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World News:
---- THE LATEST GLOBAL NEWS ----
(6/3/2023) UK - Jurassic Pier Opens at Clacton Pier (MORE...)
(5/30/2023) Katmandu Park Planning An Expansion and New Locations (MORE...)
(5/30/2023) China - Harry Potter The Exhibition Is Coming To Macao This December (MORE...)
(5/29/2023) Japan - New Details About the Harry Potter Studio Tour Attraction (MORE...)
(5/15/2023) Seven To Build Indoor Transformers Themed Attractions in Saudi Arabia (MORE...)
(5/10/2023) Ride Collapse In Mexico Injures Rides (MORE...)
Australia - (10/7/22) Monopoly Dreams, a new indoor themed attraction is coming to Melbourne by the end of 2022. This will be only the second Monopoly attraction in the world, following the opening of the first one in Hong Kong in 2019, except this new one set to open in Melbourne Central is said to be twice the size of the original. Inside the attraction will be 15 different Monopoly themed mini attractions where guests can play to try and win Monopoly money, which can then be redeemed for merchandise in the store, or for food items in the cafe.
The list of games and attractions at Monopoly Dreams will include a 4D theater, games themed to landing on Electric Company, Water Works, visiting the Bank, a Chance wheel to spin for prizes and even going to Jail where you have to “roll a double” on gigantic dice to get free. You can even take a ride in a golden elevator to visit Mr. Monopoly’s mansion.
(10/1/22) The other day it was reported that a young-woman was struck by a roller coaster in Australia while trying to retrieve her phone. It turns out the entire incident was caught on video, which I’m going to share, but be warned that it is a bit brutal to watch. The reason for sharing however is to drive home the point that no matter what, it is always unsafe to enter into a restricted area just to retrieve a lost phone or any other object. In the case of this video, this is especially clear the the danger is so obvious that it seems insane that any person would try to cross onto the tracks of an active roller coaster where, at that exact moment, the train is going through the loop and just about to pass where she is trying to climb onto the tracks! It’s almost like she was completely oblivious to what was really happening around her at the moment, because you couldn’t have picked a worse moment to do what she did.
According to various news reports her name is Shylah Rodden, and she is in a serious medical condition at this point. There are numerous comments that she was told by the ride operators to wait “20 minutes” and they would stop the ride and get her phone, but clearly she wasn’t willing to wait. The news reports also say Shylah hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to accident, suffering from a serious car crash in 2019, followed by another crash and roll so severe in 2021 that she was thrown from the car because she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, and had to learn how to walk again afterwards. I do hope she recovers from this latest horrible accident, but after being stuck by the coaster train and then pushed along the tracks up a hill before falling to the ground, perhaps it’s time to take life a little more carefully in the future.
Brazil - (9/15/22) Another ride accident has been reported in Brazil this week when a ride failed at Diego’s Park in Itanhaem on Sunday night. This appears to be some kind of kiddie-sized tower ride with individual seats themed as mini space shuttles. Three riders were reported to have sustained injuries when the ring of seats rose up for about a second and suddenly fell, slamming into the loading platform below. The list includes a 4-year old who may need surgery, along with a 12-year old and his 25-year old mother who both were reported to have spinal injuries. The incident was caught on video which can be either seen below or by following the link to the news article.
(9/12/22) 10 guests were injured when a small roller coaster in Brazil appeared to have come off the tracks. According to the article, which has video footage of the incident, the coaster was located in a park in Maranguape, Ceara, though no name was given for the park or the coaster itself.
 Canada - (5/7/2023) Western Canada will soon be home to a new alpine coaster attraction. According to a press release ADG Mountainslides will open their new Rail Rider Mountain Coaster located at Golden Skybridge in Golden, B.C. The new attraction will race through a forest that lies between Canada’s two highest suspension bridges, with a track length of 3,375 feet at speeds up to 40 km/h, with a layout that features a 360º helix spiral and a 50-foot tunnel. Look for it all to open for the season on May 12th, 2023, along with the Skybridge itself, a zipline, rock wall and axe throwing range.
Golden Skybridge is a bit of a drive from just about anywhere however, as Google Maps lists it as a 7.5 hrs drive from Vancouver, 5.5 from Edmonton, 2.75 from Calgary, or a little over 6 hrs from Spokane, Washington if you’re coming from the US.
(10/30/22) How many our of readers had the chance to visit Crystal Beach in Ontario, Canada before it was closed at the end of the 1989 season? The once popular amusement park was a landmark for the region that ran for 99 years, opening way back in 1890, and perhaps is most well known to coaster enthusiasts as the home of the infamous Crystal Beach Cyclone wooden coaster that ran from 1926 to 1946. While the coaster is mostly the stuff of legend these days, it has gained the reputation for possibly being the most extreme wooden roller coaster ever built, and was rumored to have staffed a nurse in the station to aid those who may have fainted or passed out from the experience. The park was also home to the original “Comet” roller coaster (1948 to 1989), which was later rebuilt at The Great Escape.
