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SMALL PARKS & ATTRACTIONS
---- THE LATEST SMALL PARK NEWS ----
(1/14/2025) Oaks Park Wants To Build A Drop Tower Ride
(1/12/2025) Peppa Pig Theme Park Texas - New Aerial Photos
(1/9/2025) Diggerland USA Purchased By New Owners
(1/9/2025) The Former Evermore Park Will Be Revived As "The Realm Town"
(1/2/2025) Gillian's Wonderland Rides Are Coming Down, Frisbee Going To A New Home
(12/15/2024) Texas's Peppa Pig Theme Park Will Be Certified Autism Center
(11/24/2024) A Resort May Be Planned To Take Over Gillian's Wonderland Site
ADVENTURE CITY (Buena Park, CA)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2016 - 2024 seasons.
ADVENTURE PARK (Maryland)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2016 - 2024 seasons.
ADVENTURELAND (Long Island, NY)
 2025 - Wave Twister - (3/20/2024) A new attraction from RES called Wave Twister will open in Spring 2025. They describe it as a “first-of-its-kind custom-made ride” designed to fit into the corner of the new Legacy Corner section of the park.
Wave Twister was described as a family ride that has a “boomerang shape” that will simulate the motion of riding upon ocean waves, while spinning and moving across a track, standing up to 60 feet tall. While it will be a dry ride, it will feature water based special effects to enhance the ride experience (fountains, mist, etc) and able to hold 20 rides at a time.
Based on the concept it, it looks like RES is building their version of a Zamerpla Disk’O Coaster style ride, but on steroids, as it travels around a corner, and features a platform with two spinning rider disks, mounted to a larger rotating platform in the center, so that it will feature unpredictable spinning motion.
2028 - Legacy Corner Completion - Planned - (3/20/2024) At least two more rides are planned to come to the park “over the next three phases”, which I’m assuming means the 2026 to 2028 seasons. This will include the completion of the new ‘Legacy Corner’ section of the park, a new expansion that is expected to be complete by the 2028 season that will be just over an acre in size and feature at least four new rides and other new amenities.
ARNOLD’S PARK (Iowa)
2025 - Nothing is known at this time... Nothing added in 2024
BAY BEACH (Green Bay, WI)
2025 - Train Ride - (9/7/2024) The final details are being worked out for Bay Beach to lay down some new train tracks and rebuild the train ride with a new layout along with wider tracks to accommodate a bigger train that will also be wheelchair accessible. A new train station and nearby ADA compliant restroom will also be part of the project.
The new train layout will feature stations on both ends, allowing passengers to ride the train from one side of the park to the other, while taking in the scenic view of the bay. The train itself has already been donated to the park and comes from the Memphis Zoo (a 2007 propane C.P. Huntington) so all that is left is to finalize the funding for the building of the new tracks and facilities. The goal is to begin work as soon as possible and have it ready by the end of June 2025.
(3/16/2024) Bay Beach has been approved to receive the donation of a propane powered C.P. Huntington train attraction that formerly ran at the Memphis Zoo. I don’t believe a timeline has been set as to when it might open as the park would obviously have to create a custom and build a custom track layout where they think it would serve them best.
BEECH BEND PARK (Bowling Green, Kentucky)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2017 - 2024 seasons.
BELMONT PARK (San Diego, CA)
Now through 2026 - Future Improvement Plans - (4/22/2024) Some new rides and other improvements are planned for San Diego’s Belmont Park between now and 2026. Over the past few years a number of the existing rides have been spruced up, replaced with new hardware, or given some new themes, such as the Tilt-A-Whirl cars now look like giant ice cream cones. A new small tower ride was added as Shipwreck Cove this year, placed within the wreckage of a ship of course. Now the developers are seeking to remove the north-western corner of the property to add a few more rides (they are hoping for a Zamperla Disk’O), to update the Beach House restaurant area, and update the arcade to become more of a “Barcade”, offering an indoor-outdoor bar that will offer both beer and cocktails as well as sweet treats. In addition to the Disk’O they are also hoping to add two more thrill rides to increase the venue’s appeal as well as access from those visiting the beach. Currently they are still working through the approval process however.
CALAWAY PARK (Alberta, Canada)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2024
CAMDEN PARK (WV)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2017 - 2024 seasons.
