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US News:
Arizona - (4/2/10) The latest news about the Waveyard project in Arizona is that they may move forward with the waterpark attractions first, saving the resort side of things until the economy is much stronger down the road. The project currently has a mid-2011 construction deadline to begin work. The first phase would include the whitewater rafting river, scuba diving, surfing and an indoor waterpark.
(8/25/09) Merlin Entertainment announced that they will build a new $15million Sea Life Aquarium at the Arizona Mills Mall in the Phoenix / Tempe area. Once approved by the city of Tempe, this will become only the second Sea Life Aquarium in the USA when it opens in Spring 2010. The Phoenix Sea Life Aquarium will be a 26,000 square feet development with 12 different habitat zones housing over 30 separate display tanks for more than 5,000 creatures ranging from shoreline marine life such as starfish and crabs to larger species such as sharks and rays.
(8/6/09) The developers behind Waveyard have asked local officials for a two year extension to get the project done.
 California - (8/24/10) A short video clip showing off the new Control Freak attraction in action at Belmont Park can be seen embedded below.
(8/20/10) A picture of the new Control Freak ride can be found at Theme Park Review. While it does seems to be the same style ride at the Santa Monica ride, this one features seats on both sides of the ride, doubling the capacity.
(8/19/10) While we don’t have a picture yet to confirm it, the new Control Freak ride at Belmont Park is thought to be the same ride as the Gyro Loop ride at the Santa Monica Pier. Think of it like a mini Top Spin for Two… with a control level to control how your little two-seat cabin spins. Check out a video of the Santa Monica ride in action.
(8/18/10) I’m told there is a new ride being installed right now at Belmont Park called Control Freak that will feature some sort of controlled spinning action. I’m not quite sure what kind of ride it is however, anyone else know?
(7/30/10) For all your Fair nuts out there… check out Westcoaster’s coverage of the Orange County Fair… rides and everything on the earth you can eat… FRIED. Seriously? Fried Twinkies are good…but Fried Butter Sticks?!?!
(7/17/10) The local news agrees… changing the name of the Wild Animal Park is not a well thought out idea.
(7/16/10) The Wild Animal Park came clean this week and talked about the plans to change the name of the park to San Diego Zoo Safari Park. They’re kind of delusional about the whole thing too, as seen in this quote where they trying to spin this into a positive somehow. "When people hear 'safari,' they think more of a journey," said Wild Animal Park board Director Bob McClure. I’ve gotta call “Bob” out on this one, because when most people think about “Safari” it’s about hunting dangerous animals. Plus f
or years the Wild Animal Parks always tried to stay away from using the work ‘Safari’ simply because of the old Lion Country Safari park that used to be in Irvine long ago. If you don’t remember this, it was one of those rare kind of parks where you can drive your own car through the animal areas with your windows up and your doors locked.
They claim that guests to the area are confused about the difference between the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park… but then why the hell are they throwing the “San Diego Zoo” name in front of Safari Park? Talk about stupid… they’re going to confuse people even more and make people think that Safari Park is a new “land” or attraction in the San Diego Zoo.
Here’s another great quote, “The idea of a safari has a very clear picture of what a customer can expect.” Ummm, not really. We already covered that. Want more? “People have been calling us the 'wildlife park' ... 'animal safari,'" he said. "They were never getting the 'Wild Animal Park' correct.” That’s a new one on me…everyone always knew it as the Wild Animal Park, and knew that it was different from the San Diego Zoo. Never was any confusion before…
Still… San Diego Zoo Safari Park is just a stinker of a name no matter how you slice it. Too generic… and too confusion with the San Diego Zoo. If they really feel the need to use the word Safari in there somewhere, can we just call it Wild Animal Safari? Either way, you can expect the locals to continue to call it the Wild Animal Park until this generation dies off… no one is going to call it Safari Park. Finally, I’ve got a few fun images one of our sources captured that show off the new logo as well as their plan to change it all over during the next year. As you can they have a new San Diego Zoo logo there as well and will use the same logo on Safari Park… confusing everyone.
(7/12/10) The local news has finally got wind of the proposed name change for the Wild Animal Park and have posted an online survey for it as well. As of this writing, 59% of the voters are Furious about it, with another 30% “Sad” about the name change. Together, that’s 89% of the votes who are against the idea. Sounds like it’s time to reevaluate just what they are thinking of doing.