The reason I bring up this long closed park that has since passed into legend is a business owner has spent the last five years rebuilding the former “Ontario Hotel” in nearby Fort Erie into a new boutique hotel experience called the “Hotel Philco”. The hotel is expected to start accepting bookings in about two weeks, offering up seven different themed rooms, 15 apartments and a dozen retail spaced. But it is the themed rooms that may be of interest to those who still miss Crystal Beach, as a few number of the themed rooms will be filled with memorabilia from the closed amusement park, with one featuring a car from the park’s former Wild Mouse coaster at the foot of your bed. You can see pictures of the “Crystal Beach Park Room” posted to their facebook page. Apparently a stay in each of the themed rooms comes with a unique special souvenir you can take home with you, so only appropriate that the a stay in the Crystle Beach room comes with a Crystal Beach sucker and sugar waffle from the Crystal Beach Candy Company.
China - (5/30/2023) Harry Potter The Exhibition has announced that they will open in Macao in December 2023. Currently the exhibit is open in New York City (USA) and Paris (France). You can sign up to recieve more details as the date gets closer at the official website.
(4/8/23) Melco Resorts has opened a new indoor water park along with the Epic Tower hotel at their Studio City integrated resort property in Macau. Follow the link over to Blooloop to learn more about this park and the new resort hotel it is attached to. Macar, much like Hong Kong, is operated as a “Special Administrative Region” of China. While Hong Kong has always had a focus on tourism and business operations, Macau’s claim to fame has been due to a focus on Gambling and casino resorts, giving it the global reputation as being the “Las Vegas” of the far East.
(1/21/2023) According to various reports, riders became stuck upside-down on a pendulum ride at an amusement park in Fuyang city, China, and the event was caught on video. Based on various reports, the riders were stuck for about 10-15 minutes, as the park was unable to start the ride again and ended up climbing up the supports to manually get it back down.
Unfortunately they don’t show exactly how this was done.
(12/17/2022) Galaxy Entertainment, the operator of the Galaxy Macau casino resort, has pledged to spend approximately $3.5 billion over the next 10 years on expanding and improving the resort. In a bit of a twist, Galaxy Entertainment has said that approximately 97% of those funds will go towards non-gaming projects. Amongst those projects, which include new markings plans and offices in nearby country to promote travel to the Galaxy Macau, they are committed to building what they say will be the city’s ‘first-and-only high-tech amusement park” as part of a plan to target more “families and leisure visitors”.
Few details were given, though they did mention that it would be 61,000 square meters (656,598 sqft) and would “incorporate multimedia, interactive, and multi-sensory technologies to provide games and rides”.
Purely for comparison’s sake, this does sound a little bit like a bigger version of the Skytropolis indoor theme park at Genting Resorts World in Malaysia, which promotes itself as being 400,000 sqft. Based on promotional materials, Skytropolis appears to be more designed around smaller scale flat ride concepts instead of the more interactive / high-tech concepts that are being promoted for Galaxy Macau. We’ll have to wait and see.
(4/24/22) A great new POV video shows off B&M’s latest Wing coaster in China’s Fantasy Valley park in Xiangyang. While we don’t know the name of the coaster yet, the park and ride are said to be shown in a soft-opening preview mode. The park will also be home to a new GCI wooden coaster, but a second tweet mentions that the opening of the wooden coaster has been delayed.
(2/4/22) China’s first “Hello Kitty” themed hotel will be opening in 2025 as part of the greater Sanya Hello Kitty Resort that will open in 2024 that will include a Hello Kitty theme park. Located in Haitang Bay, the project is from Keystone Group and Hyatt Hotels and will feature 221 themed rooms and villas themed to Hello Kitty and other popular Sanrio characters.
Once it opens, this will actually be the second Hello Kitty theme park in China after the first opened back in 2015 in Zhejiang Province.
Dominican Republic - (5/30/2023) Our buddy Arthur has posted a write up about the new Katmandu Park in Punta Cana that is worth reading. Towards the end he mentions a couple of things about the future of t he concept. For starters, new locations are in the works where they can combine new Katmandu parks with adjoining hotel resorts, with plans to expand into sites in the Canary Islands and in Mexico’s Playa Del Carmen.
He also mentions that a Phase 2 is in the works for the Punta Cana site that will be called Falcon’s Central. The plan is to open it in 2024 where the site will add new dining, retail and entertainment venues, including an aquarium, a “next-gen arcade” and more.
(2/18/2023) The new Katmandu Park in Punta Cana has now set March 15th as the opening date. If you read the fine-print, it says they are offering a ‘Sneak Preview of available attractions” for those who book tickets between now and March 14th, so if anyone is in the area and drops in I’d love to hear more about this new theme park experience.
Speaking of visiting the park, the ticket prices are a bit higher than what I would have expected however. A “1-Use Pass” to visit the the park and experience ‘all attractions once any day until used’ is a bit steep, listed at $120 right now. A similar Katmandu Pass is also $120 and allows the guest to experience ‘all attractions once in one day’. There is also a VIP Pass that allows for the same attraction experience as the 1-Use Pass, but also comes with 18 holes of mini golf, a ride on a giant swing, VIP parking, locker use and $75 of in-park credit.
As previously mentioned, Katmandu Park features 4 main themed attractions, so for a ticket priced on the level of visiting a Universal or Disney park for the entire day, you only get to experience each one once. I can only hope that given the smaller throughput expectations, that these are epic and lengthy attraction experiences.
I can’t verify this right now, but according to TravelPulse a visit to Katmandu Park will be included for free to guests staying at the Falcon’s Resort by Melia All Suites Punta Cana resort.