CASINO PIER (Seaside Heights, NJ)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2024
CASTLE PARK (California)
Park News - (8/30/2024) If you happen to be passing by Castle Park in Riverside in the near future and something looks amiss, you would be right. According to a source, the park has apparently taken down the Screamin Demon spinning mouse coaster. The Fabbri spinning coaster has had a long history of troubles at the park, opening back in 2008 only to shut down completely from 2014 to early 2021. It reopened briefly during the pandemic from April 2021 only to close yet again in 2023, and it has sat silent ever since.
The attractions side of Castle Park has been in a big of chaos over the past few years, having reportedly closed their Ghost Blasters dark ride in early 2024, only to temporarily reopen it for a time after a number of other rides in the park had been shut down all at the same time. Currently Ghost Blasters is no longer listed on the website and we assumed the plans to close and remove it permanently have gone forward, along with the removal of the Spider.
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
CEDAR VALLEY’S WILD FRONTIER (Michigan)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2024
CLIFF’S AMUSEMENT PARK (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2024
COLUMBUS ZOO & ZOOMBEZI BAY (Columbus, OH)
2025 - ProSlide HIVE - (11/20/2024) ProSlide has come up with a new waterslide design element they are calling the ProSlide HIVE. The concept is available in sizes able to accommodate both two-person raftts as well as larger 5-passenger rafts and features a high-G helix spiral that is able to accommodate a number of custom design and theming features. This includes adding themed elements to the center of the helix, opting for an open air or fully enclosed top, and a translucent slide spiral that can be designed to incorporate any number of themed features or designs, or simply open to provide a unique panoramic view of the outside world.
The first three will open in 2025 at Zoombezi Bay (Ohio), the Chimelong Water Park (China) and Radamis (Egypt). Check it out below!
(7/14/2024) Zoombezi Bay has announced on their FB page that this season will be the last one for the park’s Dolphin Dash slide, a six-lane mat racer. The last day to ride the Dolphin Dash will be Labor Day 2024.
In a related bit of news, the park also has confirmed that 2025 will see the “largest-ever capital investment” in Zoombezi Bay, which will add some kind of a major new attraction. Stay tuned for more information.
DELGROSSO’S AMUSEMENT PARK (Pennsylvania)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2017 - 2024
DENO’S WONDER WHEEL (New York)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2024
DIGGERLAND USA (New Jersey)
 Park News - (1/9/2025) Amusement Today reports that Innovative Attraction Management (IAM) has acquired the small Diggerland USA theme park in West Berlin, New Jersey.
The group have previously managed a number of small attractions such as Cowabunga Bay, Daytona Lagoon, Island H2O Water Park, Five Islands, Myrtle Waves and El Dorado Park.
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2023 - 2024
DIXIE LANDIN’ & BLUE BAYOU (Baton Rouge, LA)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2017 - 2024 seasons.
DUTCH WONDERLAND (Pennsylvania)
Owned by Palace Entertainment / Parques Reunidos
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2024
EDAVILLE USA (Carver, MA)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...Nothing added in 2024
ENCHANTED FOREST (Oregon)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2024
FAMILY KINGDOM (Myrtle Beach, SC)
Park News - (6/22/2024) A North Carolina husband and wife have filed separate lawsuits against the Family Kingdom amusement park in Myrtle Beach, SC this week. In both lawsuits, the husband and wife claim to be suing after claiming that the husband, Kul Sannyashi, was left paralyzed after riding the park’s Swamp Fox wooden roller coaster.
For those wondering, the Swamp Fox is up and running, as the date that this incident was said to have taken place was way back on July 23, 2021. The family claims the park did not take the proper precautions regarding the safety of the ride, as well as including encouraging guests to ride the attraction even though it could cause serious injuries. In this case, the husband claims to have suffered a special cord injury from his experience on Swamp Fox, and is now a quadriplegic from this injury.
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
FANTASY ISLAND (New Jersey)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
FUNTOWN USA / SPLASHTOWN USA (Saco, Maine)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2024
GALAXYLAND (Inside the West Edmonton Mall Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2024
GALVESTON ISLAND HISTORIC PLEASURE PIER (Galveston, Texas)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2013 - 2024 seasons.
GILLIAN'S WONDERLAND PIER (Ocean City, NJ)
Park News - (1/2/2025) Screamscape sources have sent in official pictures from Gillian’s Wonderland where crews are taking down the park’s Huss Frisbee. According to what Screamscape has been told, the ride has already been sold and will be set up in a new home somewhere in Europe. Stay tuned!
