Aerial Antics: The Remains of Six Flags New Orleans

It has been seven years since Hurricane Katrina's devastation took the fun out of Six Flags New Orleans, and all this time later the park is still sitting much as it was the day the storm arrived.

Well, at least many of the items at the park are still standing as they were, but the park is by no means in the same condition it once was.  After the water receded what remained of the park was then left to rot, much as it is still doing today.  The most recent plan would see an outlet mall built on top of the park's remains, but even that seems to be struggling along.

Google is continuing to add 45 degree angle views of many cities around the globe, and one of the recent additions was the greater New Orleans area.  That's where these images - such as the one of the creepy looking children's area above - are from.  I don't think that many kids would have much fun in the former Looney Tunes Adventures area these days.

From the air it actually looks like they could move the Jester's train off that maintenance track and send it around the course, but we know better.  The Vekoma designed ride had a former life at Six Flags Fiesta Texas as the Joker's Revenge, where the trains ran backwards.  I can't say I'm surprised that Six Flags didn't move the ride once more after the park closed. 

Six Flags New Orleans' star coaster was the Mega Zeph, a Custom Coasters wooden ride that featured a 110 foot lift hill and 4,000 feet of track.  While the ride appears to look pretty good these days from our high vantage point, most of that is due to the ride's steel structure.  As far as the ride's track and its ability to operate, that's another story entirely.  The ride looked like a lot of fun in its early years at the park, especially when it was Jazzland.

One of the last developments at the park before it closed was the addition of the DC Comics Super Hero Adventures area.  The area was home to a B&M inverted Batman clone coaster, which was known as Batman while at the park.  It has been long since operating at Six Flags Fiesta Texas as Goliath.

The coaster and the area's other flat rides were purchased from a closed Japanese amusement park, named Thrill Valley.  Only Batman was saved and moved, the other rides continue to sit on site.

The park's Ozarka Splash log flume could trick you into thinking it is open in this shot with the sun shining on the splash pool, but the large pile of rubble at the base of the main drop would say otherwise.  It is rather creepy that the ride's logs are still sitting on the lifts, as if they were waiting for the park to reopen the next day.

To check out the park in Google's images, click here.

Weekly Rewind 7.28.12

Not really good news coming out of Rye Playland, so far this Summer season attendance and revenues are both down again from last year.  The park is still being evaluated for possible changes to its future use.

Universal Studios Hollywood has announced three big name mazes for this year's Halloween Horror Nights.  Alice Cooper Goes to Hell 3-D, Silent Hill (based on the video game), and the Walking Dead (based on the AMC tv show) will scare guests this fall.

Still no official word on the projects going on at Universal Studios Florida, but this update gives us some new views of the work.  Looks like they're digging downward at the non-Potter site, giving more credibility to the Transformers rumor.

Hawaiian Falls Roanoke, Texas, has opened SplashTacular's new Double BowlsEye slide, which sends two sets of riders down at the same time into the same bowl finale.  Looks wild!  Check out a video of the slide here.

Tomorrow is the last day for everyone to take a spin on Disaster Transport at Cedar Point before the ride closes forever.  There's still time to donate to one of the riders who are raising money for Give Kids the World, as of right now an astonishing $16,000 has already been pledged!

Also in the great state of Ohio, the Beach Water Park has announced that they will reopen next season as The Beach at Adventure Landing.  A new operator will take over, add new slides, kiddie area, and revamp the wave pool. 

Six Flags New Orleans has momentarily come back to life to be used as a set for Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, a new movie due out next Summer.  It's weird to see the park look so alive (although creepy still) but know that it's deader than dead.

There's a lot of numbers in this story covering Six Flags' 2nd quarter earnings, but what can be taken away is that the company did well, really well, actually, during the period.  Looks like the new management is continuing to show how capable they are.

I missed this one a while back, but Waldameer Park has announced plans to bring a Musik Express to the park for the 2013 season, and possibly a large family restaurant in 2014.

Weekly Rewind 12.17.11

The new Miracle Strip amusement park has announced a new ride addition, the Sea Dragon.  The ride will be part of other expansions in 2012, I love to see this little park growing!