(7/11/10) I’ve been sent more confirmations about the name change plans in place for the Wild Animal Park. Right now management’s plans are to slowly roll out the name bit by bit to the public, making the name change final and complete by Spring 2011. According to those who’s already seen the new “Safari Park” logo, they describe it as looking like something a small child drew up in 5 minutes with crayons… and hardly professional nor giving the respect this famous animal attraction deserves.
You know, if management there just has their heart set on adding the name “Safari” to the park, why not just make a minor change and call it “Wild Animal Safari” instead of “Safari Park”. The later just sounds so generic… like one of those bargain bin video game zoo simulations that Wal-Mart couldn’t sell for full price and is now begging people to take off their hands for $2.99 instead. Is that what they really want for the Wild Animal Park?
The funny thing is that when Disney went to build the Animal Kingdom park in Florida, they based a lot of ideas for it on the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. They even went so far as to originally name it as Wild Animal Kingdom because they felt the name had so much impact. The threat of a possible trademark lawsuit due to it sounding too similar to the old “Mutal of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” TV show forced Disney to drop the “Wild” part of the name. It just seems daft that the San Diego Zoo is so eager to give that name up now after using it for close to 40 years.
(7/10/10) So far this is just a rumor, but if it’s true it has to be one of the most ill conceived ideas I’ve ever heard of. According to one reader report, the famous San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park may be preparing to change the name of the park itself to “San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park” along with a marketing tagline of “Wild at Heart”.
On top of being one of the lamest sounding names I’ve ever heard, the very idea of changing the name of the very well known Wild Animal Park is just plain dumb to even suggest. Why the change? According to our source the marketing types want to change the focus of the park away from the animals (really?!) and focus more on the “rides” and “adventures” being offered.
Digging a little deeper, I did uncover that the San Diego Zoo did in fact just register the SanDiegoZooSafariPark.com domain address on July 8, 2010, prepaying it for the next ten years. Sigh...this park is just slipping and sliding down into a deep dark hole that they’ll never get out of. It all started going downhill I think when they closed the popular (and free) Wgasa Bush Line tour around the park and replaced it with a bunch of upcharge jeep tours.
(6/28/10) Bad news at a fair in the Bay Area as a carnival employee at the Sonoma-Marin Fair, for some unknown reason, stepped onto the track of a Wacky Worm ride while it was in motion. He was struck by the train and had his leg severed. The strange thing is this was not even the ride’s operator… he just wandered into the area and was hit.
(5/14/10) There is a new “coaster credit” to obtain in California this year…one most people don’t know about. Over in San Jose a new attraction has re-opened a small park called the Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, which actually features a new small Miler coaster called the Pacific Fruit Express. Check it out on the official page or see more pictures over at RCDB. The coaster looks like a modified version of the layout used for all those “Taxi Jam” coasters Miler installed into the former Paramount Parks.
(5/11/10) I’m told that the article posted last week that mentioned Mayan Adventures was coming to Cozumel had it all wrong. Apparently the people behind the park concept are now looking into locations in Southern California for the new theme park.
(4/30/10) The Temecula City Council has now given the Splash Canyon waterpark group until October 15th to provide proof of their financing for the project. This is an extension of a previous deadline set for April 30th.
(4/17/10) The city of Garden Grove has long felt left out from the glitter and glory bestowed upon nearby Anaheim because of Disneyland. Over the years the city has tried to lure in various other theme parks and developers to build their own projects on the outskirts of Disneyland, but to no avail.
According to the OC Register, Garden Grove is at it again and is said to have agreed to pay a waterpark resort developer $42 million if they are able to open an attraction about a mile away from Disneyland on a 10.c acre site near the intersection of Harbor and Garden Grove Blvd. An announcement is expected within a month or so and the project could break ground in 2012. I’ve got no solid lock on this, but looking at an aerial map, if I had to guess I’d say that this empty field and the trailer-park next door are a good possible location for this project.
(4/15/10) Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom has been granted permission to reopen as early as April 23rd by the city. New requirements are in place however to keep sound systems quiet after 10pm and case-by-case permission approval for special events.
(4/9/10) ACE will honor San Diego’s Giant Dipper coaster with official “Landmark Coaster” status on April 23rd. The story of the San Diego Giant Dipper is an incredible one, as the coaster withstood it’s park (Belmont Park) being shut down in 1976, more than one fire, and was saved by a great community effort which eventually restored and reopened the ride in 1990. I myself grew up as a San Diego Native, living in the shadow of the Giant Dipper.