(11/24/2024) With Gillian’s Wonderland now closed, many have been waiting to see what will happen with the property which is now owned by the Icona resort developer, Eustace Mita. According to a local radio station a new proposal is in the works to create “Icona in Wonderland” on the site, a new 7-story 252-room resort property that will pay some homage to the lost Gillian’s Wonderland by possibly keeping the Ferris wheel and Carousel on the grounds.
Apparently nothing is quite set in stone, as the proposal is still being developed before making an official filing with the local government, so stay tuned.
(10/18/2024) Gillian’s Wonderland is now closed for good, and with the demise of the theme park, the former owner and Mayor of the town, Jay Gillian has come forward to “lash out” at New Jersey state regulators for pushing the park into oblivion. According to comments from Gillian, the state is currently overstepping by being far too harsh in their oversight duties over amusement parks.
“One of the biggest issues we have in the amusement industry is this state is putting us out of business. It’s difficult. You talk to Morey’s and Storybook Land and everybody. It is unbelievable”. His gives an example where Gillian’s had to spend an extra $100,000 to get a ride open because state officials demanded things far beyond what the professionals and structural engineers had done to their own specs.
“I did everything the professionals said. Structural engineer, all the paperwork. I took it up to the state of New Jersey and the engineer up there said, ‘You know what, Jay, I need this done, you need to do this.’ He started telling me that my engineer didn’t know what he was talking about and they knew better. That is scary”.
This isn’t the first time Screamscape has heard stories over the years about parks having troubles getting rides and attractions open on time due to unexpected last-minute demands from New Jersey officials. A great example locals may recall happened in 2014 when Six Flags Great Adventure built the Zumanjaro drop ride, attached to the side of the Kingda Ka roller coaster. Intamin designed both the coaster and the new drop towers attached to it to run together, but state officials refused to let both rides run at the same time for several years, forcing the crews to take turns running their respective rides cycles, reducing the capacity of each attraction in the process. While they were eventually able to come to some kind of agreement that both could run at the same time, it wasn’t until sometime in 2021.
GILROY GARDENS (Gilroy, California)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2015 - 2024 seasons.
GLENWOOD CAVERNS (Colorado)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2024
IDLEWILD (Pennsylvania)
Parques Reunidos
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2017 - 2024 seasons.
JOLLY ROGER (Ocean City, MD)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2024
KEANSBURG AMUSEMENT PARK (Keansburg, NJ)
Park News - (1/27/2024) The owner of the Keansburg Amusement Park in New Jersey claims that the redevelopment plans for the area are “Trying to squeeze me out”. Redevelopment plans are in place to renovate “blighted” property by adding 700 luxury apartments and tons of new restaurants, entertainment and retail options to the area, which isn’t too bad of an idea, however the state is now planning on redeveloping the site of a current 300-space public parking lot for beachfront apartments.
It seems to be a cash-grab of sorts by selling off the property used for a much needed public parking lot to service the waterfront area to apartment developers. According to the park owner, “The endgame here is they’re trying to squeeze me out. They would love to see me out,” so he’s filed a lawsuit against the state to stop it.
The threat seems real enough as Keansburg Amusement Park sits on 25 acres of valuable waterfront property, and if developers were to essentially restrict the number of potential guests from visiting the park due to lack of available parking, then that could lead to the long-term demise of the amusement park. I’m sure the value of the 25-acres of land that it sits upon is not lost to the gaze of future developers who would love to close the park and get their hands on it for other uses.
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2015 - 2024 seasons.
KEMAH BOARDWALK (near Houston, Texas)
Landry’s Restaurants (SAT MAP)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2015 - 2024 seasons.
LAKE WINNEPESAUKAH (Chattanooga, TN)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
LAKE OF THE OZARKS / OASIS AT LAKEPORT (Missouri)
2025/2026 - Amusement Park / Indoor Waterpark Resort - (10/13/2024) A great aerial video showing off the progress thus far for Oasis at Lakeport / Lake of the Ozarks can be found below that was posted just two days ago. While a lot of work to create the foundation for the future attraction site has been done, the area is now suddenly silent and work has stopped, leaving many to wonder what is going on.
According to the developer, the work has stopped because those crews have finished all they can do until the nearby Lakewood Resort timeshare condos located next door are demolished, clearing the way for the work to continue. The developer is purchasing them and then needs to complete the plans and permits needed to demolish them, but that part of the project has taken a bit longer than expected to complete.