(10/14/22) Falcon’s Beyond has announced all new details about their upcoming new Katmandu Park expected to open in Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) sometime in early 2023. The mini-park will feature four primary major attractions along with a small assortment of minor attractions such as the Wheel of Infinite Wonder carousel, the High Point Adventure outdoor ropes couse, The Quadagon indoor climbing course and Expedition Golf (a 36 hole mini-golf course through that will travel over mountains and through caves). Plus you wont want to miss trying out a large collection of unique themed food items. Aiding in the purchase and access of these adventures will be a smart wristband given to each guest that will also allow them to create a virtual identity with a system called BeyondME.
The four major attractions as described by Falcon’s Beyond are:
Legend of the Desirata: A highly sophisticated attraction typically found only at the world’s biggest theme parks, the 4D Dark Ride attraction will be an immersive experience that tells the Katmandu origin story and empowers guests to feel the thrill of adventure through movement. Seamlessly blending scenic elements and media, erasing the lines between reality and imagination, guests follow inventor and explorer Kilgore Goode into the Himalayas in a dynamically moving vehicle to experience his journey into the Hidden Realms as he discovers the mysterious Desirata. The attraction features multiple integrated projection screens, delivering high-framerate and high-fidelity stereoscopic 3D media content, immersive audio, lighting effects, wind effects and stunning scenic elements throughout the guest journey. The action in the rider’s surroundings and on the screens is choreographed with the vehicle’s movement, making it feel as if the rider is truly immersed in the story alongside the characters.
Voyage of the Fathom Wanderer: The park will feature its first-ever Suspended Theater attraction, where guests will join Kilgore Goode on an underwater mission to protect the Hidden Realm of Azurlan from a sea monster. For this attraction, guests enter and begin the experience in what appears to be a standard widescreen theater experience. But, unlike experiences that may exist in other parks around the world, there is a key element of surprise: guests are swiftly but elegantly lifted through the air and placed in front of another giant, compound curved screen, ushering them inside the story. Riders will soar through epic adventures, as this unparalleled attraction delivers the unique sensation of flight in a whole new way.
Challenge of the Mad Mage: The ON!X Theater attraction will reimagine the traditional 4D interactive theater with an impressive array of features seamlessly blended with advanced technology. Here, an Explorer Mage named Alvis challenges guests to a blaster duel through the Hidden Realms. A fully interactive real-time system gives every player the agency to direct the outcome of the action and even affect the narrative that unfolds before them on the massive, cinema-style screen, warranting repeatability to further discover new realms and interactions. A unique targeting system provides accurate and persistent positional tracking that not only detects where players aim, but where and how they move their blasters. Simultaneously, electric motion seats provide guests with multi-sensory feedback in the form of poking, tickling, vibration, wind, air blast, water mist, scent, localized speakers in headrests, and more.
EtherQuest: This interactive walk-through attraction will make its global debut at Katmandu Park | Punta Cana. The attraction combines proprietary technologies, elaborate scenic elements, immersive projection and an interactive gameplay journey to reimagine a traditional walk-through experience. Several of the rooms feature projection on all four walls to transport guests from the halls of “Jadu” (the house of Katmandu) into the Hidden Realms to defeat powerful Explorer Mages with various interactive props, find an invaluable EtherMetal ember and get back home. To give guests the chance to explore, play and influence their experience, this attraction uses an action-packed interactive walk-through system, where guests are really the main characters of their own adventure.
Falcon’s Beyond, the creative force behind the new Katmandu park isn’t done here either. They have plans already in the works to build at least two more Katmandu Parks: with a new site expected in Tenerife (Canary Islands) as early as 2024 and Playa Del Carmen (Mexico) in 2025 and after that they are look for another site in Puerto Vallarta (Mexico). This is all in addition to the original Katmandu attraction that first opened in Mallorca (Spain) way back in 2012.
(12/23/21) A ground breaking ceremony was held a few days ago for the El Dorado Park waterpark in Cap Cana. Once finished in 2023, El Dorado will be the largest waterpark in the Caribbean, but just one piece of a larger plan. While the waterpark will open in 2023, there are additional projects that will also see an El Dorado Arena built to hold 4,000 people and a nearby retail and dining complex.
So where is Cap Cana? The city is part of the Dominican Republic, located on the eastern edge of the island just about a 14 minute drive south from the Punta Cana International Airport. If this area sounds familiar, you may recall reading reports about another theme park project coming to Punta Cana from Falcon’s Creative Group called Katmandu that is set to now open in Fall 2022.
Egypt - (12/26/2022) In an announcement from Polin, it seems a large new water park has opened in Egypt. Located in Hurghada, a heavily visited tourist beach / coastal town off the Red Sea is “Neverland City”, a sprawling new park that has a variety of attractions suitable for the young all the way up to the thrill seekers. Check it out in the video below.
Germany - (12/26/2022) I’m not sure I understand all of it, but according to a new article some are speculating that the explosive failure of the AquaDom aquarium in Berlin may have been caused by sudden temperature drops in the area. The panels were made of an acrylic polymer which can transition into an “exponentially more brittle” state as the surrounding temperatures decrease. While the towering aquarium was located inside the lobby/atrium of a hotel in Berlin which is normally protected from the cold weather outside, apparently the temperature outside in Berlin dropped to -10ºC (14ºF) overnight before the tank ruptured. For a structure this size, it could have only taken one small fracture to appear in the right place to cascade into the total failure of the entire structure’s ability to contain the weight of all the water inside.