I recall going to Belmont Park once in 1976 before it was shut down for good and was too short to ride it at that point, back when it had been renamed as Earthquake. Over the next 14 years I used to frequent the beach next to the coaster, walk around it and kind of became obsessed with it for a time. At one point I recall my father taking me exploring into the remains of the closed coaster, as we walked through the dark tunnel between the station and lift hill with Flashlights. Standing about a third of the way up on the lift hill looking over the rest of the structure, I so wished that I could turn back the hands of time and get my chance to ride it. When the ride reopened in 1990 I was overjoyed because my wish had come true at last.
Congrats to the Giant Dipper! I know it helped inspire my obsession with roller coasters from a very young age… likely inspiring me later on when I created Screamscape.
(4/6/10) An Earthquake struck the Southern California region over the weekend, but according to all reports I’ve received so far the parks escaped with no damage. It was nice to have some very quick after-the-fact onsite official reports of this from both Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm’s Twitter feeds. Great work and quick thinking guys!
(3/31/10) The proposed Splash Canyon waterpark in Temecula wont open this summer after all, as the group is still seeking the needed investors to bring it to life. There is an April 30th deadline set however by the city to arrange construction financing, but the group is still hoping to begin construction as early as this fall and open by Summer 2011. You can find a map showing off the location of the proposed park here.
(3/24/10) San Diego’s Wild Animal Park has expanding their Journey Into Africa tour, adding in new animal habitats. Read all the details at the LA Times.
(3/22/10) Looks like Tahoe wont be getting that Alpine Coaster very quickly after all. According to this report the neighbors complained enough to get it put “on hold” with their concerns over noise levels and environmental concerns.
(3/6/10) Good news for those who visit the Lake Tahoe area, as plans have been put in motion to build a new Alpine Coaster at Northstar at Tahoe. Of course the project is currently catching some heat by those worried about noise and environmental issues, but if all goes well construction could begin in early May and possibly open by mid-July. According to the article the overall length of the track will be 4,260 feet as it descends from an altitude of 6,745 ft to 6,342 ft.
Colorado - (8/31/10) The train at Tiny Town is open once again it seems, after the park had been fined over $30k by state officials, when the investigation determined that the engineer was driving the train at about 5 times the normal speed limit for that section of track where it derailed in early August.
(8/19/10) The investigation at Tiny Town has determined so far that it was not mechanical failure that caused the train derailment, indicating that the cause was operator error. The park has since reopened, thought he train ride remains closed.
(8/14/10) The latest update on the Tiny Town accident claims that the park has been closed pending the investigation. According to the initial information they’ve come up with, it sounds like the engineer accelerated instead of slowing down before the turn where the accident took place.
(8/13/10) A small attraction in Colorado called Tiny Town had an incident on Wednesday where their miniature train ride went out of control and derailed, causing several injuries.
Florida - (8/20/10) A new waterpark is under consideration for South Florida in a parking lot next to the Miami Dolphins stadium. If all goes as planned, it could open as early as 2012. Click here to read the full report.
(6/17/10) The new Schlitterbahn project for Fort Lauderdale took a big step forward today when the city commissioners endorsed the Schlitterbahn proposal to build a new waterpark there needed no city or county funding. From the description the proposed park sounds a lot like the South Padre Island park that is based around the Transportainment concept of having every major attraction tied into a massive lazy river that makes it’s way around the park, along with a large AquaVeyer lift system. The Broward County Sports Hall of Fame would be given a home on the property as well as new attractions for Virtual Golf, Baseball/Softball Simulators and more. You can also read through Schlitterbahn’s proposal yourself here which includes Master Blasters and a Tidal Wave River.
(4/8/10) Schlitterbahn has apparently pitched a mixed use waterpark / hotel / sports destination project proposal as a new use for the Fort Lauderdale Stadium and nearby Lockhart Stadium. You can read up on the details here.
(4/5/10) A strange new “theme park” style concept has been pitched for the Titusville area with the hope of opening in 2012. They’re calling it InterSpace where the theme will be based on taking a fake trip to a Mars colony. Budgeted at a modest $30 million cost on a 75 acre property, the idea is to create a fake Martian experience.
Ok… odd, but I’m willing to go along and check it out… until they mention the cost of visiting. They want tourists to spend “$100 or so” just to make a day trip to their Martian landscape and only view ‘the surface’ from the inside of a building. Those willing to pay upwards of $3,500 will be allow to ‘stay for a few days as “settlers” and play roles on Mars such as miner, greenhouse gardener or artist’ while wearing fake space suits any time they want to go outside.