We can put the rumors of Mirabilandia's new DiVertical ride having a coaster section to bed - indeed it will.  Supports are now up for the start of a hill after the big drop.

Going, going, gone.  Same week as Kennywood announced a new ride, the Pitt Fall removal was just about completed.  Check out some recent photos.

The construction of Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland continues on, with the park recently completing both the ride's first huge turn, as well as plenty of track on the ride's out run. 

I do believe that Europa Park's new GCI wooden coaster, recently named Wodan Timbur Coaster, feels like it's been the fastest I've seen in a while!  Almost all of the ride's twists and turns are up.

Six Flags and candy-maker Mars is a match made in heaven, or at least the companies think so.  Mars' sponsorship has been renewed for another three years, and will be expanded at all parks.

While putting up a 301 foot thrill ride is a challenge, so is building the massive footings for such a structure.  Carowinds looks to have just completed exactly that, based on these new photos.

No more thorn in Cedar Fair's side?  Q Investments has announced that they will shed up to a third of their shares of the company.  So long as the unit price stays up, of course.

This article details some of the real challenges going into choosing a project for the site of the former Six Flags New Orleans theme park.  Sounds like a park could reopen there, but I'm not holding my breath.

A New Era For Jazzland?

You can refer to it as Jazzland or Six Flags New Orleans, but the story remains the same - this has been one troubled theme park.  First opened in 2000 under the moniker Jazzland, the property struggled along for two seasons, after which Six Flags came in and took over the park's lease.

From there a few years of moderate expansion followed, but still without the return that Six Flags was looking for.  2005 saw the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which shuttered the park for good. 

Several plans to revive the park have surfaced since, one plan even went as far as announcing that it would reopen with Nickelodeon theming - but nothing has panned out.  Just recently it was reported that different uses for the park were being considered, and that eight proposals had been submitted.  The uses for the land ranged from theme park all the way to energy production, but one group that submitted a plan has now launched a website.

Enter The Paidia Company, and their plan to resurrect the park.  First and foremost, their plan calls for the much-needed-but-never-built water park to go in next to the theme park:

I know it's just a plan - but there's some cool looking slides in the mix.  I see a set of dual water coasters, aqua loops, bowl slides, two wave pools, a large lazy river, family raft rides, extended mat racer, and more. 

As for the them park, plenty of changes would occur as well.  The park's headlining coaster, MegaZeph, would be refurbished by the Gravity Group, including new trains with audio.  A large new river rapids ride would be constructed in a newly themed Sportsman's Paradise area, and The Beach section would feature a drop tower ride disguised as a famous lighthouse.

One of the tamest, but most intriguing attractions would be the Sea of Love, a recreated Tunnel of Love ride - something we haven't seen built in ages.  The Jester coaster will remain, and a new junior model will be added to interact with the river rapids.

1 - Theme Park   2 - Water Park   3 - Film Backlot

There's plenty of details available of Paidia's website for their plan, if you look around.  Their plan also includes using extra land for a film studio backlot, and interesting choice. 

About half of the eight proposals being considered involve a theme park, so there's plenty of other options out there.  Plus, there's no talk of where funding for this (and the other) proposals is coming from, which would make anyone nervous.

Even if the park never opens again as anything at all, it's pretty fun to see what others have cooked up in their dreams.

Weekly Rewind 11.26.11

WhiteWater was bestowed IAAPA's Image Award, given out for the most outstanding presence at the trade show.  The company's booth focused on Innovation, something the manufacturer is quite proud of with new slides like the Family Python, transparent flumes, AquaCourse, and the AquaPlay Giant RainFortress.

Speaking of the 2011 IAAPA show, this year has been deemed a success with over 25,800 registered attendees, up 3 percent from last year.  The event also raised $81,000 for Give Kids the World through various special events.

Curious to see the color scheme of PortAventura's new Bolliger and Mabillard mega coaster?  Check them out at this link - the ride will feature dual color track, and some nice contrasting supports.  This is going to look great!


Fans of Waldameer Park's pair of classic dark rides will love this new DVD, just released by Laff In The Dark.  The DVD takes a guided tour of both of the rides, a preview of the film is above.  Check out more about the title here.

