Everybody knew about her delicious concoction. Best for miles around. She’d won blue ribbons at the county fair for 40 years with that jam, but no more. Granny Byrd’s recipe is gonna be yours. But to get your hands on it, you gotta head way, way out to a run-down, broken-down farm at the far edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Word has it there are lots of copperheads around there, so be careful.
When you get to the farm’s huge shed – that’s got to be the headquarters of her jam operation with all that banging and clanging – you get the strange sense that something’s not right. Peeking in, you see that she’s cookin’ something alright – and in big, copper vats – but it sure ain’t jam. It’s something with quite a bit more bite that could get you in a huge heap of trouble if you’re caught with it. After a sudden commotion, a shrill voice hollers, “Trespassers! Y’all git outta here!” A gun cocks and you high-tail it out. Your getaway vehicle? Carowinds’ newest thrill ride, Copperhead Strike. As the first double launch roller coaster in the Carolinas, Copperhead Strike delivers twice the boost and twice the bite. “Double launch” means not only does the ride take off at an incredible 0 to 42 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds, but midway through a second thrust of acceleration launches you into the next half of the experience. A series of fast, tight, close-to-the-ground maneuvers are tangled with five head-over-heels inversions -- the most of any double launch coaster in North America. What’s more, this serpent of a ride never lets up throughout the entire chase – over half a mile of steel and adrenaline. Ready for this backwoods adventure? Coming spring 2019, it will be ready for you – only at Carowinds.
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The World’s Tallest, Fastest and Most Innovative New Rides Coming to Six Flags Parks in 2019
Record-Breaking Attractions and Industry’s Foremost Rewards Program Highlight 2019 Season GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — August 30, 2018 — Six Flags Entertainment Company (NYSE:SIX) — the world’s largest regional theme park company and the largest operator of waterparks in North America — today announced a sweeping collection of world recordbreaking roller coasters and family attractions, along with massive park upgrades and rebrands for the 2019 season. Additionally, Six Flags Season Pass Holders and Members can look forward to even more guest benefits and incredible new rewards next year. “Year after year, Six Flags raises the bar to deliver unparalleled, world-class thrills for guests of all ages. Our 2019 lineup is by far the most comprehensive package of innovative rides, recordbreaking attractions, and superior guest benefits in the industry,” said Six Flags Chairman, President and CEO Jim Reid-Anderson. “The addition of five new parks greatly extends the company’s national footprint and gives our ever-growing Season Pass and Membership base more opportunities to visit our parks to experience the world’s biggest and most thrilling rides.” The Company is launching an impressive list of new offerings for the 2019 season: • West Coast Racers, the world’s first racing launch coaster — opening at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the Thrill Capital of the World. Designed in partnership with the world famous West Coast Customs, this one-of-a-kind racing coaster will feature two side-byside tracks with four individual high-speed launches. The race covers two complete laps, multiple airtime hills, extreme high-banked turns and exhilarating over/under near misses. A highlight of the ride is an immersive real time “pit stop” exclusively designed and produced by West Coast Customs. West Coast Racers will be the park’s 20th roller coaster, which is more than any other theme park on the planet. • Six Flags Great Adventure, the World’s Ultimate Thrill Park, will premiere one of the world’s tallest pendulum rides, Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth. Measuring in at a staggering 17 stories tall, this jaw-dropping, spinning disk will reach speeds up to 75 miles per hour as it spins and swings back and forth to breathtaking heights. The massive pendulum propels 40 riders in counterclockwise circles with fee • Six Flags Great America, the Thrill Capital of the Midwest, will debut a revolutionary, triple record-breaking, new roller coaster for the 2019 season. Maxx Force will be the fastest launch coaster in North America, accelerating to 78 mph in less than two seconds. Maxx Force will feature the fastest inversion in the world with a Zero-G Roll more than 60 miles-per-hour and the highest double inversion of any roller coaster in the world at 175-feet above the ground. It will also feature one-of-a-kind custom coaster trains modeled after Formula 1 racing cars. • Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, the Thrill Capital of Northern California, is adding