The expectation is that things will hopefully ramp back up once again sometime in November.
(5/24/2024) Good news for those looking forward to the new amusement and waterpark project at Lake of the Ozarks. According to the local news reports ground was broken this week on the new Lakeport Resort tower which will be the central resort for the entire project. The goal right is now is to get the project open as early as April 2025, so they could begin hiring just before the end of the year. If you’re a local, keep an eye out for the construction progress.
(10/28/2023) Things are moving forward with the planned Lake of the Ozarks project where some blasting is now being done to the rocky soil to prepare it for the future resort project. According to the article that features a video clip of the blasting, the amusement park side of things is expected to open in 2025 and the on-site Marriott hotel will follow in 2026.
(6/3/2023) The proposed Lake of the Ozarks / Oasis at Lakeport resort project in Missouri received some great news this week. St. Louis-based SkyView Partners and Tegethoff Development, along with Fred Ross, owner of Big Thunder Marine, announced the formal approval of the development plan for the Oasis at Lakeport family resort and entertainment district at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks. The approval was granted at the June 1, 2023, City of Osage Beach Board of Aldermen meeting.
“With the development plan approved by the City of Osage Beach, we are extremely pleased to begin construction of Oasis at Lakeport, which will offer year-round attractions and entertainment for everyone at the lake to enjoy,” said Todd Schneider, co-managing partner of SkyView Partners. “SkyView Partners and Tegethoff Development are committed to keeping the Osage Beach community informed of our progress over the next year as Oasis grows to be the premiere tourist destination of the Midwest.”
As proposed, the Oasis at Lakeport project will be a $350 million year-round family resort and entertainment district in Osage Beach, Mo., to be developed along the 25-acre Lakeport property at Highway 54 and Jeffries Road. The project will feature a Marriott branded hotel, a 26,000 sqft conference center, an indoor waterpark, restaurants, 200 public boat slips, a 1,000 space parking structure, and several amusement rides and attractions, including roller coasters and a 200-foot tall observation wheel.
An official website is now online for the project at OasisatLakeport.com which has also added an updated piece of concept art for the project. As before, the amusement park section is being kept at the section of the property closest to the freeway, increasing visibility and reducing any potential noise issues, while the resort and indoor waterpark have been moved further away from the amusement park, on the other side of the cove, which should provide nice views of the park and rides. It is worth mentioning that the wheel is now the tallest attraction in the park, and the other tall attractions in the previous concept art (Slingshot, Star Flyer) have been removed.
If “SkyView Partners” sound familiar, they do operate a small number of well-known stand-alone attraction developments, such as the SkyView Atlanta Observattion Wheel that overlooks Centennial Olympic Park as well as the Carousel, Bay Plunge Tower and SkyStar Observation Wheel in San Francisco’s Pier 39 and Golden Gate Park.
(10/30/22) Plans for a new $300 million family resort and entertainment district to be built at Lake of the Ozarks were submitted this past week. The project is being called Oasis at Lakeport and would be located at “at Highway 54 and Jeffries Road adjacent to the Grand Glaize Bridge”.
They hope to start construction sometime in 2023, and are hoping to open in 2024 on the 20 acre project which will feature a number of amusement rides and attractions mixed in with hotels, restaurants, an amphitheater, a marina, boardwalk and more. The details do mention that it will feature “roller coasters, thrill and family rides and a 200-foot-tall observation wheel”.
While I would be heavily skeptical of the timeline proposed until they actually start construction, the idea behind it does remind me quite a bit of The Island in Pigeon Forge project. In the case of The Island however, that resulted in the construction of that project in the middle of an already proven and tourist-heavy attraction corridon in Pigeon Forge. Without any personal knowledge of the Lake of the Ozarks location, I can’t say how well this one might work out. Just from initial research into the area, it does seem a popular location for many to visit, so this could turn out quite well if they can get it off the ground. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
LAKEMONT PARK (Pennsylvania)
Park News - (5/1/2024) As suspected, I’m told that the Lil’Leaper at Lakemont Park has been sold to a new owner. Unfortunately, at this time we really don’t have a clue where it will show up next. If anyone finds out more, please let us know.
(4/26/2024) With all rides to be closed for the 2024 season, you may be wondering what is going on at Lakemont Park right now. The “125 Roller Coaster Challenge” YouTube channel was given permission to shoot a walk-around video inside the park the other day to show off what things are looking like right now.