It took this update from Westcoaster for me to finally be able to understand how the layout of SeaWorld San Diego's new Manta coaster will fit in the park.  If you go and take a look, you'll also see that a big station for the coaster has been set in place as well.

The ever excellent Amusing the Zillion has an exclusive look at what's new on the Coney Island boardwalk in 2012 - including Zamperla's new Speed Zone development.  Check out the details on what's coming.

With track now complete, the Swarm at Thorpe Park is starting to have its elaborate theming put in place.  The ride's Developer Diary is following this for us quite nicely, showing off some recent clearance tests.

There are eight companies that have submitted proposals for what to do with the former Six Flags New Orleans site.  The plans range from a theme park, water park, movie backlot, and even to a power station. 

The future of Lo-Q and Six Flags is bright - the contract for the skip-the-line access program to stay at the theme parks has been extended for another six years.  Also, the use of the bots in water park, which started this past year, will quickly be rolled out to additional parks.

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.

The Amusing Ads Archive - Jazzland 1999

Ogden Entertainment had really high hopes for Jazzland Theme Park when it opened in 2000. Then again, they made out pretty well having sold it to Alfa SmartParks on opening day for a nice profit.

Alfa was the company who tried to operate the park for two seasons, soon falling to financial woes that crippled the park. From there Six Flags stepped in with a management contract that led to ownership of the property - Jazzland became Six Flags New Orleans in 2003.

Six Flags pumped lots of capital into the park for 2003, including a Batman clone and other assorted rides, but must not have liked the results because only a simulator theme change was in order for 2004.

Sadly, as we all know, Katrina hit in late summer 2005 and that was that for the struggling park. Would it have ever made it otherwise? This writer thinks probably not, but no one will ever know for sure.

Weekly Rewind 4.24.10

Do you love Pretzels and coasters? (Notice I said coasters, not beer) If so, and you're the creative type, then you'll be excited to know that Busch Garden's and Snyder's of Hanover will again hold their pretzel-coaster building contest this summer. Read about the details here!

Heide Park, located in Germany, has opened their new Pirate Bay splash battle attraction. They've released the above photo of the ride, which shows off the very nice theming job they've done. I hope these rides continue to pop up at parks here in America!

Playland Amusement Park, located at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, Canada, is celebrating it's 100th anniversary this year. That's quite an achievement for any amusement park! Here's an article about the history of the park that's worth checking out.

The Karate Kid returns this summer in the form of a new feature film, and Six Flags is helping celebrate with the Karate Kid Challenge. The event is being held at parks across the country in May - one 'karate kid' and his coach can enter and perform a 90 second routine. A winner from each park will have the performance posted on Yahoo where the public will vote for an overall winner. Details are available at the Karate Kid Challenge website.

Knoebels may not have a big new ride this year, but that does not mean the park is taking the year off. They've greatly expanded the park's infrastructure, including computer and phone systems. They've also already poured the concrete pad for Black Diamond, planned for a 2011 opening. And yes, Flying Turns is still being worked on.

Well that was both fast and not surprising - the Minnesota based developer that said they wanted to redevelop the former Six Flags New Orleans has already pulled out of their plan. I hate to say it, but it seems we'll really never see an amusement park operate there again.

A plan for Ghost Town in the Sky to be purchased by a former owner out of bankruptcy has been proposed, though it's not clear if the court will allow it. If the deal does not go through the park well be auctioned off to the highest bidder as early as June. If the deal does go through there are hopes that the amusement park could possibly reopen this summer.

The much anticipated World of Color lagoon show at Disney's California Adventure will officially open on June 11th. The park recently opened the area that will hold 9,000 guests per show, named Paradise Park.

This news come in Finnish, but we can still gather that Linnanmaki, Finland, will add a Maurer Sohne X-Car coaster in 2011. RCDB is reporting that it's a standard model, much like the one at Magic Springs.

Funcoast visited Cedar Point and published a slew of new photos of Shoot The Rapids. Photos include all aspects of the ride, including plenty of shots of the final splashdown water feature running. Looks nice!