to its thrill arsenal with the park’s most innovative new coaster to date — Batman: The Ride — themed after one of the world’s most iconic DC Super Heroes. Riders on this 4D wing coaster will experience a sensory overload as they flip head-over-heels at least six times along a weightless, tumbling journey with unexpected drops and vertical free-falls. • Darien Lake, a new Six Flags Theme Park, and the Coaster Capital of New York, will debut the tallest attraction in the entire state — the all-new Six Flags SkyScreamer. This giant, 242-foot tall swing ride will reign as the region’s new, iconic symbol, beckoning guests from near and far. Six Flags SkyScreamer swings riders round and round at 35 miles per hour, offering breathtaking views of the countryside below. Additionally, Darien Lake will be rebranded Six Flags Darien Lake when it opens next spring. • Wet n’ Wild Splashtown, the largest waterpark in Houston, and Wet ‘n Wild Phoenix, the largest waterpark in Arizona, will each be rebranded Six Flags Hurricane Harbor for the 2019 season. Both of these lush, beautiful properties offer thrilling, high-speed waterslides and massive pools, along with playful kid-sized attractions for families and young children. • Six Flags America, DC’s Thrill Capital, will launch FIREBIRD, the only floorless roller coaster in Maryland. This all-new coaster experience will take thrill-seekers through incredible twists, drops and inversions, all while seated in new, state-of-the-art floorless trains. FIREBIRD’s exhilarating flight path takes off with an intense, nine-story drop, and features two thrilling inversions, high-banked curves with high-speed carousel and corkscrew rolls and an incredible figure-eight finale. • Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the Thrill Capital of South Texas, will debut the tallest and fastest spinning pendulum ride in the world. Named after the world’s most iconic Super Villain, The Joker Wild Card delivers a unique brand of chaotic, dizzying fun for extreme thrillseekers. Towering a record-breaking 17-stories tall, this impressive giant disk will reach speeds up to 80 miles per hour as it whips back and forth, and higher and higher, to give riders a spectacular view of the world below them. The Joker Wild Card will become the centerpiece of a newly themed DC Universe area. The park is also announcing year-round operation, adding winter weekends and holidays to its regular operating season. • Six Flags Mexico, the Thrill Capital of Mexico and Latin America is announcing fun for the entire family with the arrival of DC SUPER FRIENDS and Bugs Bunny Boomtown. These colorful, imaginative new sections will feature 14 rides and attractions, including six brand-new themed attractions. These kid-friendly zones are destined to become the region’s most popular family destination spot and the perfect launching pad for thrillseekers-in-training. • Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Oaxtepec, Latin America’s most thrilling waterpark, will introduce a visually stunning and intense racing slide, King Cobra. The slide’s unique configuration enables two tubes to race through a circular path with dynamic twists, turns and surprises, snaking through both enclosed and open sections of the slide. Riders will race until the heart-pounding finish, when they appear to disappear inside the massive mouth of the cobra. • Six Flags Over Texas, the Thrill Capital of Texas, will welcome the world’s largest loop coaster — Lone Star Revolution. Towering at 100 feet in the air, this exhilarating, recordbreaking new coaster takes riders forward and backward on a gigantic loop before suspending them upside down for extended adrenaline-pumping hang-time. Thrill-seekers will travel in unique “face-off” seating positions and swing through a long series of 360- degree revolutions before reeling downward in the opposite direction. Lone Star Revolution is a Texas-sized loop coaster with Texas-sized thrills. • Six Flags New England, the Thrill Capital of New England, will debut the hi-tech Cyborg attraction, inspired by the DC Super Hero. The Cyborg attraction is an extreme new dark ride experience. Cyborg invites guests to S.T.A.R. Labs to witness a new technological device when the sentient cybernetic system called THE GRID hacks into the mainframe and takes control of the entire lab. Riders find themselves caught up in the battle, spinning and whirling mercilessly through the air, while Cyborg wrestles to regain control of the enormous machine. This exciting, new attraction offers 360 degrees of immersive fun. • Six Flags Great Escape Resort, New York’s most thrilling resort property, will rebrand its outdoor waterpark as Hurricane Harbor for the 2019 season, offering guests a bigger, better and wetter experience. The park will undergo a major expansion with more to see and do than ever before, including two brand-new, family attractions: Bucket Blasters, where riders will spin around in