Of course, this is Berlin and the AquaDom has been standing since 2003, so this surely wouldn’t have been the only extremely cold day on record there, so perhaps there was another contributing factor that has not been revealed yet.
The AquaDom was operated as an attraction extension of the local SeaLife Aquarium attraction, where guests would buy tickets to ride up and down inside a glass elevator located at the center of the AquaDom. You can see a video someone taking a ride in the elevator in the video below.
(12/17/2022) Sad news from Berlin has the massive AquaDom aquarium located in the atrium of the Radisson Blu hotel, has exploded. The AquaDom was listed as the largest free-standing cylindrical aquarium (50 feet tall, 38 feet wide), holding a million liters of water and was home to 1,500 fish. No word exactly on why it “exploded” but in addition to the loss of maine life, two people were injured by glass shards and the debris and water from the event was forceful enough to flood out into the streets all around the Radisson, which has since evacuated all guests out.
India - (1/15/2023) The company behind India’s three “Wonderla” theme parks is now in talks with the Madhya Pradesh government about building a fourth park in that area. Currently the group runs similar parks Kochi (opened in 2000), Bangalore (opened in 2005) and then just opened their latest park in Hyderabad in 2016.
(9/5/22) A shocking ride accident in India was caught on video last night. Be warned, it is a bit shocking to watch, but according to the news reports there were no reported fatalities among the many rider injuries that were reported.
We have no idea exactly what ride model or manufacturer was behind this ride that places a number of riders on a giant saucer shaped disc that spines and rises up the tower. Keep in mind while watching that this is NOT a drop tower ride. The ride was not designed or intended to drop the riders 50 feet down the tower, crashing into the loading platform below.
A second video below will show what appears to be the same model ride running in the daytime at a different location, where all it does is slowly rise and lower itself back down while spinning.
Obviously this was a failure of the highest magnitude, and either the ride system was built without any kind of safety redundancies to prevent this kind of thing from happening, or they all failed simultaneously. We wish a speedy recovery to everyone involved.
Indonesia - (8/13/22) Another year and another newly proposed Paramount theme park. Or at least thats how it seems sometimes, doesn’t it? According to a post at Blooloop, Paramount Pictures has signed a deal with “Kios” to build a “Paramount-themed destination in Bali” that would become one of the largest theme parks in Southeast Asia at 57-hectares. The plan includes drawing upon Paramount’s various IPs for attractions as well as two hotels: the Paramount Grand Resort and a Nickelodeon Resort.
Previously Paramount content was slated to be incorporated into the London Resort theme park project as well as a Paramount branded theme-park resort in China and another Paramount park concept for Korea said to be in development with Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment as part of a new integrated resort project.
Japan - (5/29/2023) Some images of the new Harry Potter studio tour attraction coming to Tokyo has been posted to Blooloop this week, revealing the set of Diagon Alley. According to the story the version of Diagon Alley in Tokyo will feature the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes shop and be dressed as Diagon Alley was last seen in the film, “Harry Potter and the Death Hallows - Part One”, including the “Magic Is Might” statue. The new Tokyo studio tour attraction will open on June 16th and feature other iconic locations from the film series including The Great Hall and the Forbidden Forest.
(4/15/2023) Big news from Japan as MGM Resorts has been officially approved to move forward with plans to build a $10 billion resort on an artificial island near Osaka that will also include the first casino in Japan. Planned to open by 2029, the casino is just one part of a larger “Integrated Resort” project that will also include a massive hotels, a retail and dining area, a performance theater, conference center, and much more. One of Japan’s goal from approving the nation’s first casino was finding a way to lure in more international tourism into the country, which will help contribute to the economic growth of Japan as a whole. Projections for the new casino resort are expecting up to 20 million visitors and up to 520 billion yen ($3.9 billion) in annual revenue.
Previous efforts to build casinos in Japan have failed before ever getting government approval due to a strong public opposition to the concept, and worry about the addictive nature of gambling. It is worth noting that while official casinos have been banned previously in Japan, Gambling itself does take place in the form of betting on certain kinds of racing, such as horse-racing, and select powerboat and motorcycle races.
There is also the Pachinko loop-hole. Pachinko machine parlors can be found all over Japan and is sort of a kind of gambling, done in a way to get around the normal laws that would ban such activity. Players buy the small metal balls that are put into the Pachinko machines, which is sort of a cross between a slot-machine and vertical-pinpall game concept, they can win jackpots of… more metal balls. At the end, players can then take their balls to the counted and exchanged for ‘prizes’, much like at an American style redemption arcade. The loop-hole comes into play as one of the prizes players can exchange their balls for are said to be small gold bars sealed in plastic containers. The players can then take this mini gold-bars to a nearby shop, often conveniently owned by the same company that owns the Pachinko parlor, where they can be sold for cash. As the store is on a separate piece of property from the Pachinko parlor, the transaction is not considered gambling.