Busch Gardens Tampa is offering a great Monther's Day lunch and breakfast with the Sesame Street characters at the park's new Safari of Fun area on May 9th. If I were closer I'd take my Mom! You can purchase tickets through the park's website, located here.

Staying with Busch Gardens Tampa, BGTGuide has been doing a great job featuring information and photos of work on the park's 2011 coaster project. They've also uncovered another trademark application for a ride, this one called Cheetaka. Could that be the ride's name?

We haven't forgotten Sky Rocket at Kennywood this week - Kennywood Connection has been doing almost daily updates so we can all watch the coaster going up. It's looking really great! Here's a link to there most recent photo update, which includes shots taken inside the park.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg's new attraction, Europe In The Air, isn't quite ready to open, but the park gave us a bit of a preview (including video) this past week on their blog. Sounds like they're using smells heavily during the ride, including chocolate! Mmmm.

Canobie Lake Park has stars in its eyes this year - they're debuting the "Summer of SuperStars" entertainment series. A variety of shows that feature tributes to Michael Jackson, Elvis, and plenty of other huge names. You can see more on the park's site.

And we'll finish with the story I wish I could hit the fast forward button on. Cedar Fair vs. 49ers. Now Cedar Fair wants the rent they pay to the city to be reduced and based on performance, should the stadium be built.

New Interest in Six Flags New Orleans Site

A developer based out of Minnesota has expressed the desire to redevelop the former Six Flags New Orleans park into a resort featuring a theme and water park.

The group, named 3 Wise Men Entertainment, has filed an application with the Industrial Development Board requesting approval of some $200 million in bonds for the project. There are many, many hurdles to cross before the plan is made real, but the developer hopes to start construction this May to open the park in September, 2011.

On a less encouraging note, the plan says the park will be branded with Nickelodeon characters, though Nick itself says they don't even know who the developer is let alone have plans to let them use the brand.

It'd be wonderful if a plan of some sort eventually falls into place for the closed park, but it'll be a long time before anything serious could be in place.

Six Flags Magic Mountain Dancin' Into 2010

Six Flags Magic Mountain has (finally!) announced their 17th roller coaster - Mr. Six's Dance Coaster for the park's 2010 season.

The ride, formerly the Road Runner's Express at the now closed Six Flags New Orleans, will sport a standout red, white, and black color scheme to match Mr. Six's famous tuxedo outfit.

The ride is a standard Vekoma roller skater, and will join the park's two other children's coasters.

The Funland Blog has more details that can be seen here.

Weekly Rewind 12.19.09

First Miracle Strip, now Cypress Gardens...maybe. Local sources are hinting that a buyer may have been found for Florida's first theme park, which closed its doors for good back in September 2009 following nearly a decade of instability. If the supposed deal comes to fruition, an announcement could be made before the end of the year.

The rest of the world may have moved on to Christmas, but if you're still in a Halloween state of mind, there's an upcoming episode of Paranormal State that you won't want to miss. Join the cast and special guest Chip Coffey as they explore the mysteries of the Hotel Conneaut in Episode 55, "Dead Legends". It's scheduled to air on December 22, 2009 at 10:30 p.m. ET and again on December 23 at 2:30 a.m. ET.

It seems the winds of change have caught up with the industry, as Danish amusement park Tivoli Gardens is set to become a 100% wind-powered operation by early next year. Everything from rides to restaurants will draw power from a single wind turbine. But don't worry--The park will still be plugged into the Danish electricity grid, just in case Mother Nature runs out of breath!

Captiain EO isn't the only show making a comeback at Disneyland. This past Friday marked the return of the perennially popular "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln", which has been absent from the park's line-up for five years. But this ain't your granddaddy's Lincoln. Per the Funland blog, Disneyland's "Mach V" animatronic features "a hydraulic-powered body with an all-new electronic head".

After experiencing one for myself this past summer at Schlitterbahn, I must say I'm a huge fan of the "themed water slide" craze which is slowly but surely sweeping our nation's water parks. Raging Waters in San Dimas, California will introduce their take on this concept when they unveil Dr. VonDark's Tunnel of Terror in 2010. The ride will feature various special effects created by projecting visual images onto water curtains.