Sounds familiar to anyone else? Maybe it’s just me but this is starting to sound a lot more like the old Sci-Fi film, West World… mixed with a Total Recall style theme and minus all the androids. Odd for sure… but they claim that they’re hoping to break ground as early as this September for a 2012 opening. Me? I’m going to take this one with a big grain of salt until they actually start the ground work. Interesting idea for sure, but I think they’re going to need a bit more of an action style theme if they want guess to pay that kind of money.
Georgia - (4/2/10) Another $1 billion indoor ski resort has been proposed for Georgia… this time at Red Top Mountain in Bartow County. Actually this is the same resort once proposed as The Falls at Lake Lanier Highlands (Dawson County) and you can see some of the artwork for it here.
Illinois - (9/1/10) A local mobile petting zoo called A Zoo to You will soon set up shop at the former Santa’s Village park in East Dundee. You can read more here.
Indiana - (3/5/10) According to one of our readers, Fun Spot in Indiana is likely to never open again. As you can see in this ad placed in Amusement Today the park is selling their coaster as well as their other 22 rides. I’m not sure if it is too late or not, but they’ve started a petition to show support for the park, asking that it be reopened.
(2/23/10) As expected, Fun Spot in Indiana has updated their website to now state that the park will not open for the 2010 season as well now. At this point, I’ve got to think that you can pretty much stick a fork in the place, because they are done.
Kansas - (8/16/10) I’m not sure what to make of this odd ‘rumor’ entry I’ve received this month in regards to the future of Joyland. I have no way to know if there is even the slightest hint of truth to it, but since I’ve been 90% convinced already that we will never see Joyland open again, I’ll just pass on this odd rumor as it is… only a rumor.
The source insists that the city of Wichita may have struck a deal with the Nelson family to buy the park property. The city however has no intention of reopening the park… and will instead have the site declared as a flood zone so that no one will ever build there again. The remains of the park will also be demolished sometime early next year.
So take that for what you will… truth, tall tale or simply a warning of what may lie ahead.
(7/28/10) According to the Save Joyland facebook page, the Wichita park has pretty much only one chance left at being save at this point… to perhaps turn it into a museum style non-profit attraction. Hit them up for more information if you’d like to see it saved.
(7/15/10) Stanley Nelson, the long time owner of the failed Joyland park in Wichita, has passed away this week at the age of 87.
Louisiana - (8/27/10) Is Louisiana ready for another roller coaster? According to this article, there is plan in development for the Lake Charles area (about half way between Houston & New Orleans) to build a new waterfront boardwalk themed entertainment development called “Mardi Gras Boardwalk”. The plan is to mix local and big name restaurant names, entertainment venues, and a resort hotel along with a very large Ferris Wheel and Roller Coaster to lure people in from far away.
Jazzland was nice while it lasted, and the region could use another attraction of some kind I’m sure. Speaking of Jazzland… you can also take a trip back in time to see Jazzland in it’s heyday in the latest latest Flashback Friday update at Amusement Insider.
(4/21/10) As I expected, the developer claiming to want to bring Six Flags New Orleans back to life has now pulled out as quickly as they arrived. According to the article, 3 Wise Men requested to be removed from the agenda the next day after their involvement was first published in the news.
(4/16/10) A new group called 3 Wise Men Entertainment has filed an application with New Orleans for $200 in bonds with the goal of brining the former Six Flags New Orleans park site back to life… as a theme park. The fishy issue however is that in it’s paperwork they mention that the new park will have a Nickelodeon theme…again… only to have Nickelodeon say that they’ve never even been approached by this group before.
Maryland - (8/18/10) The Tidal Wave coaster (Boomerang) at Trimper’s has now reopened after inspectors deemed it safe to run following the accident earlier this summer.
(7/28/10) A quick update on the Tidal Wave accident at Trimper’s. It’s been confirmed that the cable did snap, and all three people injured were not even on the coaster, but were instead bystanders hit by debris. The coaster itself protected everyone aboard from the debris, as designed.
(7/26/10) According to this news report a cable on the Tidal Wave coaster broke shortly right after the ride cycle began. The reports so far are not clear on where the kids were who were hurt. Some claim they were standing ‘near’ the ride but not on it, while another says only one was off to the side and hurt by debris while the others were hurt when the coaster stopped suddenly.