(4/1/23) Yukendoit is back with a new adventure trip in Japan. This time he visits the Seibuen amusement park that features a 1920’s to 1980’s era themed market, along with a small rides area featuring some basic rides themed to pop culture icons of the day like Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. However, where Seibuen stands out is that the park is home to an off-the-charts Godzilla themed ride experience. He describes the Godzilla ride as a Soarin’ style flight simulator experience, but mixed with the concept of putting you in the middle of an epic battle between various giant monsters, including King Ghidorah and Rodan.
(3/20/23) According to an update posted by Blooloop, the new Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo, including The Making of Harry Potter has announced it will open to guests on Friday, June 16, 2023. Guests will visit locations from the Wizarding World and can participate in activities like riding a broomstick or drinking Butterbeer. As part of the announcement, the attraction revealed that guests will also be able to experience the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾. Follow the link for more details!
(12/31/2022) While the occasional E-Stoppage of a ride in mid-cycle is always going to be a common occurrence, perhaps one of my personal biggest fears is that it could happen to me while riding some kind of tall tower ride. The kind of situation where you end up trapped over a hundred feet in the air with no way for a rescue platform from the ground to reach you…
Well, this just happened in Japan where a couple ended up stuck 50 meters in the air what appears to be an older model Intamin Giant Drop tower at an unknown park in Osaka. The tower has three ride vehicles and around 7pm all three rose to the top of the tower successfully but when it came time for the brakes to release the cars for their freefall ride back to the ground, all three failed to release.
According to the report the park staff were eventually able to get two of the three cars to release and make the fall back to the ground, but the third car holding two rides simply would not respond. Shortly before 9pm staff made the call to emergency services for aid with a rescue, but the ladder truck was only able to reach a maximum height of 42 meters. Unable to reach the trapped riders by ladder, crews put on climbing gear, scaled the tower and were able to manually release the brakes on the final car around 11pm. It was noted that the local temperature in the area had dropped to 3.2ºC (37.7ºF) by 10pm as well.
(12/29/2022) It’s time for more fun adventures in Japan. In Yukendoit’s latest video he ventures off to visit Okinawa World which boasts having the longest cave in Okinawa. He also stops at the “American Village” area in Okinawa by the American military base. As such, the goal here by the Japanese seems to be to try and replicate American Culture… as they see it. Lots of restaurants and stores with signs in English, an American style Christmas store and more.
(12/12/2022) JapanToday has confirmed that the new Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo - The Making of Harry Potter is on track to open in Summer 2023. The new attraction can be found at the former site of the closed Toshimaen amusement park and is said to cover an impressive 90,000 square-meters. You can also sign up for more information from the official website.
(12/11/2022) Yukendoit is back with another unique adventure in Japan. Apparently it’s hard to find a place where you can swim in the winter in Japan, so he booked a trip to visit the Spa Resort Hawaiians in Fukushima that features a large indoor waterpark and more. They do waterparks a little differently in Japan though it seems, for example the waterslides at the waterpark are actually an extra cost experience, while you can swim in the pools and lazy river all you want as part of the included price. The resort was built in the 60s and has some interesting older indoor pool areas and an outdoor Onsen themed as if it was from Japan’s Edo historic period (1600-1800’s). Ok, that’s enough explanation from me… check out the video yourself below!
(10/30/22) Ever wonder what Halloween celebrations are like in other areas of the world? While the origins of the Halloween holiday itself may have European origins, what it has come to be known in modern times came out of the the mixture of old customs with new North American influences over the years and has since begun to spread across the globe in various ways. In many cases the spread has simply been an used as a good excuse to create fun haunted houses, spooky experiences, or just themed costume parties for adults, leaving the “trick or treating” with the kids by the wayside.
This week our buddy Yukendoit went out to experience the Shibuya Halloween festival in Tokyo, Japan, which has become one of the biggest outdoor Halloween parties in the world. He reports that before the pandemic the party was legendary and got somewhat out of control a few times, giving rise to a heavy law enforcement presence at the festival these days to keep things from getting too out of hand. Eve now without the booze and new rules in place, it does look like a awesome place to stroll through the streets and enjoy the various costumes and visuals all around you. Check it out below.
Mexico - (5/10/2023) Several riders became trapped on a “Power Rage” flat ride at a festival in Mexico over the weekend that came to a stop unexpectedly. When rescue crews arrived and set up ladder trucks to try and rescue the riders, the whole ride structure suddenly collapsed causing several injuries. The incident was caught on video which can be seen here.
(5/7/2023) You may have saw this clip on the Screamscape Facebook page the other day, but Vekoma has posted a sneak preview video of a crazy new roller coaster they are building for the new VidantaWorld project in Mexico. The project has been under construction for some time now, working at a slow pace throughout the pandemic, but according to the latest updates the park is expected to finally open later this year.
If the name isn’t familiar, you may recall several years ago that there were plans to build some kind of Cirque du Soleil branded park in Mexico, but after extended delays, Cirque opted out of having their brand used on the theme park. That didn’t stop the project which continued to be built, and it appears that at least one of the rides may have soft opened for some early preview riders according to the latest pictures posted at ThemeparX.
A construction video posted by ThrillGeek a couple of months ago shows off the resort in more detail, as seen from the aerial gondola that travels across the property and some footage on the ground. One interesting item is that sections of the project essentially look finished and ready to go, while other sections are are still all dirt and crews pouring footers, which gives me the feeling we may just see this project open in phases, or piecemeal as new attractions become ready to go. After the construction footage, the last video also features a great look at the resorts nighttime fountain show.
