 Prosecutors have dropped charges against two Tennessee teenagers they labeled as responsible for the state's deadliest wildfire in a century, an attorney confirmed Friday.
Defense attorney Gregory P. Isaacs said the state can't prove that the horseplay of the boys, ages 17 and 15, that sparked a fire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park caused the deadly wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tenn., five days later. "My client and the other juvenile, based on the proof and the evidence, did not cause the death and devastation in Gatlinburg," Isaacs said during an afternoon news conference inside his in downtown Knoxville law office. FULL STORY
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 VAUGHAN, ONTARIO Canada’s Wonderland is getting ready to host a month-long celebration to commemorate Canada’s 150th birthday. Throughout the entire month of July, the park will feature exciting Canadian-themed shows, food and events to honour this milestone. From West Coast Lumberjacks, to Freestyle Ski Aerials, to live music, to a spectacular Canada Day Fireworks show, there will be non-stop action the entire family will enjoy. Arthur’s Baye will transform into Celebration Plaza from July 1 to 31, and will host a wide range of live music, street performers and shows, all free with park admission: FULL STORY  President Trump’s team has reportedly been battling Walt Disney World over the president’s speech for The Hall of Presidents exhibit in Magic Kingdom. A source described to Vice the back-and-forth between Disney and Trump’s aides, who have insisted that they will write the speech Trump’s robot will give during the attraction. Disney is denying the claims, and an official told The Hill that the company is working with Trump team just as it did with prior administrations. "When Disney tried to get this process started earlier this year," the source explained to Vice, "Trump's people said, 'We'll be writing the speech that the -president's audio-animatronic figure will be saying.'" In a statement emailed to The Hill, a Disney representative denied the report, saying the company has "been working closely with the White House and the president’s recording session" has already been scheduled. "The Vice report is inaccurate. As we have stated, President Trump will have a speaking role in the Hall of Presidents like every president since 1993," the statement read. FULL STORY  RUST, GERMANY A roller coaster classic in the Europa-Park is facing a major reconstruction. Opened in 1989, the dark roller coaster "Eurosat" will be extensively renovated for 2018. A new course, new tracks and virtual reality experience are planned. "Eurosat" has been offering visitors to Europa-Park a ride through the vast expanse of space for 28 years. The roller coaster, whose ride within the striking silver ball in the Europa-Park takes place, will be extensively renewed for the 2018 season. This was announced by the Europa-Park at the summer meeting of the official fan club EPFans.info . The biggest innovation is a new course with new tracks. However, the current layout, which is about 900 meters long as well as 25 meters high, is not to be changed significantly. "Eurosat" will also feature a virtual reality experience in its new version . For this purpose, a separate, second station will be built. This will further expand the range of VR attractions in the park. FULL STORY  PRESS RELEASE:
Beginning this weekend, guests are invited to see “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” in a whole new light when Universal Studios Hollywood debuts its all-new “The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle,” featuring a dazzling light projection experience against the backdrop of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As night falls on Hogsmeade village, “The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle” will shine brightly with an awe-inspiring spectacle that showcases the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin and culminates with awesome beams of lights that fan into the night sky. The colorful state-of-the-art light display and special effects projection, designed to dance across the stunning Hogwarts castle, will be accompanied by a special musical arrangement created by Academy Award-winning composer John Williams based on his original scores composed for the film series. The musical arrangement that will emanate in a surround sound environment was conducted by prolific arranger William Ross and recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra in London. "The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle” will take place multiple times a night during its summertime run. Inspired by J.K. Rowling’s compelling stories and characters that were brought to life in the Warner Bros. films, “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Studios Hollywood is a masterful recreation, faithful to the visual landscape of the fiction and films, including as its iconic focal point, Hogwarts castle. From its snow-capped roofs and cobblestone streets to the historic British sensibilities that characterize the whimsical look and feel of the land, “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” transports guests of all ages to the very places they watched on the silver screen. The architecturally stunning land also includes the incredibly captivating and highly acclaimed “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” thrill ride, now enhanced with 4K-HD and ride film projecting at an astounding rate of 120 frames-per-second for an even more immersive glimpse into Harry Potter’s world, as well as “Flight of the Hippogriff,” Universal Studios Hollywood’s first outdoor family coaster. “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” resonates with immense detail, inviting guests to revel in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World with the opportunity to enjoy authentic food and beverages at multiple locations, including Three Broomsticks™ and Hog's Head pub, as well as the Magic Neep and Butterbeer carts. A foray through the shops adds to the authenticity of the land with eight retail venues and locations, including Honeydukes, Ollivanders, Owl Post, Zonko’s Joke Shop, Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, Dervish and Banges, Gladrags Wizardwear and Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods.  