(7/24/10) Bad news for Trimper’s, as some kind of incident took place on the park’s Tidal Wave coaster (Vekoma Boomerang) that sent three kids to the hospital. Anyone know just what happened?
Michigan - (6/8/10) Splash Universe, a small indoor waterpark in Michigan, suffered severe damage (along with Cabela’s) on Sunday when it was struck by a tornado at approximately 2:10am. You can find a picture showing of a little bit of the damage here.
Minnesota - (4/22/10) Spirit Mountain (Minnesota) is hard at work building Timber Twister, the Ski Resorts new Alpine Coaster attraction. Currently the plan is to have it open by July 1st.
New Jersey - (7/17/10) A local source tells us that we may have some good news about the stalled Xanadu giant mall project in New Jersey built next to New Meadowlands Stadium where the New York Giants & Jets play. It seems that the announcement that the Superbowl in 2014 will be held at the New Meadowlands Stadium may be enough of a reason to sudden put some momentum back into Xanadu. After all, it’s been proven that where the Superbowl goes, huge crowds and lots of money do follow. It just wouldn’t do to have all those people right there, out in the cold, and have this large nearly complete, but closed mall.
(7/2/10) I’m told that Mountain Creek in New Jersey has a new owner… which is actually the old owner once again who would like to return the site back to it’s roots… back when it was known as Action Park. The plan is to bring back many of the old attractions as well as new ones such as a Mountain Coaster, Zipline, expanded waterpark and more. It’s all talk at this point, but stay tuned.
(2/16/10) Xanadu could be saved after all as a Billionaire has come forward and is looking the project over as a possible new investment. Read more here.
(1/29/10) A deadline is now fast approaching the Xanadu projects in The Meadowlands it seems, as the governor’s office has now demanded that the developer either finish the stalled project or hand it over to the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority who owns the land under it.
North Carolina - (8/12/10) The new NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte is seeing attendance plunging into a downward spiral. The attraction has only just brought in it’s 100,000th guest this past week, and is on track to fall quite short on their estimated 1 million visitors in the first 13 months of operation. Of course it probably doesn’t help that admission to see this glorified parking lot of old race cars will set you back $20.
Ohio - (8/28/10) The famous Big Dipper from Geauga Lake is now currently up for sale on Ebay with a Buy It Now price of $65k, but starting bids as low as $9.5k.
(6/17/10) CoasterFusion has posted a new report with photos from Geauga Lake, including some pictures of the Big Dipper. -- Correction -- Those pictures are actually of the remains of the Raging Wolf Bobs.
(6/11/10) The latest report from a Screamscape reader indicates that the Sea Dragon was up and running finally yesterday.
(6/9/10) Sources at the Columbus Zoo report that the Sea Dragon was waiting for a shipment of new wheels for the coaster trains which have now arrived. The coaster is expected to be up and running again within the next 2 weeks if all goes well, as they still apparently have to get the sign off from the state on their winter rehab work before they can reopen.
(6/8/10) According to a reader who went by the Columbus Zoo over the weekend, the Sea Dragon wooden coaster was not only closed, but employees reported that it has not opened in at least a month so far and may be closed for several more weeks awhile they were waiting for some kind of spare part to fix it. Anyone know more?
(3/29/10) Screamscape has some great news about the famous and fabled Big Dipper at Geauga Lake. While the coaster, built in 1925, was purchased at the Geauga Lake auction when the park was closed for good, it was hoped that there was some kind of plan to save it , move it, and reopen it some day. While the Big Dipper is one of the few structures still standing at the former amusement park, no formal plans have ever been announced to actually save it.
I’m told that the new owner has been trying to find someone to buy it from them for around $150,000 but has now dropped the asking price down to just $65,000 for this piece of history. Anyone with a serious inquiry and purchase offer for the Big Dipper can send it to ffejkat@yahoo.com or contact “Jeff” as the admin of the Geauga Lake Funtimes page on Facebook.
Oklahoma - (7/27/10) Theme Park Review revisited the destruction and removal of the former Bell’s Amusement Park.
Pennsylvania - (7/9/10) Ride The Ducks amphibious tour operations around the country are currently suspended following an accident that took place at the Philadelphia tour location. According to the latest reports the Duck, with 37 people abord, became disabled in the Delaware River. A passing barge then struck, ran over and overturned the stranded Duck, dumping everyone into the water. There are some reports of injured being taken in for medical treatment and as of this time, two passengers are still currently missing. The two missing passengers were a 16 year old girl and 20 year old man, part of a larger group from Hungary.
