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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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Florida Splendid China, Orlando, FL, USA 12/31/03 - By: Carl F -
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A park in Orlando, Florida will have its last operating day today, December 31st, 2003. This park was known for displaying miniature replicas of China's historic landmarks. The reasons for this closure are sited as being a victim of the slowly recovering tourism in this country and maybe some of its own management problems.
This park struggled for 10 years against the bigger Florida parks such as Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld Orlando. As for the employess of the park, half of the only 40 employees were performers from China that planned on returning there anyway. It was reported that a skeleton staff will maintain the park.
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Chili Davis' Premier Baseball, Peoria, AZ, USA 12/31/03 - By: Carl F -
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Ever wanted a place to go where you could enjoy baseball and the thrills of a water park without having to go to two separate places? An upcoming park in Peoria will be coming to accomodate!
Chili Davis' Premier Baseball will be a 40,000 square foot facility that will feature much more than just water thrills and baseball. The new park will have indoor baseball and softball faciilites, a gym, internet hook-ups, batting cages, a retail store, and even a Starbucks. Little information has been discussed about the water park.
The owner, Chili Davis, hopes to be able to start construction in Spring 2004. The current estimated building time is around 6 to 8 months.
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Dollywood's Splash Country, Pigeon Forge, TN, USA 12/31/03 - By: Carl F -
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A new attraction will be splashing it's way into Dollywood's Splash Country in 2004. The Big Bear Plunge will be a $1.4 million investment for the park and is set to debut in June of 2004.
The construction for this new ride has already begun. The Big Bear Plunge will feature a 548-foot long white water rafting experience that will take riders through winding turns, steep drops, and dark caverns.
Big Bear Plunge will be located in a new themed area of the park called Big Bear Ridge. This area will be themed to look like the turn-of-the-century logging industry in the old Smokey Mountains.
Click here to read the full story.
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Nashville Shores, Nashville, TN, USA 12/30/03 - By: Carl F -
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The owners of the water park called Nashville Shores want to build a new theme park in Tennessee. Currently, the owners are looking at land adjacent to their water park for this new multimillion-dollar theme park investment. However, the federal agency in charge of the land has a strict policy against such a theme park.
Jim Cooper, a U.S. Representative, has also come in to help convince U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to change their policy. This policy does not allow dry-land rides to be built on federal land that the company oversees. One of Cooper's angles is that this could help boost local tourism in the area, which was hurt when Opryland closed down in 1997 and has not been able to recover much since then.
You can read more by clicking here.
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Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom / Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA 12/30/03 - By: Carl F -
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Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom were forced to shut their doors today.
Had you scared didn't I? The two parks had to shut their doors today because the parks had both reached their capacity limit for the number of guests they could hold. Disney has not released the exact number of guests that were in the park, but it was reported that some waits were as long as 160 minutes.
The hotels in the area have said that this has been the best business they have experienced since before September 11th, 2001. The hotels in central Florida are also expecting to have a great start in 2004.
Let us all hope that this becomes the new theme park trend!
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Disneyland Paris, Marne la Vallée, Ile-de-France, France 12/29/03 - By: Carl F -
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Disneyland Paris has a very long, hard road ahead of them. The park is facing increasing pressure from their creditors over their mounting debt. This past year's attendance did nothing to help the park either. The visitors fell by 700,000 to around 12.4 million in the 2003 season. This increasing debt and decline of visitors led the park to a doubling of its loses to £39 million.
The theme park experts and analysts can't seem to find a way that the park could get out of this either, with the park's debt growing to more than £1.5 billion and a decreasing number of visitors.
As always, rumors have come up about the future of Disneyland Paris because of these huge problems. These rumors include everything from layoffs of employees to the possible closure of the whole park. Only time will tell how Disney will handle this park' problems.
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Tokyo Disneyland, Urayasu, Japan / Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan 12/27/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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It has been reported that a number of bomb threats were made against two major Japanese theme parks in the days leading up to Christmas, but the threats, in the end, amounted to nothing.
Up to eight phone calls were received by Universal Studios Japan over a week-long period before Christmas, while Tokyo Disneyland received five calls starting at the end of November.
