Disney Shares a Look at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

© Disney

A new video, published on the Disney Parks Blog, has given fans a fresh new look at the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - the last major attraction yet to open as part of the New Fantasyland in Florida's Magic Kingdom theme park.

The video focuses on the detailed work that has gone into painting and theming the unique trains for the family roller coaster.  Above is one of several theming options designed for the cars.  Between these different options and unique paint schemes, the cars of the Mine Train will all be different from one another.

© Disney

Here's a look at the finished product, minus the restraints of course.  The trains are also unique in that they will swing independently as they head around the track.  The video actually shows some brief on-ride footage of them in action, though it was dark out when filmed so there aren't a lot of details.  There's also a short look at some of the indoor sections of the ride, though they cut off the clip before the good stuff!

Check out the full video:

From The Vault: Elitch Gardens 1998 Brochure

This week we're heading back to 1998 and taking a look at Elitch Gardens: The Great Escape's general park brochure.

You might be wondering about that "The Great Escape" tagline... back then Premier Parks would add these types of things to many parks... then promptly change or remove them the following year.  It was a bit of an odd marketing system back then, it seems.

Anyway, since Elitch Gardens was under Premier's expansion-minded management in 1998, there was plenty to see and do that was new.  And admission was only $24!

Elitch Gardens also offers a water park, Island Kingdom, which was built from the ground up during Premier Park's ownership.  New in 1998 was a total makeover of the park's children's area, known as StarToon Studios.  Previous years' additions that are seen here include Shipwreck Falls and Mind Eraser, one of everyone's favorite Vekoma SLCs.

Elitch Gardens is quite landlocked so it was a big deal that they were able to open a full water park in 1997.  It was a smart move, though, as the ability to advertise two parks for the price of one is something that gets customers' attention.

Another nice addition that Premier Parks was responsible for was creating a pretty Main Street area, which can be seen at the bottom of the brochure above.

When Elitch Gardens was moved to a new home it opened the Twister II, but it seems nothing would ever compare to the original.  The text here advertises three new thrill rides: the Wave Swinger, Chaos, and the Aviator... those joined the park's lineup of other attractions such as XLR8R (a SkyCoaster) and Disaster Canyon, a cool looking river rapids ride.

Elitch Gardens has most recently be managed by Herschend Family Entertainment, though there are now rumors that those ties have been severed.  Looks like yet another chapter in the park's history is about to begin!

Dollywood Completes FireChaser Express' Track

© Dollywood

That was really quick!  Just a few days ago Dollywood was sharing photos of FireChaser Express with plenty of track left to be installed, and now today the ride is complete!

The park released the above photo of the final track segment being hoisted into place, marking a major milestone and the ride's progress.  This view also gives us a great look at some of the high-elevation layout, particularly the section that takes place after the traditional lift.  There's more track that sits well above the ground in the background of this photo as well - we haven't seen that up close yet though.

If you look closely at the lower right of the photo you can also see the "100 feet of trick track" that is listed on the ride's official layout.  As the train glides along this section there should be plenty of neat forces for riders to experience - but nothing too thrilling as FireChaser Express is a family coaster, after all.

Now we have testing videos, along with all the theming going into place, to look forward to!  Best of all the coaster will be one of the first to open in 2014 when it debuts in March.

Aquatica San Antonio Names New Attraction

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Aviary

Aquatica San Antonio's latest addition now has an official name:  Roa's Aviary.  The new attraction will contain more than 300 friends of Papa (a spoonbill), seen above at the official groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion.  Roa's Aviary is scheduled to open at the park, which sits adjacent to SeaWorld San Antonio, in May 2014.

Concept Art for the Aviary

Roa's Aviary is being constructed adjacent to the water park's lazy river, named Loggerhead Lane.  Visitors will actually be able to pass through the Aviary while floating on the river - but can also enter through a brand new wading pool with an elaborate water fall.  Roa's Aviary will cover 13,500 square feet and contain over 50 species of birds.

In addition to enjoying the calm setting of the area, guests will also be able to partake in educational programs and feed the birds, as well.

Banshee in the Snow + New Batwing Shot!

© Kings Island

It is snowing once more, and this time it is especially cold and ugly out - but at least to help make up for it Kings Island shared some neat photos of Banshee!  Above is the inverted coaster's giant lift hill and the vertical loop that surrounds a part of it.  I love how the snow stuck to so much of the supports and whited them out - makes parts of the ride blend right into the wintry wonderland.

© Kings Island

The park has been working on the Batwing element that follows the heartline roll in the recent weeks.  We have seen plenty of shots of that work from the aerial-view webcam, but this is a first look from ground level.  You could gather as much from the webcam, but that half a Batwing is enormous!  The crews also put together some of the supports that lead into the ride's second vertical loop while the crane is in one place, too.

To me the end of Banshee is the most interesting, so I'm looking forward to seeing the ride's track finished - especially the heartline roll that is near the end of Banshee.

NPN December 2013 Poll Results

The big Orlando theme parks are perpetually in the news, greatly in part to their diligent PR teams, but lately it seems we're hearing even more buzz than ever before.   With three big operators (and many smaller that we did not include in this poll) competing in the area there's so much to do during a visit... I had to wonder which of the resorts is now the front runner in our readers' eyes.

As such, I asked you all which was your favorite Orlando destination: the two parks that make up the Universal Orlando Resort, the four inside the gates of Walt Disney World, or the SeaWorld Orlando/Aquatica/Discovery Cove trio. 

I honestly thought that the reign of Disney was not over... but not so:

The Universal Orlando Resort - which has been in the midst of large expansion after large expansion the past few years, actually got most of the votes as seen above.  Granted it wasn't a landslide over Disney World, however, I think it's a pretty significant win.  It could be that Universal has more traditional thrill rides - and our readers love those - and that skewed our voter population.  Either way the future of Universal seems blindingly bright, while Disney has Avatar to hold on to - I guess.

And it was a poor month for SeaWorld to even be in a poll, I would think, considering the news stories that keep popping up stemming from Blackfish. 

Now as for January's poll - each year this is the month we ask you guys about which North/South American new for 2014 coaster you are anticipating the most?  This one always gets a lot of votes, so head over the left, give it some thought, and vote!