So far the Coast Guard has called off plans to send divers down to view the wreckage due to strong currents and a zero-visibility issue, so it is possible that the bodies of the two missing guests could still be in the wreckage. It is also unclear how the barge managed to strike the Duck in the first place as the event took place in the middle of clear and sunny afternoon. An investigation into this matter is certain to follow.
(4/28/10) Lakemont Park has sent out word that Leap The Dips will now be an upcharge attraction, costing riders an extra $2.50 to ride each time. Given the high maintenance requirements on the unique coaster, they claim that they were left with no choice but to find a way to offset the extra costs that this ride requires to upkeep and maintain. This has now been confirmed on the park’s website as well were the price of Admission now “Does not include Leap The Dips, Go-Karts, Mini-Golf).”
South Carolina - (8/19/10) Discover Myrtle Beach has posted some pictures of the new WonderWorks upside-down house under construction at Broadway at the Beach.
(8/18/10) While the fate of Freestyle Music Park isn’t known, another new attraction is coming to Myrtle Beach this November called The Fun Warehouse. The center will feature a roller skate arena, laser tag, a stuff your own animal center, an inflatable room, party rooms, arcade and more.
(7/16/10) New construction pictures of the new WonderWorks location in Myrtle Beach can be found at Discover Myrtle Beach.
(6/17/10) The local news reports that Myrtle Beach could become home to a new Ferris Wheel proposed to serve as a new beachside icon for the city. Located near Plyer Park, the wheel would stand 175 feet tall and have 42 climate controlled enclosed gondolas allowing for year-round operation.
(6/11/10) I’ve got a few pictures to share this week showing off
the new ropes course at Broadway at the Beach which is now open. The new ZipLine is also expected to open on June 15th if all goes as planned. The official site for the attraction, Soar and Explore, can be found here.
(6/3/10) A local source tell us that the new Zip Line at Broadway at the Beach is currently hoping to open up on June 10th.
(5/31/10) While the first half of the new Ropes Course at Broadway at the Beach opened this past weekend, the Zip Line over the central lake wont be ready until at least mid-June. According to this same article however, the Radical Ropes course that was to have opened in South Myrtle Beach has been delayed and now wont open until 2011.
(5/6/10) Pictures of the new Wonderworks under constrction at Broadway at the Beach can be found over at Discover Myrtle Beach.
(5/4/10) According to this article, the site for the new Wonderworks at Broadway at the Beach has been cleared and construction has begun. The new attraction, themed to look like an upsidedown house, wll open in Spring 2011.
(4/17/10) The entire 11 acre former site of The Pavilion Amusement Park will be leased by the city’s Downtown Redevelopment Corporation for use as a location for summer festival events. They’ve already planned Cinco De Mayo and Memorial Day Weekend events, with more to come.
(3/27/10) Discover Myrtle Beach has posted an update showing off the progress on the new Skycoaster style ride going into the beach area. Looks like it wont be too much longer before it’s ready for some riders.
(3/17/10) Discover Myrtle Beach tells us that a new Skyscraper style attraction is going in across from the Family Kingdom park on Ocean Blvd and has posted pictures of the site being prepared.
(3/10/10) The confirmation of the new Ropes Course at Broadway at the Beach has come out today. The press release confirms the new attraction opening in April will be operated by WonderWorks Management and include a 500 ft zip-line trip over the central lake, 50 feet in the air.
(3/5/10) Okay, time to clear up some confusion. It turns out that Myrtle Beach will open two entirely different ropes course attractions this year, the one on the South side (Radical Ropes Adventure Park) and the one rumored for Broadway At The Beach. Thanks to Discover Myrtle Beach for confirming both locations as well as uncovering the news that the WonderWorks attraction is also moving back on track, now looking to open in Spring 2011, taking over the site of an old restaurant. As for that ropes course at Broadway At The Beach, they also report it will feature a zip line that passes over part of the central lake.
(3/1/10) How sad… the Myrtle Beach Pavilion park was closed several years ago to make way for some kind of impressive new development from Burroughs & Chapin… which has yet to even start construction. According to this article B&C have no plans to start construction on the site in 2010 either. It’s such a shame as the Pavilion could have been left standing until they were really ready to move forward with the redevelopment project instead of being in such a rush with the wrecking ball.