It is suspected that one individual made all of the threats against the Universal park, but it is unknown whether the same person made the calls to Tokyo Disneyland.
The threats were to plant bombs at the parks during the busy Christmas season, and the threats against Universal Studios Japan in specific were of an anti-American nature.
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Schlitterbahn, Galveston, TX, USA 12/22/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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The island of Galveston, Texas is about to get soaked. That's because plans are now officially in place to bring a $30 million indoor and outdoor waterpark.
Schlitterbahn, which already operates waterparks at two locations in Texas, promises their third to be one of the most state-of-the-art in the country.
The indoor portion of the waterpark will be housed in a former aviation hanger, making possible an annual operating schedule of up to 200 days.
May of 2005 is the anticipated opening date for the new waterpark.
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Bloomington Central Station, Bloomington, MN, USA 12/20/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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Plans have been unveiled for a major complex to be built adjacent to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota dubbed Bloomington Central Station.
The complex will consist of a 60,000-square foot indoor waterpark, along with an adjoining hotel of 700 rooms, in addition to office space and a residential development.
Bloomington Central Station's site was chosen due to its proximity to a nearby light rail line and the draw of the nation's largest mall. It is expected to cost a total sum of $600 million.
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Various North American Parks 12/20/03 - By: Carl F -
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The list of the top 25 amusement parks in North America was released recently. The parks are ranked by their attendance. Here are the top 10 parks that made the list along with their attendance for 2003 and the percentage it changed from the previous year.
1. Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom - 14 million, no change
2. Disneyland (Anaheim, CA) - 12.7 million, no change
3. Walt Disney World's EPCOT - 8.6 million, up 4%
4. Walt Disney World MGM Studios - 7.8 million, down 2%
5. Walt Disney World Animal Kingdom - 7.3 million, no change
6. Universal Studios Orlando - 6.8 million, no change
7. Universal's Islands of Adventure - 6 million, no change
8. Disney's California Adventures - 5.3 million, up 13%
9. SeaWorld Orlando - 5.2 million, up 4%
10. Universal Studios Hollywood - 4.5 million, down 12%
As you can see, Disney and Universal own 9 of the top 10 spots. You can follow this link to see the whole list, but here are a few other mentionable parks that made the list.
11. Busch Gardens Tampa - 4.3 million, down 4%
14. Knott's Berry Farm - 3.4 million, down 4%
15. Cedar Point - 3.3 million, up 3%
19. Six Flags Magic Mountain - 3 million, down 2%
You can also click here to see the top 50 in .pdf format.
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Legoland California, Carlsbad, CA, USA 12/19/03 - By: Carl F -
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Yesterday, December 18th, Legoland California came out with a huge announcement. In this announcement, the park says that they have plans to open five brand new attractions for the 2004 season. This would be the biggest expansion of rides since the park opened in 1999.
According to the park's president and general manager, this will be a several million-dollar investment, though no exact figures were discussed.
This huge new addition will happen in a few different phases. In the first phase that is scheduled for February 13th, Legoland will unveild the Block of Fame, which will be an educational 3-dimensional art gallery made from the famous Lego bricks.
In the next phase that is scheduled for April, the Coastersaurus will open with speeds of up to 18 miles per hour. Also, Dig Those Dinos, which will be a sand pit for the tiny archeologists, will open at that time. Then in the next phase, the Fun Town Fire Academy will open on Memorial Day weekend. This new attraction will give the visitors the opportunity to put out simulated burning buildings made of Legos.
The last phase, which will open on Father's Day, will give the guests a chance to drive on a mock Daytona Beach NASCAR race of over 20 million Legos.
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Great Wolf Lodge, Williamsburg, VA, USA 12/18/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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A new indoor waterpark, said to be one of the largest in North America, is slated to open in early 2005 near Williamsburg, Virginia as part of a $50 million project named the Great Wolf Lodge.
The resort will be erected on a 35-acre site by Great Lakes Construction, and the company has in its posession 50 acres ajoining the development for future expansion purposes. Great Wolf Lodge will feature accomodations including 300 suites.
Great Lakes has previously built five resorts, with plans for two more in upcoming years.
