Aquatica Orlando Tops Off Ihu's Breakaway Falls

Last night Aquatica Orlando added the top to Ihu's Breakaway Falls, completing the structure and making the tower stand the full height of 105 feet.  The roof structure that was added to the slide tower weighs an impressive 53,000 pounds and covers 1,000 square feet.  The roof gives the slide a nice 'complete' look, and should provide some shade for both guests and workers.

As you can see there's still slide pieces to be installed, but the twisted nature of the new slide is already apparent.  Three of the tower's slides will start with a 'breakaway' box that drops the floor out from below rider's feet.  The fourth slide, which you can see on the far left of the above photo, will start from a more traditional laying position.  Ihu's Breakaway Falls will open at Aquatica Orlando on May 9th.

Scott And Carol Present - A ride on Dollywood's FireChaser Express!

 

  

Here is a video giving you a front seat ride on FireChaser Express, the only roller coaster in North America that launches you forwards, backwards, and has a traditional lift hill in the middle. It includes the soundtrack for Crazy Charlie Cherriebaum's Gas and Fireworks Emporium, but if you want to see the whole show you should go to Dollywood and sit towards the back of the coaster. If you missed the original story, you can find it here.  Enjoy!

Exploring the Treats in Pantopia at Busch Gardens Tampa

Busch Gardens Tampa's latest webisode gives us a look at the new area surrounding Falcon's Fury, known as Pantopia.  The new themed area features not only bright colors and a fresh look, but also new retail and food locations.

The Painted Camel Bazaar will offer shoppers a unique selection of goods, and the store itself is filled with recycled items from the construction of the area.  The recycled items are used as both decoration and functional display areas, an example of the park's commitment to the environment.

I must admit that I'm a tad bit hungry as I write this, so the next item to cover is driving me a bit nuts.  Pantopia will also be home to the Twisted Tail Pretzel, where you can get every sort of pretzel known to mankind - salted, cinnamon, pretzel sandwiches, hot dogs and more.  But the mother of all pretzel creations is above, and that is the Bacon Pretzel Fury.  Applewood bacon is twisted along with the pretzel and baked to perfectness - and will only be available in Pantopia.

The park promises one last webisode with a peek from the top of Falcon's Fury - till then I gotta go get a snack!

Horror Comes to San Francisco with Merlin's Dungeon

I've never been able to visit one, but I've always thought that the "Dungeon" attractions that Merlin Entertainment operates throughout Europe seem pretty interesting.  A mix of horror comedy based on history, the attractions are like mini-parks that have a couple experiences that tell the dark stories of the area's past.

Now, I might have a much better chance of visiting one as Merlin has announced the San Francisco Dungeon, set to open in summer 2014.  The attraction will be located in the famous Fisherman's Wharf area, already a popular tourist destination.

"The San Francisco Dungeon highlights 200 years of San Francisco’s past with tales from the early missions of San Francisco, through the Gold Rush and to the beginning of Alcatraz. As a 60-minute experience, it will guide visitors on a walk-through journey of nine actor-led shows, featuring dozens of authentic local stories, 360-degree theatrical sets, special effects and an underground boat ride. The attraction is designed to make guests laugh and jump in a live action journey featuring stories spotlighting the “underbelly” of the city’s history, with tales of Shanghai Kelly, Miss Piggott’s Saloon, Gangs of San Francisco and Alcatraz."

“Through a storytelling journey, The San Francisco Dungeon sheds a whole new light on San Francisco’s rich and authentic history,” said Adrea Gibbs, General Manager.  “Against the backdrop of vibrant sets, authentic costumes and detailed make-up, our actors will portray characters from specific periods in history to tell the stories of San Francisco. It will not only deliver scary fun, but provide a walk into the Bay Area’s unique past,” added Gibbs.

It sounds as if this opening is a bit of a test for the American market - if successful I would expect to see plenty more Dungeons open up in cities across the nation.

Miracle Strip @ Pier Park Shows Off New Starliner Coaster Animation

Plans continue to move forward in the quest to see the famous Starliner rebuilt at the all-new Miracle Strip @ Pier Park.  The park is opening next month and has already made it clear that they intend to rebuild the Starliner in 2015.  Now with a new animation of the coaster released, we're able to get a much more clear idea of the park's plans.

The first thing that I noticed is that the new Starliner is obviously being designed by Great Coasters International!  The second thing is that in order for the ride to fit in the new park, the lift hill and drop had to be turned 90 degrees from the main section of the ride.