The former Six Flags New Orleans' days as an amusement park may be over if one California-based company has its way. Big League Dreams has once again expressed an interest in scooping up the "spoils" left by Six Flags, Southern Star, and Nickelodeon and turning the site into a sports complex. While sad for park fans, the proposed plan could have very positive implications for the city of New Orleans.

The owners of Paulton's Park must have breathed a huge sigh of relief this week, as the New Forest National Park Authority approved an application which will allow the park to retain its Cobra roller coaster. Cobra was one of two rides put in danger earlier this year when it was revealed that the park did not obtain planning permission before building them. The fate of the second ride, a Zamperla Disk'O named Edge, is still up in the air.

Speaking of Disk'Os, Seabreeze Park has officially named the one which will be joining its line-up in 2010: Revolution 360°. If you've never seen a Disk'O in action--well, you've probably been living under a rock. But just in case, the park has posted some videos on its web site.

If roller coasters and drop towers just don't "do it" for you anymore, perhaps you'd enjoy jumping off a 1149-foot tower. Don't laugh, because you just might have the opportunity if the Stratosphere in Las Vegas receives permission to install a proposed Sky Jump attraction. If that concept tickles your fancy, perhaps you'd like to test drive (above) the version of this attraction which already exists in Auckland, New Zealand. (By the way, the Sky Tower jump in Auckland is only 629 feet...Just sayin'.)

Help! The Alton Towers PR machine is out of control! How do you stop this crazy thing?! Okay, okay: This next bit has less to do with Alton Towers PR and more to do with people who have way too much money for their own good. It seems the park has been approached by quite a few "high profile" individuals who are willing to part with significant chunks of change to be first in line when the park's TH13TEEN coaster makes its debut next year. But some good may come out of it yet: Should the park decide to entertain those offers, all proceeds would go to the Merlin's Magic Wand charity.

Weekly Rewind 11.14.09

Lots of drama going on with Kings Island's Son of Beast wooden roller coaster, but I wanted to point out that the Dayton Daily News has some interesting photos up of the ride through the years. They range from construction, before loop era, after loop era, and more.

The quest to reopen Six Flags New Orleans continues to get more twisted. Nickelodeon ended their licensing agreement with Southern Star Amusements, and then SSA offered to outright buy the park on their own.

Paulton's Park attempts to gain permission to keep their Cobra roller coaster open after being told they didn't have permission to build that ride, along with another one named the Edge.

Getting closer to finishing their financial reorganization, Six Flags has agreed to a new plan put forth by Avenue Capital Management. It's more favorable to creditors than what was previously proposed, and hopefully it will help hasten the company's reemergence from chapter 11.

Despite excessively soggy conditions, Kings Dominion has continued to work on Intimidator 305 as best they can. The delicate process of building the ride's lift hill is now underway. New photos posted to the ride's official website.

Cedar Point has also continued work on their new water ride, Shoot the Rapids. Pieces of the steel track used for the rides lifts and drops have started to arrive on site as well.

The Disneyland Paris Resort had one of its best financial years ever in 2008, sadly 2009 is not shaping up to be quite as good. Even though the resort had a small increase in attendance, revenues were down significantly. The results are putting future expansions at the resort in jeopardy.

After being closed for a lengthy renovation, Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom is just about ready to reopen for guests. The Disney Parks Blog has photos and details of what passengers will encounter on their journey to space.

Sentosa Theme Park has some nice videos of rides and attractions at Universal Studios Singapore, including the red side of the Battlestar Galactica coaster testing. That launch up the lift looks great!

What was the mysterious second half of the Gravity Group's new add for IAAPA? Why timberliner images of course! Check it out on their website.

Six Flags to Cut Ties with New Orleans Property

Bankruptcy court has approved a plan for Six Flags to formally cut ties with their closed Six Flags New Orleans property. This is the next step in the plans for Southern Star Amusements to reopen the property as a Nickelodeon themed park.

The deal has Six Flags paying the city $3 million and 25% of insurance proceeds from their Katrina filings above $65 million. Six Flags has already removed any mention of the closed park from their websites.