The good news is that they say that the Skyliner and Leap-The-Dips are still benign maintained, even if they aren’t planning on opening them, so for now the roller coasters are safe. However a few other attractions have been removed in order to make way for some future new non-ride additions to the park. This includes the removal of the 4x4 trucks ride as well as the Lil’Leaper kiddie coaster from Allan Herschell.
The 4x4 site has packed up the track segments to be hauled off, as it has been sold and they say that the site will be rebuilt for those who want to play GaGa Ball, which is sort of a more gentle version of Dodge-Ball played inside an Octagon shaped walled structure, played with a softer style ball. As I understand it, players can only slap the ball with one hand towards another player, rather than picking it up and hurling it with extreme force, and the ball has to only hit the other players below the knee. (Like I said, this is considered a more “gentle” form of Dodgeball that is said to have originated in 1970’s Israel.)
As for the Lil’Leaper, that coaster has been completely removed already and the site will apparently be repurposed for Bocce Ball and Pickel Ball courts. It isn’t known if the Lil’Leaper has been sold, put in storage, or scrapped.
(2/2/2024) If you never got the chance to visit Lakemont Park in PA to ride Leap-the-Dips or the Skyliner coasters, then you may never get to. According to the latest news from the park, Lakemont will operate without any rides at all for the 2024 season, relying on their picnic pavilion, mini golf, batting cages and other sports recreation offerings. They say that running the amusement park side of things has been a money loser and is no longer sustainable due to the high costs of maintenance and insurance.
LAKESIDE AMUSEMENT PARK (Denver, CO)
Park News - (7/1/2024) So what’s going on over at Denver’s Lakeside Amusement Park this season? According to a local news update, the famous Cyclone is still closed and has been idle since it closed during the 2022 season. According to the article, the Cyclone was shut down in 2022 after a woman apparently suffered some kind of injury, and the state has requested that some changes be made before it is allowed to reopen.
The article does mention that park management “hope to get The Cylcone running before the summer season ends as they try to figure out the best way to meet the state’s safety requirements”. The problem has apparently been with the ride’s construction, as the structure is very close to the trains at many points, and while the park instructs riders to keep their hands inside, a few guest hand injuries have been reported as they’ve come into contact with the structure while raising their hands.
The state seems to want the ride to be rebuilt in a way that would put more distance between the riders and the structure, but we’re talking about a wooden roller coaster that opened back in 1940, and a change like that would not only be extremely expensive but could forever alter the ride experience itself as well. Lakeside says any other noted fixes required by the last inspections in 2022 have been completed and that they do run empty trains on the Cyclone periodically to keep the Cyclone in good running shape for when they can reopen it to guests.
For now, they are negotiating with the state to find a “reasonable adjustment” plan that works for everyone, so that the Cyclone can return to service. Let’s hope that they do find a solution and quickly, as the longer that the park has to operate without its feature attraction, it may become more financially difficult to keep the park open.
In the meantime the park has been focused on fixing up many of their other unique and older attractions. As we noted last season, the park did open their Pinfari steel coaster late last year, and has now reopened the Heart Flip and Balloon Ferris wheel rides. They are waiting on new wheels at the moment needed to reopen the Dragon roller coaster and a new motor for the famous Roll-O-Plane ride is on the way as well. The article also mentions that the park’s big Ferris wheel is back together and ready to run, but they’ve been unable to “find someone qualified to operate the ride.” This is quickly becoming another issue for the park, as it features so many older vintage rides, as they try to find those able to both operate and repair these classic attractions as they age.
(8/9/2023) Things are not going well over at Lakeside Amusement Park it seems. According to the official website the Cyclone wooden coaster along with several other rides are currently Closed. The Galaxi coaster that the park has been working on installing for awhile now is still not open, so the only full sized coaster open at the park is said to be the Wild Chipmunk.
The park’s website also mentions the park’s limited operating schedule for the rest of the summer, and has previously mentioned how ride operators may have to rotate between running various rides in the park.
A reader stopped by and snapped a few pics showing off the new Zyklon/Galaxi coaster (see below), and noted that the train on the Dragon was removed as well as the ride’s sign looked like it had half-way fallen over. RCDB reports that the Dragon has been sitting closed since 2020 so they may be preparing to remove it.
2025 - Nothing is known at this time...
