Scott And Carol Present - Indy's Big Game Experience

We can't let this weekend go by without at least one trip report to Indy during the big game season. The regular season we will let go by without further mention.


Everyone in town was supportive of Indianapolis' time to shine. This was where we parked for our visit.


The NFL allowed another sport to use their logos for the first time in history, and the result was open wheel race cars themed after the teams and Super Bowl XLVI. In the background is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which also was spruced up over the summer for the event.


This is Carol's favorite car.


And this is Scott's. yes we live in a house divided.


If more theme parks had legible and informative banners like this, nobody would have any excuse for not being able to find their own way through the attractions.


It appears the Marriott, just finished in time for the event, has the biggest building wrap, 33 stories tall. It was reported that many guests who arrived by air had pictures of this before they even landed.


None of the official host hotels were left out, no matter what their window configuration.


The NFL Experience, where you could kick field goals, run pass routes, and return punts was easy to find. We didn't have the energy so no more will be said about that attraction.


Some of the more famouse restaurants in Indianapolis joined the fun. All of these banners will be recycled once the confetti is cleaned up.


Even the skyways, which connect most of downtown Indianapolis, were wrapped. From the inside, you can see outside to make sure where you are going.


These windows could have been opened for the Press Day activities, because it was over 60 degrees during the week. Not bad for Indianapolis in February.


These smaller letters were in Super Bowl Village, and the crowds even lined up to be photgraphed with them.


This synthetic turf in the village was the softest place to walk in all of downtown Indianapolis. Later that day some kids were throwing footballs with their dads on this. How cool was that!


Here is a closer look at the Super Bowl car, with Scott added in for scale. Real race and show cars with their number corresponding to the year the team joined the league, or in this case, the year of this particular Super Bowl.


The much talked about ziplines started way up here...


...the lucky riders zoomed high above the entrance to the NFL Experience...


...and were cheered on by the people waiting in line. This attraction was so popular that some of the $10 tickets were being scalped for $75. What a return on a minimal investment. The line was 3 hours long before it even opened.


This is the ESPN studio being set up days before the talent arrived. Thousands watched themselves cheering the production team during the week. So that was the highlights of our Super Bowl experience, it definitely changed downtown Indianapolis for the biggest event of the year. Thanks for reading, and if you have 2 extra tickets for the big game.....We can be there in 2 hours.

Take A Virtual Spin on Iron Shark

Now that the Galveston Pleasure Pier has announced their ride line up and other attractions, they are taking the time to show off more of the amusements' details.

Take for instance the Iron Shark, the park's unique looking Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter, which appears to not require permanent foundations.  While we saw some small concept art for the coaster when the park made its big announcement we still didn't have a good idea of the coaster's elements.

© Galveston Pleasure Pier

While the ride is not currently being built on the pier, it was set up at the production facility, and the park got some photos, like the one above.  I'm loving the paint scheme, and while the ride is very short it looks like it'll be intense.

The park shared an animation of the ride which lets us see exactly what is in store - and it's basically a beyond vertical drop followed by a two-inversion element, over banked turn and a vertical loop - all jam packed into a small space.  Looks like a blast!

Dorney Park Off Season Photo Update

Dorney Park was gracious enough to take time out of their schedule to host another off-season tour for fans, and with a major new coaster, family attraction and more debuting in 2012 they're quite busy!

Our host, the ever helpful Charles Hutchison, park Manager of Public Relations, started by showing off one of the new dinosaurs that has arrived at the park.  This little guy will be used for promotional activities by the park.  The bigger dinos have yet to arrive, it seems.

Dinosaurs Alive will actually start in the Steel Force plaza - this will be the entrance area, to the right of Revolution.  The attraction will have a new retail location built, filled with tons of dino merchandise.  The attraction will be a $5 up-charge, but once guests enter they are free to explore as long as they like.

But how about that brand new roller coaster?  Stinger's construction was completed some time ago, and the park has taken full advantage of a rather mild winter to complete the ride's station, queue, and adjacent walkways.