(1/22/2023) An interesting new themed attraction is opening in Cancun, Mexico that will offer a look into a unique aspect of Mexican culture. Luchatitlan will open at the La Isla shopping center in Cancun’s popular tourist-friendly hotel corridor, where the mall is already home to a large ferris wheel that offers views of Cancun and the ocean.
So what is Luchatitlan? This new themed attraction is dedicated to the popular Lucha Libre style of wrestling that Mexico is famous for. Lucha Libre wrestling often features high flying and very dynamic action from wrestlers who hide their face behind themed masks. If you’ve watched professional wrestling WWE anytime over the past 2 or 3 decades, them I’m sure you are familiar with Rey Mysterio, who is probably the world’s most well known Lucha Libre style wrestler.
Luchatitlan will take up a 30,000 sqft space that will not only feature a Lucha Libre hall of fame exhibit, but also a wrestling arena that will hold 580 people, plus a large themed restaurant and cantina. Look for Luchatitlan to put on various daily shows that will attraction not only tourists but also locals to enjoy their love for Lucha Libre. Currently they are planning on opening sometime in March 2023.
Oman - (1/15/22) According to a tweet from ThemeparX, plans to build the first major theme park and waterpark resort complex in Oman are moving forward under the name, A’Sharq. While not part of the UAE where we have seen so many other attractions built over the past decade in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Oman is located along the coastline to the south of the UAE and is known as “the oldest continuously independent state of the Arab world.”
The project site is along the coastline and pictures posted to ThemeparX show that it has been cleared and based on a satellite photo, it looks like the foundations for the two curved resort hotel buildings have already been formed. If the concept art holds true, it looks like the highlight attraction will be an Intamin multi-launch roller-coaster featuring a large rear-spike track, not unlike Pantheon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
Qatar - (10/16/22) Blooloop has posted a great article about Doha Quest, a new indoor (and really underground I believe) theme park that finally opened in Qatar in 2021 as part of the Doha Oasis Mall project. The small park has a decent collection of attractions, including some special ones that take advantage of the indoor location such as the EpiQ Coaster (launches backwards up a 197 foot tall twisted spike) and Magma Blast that rise up into the sky inside specially built spire structures. The park has kept space open as well for new future additions, and have reportedly opened three new attractions this year: Gravity Wheel, Aero Flip and Robomania and are currently working to add an iFly indoor skydiving wind tunnel.
(1/2/22) Keep an eye out for the amazing new Aquatar waterpark project coming to Qatar in 2022 at Qetaifan Island North. WhiteWater is working with them to open what will be “the highest water slide in the world” in time for the World Cup 2022. The park’s “Icon Tower” is said to be 85 meters (260 feet) tall, and will have two elevators in the center to shuttle guests up and down the tower. There will be access to two slides at each of the towers’ six different levels, for a record-breaking total of 12 slides attached to a single tower. The tower itself is in a rather unique location, positioned out on a small peninsula surrounded by water on all sides.
All together the waterpark will feature a total of 36 different water slides of all styles and varieties. The good news is that the structure for massive tower is already in place, along with the central elevator shaft structure. You can see a timelapse video of the tower going into place below, shot between March and August 2021, and you can also see fairly recient construction pictures posted over at ThemeparX as the waterslides are being assembled in the park right now.
Saudi Arabia - (5/15/2023) According to Blooloop, Saudi Entertainment Ventures (Seven) has announced plans to build and operate the world’s first Transformers themed indoor entertainment centers in Saudi Arabia. Currently three are planned to open at first, with the first to open in Ah Hamra, Riyadh. The attraction centers will be approximately 10,000 square-meter in size and feature several state-of-the-art rides and immersive experiences.
(12/11/2022) Not to be confused with the Monopoly Dreams attraction that has opened in Hong Kong (2019) and Australia (2022), another Monopoly themed attraction has been opening locations elsewhere in the world under the name “Monopoly Lifesized”. The first one opened in London in 2021 and a new location has just opened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Monopoly Lifesized offered a super-sized game-board that teams of players can move around and take part in various challenges to acquire properties, early Monopoly Money as you pass “Go” and run the risk of being put in Monopoly Jail. The various games are described as “a hybrid of escape rooms, board games, and team challenges”.
It sounds like this may be a limited preview of the attraction as the article mentions more game boards coming in 2023, along with a Monopoly themed “Top Hat Restaurant” during 2023. The London location offers three different game boards to play on: City, Classic and Luxury, each with their own unique locations and challenges. The group behind this also has plans to expand and add more “Monopoly Lifesized” attraction locations in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific going forward.
(12/5/2022) “SEVEN”, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia, is set to invest SAR 50 Billion ($13 billion US) in the development of up to 21 new entertainment destinations across 14 different cities. The first of which has now begin construction as part of the Al Hamra district of Riyadh. SEVEN has already secured partnerships for various IPs from Mattel, Hasbro and Warner Bros that will be used for these new attraction centers.
(3/7/22) Saudi Arabia has announced yet another amazing resort project, this one featuring a unique mountain resort concept that almost defies description, other than it definitely looks like a place I would like to see in person someday. This assumes they are able to build it, but to fully realize the vision of what they are proposing for “Trojena: the Mountains of Neom” will be a tast like no other. Especially if they want to open it by 2026.