MORGAN’S WONDERLAND (San Antonio, Texas)
Note: Morgan’s Wonderland is a special theme park custom designed to be an inclusive place of wonder and enjoyment for guests with disabilities as well as for those without, “encouraging everyone to gain a greater understanding of one another.”
2025 - Nothing is known at this time...
Future Projects - (12/11/2023) The founder of Morgan’s Wonderland held a meeting the other day to discuss what would be needed to create the first “ultra-accessible’ and inclusive hotel. After creating the ultra-accessible theme park, which has expanded to include a water park and sports facility, it sounds like he is now possibly looking into designing what the ideal resort experience would need to feature, and possibly partnering up with some of the big hotel companies in order to make it a reality at the park.
Elsewhere in the article it also mentions that a second Morgan’s Wonderland theme park is also in development. The owner wouldn’t say where exactly, only that it would be somewhere “north of Texas”, and that they hope to announce it sometime in 2024.
OAK’S PARK (Portland, Orgeon)
Park News - (9/20/2024) You may recall that Oaks Amusement Park had an incident in mid-June where the park’s AtmosFEAR pendulum ride stalled out with the riders stuck in an upside-down position for almost half an hour before they could be brought back down. Fortunately, that is exactly what happened and there were no serious injuries, but according to a local news report, Oaks Amusement Park has now filed a lawsuit against the ride manufacturer, Zamperla, as a result of the incident.
At the moment, this seems to be a reaction to Oaks Amusement Park itself being the subject of a $125,000 lawsuit from the family of a 14-year-old riders who was on-board AtmosFEAR when it got stuck. The family’s lawsuit claims that Oaks Amusement Park failed the maintain the ride in a safe condition, as well as failing to have the knowledge and tools handy to fix the problem quickly on their own, without being forced to contact Zamperla for help.
In turn, Oaks Amusement Park’s new lawsuit against Zamperla is now calling the Italian ride manufacturer “negligent and responsible” for the failure that happened on that day, and claiming that they feel the amusement park is not liable for the incident, but rather Zamperla should be ultimately responsible for any liability and personal injury issues that arise from the the event.
2025/2026 - Drop Tower - (1/14/2025) According to a local news report, Oaks Park is requesting a zoning change in order to allow for a 147 foot tall “drop tower” ride to be added to the park. Currently the site for the proposed drop tower is zoned to only allow for 30 foot tall structures. A second zoning request has been linked to this so that the drop tower would also be allowed to have lights on the tower that are not “downward facing and shielded”.
As you might expect, a portion of the locals are upset and want to ban it for the typical variety of NIBY reasons:
Oh, The Noise!
It will tarnish my View!
It will be dangerous to the local birds!
Of course, Oaks Park also had the misfortune last year when the AtmosFEAR ride got stuck upside-down with riders aboard, so of course there are going to be some safety concerns as well. We’ll just have to wait and see if they get permission or not.
PACIFIC PARK (Santa Monica Pier, CA)
Park News - (3/15/2024) Amusement Today reports that Pacific Park at the Santa Monica Pier is being sold to a new investment firm owner, “SC Holdings”. According to the announcement, SC Holdings says that they will make $10 million in capital investments into the park’s food and entertainment offerings.
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... nothing added in 2024 either.
PALACE PLAYLAND (Maine)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... nothing added in 2024 either.
PEPPA PIG THEME PARK - TEXAS (Dallas/Ft Worth area)
2025 - NEW PARK - (1/12/2025) Some great aerial photos of the new Peppa Pig Theme Park opening later this year in Texas have been posted by a local FOX news station. Follow the link to have a peek, as currently the park does look nearly complete.
(12/15/2024) According to the latest reports, when the new Peppa Pig Theme Park opens in Texas in March 2025, it will open with official “Certified Autism Center” status. The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards will carry out a review of the park ahead of the opening, as well as provide staff-wide autism sensitivity and awareness training.
(10/26/2024) Peppa Pig fans in Texas can now begin the countdown to opening day, as the new Merlin Entertainment micro-park has set March 1, 2025 as their official opening day. According to the official website, they will begin the pre-sale of tickets on November 12th if you sign-up for early access on the site, otherwise the general public can start buying tickets on November 19th.
(8/25/2024) According to local news reports the opening timeline for the new Peppa Pig Theme Park in Texas has been delayed. Reports from the park earlier this year stated that they planned to open the new kids park by the end of 2024, but construction delays have now officially pushed back the grand opening until sometime in “Early 2025”.