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EPCOT, Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA 12/17/03 - By: Carl F -
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Disney says that their $100 million attraction Mission: Space is missing one thing: motion sickness bags. Mission: Space has reportedly become the first theme park attraction to offer motion sickness bags similar to those found on airplanes.
Mission: Space induces a feeling of weightlessness so realistic that many guests experience severe motion sickness. The ride does not move like a traditional roller coaster but it makes you feel as though you are truly moving and allows riders to undergo what NASA astronauts undergo in training. A video screen gives the illusion you're tilting toward the sky, and then centrifuge technology makes it feel as if the rocket is blasting off. You orbit the moon once, to get a slingshot effect from its gravity, then head to Mars.
Astronaut Jim Lovell said the ride feels a lot like an actual space flight. "It's the best, closest simulation you can get to the real thing," Lovell said.
"With custodians scrambling to clean up after riders, some say the attraction has become a maintenance nightmare," Mike DeForest of Local 6 News reported. Disney spokeswoman Rena Langley said, "the majority of guests have no problems on the attraction so we don't expect a lot of people to use the motion sickness bags."
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Cypress Gardens, Orlando, FL, USA 12/17/03 - By: Carl F -
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The owner of Wild Adventures, a Georgia-based theme park, is poised to take over Cypress Gardens. Cypress Gardens is a venerable Florida attraction known for its water ski shows and Southern belles that closed its doors earlier this year because of declining attendance.
If this arrangement goes through, Kent Buescher, the owner of Wild Adventures in Valdosta Georgia, would pay $7 million for 120 acres of the 67-year-old park. Polk County and the City of Winter Haven would pay $2 1/2 million for the remaining 30 acres, including the historical botanical garden. The State of Florida would pay $11 million for development rights to all 150 acres.
Click here to read the full story.
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SeaWorld of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA 12/16/03 - By: Carl F -
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Yesterday, SeaWorld of Texas announced two additions that will make their debut at the park for the 2004 season.
First off, the Shamu Express, a new family roller coaster from Germany's Zierer Karussell, will be themed to the park's signature killer whale. This new coaster will be located in the Shamu's Happy Harbor section of the park. The coaster will seat 12 passengers per cycle, feature 220 feet of track, and reach a top speed of 14 miles per hour. It will open in late April.
The other new addition will be the Circus Smirkus show, located in the Meadow Theater and presented as part of the park's Summer Nights show package that is held from early June to mid-August. This new show will premier on June 11th.
The 2004 season will being for SeaWorld of Texas on March 6th.
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Pop Century Resort, Orlando, FL, USA 12/15/03 - By: Carl F -
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Walt Disney World has opened their latest hotel/resort, Pop Century Resort. The Pop Century Resort boasts 2,880 rooms on 235 acres, being the single-largest hotel to open in the giant resort's history, and almost certainly the largest in the state history. With this new resort, Disney World will boost its local hotel portfolio by more than 10 percent to more than 25,000 rooms.
"When they started out, they were in the theme-park business, not the hotel business. That's not true today. They are a huge operator," said Dave Theophilus, an Orlando hotel expert with Cayuga Hospitality Consultants.
How huge you ask? On a global scale, Walt Disney World ranks among the top 40 hotel operators, according to estimates by the American Hotel and Lodging Association. If only companies' U.S. properties are counted, Disney ranks in the top 25.
Pop Century Resort is 20 times larger than the average hotel in the statewide lodging association. Also, a second phase of Pop Century is planned -- another 2,880 rooms -- though no timetable has been set.
Click here to read the full story.
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Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, NJ, USA 12/15/03 - By: Kevin Russell -
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Pendulum, the park's Huss Frisbee, is now in pieces. The future for this ride is uncertain and is looking at going to another Six Flags park.
This may be the first of two of flat rides taken out this year. The other is Jumpin' Jack Flash. And another rumor has popped up about Taz Twister being removed.
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Yesterday, Norway mourned the lose of Keiko, the whale from the Free Willy trilogy. Pneumonia was most likely the cause of his death.
Keiko was thought to be in his mid-20s and had spent a quiet summer swimming around in the bay where he had been relocated late last year. The move was made in an effort to protect him from the thousands of human well-wishers who flocked to the area to get a glimpse of him. People from Norway were hit hard, as he was practically a national landmark.
