wooden roller coaster, and the recently added Roaring Falls - the splashdown ride from the now defunct Geauga Lake amusement park. The park features some very nice early 20th Century American theming as well.

No word yet on what will happen to the park's amusement rides.

Celebration City 2008 Announced

Celebration City has added information to their web page about their new ride for 2008, Roaring Falls. Roaring Falls is a Chute-the-Chutes style splashdown ride, and is coming to the park from the former Geauga Lake Amusement Park.

I'm glad that this ride from Geauga Lake will have a nice home. Here's a link to the ride's page on Celebration City's website.

Celebration City 2008

It was announced at an ACE event this past weekend that Shipwreck Falls from Geauga Lake is Celebration City's new for 2008 attraction.

There are few rides left at the property that have a decent chance of being salvaged, time will only tell what ones will be saved.