(5/11/2024) The local news stopped by the new Peppa Pig Theme Park construction site in Texas to take a look at the progress thus far. This included a look at the new Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster that is currently under construction. Currently they still hope to open the new park sometime later this year.
(12/10/2023) The new Peppa Pig Theme Park under construction in Texas has reconfirmed their plans to open in 2024 and announced a list of the park’s attractions featuring five rides, seven themed play areas and more.
The list of rides includes Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster, Peppa Pig’s Balloon Ride, Grandad Dog’s Pirate Boat Ride, Grampy Rabbit’s Dinosaur Adventure, and Mr. Bull’s High Striker.
Other attraction at the park include Muddy Puddles Splash Pad, Peppa’s Pedal Bike Tour, the Fun Fair, Grandpa Pig’s Greenhouse, Peppa Pip’s Treehouse, Mr Potatio’s Showtime Arena and many others. Follow the link here to see the complete list as well as some images.
Keep in mind that Merlin is also building another Peppa Pig Theme Park next to their Legoland theme park in Germany as well, also set to open in 2024, so I’d expect to see a list of mostly the same style attractions there as well.
(3/10/2023) Would you believe that Merlin is moving forward to build a second Peppa Pig Theme Park in the US? But it isn’t going where you think it might!
Unlike how the first Peppa Pig Theme Park was built right next to the existing Legoland Florida theme park, Merlin’s plans for a sequel will now see them add a Peppa Pig Theme Park as a stand-alone project coming to the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area. More specifically, the plan is to build it in the “North Richland Hills” area, with work to start sometime next year. Much like the Florida park, this will be a small stand-alone park experience meant for smaller kids.
Interestingly enough, this seems like a move from Merlin to try and capitalize on the marker and get their park open before Universal Studios can open their proposed new mini-park in Frisco. Unlike the Universal proposal, which will see a small part built in the northern side of the greater Dallas area, the Richland Hills area closer to the Fort Worth area, and a short 18 to 20 minute drive from Arlington, long-time home to Six Flags over Texas and maybe just 15 minutes away from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport.
It should be interesting to see what kind of impact this news has on Six Flags. Especiallyin terms of what kind of steps or expanded development plans they may try to put into place in order to retain their long-time dominance as the premier theme park in the area once they are not the only game in town any longer.
PHARAOH’S ADVENTURE PARK (California)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2015 - 2024 seasons.
PLAYLAND at the PNE (Vancouver, Canada)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
PLAYLAND’S CASTAWAY COVE (Ocean City, NJ)
2025 - New Roller Coaster - (4/29/2023) Playland’s Castaway Cove has just received approval to build a new roller coaster. The park had been busy building a new entrance / arcade building and then had to stop on the work when it was revealed that the two-story building was going to have a third-floor addition that would serve as an operator booth for a new roller coaster. While buildings in the area would normally need a height variance to go taller than two-stories, the control room for the ride would be considered part of the ride, and exempt from the variance requirement. Construction was stopped for about two months while some clarification from the local government was needed to make a ruling on this unique case before they could move forward once again.
While the building itself is planned to be finished and open sometime this summer season, they say that the new roller coaster itself won't be coming to the park until 2025. So far, no word on exactly what kind of ride they are planning just yet, but previously released concept art featured a design with a mine-car themed coaster that would travel in and out of an enclosed mountain structure above the arcade.
THE REALM TOWN (Utah)
Formerly known as “Evermore”
PARK NEWS - (1/9/2025) According to this article, the new owners of the former Evermore theme park experience in Utah are planning to reopen the attraction under the new name, “The Realm Town”. Unfortunately little else is known about exactly what kind of experience is planned to take place within Realm Town, or even when it might possibly reopen.
Apparently they had some interactive fun with the local market and previous park guests over the fall season that for the most part failed to go viral, or even make much of a news splash. Hence… this is why we are just hearing about it now in January 2025. There isn’t much on the official website right now, but they did create a YouTube channel called RealmTube.
(4/13/2024) In a sad bit of news, it was confirmed that the unique Evermore fantasy themed park in Utah has now closed for good. Opening in 2018, Evermore stood out as a very unique attraction concept in today’s industry, with more ties to fictional park concepts such as Westworld, than it did with any kind of traditional theme park. Evermore did not have rides, but it had characters and living storylines that would flow and grow as the park ages, more characters were added, and as the seasons passed the world within the park gates would have its own unique history.