barrels for a good old-fashioned water gun battle, and Shipwreck Cove, a fun activity pool with interactive water sprays, geysers, and fountains for hours of water play entertainment. • Frontier City, Oklahoma’s favorite theme park, will introduce an exciting, interactive new kids’ area that will be home to adorable new characters. The all-new Timber Town will feature four new, innovative attractions designed especially for the young thrill-seekers, plus enchanting new theming and fresh, re-imagined updates of the original children’s rides. Lovable characters like Bucky the Beaver, Hootie the Owl and Bubba the Bear will be on hand for lots of pictures with young guests. • Six Flags Over Georgia, the Thrill Capital of the South, will launch an exciting, new high-flying attraction, Pandemonium, the tallest swinging pendulum ride in the Southeast. Swirling through the clouds at an astonishing 15 stories, this impressive giant disk will reach speeds up to 70 miles per hour, as it whips back and forth, higher and higher, giving guests an exhilarating ride experience as they soar high above the Atlanta city skyline. Pandemonium will be the centerpiece of the park’s new ScreamPunk themed area, featuring revamped food locations and shopping experiences. ScreamPunk is a special Six Flags twist on the popular Steampunk subgenre. • La Ronde, Quebec’s leading destination for thrills and family entertainment, will introduce Chaos, a new giant loop roller coaster. Chaos offers a pure adrenaline rush as riders go forward, backward and upside down for unprecedented hang-time. This exhilarating, seven-story loop sends riders through a series of multiple, adrenalinecharged revolutions, higher and higher before changing directions for even more chaotic thrills. • Six Flags St. Louis, The Coaster Capital of Missouri, will take guests on an adrenalinecharged flight on the new SUPERGIRL attraction as they soar nearly seven stories high in open-air vehicles. Drawing on DC Super Hero Supergirl’s powers of stamina and strength, thrill- seekers spin and tilt while suspended from the massive, whirling wheel. The ride is raised into the air by a giant arm as riders launch into a high-speed spin, with feet dangling as they spin round and round…higher and higher. • This fall, Six Flags delivers the biggest Halloween event on the planet — Fright Fest®. Prepare for Thrills by Day, Fright by Night with more ghouls, more haunted mazes and more terrifying scares than ever before. Taking the fear factor to a new level, this year Six Flags and CBS Films are launching custom-built haunted attractions based on the new horror movie release, Hell Fest, coming to theaters on Friday, September 28, 2018. The company’s industry leading entertainment teams at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ, and Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL, will transform haunted mazes into real life replicas of the movie’s most unnerving, goriest and shockingly epic scenes. • Just in time for the holiday season, Six Flags Great America and Frontier City will join eleven other Six Flags properties ringing in the holidays with Holiday in the Park®. This popular, time-honored Six Flags tradition offers a winter wonderland of all the beloved sights and sounds of the season. Holiday in the Park features festive holiday-themed shows and delicious seasonal treats, along with select rides and attractions, set against the backdrop of millions of twinkling lights. Six Flags is also announcing the start of 2019 Season Pass sales with its special Flash Sale through Labor Day weekend featuring the best deal of the year — savings up to 70% off on a 2019 Pass. August 30 through September 3, guests will receive a free upgrade to a Gold Combo Season Pass with every Pass purchased. Gold Combo Season Passes include admission to any Six Flags theme park, as well as free parking and special admission offers for friends. During the Flash Sale, guests can also join the Six Flags Membership program for 50% or more off the full season Membership price and receive three free bonus months. A Six Flags Membership includes all of the benefits of Season Pass plus over 50 additional benefits such as unlimited soft drinks, preferred parking, walk-on passes for rides, and exclusive waterpark seating. Members can also participate in Six Flags Membership Rewards, an extensive new loyalty program that allows guests to earn valuable prizes just for riding rides, seeing shows, and having a great time at the parks. WEST MIFFLIN, PA
After last month's groundbreaking ceremony, construction is well under way on Kennywood's new Steel Curtain coaster. The West Mifflin amusement park expects the coaster and the new Steelers Country area it will anchor to open in 2019. Kennywood spokesman Nick Paradise told WTAE-TV that the park lagoon has been drained so footers for the coaster can be installed.Portions of the coaster's black steel structure have been delivered and will rise on the site of the former Log Jammer, which was retired last year. FULL STORY MASON, OH