The idea seems to feature amazing architecture built into a mountain region that will also incorporate an outdoor skiing resort (in a desert climate), wellness resorts, a man-make freshwater lake, many themed districts with a look behind it all that would seem more at place if the crew of the Enterprise were to visit another planet. Take a look and see what you think of it all.
(10/19/21) Another fascinating tourism project has been announced by Saudi Arabia called THE RIG. The plan will see an existing off-shore oil rig transformed and re-purposed into an amazing new concept for “hospitality, adventures and aquatic sports”. THE RIG will set a new level for what an “extreme park” can be. Take a look at the animated preview below and you’ll see things like bungee and base jumping experiences mixed with roller coasters, submarine rides, waterslides, a giant wheel, a wave pool, concerts restaurants and more.
(7/9/20) BlooLoop has posted an update regarding the Quddiya project in Saudi Arabia that will be home to the continent's first Six Flags theme park. They discuss the planned construction project during the age of the Coronavirus, sustainability for the project and more amid the local climate and how it ties into “Saudia Arabia’s Vision 2023” plan.
(8/13/19) According to Building Design + Construction the Qiddiya project that has started in Saudi Arabia is much more than the proposed Six Flags Qiddiya theme park. They refer to this as a “Giga-Project” that is expected to become the local “Capitial of Entertainment, Sports, and the Arts” for the region.
The overall Qiddiya resort plan will feature four gates attractions to be built around a central retail/dining/entertainment hub that will also feature hotels. This “Resort Core” area will feature large performance venue as well as skating and even skiing facilities.
There will also be an “Eco Core” area that will feature attractions themed to nature and wildlife, including a golf course, horse riding and a resort / spa.
Motion Core is all about experiences that a driven ‘by the science and technology of people in motion.”
There will be a “Speed Park” area, themed around motorsports, including a race track, drivers club a “Race” themed resort and more.
And finally there will be the Six Flags Qiddiya theme park, which is slated to open in 2022 and part of the Phase 1 roll-out of the Qiddiya resort project. Following this they also are planning to add a waterpark resort project as well in the future, but no word on if this will be Six Flags branded or not.
Follow the link to read the article breakdown of the entire resort project, as well as get a sneak peek at some of the resort concept art.
South Korea - (5/6/21) While work was last slated to begin on the planned Paramount Theme Park project as part of the Inspire Korea resort project in 2022 with a planned 2025 opening, this timeline is now looking to be delayed due to COVID. According to this update, Mohegan is reviewing their plans and timelines with South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, who have already approved a small extension to the plans to open the first phase of Inspire Korea to 2023. This will now push back the later phases and developments, as the Paramount theme park was part of Phase 2. How long of a delay has yet to be determined, so when we find out more, we’ll let you know.
(11/6/19) According to a new article the Paramount theme park in Korea is still in development as part of the Inspire IR complex. They claim that attention to the storytelling being done in the park will set it apart from the competition. The first phase of Insprie IR is set to open in 2022 and will feature a five-star hotel, arena, convention center and casino. The Paramount Korea theme park is expected to follow this and be ready to open in 2025 and be followed by other new attractions, developments and evn a waterpark by 2031.
They promise new attractions will be in the park themed to popular Paramount properties: Mission Impossible, The Italian Job, Tomb Raider, Star Trek along with a Korean themed K-Pop themed area that will feature a “water roller-coaster” with on-board audio to be called Idol.
Switzerland - (1/30/22) According to this article Nestle is apparently planning to open their own Chocolate themed park in Switzerland as soon as 2025. The area chosen (Gruyere) has some deep roots in place in the history of Chocolate production as well as being home to popular tourist attractions. It is home to Maison Cailler, a chocolate factory that has been in operations for nearly 200 years already offers factory tours and a chocolate museum and will see the site expanded by Nestle. The existing museum is said to be the third most popular museum in Switzerland and Nestle hopes to expand that fan base to welcome around 1 million guests to their new theme park.
Don’t expect to find large roller coasters here (or at least not at first), as the project manager says that the park’s attractions will be centered around offering a more educational and historical presentations about the history of cocoa and chocolate production. If the park is successful, they plan on adding a hotel and spa to the project site by 2030. If this sounds familiar at all, you may remember reading a past article on Screamscape about the opening of another chocolate themed attraction and museum in Switzerland by the Lindt company. That attraction opened in 2020 in Zurich.
Thailand - (3/27/23) A tourist visiting an attraction in Thailand got more than he bargained for when he decided to try out the park’s bungee jump. The entire incident was caught on video as the bungee cord holding his ankles snapped, and he ended up falling into the water below the jump point instead. Thankfully he survived, and seems to mainly suffer some scrapes and bruises from the experience but thankfully nothing more was noted.
UAE - (4/2/23) The first casino in the UAE was announced to be coming as part of the Wynn Resorts project coming to Al Khaimah on Al Marjan Island. The integrated resort project will feature more than 1000 hotel rooms, a retail mall, along with countless restaurants, lounges and more. The current timeline would see the new casino ready to open sometime in 2026.
Though the Wynn Resort was announced in early 2022, it originally was not going to feature a casino, as the usual Islamic laws that dominate the UAE do not normally permit gambling to take place. It is worth noting that Al Marjan Island where the resort will be built is an entirely mad-made island area however, located about an hours drive North from Dubai.