Tennessee - (8/14/10) You’ve got to admire the locals who just wont give up on their dream of having Opryland USA returned to them. Several years ago it was noted that Gaylord was purchasing a large ammount of land near their resort... almost enough to build a new Opryland 2 if need be. Putting more fuel to the fire at the time, the land was officially labeled in their zoning plans as being “Reserved for Future Attractions”. Gaylord has often come out to say that they have no plans to build a new theme park at this time, but that doesn’t stop the locals from holding out hope. This week Gaylord bought another 13 acres of property right across the street from the large piece of property they previously bought. If you take a look at the map here, you could almost envision this to be used for a park in the future. If Gaylord had the plans to do so, which unfortunately I don’t believe they do. I really don’t think they have any interest in getting back into the theme park biz ever again, but there is always room for hope.
(6/11/10) According to this report the new Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge sounds like a smash hit, claiming that it even sells out of tickets on most days since it opened two months ago.
(5/25/10) While Nashville is still just beginning a long recovery from the flood, a grass roots effort from local citizens is now looking for supporters to ask that the Opryland Mills Mall that has been closed since the flood, be torn town and replaced with a new Opryland Theme Park. You can listen to an interview about this effort at this news site.
(5/7/10) The flooding in Nashville is terrible for sure… as the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills Mall have both been victims of the flood. But had the Opryland theme park still been in place, it too would have been flooded. I’ve been told that Opryland did flood once way back around 1974.
(5/4/10) Flooding in Nashville has hit the Gaylord Opryland Resort causing millions in damage to the famous hotel, with flood waters reaching as high as 10 feet in certain sections. The resort is closed and it could be months before it will be ready to reopen according to this report. You can see dramatic video footage of the flood damaged sections of the hotel embedded below.
(4/16/10) Looks like Bass Pro finally decided to pull the trigger on renovating the Memphis Pyramid and has now set November 2011 as the official opening date of the new Outdoor World / Bass Pro Shop location.
(4/9/10) According to the official website, the new Titanic museum attraction in Pigeon Forge had it’s grand opening yesterday. Anyone go by to check it out yet? Send me a review.
(4/6/10) Remember all that fuss over the proposal to build a new indoor theme park inside the Pyramid building in Memphis a few years ago? In the end, nothing ever happened because the local political types were holding out hope that Bass Pro Shops would drop dragging their feet and build a new flagship Outdoor World location on the site. Jump ahead to today and little has changed as Bass Pro has still yet to fully commit to the site. They are paying $35,000 in rent to hold the site however, which is something at least.
(4/1/10) A new owner may be on the way to take over the stalled Belle Island project in Pigeon Forge. Read all the details here.
(2/20/10) A new $25 million permanent Titanic Museum attraction will open in Pigeon Forge on April 8th at 10am. The grand opening will be hosted by celebrity Regis Philbin and is open to the general public.
“In addition to an unparalleled collection of artifacts, we have built the Titanic Museum as a completely interactive attraction. You hear the wonderful stories as you’re going through the museum, but you are also experiencing things the way they were in 1912 when Titanic sailed. It’s one thing to hear about the men who shoveled coal into the boilers – but it comes to life for you when you pick up that shovel and feel what it means to shovel coal into a furnace.”
You can learn more at the official Titanic Pigeon Forge website.
Texas - (6/9/10) According to the latest update on the sale of the Astroworld property, the new owners are now looking at sitting on the property twiddling their thumbs for the next 5-7 years as well.
(6/4/10) Astroworld is in the news again this week as the former theme park site in Houston was purchased by The Mallick Group who intends to develop it. The sum paid was not disclosed, but the previous owners bought it from Six Flags for a whopping $77 million back in 2006. Given the economy, I’d be surprised if it fetched that much today.
(3/12/10) Texas will open a brand new theme park this year called Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio. This is not your typical park however, but a unique creation that serves as the first amusement park built specifically for those with special needs. I believe the park has had some soft opening days, but the official opening isn’t set until April 10th. Because space is limited and they want to keep crowding down reservations are required, but special needs guests are allowed into the park for free. Check out this great video that showcases the park and tells the story of it’s creation.
Vermont - (6/5/10) The Okemo Mountain Ski Resort in Vermont is working on plans to build the Okemo Mountain Coaster. If all goes as planned they would like to have the Wiegand made Alpine Coaster ready by Thanksgiving. The planned layout will feature a 1,600 foot long climb followed by a 3,100 ft downhill run with “added waves, camel backs and banking loops” as it follows the contours of the mountain.