QUEENSBURY, NY A 14-year-old girl visiting from Delaware survived a 25-foot fall from a stopped gondola ride at a Six Flags in upstate New York Saturday night. The unidentified teenager was riding on the “Sky Ride” at Six Flags Amusement Park in Queensbury, New York just after 8 p.m. Saturday. Authorities said the girl was riding the attraction with a child relative and fell about 25 feet from a stationary two-person car. The ride was stopped by an operator after word was received that there was a rider in distress. FULL STORY  TAMPA, FL According to a permit recently filed by Busch Gardens Tampa, SandSerpent will be enclosed for the 2018 season. The wild mouse style roller coaster in Pantopia will have a building constructed around it, which will also house the queue area of the ride. The coaster is also sometimes listed as Sand Serpent (two words) and was formerly known as Cheetah Chase until Cheetah Hunt opened in 2011. The permit and related paperwork call for a 64 foot tall building that will be greater than 5,000 square feet, and be rated for occupancy of greater than 500 people. Testing around the site, including four boring locations, was completed in the last several weeks. It appears from paperwork filed with the permit application that the site can support the structure being built around the roller coaster. A map included with the inspection report shows the four borehole locations. FULL STORY  LONDON, ENGLAND, UK London Resort Company Holdings Limited (LRCH) and Paramount Licensing Inc have agreed to discontinue the licence agreement for what was formerly known as the Paramount London Entertainment Resort, it was announced on June 21. LRCH insists the development will still go ahead, however. Licensing agreements remain in place with BBC Worldwide and Aardman, and further intellectual properties will now be sought. “We want to express our sincere thanks to the many members of the Paramount team who have worked with us since we took over the project in August 2013,” says LRCH chief executive Humphrey Percy. “This announcement does not have an effect on the timing of our planned Development Consent Order (DCO) submission in November 2017. We are working closely with the local authorities, landowners and local community, as well as our other stakeholders, and we very much look forward to showing our plans to the public as part of our final stage of consultation prior to submitting later this year.” Located on Swanscombe Peninsula alongside the River Thames, the 535 acre (216 hectare) site for the resort was chosen thanks to its proximity to the centre of British capital. It is just 17 minutes from London St Pancras station by high speed rail and around 2 hours from Paris and Brussels. The M25, M2 and A2 roads pass close by and there is the potential for water connections too. FULL STORY  Walibi Belgium has impressive plans for the future. The theme in the coming years plans to invest over 100 million euros in approximately ten new attractions, including three new roller coasters. In 2021 opened the largest and fastest roller coaster in the Benelux.
Walibi has announced this morning at a press conference. The first expansion state for next year's planning. In 2018 the theme achieves a Hawaiian-themed area with a new family roller coaster of the German manufacturer Gerstlauer, near the interactive dark ride Challenge of Tutankhamen. The beetle roller coaster 1999 is moved to the site of the old Ferris wheel, which was demolished last winter. The train disappears Xpress Music. Aqualibi pool will be expanded next year with a children's area of seven hundred square meters. The entire water park gets a tropical theme. In 2019 the entrance area of the theme park will get a new look. In addition, there is a makeover on the schedule for the square at boomerang coaster Cobra. There are also realized a themed restaurant and an interactive theater with rotating Bollywood theme: a spinning interactive dark ride from the Belgian firm Alterface. In the same year opened a new coaster at Walibi Playland children's area. The current Far West section's turn in 2020. In addition, an interactive water attraction type twist to stand 'n' Splash, supplier Mack Rides in Germany. A year later a facelift for the area with wooden roller coaster Vampire Werewolf and hanging. Both attractions have a New Orleans theme, with voodoo influences. FULL STORY  HERSHEY, PA
Plans are afoot for what could be a major expansion of Hersheypark. "We are currently working through various concepts both internally and with a retained theme park master planning consultant," said Garrett Galllia, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts spokesman, in an emailed response to questions about future possible expansion on the former Parkview Golf Course land. Now that the Park Boulevard realignment bordering Hersheypark was completed last fall, Hershey Entertainment could look toward expansion on the land remaining from the former Parkview Golf Course property which it owns, along with former pool and ballroom sites. "I would characterize our planning process as being more towards the beginning than the end - with any actual master planning development being years off in the future," Gallia said. "As you can imagine, a lot of ideas come and go as part of this process - so there's nothing that we are really able to report as being 'final' at this point," he said. Hershey Entertainment donated about $9 million worth of land for the Park Boulevard realignment. FULL STORY |
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