I never had the chance to visit Evermore, but I was hoping to plan a trip out that way this summer to finally try it out. Unfortunately that will never come to be I guess, as the attraction hit some hard times during the pandemic years and I don’t think they were ever able to fully recover from that. According to a statement from the park’s owner, Ken Bretschneider, something else may be in the works for the 12.75 acre site, and a new attraction of some sort could indeed grow from the ashes of Evermore. I hope to learn more soon!
SANTA’S VILLAGE AMUSEMENT & WATERPARK (Dundee, Illinois)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
SANTA’S VILLAGE (Jefferson, HN)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
SANTA’S VILLAGE (Ontario, Canada)
2025 - Yeti Trek - (8/26/2024) Following the retitrement of the Rudolph Coaster, the park will replace it with a new family coaster from Vekoma to be called Yeti Trek that will run through the woods and feature a fly-though the station building.
SEABREEZE (New York)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
SELVA MAGICA (Guadalajara, Mexico)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... and nothing added for the 2015 - 2024 seasons.
STEEL PIER (New Jersey)
2025 - Crazy Mouse - (1/11/2025) While the Crazy Mouse was assembled during the end of the 2024 season, it apparently did not open and will instead open as a new attraction for 2025 now.
(11/18/22) - UPDATE - The Crazy Mouse looks like it will open in 2024 and the SkyRocket was pushed back a year to 2025.
It has been announced that Steel Pier in Atlantic City will be adding two roller coasters from Premier Rides in 2024. The big one will be a Sky Rocket II launched coaster. The second is actually the new small spinning mouse coaster that was originally revealed in artwork in June of 2022 as coming in 2023, but it now looks like has been delayed.
(6/18/22) A new posting from IRM Rides on Facebook shows off a poster for Steel Pier promoting a “New Spinning Coaster” coming for the 2023 season. In addition to a curious “Premier Rides” logo in the lower right corner (who I don’t believe have made a spinning coaster before), it mentions an upcoming contest to name the coaster.
The previous rumors about Steel Pier retiring their Crazy Mouse coaster were not only true, but they didn't even wait to open it again for the 2022 season. RCDB now lists the Crazy Mouse as being closed for good. One odd thing is throwing me off a little, as the concept art in the posted for the new coaster looks exactly like the now closed Crazy Mouse, just that the old Crazy Mouse logo has been replaced with a new one that says Steel Pier.
(1/27/22) I”m not sure how accurate this is, but I’m told that Steel Pier may be planning on retiring their Crazy Mouse (Reverchon Spinning Mouse) at the end of the 2022 season. If this proves true, look for some kind of new Mouse style coaster to replace it for the 2023 season. In the meantime get your last rides in on the Crazy Mouse while you can, just in case.
2025/2026 - Sky Rocket II Roller Coaster - (1/11/2025) The delayed Premier Rides SkyRocket coaster however has not begun construction to my knowledge and at this point, has a good chance of being pushed back to 2026 unless they get working on it very soon.
(11/18/2022) From the sound of things, the Premier Rides SkyRocket II roller coaster previously thought to be coming to Steel Pier in 2024 appears to have been pushed back to 2025 when the Spinning Coaster intended for 2023 was pushed back to 2024.
STORY LAND (Glen, NH)
Parques Reunidos / Palance Entertainment
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
STORYBOOK LAND (New Jersey)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... nothing added in 2024
TRIMPER’S RIDES (Ocean City, Maryland)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... also nothing added in 2023 - 2024
WESTERN PLAYLAND (Sunland Park, New Mexico)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... also nothing added in 2023 - 2024
WILD WAVES Theme & Water Park (Seattle-Tacoma, WA)
(Formerly known as Enchanted Village and Wild Waves)
Owned by EPR Properties
Managed by Premier Parks, LLC
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2024
WONDERLAND PARK (Amarillo, TX)
Park News - (8/12/2024) If I’m not mistaken Wonderland Park in Texas last ran their Drop of Fear tower ride back in the Summer of 2022, as by the end of the year the ride was listed as closed on their website, claiming they were waiting on backordered parts to repair it. By the time the 2023 season rolled around, they had removed any mention of it from their list of rides on the website.
While the Moser made Drop of Fear is still standing, a reader has pointed out that it is listed for sale over at Rides4U for $149k.
2025 - Nothing is known at this pointin time...
WONDERVERSE (Oak Brook, Illinois)
aka: Sony Wonderverse (Opened in Early 2024)
2025 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
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