Now the path is clear for the development of the new park, which is still contingent on obtaining Gulf Opportunity Bonds to finance its construction. More details available here.

Daily Spin 9.9.09

More information about Nickelodeon and Southern Star Amusement's plan to reopen Six Flags New Orleans has been leaking out recently. The developers recently had a press conference at which they answered the questions of the citizens of New Orleans about the project.

The video that's with this article has shots of the park's plans, but they're too small to make much out. Looks like Mega Zeph is still there, though, along with the Boomerang and splash boat ride. Hard to tell for sure, but I think a water park would be located on the same spot that Six Flags added the super heros themed area shortly before Katrina. I don't believe the park has any money yet from bond sales to start work, but they're touting a late 2010 opening.

Looks like it was a pretty rough year for the Columbus Zoo's Zoombezi Bay water and amusement park. Attendance at the park should come in at around 325,000 people, down from over 400,000 last year. Bad weather and the economy are, not surprisingly, to blame. Read more from the Columbus Dispatch.

Legoland California, on the other hand, has had a great year and has now filed plans to build a separate admission water park on their property. Details are quite slim, but it's expected to sit on 5.5 acres and open by next summer. The L.A. Times has more info.

Nickelodeon Universe - New Orleans

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, along with Southern Star Entertainment and Nickelodeon, announced today that they plan to open a new theme park - to be called Nickelodeon Universe - New Orleans - on the site of the former Six Flags New Orleans amusement park.

Now hold the phone for a minute though on this one, because although it's buried in the news of a new theme park, really what happened was Southern Star and Nick entered into a licensing agreement to use the characters at the planned park.

As for building the park, well, Southern Star has to go before the New Orleans government to ask for some $100 million in bonds to pay for construction. Southern Star will then lease the land from the city and pay Nick a licensing fee.

If the bonds are approved and the park gets built, several new rides and some "major water based attractions" would be added to the park, and several existing rides would be brought back. Plans call for construction to start this fall after design work is complete, and an opening would be before the end of 2010.

I'm going to hold off on getting excited until those bonds are approved, but it's interesting news nonetheless!

There's Even A Sasquatch Costume!

The Great Escape, Lake George, NY, has opened it's new free fall tower named Sasquatch to thrill seekers who were anxious to try it out. The almost 200 ft. tall ride features one tower that blasts riders up, and another which slowly takes passengers up and then shoots them downward.

The park's interesting name for the attraction, which was moved from the closed Six Flags New Orleans park, was made even more special by the park when they brought a character in costume as Sasquatch to the ride's opening!

Check out video and more on this news report.

Daily Spin 5.2.09

© 2009 Idlewild and SoakZone

Idlewild Park was the recipient of some unsolicited (but surely welcome!) fanfare this week, compliments of Wikipedia. The Idlewild and Soak Zone entry was Wikipedia's featured article on May 1, landing it front and center on the home page! In case you missed it, you can check out a screenshot on the park's blog. In other Idlewild news, the park has announced that its classic Rollo Coaster is being equipped to offer on-ride photos for the first time in 2009. As you can see in the image above, construction of the photo booth at the ride's exit is well underway.

NewsPlusNotes was not the only web site to get a facelift this year! Lakemont Park, Beech Bend Park, and Conneaut Lake Park have all relaunched their web sites recently, and I must say they all look fantastic! Not only are these new sites flashier and easier to navigate, but they also represent a continued commitment to keep these wonderful traditional parks both operational and competitive in today's tough economic climate.

Speaking of Beech Bend Park, it turns out their new 2009 ride--a Sea Dragon--has quite the interesting history. The park's web site confirms that this is the very same Sea Dragon which used to operate at none other than Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch! If that's not a reason to visit Beech Bend this summer, I don't know what is...

The good folks at Coaster Crew recently organized yet another successful Single Riders event, this year at Kings Dominion on April 26. The Single Riders are a charitable team of coaster enthusiasts who raise money for Give Kids the World Village by participating in coaster riding marathons. This year's event raised over $3000, with riders logging over 400 laps on Dominator, Shockwave, Anaconda, and Rebel Yell. This is a wonderful cause and we applaud their efforts! You can check out photos as well as a video of this year's event on Coaster Crew's web site.

