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There's another aspect of excitement in the world of thrill rides. There's the excitement of the latest announcements of upcoming rides from an industry as secretive as the military at times, and the excitement of all the latest happenings at parks around the world. Sometimes the news is good, sometimes the news is bad, but our aim is to bring you the fairest, timeliest, most accurate details on everything that concerns you. COASTER-net's team of journalists is hard at work around the clock to bring you the in-depth scoop!
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Worlds of Fun, Kansas City, MO, USA 10/30/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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It is now official that World's of Fun will be losing one coaster and gaining one coaster next year. Orient Express is currently being removed after twenty-three seasons of operation at the Kansas City location in favor of a new $4 million family spinning wild mouse coaster from Gerstlauer named Spinning Dragons.
Citing high maintenance expenses and the need for new expansion land, Worlds of Fun made the announcement that Orient Express would be removed, although it is unknown whether the steel looping coaster will operate ever again at another park.
Orient Express was one of only two steel coasters in the world from Arrow Dyanamics with an Interlocking Vertical Loop element, and was also the first coaster to send riders through a double Boomerang inversion.
Spinning Dragons is expected to open with Worlds of Fun next season on April 3rd, 2004.
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Possible Studio Park for Connecticut. 10/29/03 - By: Josh Davidson -
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The little known movie studio, Utopia Studios, is reportedly planning to build a park in southeastern Connecticut.
The planned theme park will occupy a 470 acre plot formerly belonging to a hospital in Norwich, Connecticut. It will include a movie studio, a 700-room hotel, and a college for the performing arts.
Beneficiaries of the project include Cathy Moriarty, Max Howard, and Francesca Hilton (daughter of Zsa Zsa Gabor and Conrad Hilton of Hilton Hotels).
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Little A-Merrick-A, Marshall, WI, USA / Hillcrest Park, Lemont, IL, USA 10/25/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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Little A-Merrick-A of Marshall, Wisconsin, purchased the now defunct Hillcrest Park's Little Dipper junior wooden coaster today at auction. Hillcrest Park was a private picnic park that closed in July of this year.
Little A-Merrick-A planned to relocate the defunct Comet from Massachusetts' Lincoln Park last year with the support of enthusiasts, but plans fell through.
The Little Dipper originally opened in urban Chicago in 1952 until it was relocated to Hillcrest in the late sixties, with a double-figure-8 layout designed by Herbert Schmeck.
Little A-Merrick-A will likely rename the Little Dipper, as the Wisconsin park already contains a coaster of the same name.
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Exterior work on the new Tower of Terror at Disney's California Adventure is nearly complete. Testing has begun and the elevators are dropping. People are slated to enter the Twilight Zone around Febuary.
At Disneyland Space Mountain is infact being painted white. It had been stripped down during the overhaul and is now receiving a fresh coat of white paint from the top down.
-Pictures here.
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French theme park operator Euro Disney announced today that it will be launching an inquiry into its expanding financial losses. Euro Disney, which Walt Disney Company holds a 39% stake in, operates Disneyland Paris has confirmed that its losses for the year have reached 58,000,000 EUR (67,000,000 USD). Visitor numbers are also expected to be down 600,000 to 12.5 million and at least 2 million visitors short of Euro Disney's own predictions. Euro Disney is expected to discount prices in an effort to attract visitors scared away by inflated prices and the lack of a discount hotel on Disney premises.
-The Guardian
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Six Flags AstroWorld, Houston, TX, USA 10/20/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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A minor incident at Six Flags AstroWorld's Texas Cyclone on Sunday night when a board fell from the wooden coaster's structure onto a train below.
Witnesses say that the 12-foot-long 2x6 board hit the center of the train midway through the two-minute, fifteen-second ride. Several passengers were treated for injuries and are recovering.
It is reported that ride operators were warned of loose boards before the incident occured.
The twenty-seven year old wooden cyclone coaster features 40,000 board feet of Douglas Fir.
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Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 10/18/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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Steve Irwin, of 'Crocodile Hunter' fame, announced plans for a theme park that he intends to have built in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
The "Crocodile Hunter Park" will be a 100 million Australian dollar (or 70,000,000 US dollar) theme park that will combine high-tech thrillrides with Australian wildlife. Details on thrillrides planned have yet to be made public.