The photo above shows the ride's entrance, the ride marquee will be located just on the right in the planter.

The midway that winds along the ride is dramatically different than what was there in the fall, slightly thinner and curving along the side of Stinger.  This has left a nice open area where the kiddie rides used to be located.

The park has also created a large, almost huge, open plaza just beyond the ride.  This year it'll be used occasionally for special events and the like, but the fact that it just screams place-a-new-ride-here can't be ignored!  The plaza connects to the area in front of the Asylum, one of the park's Haunt attractions and is circular in shape.

Here is a closer shot of the ride's station.  Everything from the air gates to the control booth look completed, though the train has not be placed on the track yet.

One last artsy shot of the ride.  This really shows off the colors of the ride, true to how it looks in person.  Aside from any unforeseen problems, the coaster should be ready when the park opens.

The park has plenty of other smaller projects going on as well.  Major upgrades to the park's technology systems are underway, including a new point of sale system for all outlets - something that is a very substantial undertaking. 

Above is one of many small pads that have been poured around the park - they will be home to dinos that will serve as a sort of advertising for Dinosaurs Alive.

Other rides are receiving refurbishments and upgrades, here we see White Water Landing's new exit bridge, a large investment that's all for guest comfort.  Talon's track will be painted before the park opens, to match its supports which were painted a year or two ago.  The park will also have new entertainment options on the main midway in the form of a new stage near the Coasters restaurant, and expanded dining plan options, Fast Lane during the regular season, and extended park hours.

Here we see Thunderhawk receiving its annual maintenance, sure it is only missing handrails but work is being done on several portions of the ride.

Dorney will also debut a new website in the coming weeks, similar to the park's other new sites.

Thanks to Dorney for having the tour, and we look forward to checking out the park when it opens for the 2012 season on April 28th.

Coney Island Cyclone Heads To Rehab

Amusement Today is reporting that the Coney Island Cyclone, easily one of the most famous roller coasters in the world, is having some major work done to it by Great Coasters International.  Central Amusement International has hired the famed wood coaster design group to perform some serious maintenance to the Cyclone, which first opened in 1927.

It sounds like the project will be broken out into phases so that each off-season a little bit of the ride goes under the knife.  In recent pictures you can see that currently most of the ride's first drop track has been removed.

GCI's interest in the ride is no surprise considering its fame, and I think we can be sure the Cyclone is in safe hands.  Also mentioned is the replacing of the coaster's trains toward the end of the multi-year project - but that will require a new design that still pays tribute to the ride's current rolling stock.

NPN January 2012 Poll Results

This past month's poll is one of my favorite each year, where we see which new North American coaster everyone is most excited for.

And that ride is Hersheypark's Skyrush - voted #1 by only one vote!  The ride captured 146 votes, or 21.95% of the total.  The ride, which was recently topped off, is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated new rides in some time.

With 145 votes, or 21.8%, our number 2 spot went to Canada's Wonderland's Leviathan.  Bolliger and Mabillard's first ride to break the 300 foot mark has already impressed us all with its towering structure, and I'm sure everyone is looking forward to their first ride.

Here's the full spread of how things turned out.  Third place went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Verbolten - but also only one vote ahead of Dollywood's Wild Eagle.  From there the number of votes dropped off some with 5th place going to Six Flags Great America's X-Flight.

Watch for a new poll soon!

Bringing Soak City to Kings Island

Sure, it may still look like a lot of dirt being pushed around, but Kings Island is very hard at work giving their water park, newly renamed Soak City, a $10 million makeover.  The park is making progress on changes and additions, which include a brand new 650,000 gallon wave pool.

The park will also receive a new entrance so that guests may easily access Soak City during their visits.  New photos show that this part of the expansion is quite far along at this point.  The wave pool has had much of its concrete base poured as well.

Other changes will include the lazy river becoming an action river, filled with water gags and other effects.  New amenities will abound, including additional cabanas, lounging space, family changing rooms, and sand volleyball courts.