That means the new Starliner (or Starliner 2.0 as the park has called it) will not be an exact replica or 'rebuilt' at Miracle Strip @ Pier Park as it was when it moved to Cypress Gardens.  Purists will also notice that while the ride's track generally follows the same layout, it's been amped up a bit using GCI's trademark moves.  There's also some changes to the size of the air hills on the return run, with one larger one appearing to replace some of the smaller bumps.

With the lift hill turned that also means there's a curving first drop, one of the larger changes that came with the rearrangement. 

I would think the new Starliner would have Millennium Flyer trains

You could really say that the new Starliner will be "inspired" by the original John Allen design, but looks to be a brand new ride from GCI from the ground up.  With the cost of actually using the old structure, trains, etc - I can't say I'm surprised the park just went with a totally new ride.  For comparison, here's a link to a point of view of Starliner when it was at Cypress Gardens.

There's also some similarities between the new Starliner and White Lightning at Fun Spot, another GCI ride in Florida.  I would guarantee changes will be made to the design before it goes up, hopefully as planned in 2015, but this sure is exciting news!

Scott And Carol Present Dollywood's Firechaser Express

Dollywood created a second firefighter themed ride, with the first being Blazing Fury, to commemorate the volunteer fire departments that protected the Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the 1940's. And last Friday Dolly revealed it to the world.

She invited volunteer firefighters from all around the area to help with the celebration. Here she is directing them to speed up their bucket brigade so "we can get this ride open." 

Once the full bucket tipped the scale, the bell rang, and the inaugural launch took place. Here is a look at FireChaser Express as it is launched from the station and travels through the first half of it's course.

This pictures epitomizes what Dollywood expected from FireChaser Express. Children 39 inches tall, their parents, and their grandparents all riding together. And from the smiles, everyone seems to have found something to like on the new attraction. 

 

Sweeping banked turns with gentle drops and floating airtime, FireChaser Express launches forwards and backwards, with a traditional  lift hill in the middle.



There is also a brief visit to Crazy Charlie Cherriebaum's Gas and Fireworks Emporium.

We caught up with the President of the Dollywood Company Craig Ross, who took a few minutes out of his very busy day to share his insight on FireChaser Express and  Mother Africa, the show headlining The Festival of Nations.

Through the fire tower and around the waterfall, expended fireworks litter the mountain after the Crazy Charlie's experience. With some toppled telephone poles thrown in for good measure, the fourteen passenger trains take a fun ride before returning to the station.

The station is finely detailed, like most public buildings were in the 1940's, and the trains have lots of extras also. This is an example of the extensive theming throughout Dollywood.  Scott was able to get Dollywood's Senior Art Director Ralph Nielson to share some details.

This old fire truck looks in good enough shape to respond to the call, and it really sets the stage for those wanting to go from "Zero to hero." Dolly hopes FireChaser Express will reinforce the belief that "We can all be heroes if we'll just step up and help others, whether it's in a small way or a big way." What a nice lesson from the "Volunteer State."

This video shows the complicated operation of FireChaser Express. If you look close, you can see how the track changes direction outside both the station and Crazy Charlie's. While riders of one train are being blown up, the track changes, another train launches out of the station, that track changes, and the train at Charlie's launches backwards to return to the station. There is so much going on, people gathered in the midway just to watch.

If you look closely, at the back of the first car you can see something different on FireChaser Express. Mounted to the track are green arms with rubber fingers. They are there to remind riders who might have played basketball in their day to pull their arms in, because of the railings coming up next to the track. This is required because of the wide variation in heights of the riders who choose to enjoy the roller coaster.

This is a cam action anti-rollback that Gerstlauer has begun using on their recent family coasters. The cars have a drive sword under the floor with a textured finish where the launch wheels engage, both forwards and backwards. If the train should somehow slip the lift chain, the cam locks pinch the drive sword and hold the trains still until they can resume the climb. They have the advantage of being quieter than regular anti-rollbacks, the better for riders to enjoy the sirens.

We also talked with Joel Manby, CEO of Hershend Family Entertainment Company about where Dollywood is headed for the future.

Here is the progress to date on the resort, you can see the construction crew working on Saturday to prepare for the next big expansion for Dollywood.

As we take a final look a FireChaser Express, we would like to say thank you to Dolly, Craig, Joel, and Ralph for their time. Also, a big thank you also to the crews of FireChaser Express and Wild Eagle, for their assistance. And Pete, we couldn't have done this story without all your help. Thanks!