Irwin says that the project will likely take over a year from start to finish.
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Paramount Parks has announced that they intend to debut a new theme park in Asia with a price tag of 120 billion yen, which translates to roughly 1,097,092,700 US dollars.
The park, set to open near Fukuoka, Japan in 2008 in the city of Hisayama, will encompass 124 acres of land, or 50 hectares, and construction is expected to take three years. After opening, Paramount expects its new theme park to attract five million visitors.
Paramount is now in the design process of the park and seeking investors in its project.
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S&S Power, best known for its tower drop and shot rides is expanding further into the coaster business. With wooden and steel thrill rides on the way one of the most radical is Screaming Squrrel. A vertically travelling Wild Mouse type coaster. Packing plenty of 'hangtime' this newest genre of rides from S&S Power is due to hit a park in Asia next year.
-Deseretnews.com
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Cedar Fair LP has issued a press release lightly detailing their planned spending for 2004. Knott's Berry Farm and Worlds of Fun should both be seeing new thrill rides. Cedar Point will see its resort campgrounds and cottages expanded and its water park upgraded.
-Cedar Fair LP press rlease.
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Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida, USA 10/15/03 - By: Josh Davidson -
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Walt Disney World announced this week that they would be unveiling three new rides in the next year. Soarin' Over California will arrive at Epcot. Stich's Great Escape at the Magic Kingdom. Finnaly an automobile stunt show at will be performing at MGM Studios.
-Orlando Sentinel
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Stratosphere Tower, Las Vegas, NV, USA 10/13/03 - By: Joe Mueller -
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The airlift of the X-SCREAM ride at the tower is scheduled for 7am Tuesday, October 14th. Locals get out early and get those cameras ready, this isnt something that happens that often.
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La Ronde, Montreal, Canada 10/13/03 - By: Joe Mueller -
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A source from Xtreme La Ronde says that a few construction walls have been set up around the park, and his further snooping found construction equipment moving debris. This could be either park maintenance or preparations for next season.
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Paramount's Carowinds - Charlotte, NC 10/13/03 - By: Joe Mueller -
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Stealth continues to arrive at the park. Carowinds Connection has posted some interesting pictures. The track is being primed all white. There is also a re-painted green/white piece. For pictures, go HERE.
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Thunderhead is rising nicely at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee's Dollywood as the newest wooden twister from Great Coasters International, with new support structure on the rise. With Thunderhead, Dollywood is getting a world class wooden coaster to match their little-known final generation Arrow multi-looper.
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Cedar Fair has recently announced that starting immediatly, they will no longer offer senior discounts at their parks. This is in part to falling attendence industry-wide after Sept 11th.
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Paramount's Carowinds, Charlotte, NC, USA / Paramount's Great America, Santa Clara, CA, USA 10/08/03 - By: Joe Mueller -
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PGA's Stealth is nothing more than a few supports as the ride is being sent to Paramount's Carowinds. Paramount's Great America is wasting no time in shipping the ride. Only a few track pieces remain in the parking lot, most having already been shipped. The ride has been arriving at its new home for a few weeks. The ride should be completely removed from PGA by the end of next week. The station still needs to be demolished and the Logger's Run flume ride will be re-routed before preperations can be made for the Boomerang Bay waterpark.
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Stratosphere Tower, Las Vegas, NV, USA 10/08/03 - By: Joe Mueller -
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Las Vegas is about to recieve a new ride high atop the Stratosphere Tower. The ride is complete and testing in the manufacturer's facility in Utah. The ride will be airlifted and set into place on October 14th. Locals keep your eyes open for flying rides!
In other news from the Stratosphere, the hotel is attempting to move forward with the Vertical Drop Coaster down the side of the tower. They have re-submitted plans to the Nevada Supreme Court to over-turn the Las Vegas city commission for a 510-740 ft drop coaster.
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Disneyland, Anaheim, CA, USA 10/08/03 - By: Joe Mueller -
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Preliminary results have been released by local authorities from the Disneyland/BTMR investigation that give a detailed report of what happened in the accident on Sept. 5th. Screamscape has shortened the report here.
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