UK - (6/3/2023) The new Jurassic Pier attraction at the Clacton Pier in the UK from Simworx opened on May 27th. The new attraction features a walk-through Dinosaur safari style adventure past various large scale dinosaur animatronic figures, and ends with a 4D Theater experience, enhanced through to use of 24 3DOF seats along with various in-theater special effects, such as smoke, water spray, wind, leg ticklers and more.
(4/2/23) The ghosts of the former Camelot theme park in the UK will rise once again this fall when Scare City will once again resurrect the park and bring it to life once again for an all new haunt experience in 2023. Tickets for the all new Scare City experience are already on sale through the official website.
(2/4/2023) A new expansion at the Game of Thrones Studio Tour attraction in the UK now features a display that includes a number of the show’s wedding dresses… including the gown from the infamous ‘Red Wedding’. The display is said to be temporary and will only remain until April.
(12/18/2022) Hyde Park in London has been splashed across the news headlines lately due to a couple of crazy incidents that have taken place this month during the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland event. On either Tuesday or Wednesday night the event’s Slingshot ride suffered a cable snap (video below) just as it was preparing to launch a couple of boys into the sky. The capsule was sent flying off-kilter where it then slammed into one of the two support towers before coming to a rest, trapping them in mid-air until they could be rescued. Thankfully a statement from Hyde Park did confirm that the boys were safely removed and deemed injury free by on-site medics.
On top of this, just a few days before the ride incident the local news reported that a 24-year old man who was just leaving the event was reportedly attacked and “stabbed in the neck” on the evening of December 11th. Stabbed may be a bit of a strong word however, as the police spokesperson reported that he was taken to the hospital with a “slash wound, it is not life-threatening or life-changing.” No arrests have been made thus far, or motive given for the attack, so be careful out there!
(12/10/2022) Did you know that the world famous London Eye observation wheel has an expiration date? Apparently the current permits to operate the iconic attraction that first opened on the bank of the Thames river on Dec. 31st, 1999 is set to end in 2028. Merlin Entertainment, who owns and operates the London Eye is applying to the government to remove the 2028 end date and make the London Eye a permanent visitor attraction that can be enjoyed for generations to come.
While I’m sure there will always be some who may consider it to be an eyesore, it is hard to deny that the sight of the Eye along the Thames in marketing or entertainment footage, has become a globally recognized representation of the London landscape in the same way that the Statue of Liberty is for New York City or that the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Keeping that in mind, it really would be a shame if the London Eye were to come down.
(10/9/22) With the Game of Thrones universe back in production once again with the launch of HBO’s new spin-off series, House of the Dragon, Blooloop takes an in-depth look at the Game of Thrones Studio Tour attraction. Located in Northern Ireland at the Linen Mill Studios where quite a bit of the filming for the original series took place. The new attraction opened earlier this year and has become quite popular.
The Game of Thrones Studio Tour features not only costumes worn by many of the cast, but authentic sets and props from the series, as well as a look at some of the series’ larger stars… the NightKing, the Giants and of course… the Dragons. The 110,000 sqft tour is described as an interactive experience that will bring fans into the world of the Seven Kingdoms like never before.
Jumping down to London, the new "Saw: The Experience" will soon open in London on October 27th as a new immersive story-driven escape style experience. According to Blooloop series star Tobin Bell will reprise his role as the voice of the Jigsaw killer for the attraction. The attraction will also feature a themed bar as well called, what else, The Traproom, as a great place for survivors to wind down and recover from their experience. As a bonus, they say that The Traproom will feature a number of Jigsaw’s “most terrifying traps” as seen in the film series.
(9/23/22) The winners of the UK Theme Park Awards 2022 were announced this week over at ThemeParks-UK. The list of winners includes Alton Towers taking Park of the Year, Sik at Flamingo Land as Best New Attraction and Drayton Manor taking the award for Best Value theme park. Follow the link to read up on the complete list of winners, and top finishers in all the categories.
(8/27/22) London will see a rather interesting new attraction open sometime in 2023, as ‘Rematch’ seeks to create a new immersive theater experience that will bring to life a re-creation of the famous "Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match that saw Muhammad Ali and George Foreman leave it all in a ring in Zaire back in 1974.
Rematch has done this before, creating “Wimbledon Rematch1980” back in 2019, and for this latest project they have teamed with Muhammad Ali Enterprises to “reimagine one of the greatest moments in sporting history” along with the Zaire 74 music festival experience that happened along with the fight that featured performances by James Brown, Bill Withers and B.B. King.
“From Ali’s trash-talking to his pre match speech to the music and mood of Zaire in 1974, backed by an incredible expert team, who are excited to bring this story to life in a unique immersive experience.”
(8/23/22) Wake The Tiger, described as the world’s first Amazement Park, first opened to the public in the UK on July 30th, offering a unique experience. The attraction seems similar in concept to the Meow Wolf attraction concept in the US, serving up a wild and crazy environment to explore, described as an immersive art experience. Wake the Tiger is said to feature 27 different environments to explore and based on the preview video below, it looks simply amazing! While I can’t quite describe exactly what I’m seeing, I feel the urge to be there in the middle of it all, which is certainly the point. Follow the link to learn more about the creation of this new attraction.
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