Perhaps coaster marathoning isn't your thing, but fortunately the industry continues to provide us with many other opportunities to support a good cause. In a new twist on the "First Rider" auction, Cedar Point is holding a "First Anniversary Rider" auction in celebration of Magnum XL-200's 20th anniversary. All proceeds will benefit the Firelands Chapter of the American Red Cross. See the official auction web site for more details.

Does the name "Southern Star Amusement, Inc." ring a bell for anyone? If you'll recall, this is the development company which expressed an interest in taking over the shuttered Six Flags New Orleans property last year, and it looks like they've decided to give it another go. According to this press release, Southern Star has hopes of rehabbing and improving the existing rides and facilities and adding some water park rides, should their acquisition efforts be successful. Obviously at this point it's all talk, so we'll have to wait and see if the second time's the charm.

Another Thorn in Six Flags' Side

© New Orleans Business / Frank Aymami

As if Mark Shapiro didn't have enough to worry about already, it now appears that the city of New Orleans is preparing to sue Six Flags for their failure to reopen and operate the long lost Six Flags New Orleans property, which has been shuttered since Hurricane Katrina decimated the Gulf Coast back in 2005. This article from Forbes outlines the sequence of events which has taken place this week between Six Flags and the city. Although the two parties have been in talks for quite some time, apparently New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has decided that enough is enough and he made a trip to New York this week to tell Shapiro as much. City Attorney Penya Moses-Fields has called Six Flags' unwillingness to reopen the park "totally unacceptable", citing various economic factors.

But both parties acknowledge that Six Flags has stayed current on its lease payments for the land, so does the city really have any ground to stand on? I guess it all comes down to the fine print. Mark Shapiro has also pointed out that back in 2007, Six Flags offered to pay the city of New Orleans more than $14 million (essentially the full cost of the lease), waive all of its claims to city-owned land, and turn over the 86 acres owned by Six Flags to the city to do as they pleased with it. Needless to say that offer was rejected, and here we are.

There's no denying that the trail of destruction left by Hurricane Katrina was unfortunate and tragic, and I'm sure there are many people who would love to see Jazzland/Six Flags New Orleans restored to its former glory. But I can't help but think that the bad economy was the straw that broke the camel's back in this case, and Six Flags is now being made a scapegoat. Surely the New Orleans city officials can't possibly be expecting a company teetering on the brink of bankruptcy to revitalize their entire local economy, right? I guess we'll just have to watch this one play out and hope a settlement can be reached that is agreeable to all parties.

One Tall Sasquatch

Capital Nine News has a cool video up of the 'topping off' of Sasquatch, The Great Escape's new thrill ride for the 2009 season.

You can watch the video through this link. The thrill ride is an launch and freefall tower that stands 192 ft. tall.

The ride was relocated from the still closed Six Flags New Orleans.

Daily Spin 10.2.08

California's Great America has started a new blog called "Inside Track," the first entry of which features some preview photos of their new Haunt event. The Park's Haunt starts tomorrow and features 13 halloween themed attractions.

Work has continued on Sea World Florida's new B&M Flyer, Manta. Orlando Rocks has new photos that show that the station track is now in place. I wouldn't be surprised if the station building is the next item to go up.

Alton Towers theme park, in the United Kingdom, has announced that their Corkscrew roller coaster will be removed this fall. The Vekoma coaster has been inverting riders since 1980. The park has a special section of their website devoted to the soon to be gone ride.

While across the pond we can check in with Europa Park and find that the first element of the park's mysterious new coaster for 2009 is complete, as seen in photos on this message board. What a unique looking overbank hill! Can't wait for more about this ride to be announced...

Southern Star Amusements, the company that was looking to reopen Six Flags New Orleans, has given up on the project according to both the company and Six Flags. No real details are being revealed about what went wrong, but a lot of speculation about the legitimacy of the plans has always existed.

Here is an article about Six Flags New England's Fright Fest event, and other fall activities taking place at the park. Be warned though, you'll have to pay an extra $15 on top of admission to the park if you want to go in the *2* haunted houses.