Kings Island's summer season is coming to an end Labor Day weekend. The park and Soak City water park are closing for the summer, set to reopen in late September. To celebrate, the park will be offering food, games and merchandise for only $1. The deal includes blue ice cream, pizza, popcorn and fountain drinks. FULL STORY BUENA PARK, CA
As I peered into the small glass vial, noting the five gold flakes sparkling in the sun, I was 8 years old again and holding a fortune. In a way I was grasping riches, standing there quietly in Knott’s Berry Farm and enjoying my 52-year-old memories of the theme park as they surfaced one frame at a time. The stagecoach. The train. The gunslingers roaming the ghost town. FULL STORY ORLANDO, FL
When Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens at Disney theme parks next year, guests are going to be waiting in line for hours to experience the yet-to-be-titled Millennium Falcon ride. It’s a completely interactive motion-simulator attraction in which the ship’s flight is impacted by the riders’ decisions, but a new report suggests that Disney has hit a few snags during the testing phase. Keep reading to learn why “they are now having to retrofit after the fact.” On a recent episode of the Disney Dish podcast, theme park expert Jim Hill (an extremely reliable source of Disney park info) laid out what guests can expect from the ride: “There are six seats inside of the pilot compartment. In order to ensure that this thing has decent capacity, there are seven pods in operation at any one time. So that’s 42 people who are piloting the Millennium Falcon at any one time. I’m hearing a three and a half minute ride cycle. Again, you’re seated inside the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, but you’re looking out from that window array that we’ve all seen from the film. In order to pull off that effect – again, the capsule moves in conjunction with the imagery – you’re looking out, basically, into a circular space, sort of a half dome.” Ironically, it’s the attraction’s innovative interactivity that’s proving to be a thorn in Disney’s side at the moment. Hill continued: “If you know what you’re doing, the re-rideability of the original version of the Millennium Falcon experience was insane. You could have multiple rides with infinite outcomes. But the problem is, they’ve been doing the play-testing in and around Glendale. They’ve been recruiting people to come in, and they’ve been making a point of, initially they were bringing groups of friends together, then they were bringing in individuals who don’t know one another so it’s not a question of if they could quickly build a team or assign roles or that sort of thing. What they’re finding is it’s frustrating people more than it’s entertaining people.” FULL STORY ORLANDO, FL
Despite Universal still not confirming a new theme park on their recently acquired property near Lockheed Martin, the company is moving forward with plans to improve access to the property from Sand Lake Road. Public documents posted by Orange County show that Universal lobbyist John McReynolds has been meeting with the county for over a year now discussing the previously announced plans to extend Kirkman Road through both land that Universal owned at the time and the newly acquired property. McReynolds has been called “one of the [tourism] industry’s most influential experts and advisers in the realm of government relations” and his regular meetings with Orange County regarding this proposed road extension show just how important this land is for Universal. Over the past two years, McReynolds has been discussing road projects in the tourist district with local leaders, and over the summer Orange County transportation officials met alone with four county attorneys to discuss how to move forward on the Kirkman extension project. The minutes from that meeting, where only officials with Orange County were present, state, “Discussion of potential terms needed for a series of agreements for Kirkman Road Extension with multiple parties and how to address each one. A General Engineering Consultant contract may also be needed.” FULL STORY ORLANDO, FL
Thousands of Walt Disney World employees would receive raises under a new contract settlement between the company and a group of unions that increases the minimum starting pay to $15 an hour by 2021, capping nine months of tense wage negotiations that led to large protests in Central Florida. The unions, which represent 38,000 service employees at Walt Disney World — about half the total number working at the park — announced the agreement in a statement on Saturday, calling it “historic.” Most of the workers make less than $11 an hour, said Jeremy Haicken, the president of Local 737, the largest of the six unions at the negotiating table. FULL STORY |
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