Washington - (8/2/10) While the Seattle area has been mostly devoid of any kind of amusement park, it wasn’t always that way. There is a good history of the various amusement parks that have come and gone from the area posted here.
Wisconsin - (8/28/10) Ground has been broken for the new Zippin Pippin coaster, along with the launch of a new website which promises to show off the construction with a webcam in the near future.
(8/23/10) A odd report has come out that workers were found making late night repairs at 2am to the Terminal Velocity attraction about a week after the incident took place, and just hours before a state inspector was due on site in the morning. While the inspection had nothing to do with the parts being worked on, which were also not involved as the cause of the accident itself, it just kind of looks ‘odd’ to the outside world. Attractions needs constant maintenance for certain and it doesn’t sound like they were doing anything they were not allowed to do, but I think the fact that a police officer was the one to spot and report it taking place at 2am in the morning gives the story a bad spin.
(8/19/10) The operator of the Terminal Velocity ride has been charged with 1st Degree Reckless Injury after admitting that he “blanked out” and released the girl into freefall without getting the all clear signal from the ground crew.
(8/5/10) I’ve got a quick update on the 12 year old girl that fell from the Terminal Velocity attraction in the Dells. According to this news report she has several fractures in her back and neck and will require surgery. Even so, there is a chance she could end up paralyzed from the accident. The investigation places the blame on the operator who triggered the drop before the net was lifted back into place.
(7/31/10) A 12 year old girl was hurt in the Wisconsin Dells areas on the Terminial Velocity ride at Extreme World. In this attraction you are dropped and are caught by a net that is supposed to break your fall, but the net wasn’t high enough off the ground. From the pictures, this looks like a knock-off of the old SCAD Tower attraction. From the description of the accient, it too sounds almost identical to the accident that took place on the IAAPA show floor on a SCAD Tower several years ago in Orlando.
(7/24/10) According to this report construction on the new Zippin Pippin will begin in August.
(5/12/10) Green Bay has chosen the site for the new Zippin Pippin coaster it seems, and has already rezoned the site to allow for it. It will go on the west side of the Bay Beach Amusement Park property, on a site acquired earlier for future park expansion purposes.
(5/6/10) Riverview Park in the Wisconsin Dells area will reopen this summer, thought apparently closing the park was considered after revenue dropped by about 20%. The waterpark may only run for part of the day this season however. You can read more details here.
(4/21/10) Martin and Vleminckx has signed on to help Green Bay built the new Zippin Pippin for $2 million, in time for a 2011 opening. To help cut down on the costs, they’ve also acquired the remains of the Thunder Eagle coaster that once ran in Pigeon Forge, where they will recycled and refurbishing the machinery to cut back on the costs for the new Pippin.
(3/22/10) Looks like it’s official now… Green Bay has bought themselves a demolished roller coaster in the form of the Zippin Pippin. They’re paying about $35k for the rights to use the name and history of the Pippin… though that gets a little fuzzy too as I’m told solid proof connecting Elvis to the Pippin was hard to come by anyway other than the word of mouth legend told over the years.
(3/6/10) Finally a little more clarity on the purchase of the Zippin Pippin. According to this article, of the $3 million Green Bay is said to be spending on bringing the coaster to Bay Beach, only $10,000 are going towards the purchase of what’s left of the old Pippin. The remainder of the budget is the rest of the construction cost to build the new ride.
(3/5/10) I didn’t think about this yesterday, but just what is Green Bay getting for their $3 million price tag on the Zippin Pippin? The trains were auctioned off a couple of years ago to a traveling Elvis memorabilia display, and it’s said that the Pippin will need close to 100% wood replacement. So again… just what is Green Bay buying for their $3 million? Old Blueprints from 1923 and maybe the rights to use the name of a defunct coaster that most people outside of Tennessee have never heard of? That’s a bit pricey in my opinion when they could have bought the Starliner from Cypress Gardens, a functioning and newly rebuilt woodie for probably about the same price.
(3/4/10) The Green Bay City Council approved the plan to buy the Zippin Pippin coaster for $3 million. They hope to have it open again by Summer 2011, though it is noted that close to 100% of the old Pippin’s wooden structure will have to be replaced. If you need to know the breakdown, the council vote was said to be 7 to 4 for buying the coaster.
(2/1/10) Take a fun winter tour of the Wisconsin Dells area, complete with a look at the various waterparks (indoor and out), Mt. Olympus, local Ski resorts and more all posted to the Winconsin Dells Fansite.
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