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Proposed Indoor Water Park,Rockford, Illinois 12/12/03 - By: Kevin Russell -
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There is a proposed water park most likely going to happen in the old Motorola plant in Rockford, Illinois. The park would be six stories high and would be a full resort on 1.5 million acres. Also on this resort would be theaters, volleyball courts, laser tag, go-karts and a variety of restaurants, in addition to indoor water park elements in a four building complex.
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Only in America Amusement Complex, Pittsburgh, PA, USA 12/11/03 - By: Carl F -
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A man from Fraklin Park Pittsburg and five of his friends want to build an indoor/outdoor amusement park near the Pittsburgh International Airport. Currently, Joseph Jarvis and his group are looking for corporate sponsors and 400 acres of land for the proposed project.
"Planes flying over - kids on planes think, 'Look at the amusement park.' You can't beat the advertising out near the airport," Jarvis said. If built on the proposed 400 acres, the Only in America Amusement Complex would be five times as large as Kennywood Park.
Among many other rides and attractions, Jarvis says that there are plans to include a golf course and a coffeehouse for seniors. However, Kennywood Entertainment, which owns Kennywood Park, Sandcastle, Idewild, and Soak Zone, is not too concerned about the potential competition. "There are a number of amusement parks in this area," Kennywood's Mary Lou Rosemeyer said. "Demographically, we're not an area that is increasing in numbers rapidly."
Jarvis says that two companies have already agreed to back the project, but would not disclose their names. The Only in America group hopes to open in 2006 at an estimated cost of $105 million, but amusement park experts predict that it will cost that much just to start the building process.
You can visit the Only in America Amusement Complex website by clicking here.
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Voyager Wheel, Las Vegas, NV, USA 12/10/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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Progress is being made to bring to life what may become the world's tallest observation wheel on the Las Vegas Strip.
Originally announced in 2000, Voyager Entertainment International's 600-foot wheel would become the second-tallest structure in Las Vegas when built, eclipsed in height only by the nearby Stratosphere Tower, and claiming the title of world's tallest wheel from the 443-foot London Eye.
The wheel would be part of a mega-resort complex featuring an artificial lake and hotel that would take the place of the Wet 'N' Wild waterpark, which will operate for the last time for its twentieth year in 2004.
Bejing, China plans on constructing a 690-foot wheel before 2007, and it is unclear as to when the Las Vegas project may be started or completed. Voyager Entertainment has additional plans for wheels in the works for New York City; Dallas, Texas; and Shanghai, China.
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Bell's Amusement Park, Tulsa, OK, USA 12/10/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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After several years of delays, Oklahoma's Bell's Amusement Park became one step closer to constructing a new wooden coaster yesterday.
Bell's case to build the coaster was reviewed in the Tulsa County appeals court and it was ruled that zoning laws would permit the new construction. The case has now been sent to the district court for trial.
The wooden coaster, previously announced as Rolling Thunder, would be an out and back design with multiple tunnels which was originally to be built by Custom Coasters International, now a part of Utah's S&S Power.
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Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA 12/10/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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Six Flags Fiesta Texas has announced that they will be adding a new water slide to their Armadillo Beach waterpark's lineup for the 2004 season.
Dubbed the Tornado, the new funnel slide from the Canadian-based company ProSlide will top out at 75 feet, with a six-story funnel that riders will splash into.
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Warner Bros. Movie World, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia 12/10/03 - By: Carl F -
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Warner Bros. Movie World has released a quick update/report on the fire that broke out on December 6th. An electrical fault is suspected to have caused this damaging fire.
The Wild West Flume Ride was a $14 million investment for the park and sustained heavy damage from the fire. The ride is set in a simulated mountain and the flames and black smoke made it look like a volcano erupting inside the park. More than 20 firefighters battled the fire that took around 35 minutes to bring under control.
Early estimates of the damage were around $200,000 to $300,000 and the ride is definitely unoperable at this time. A spokeswoman for the park said they will try their hardest to have the ride reopened in time for Christmas.
Read more here.
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Walt Disney Company, Orlando, FL, USA 12/10/03 - By: Kevin Russell -
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In an odd turn of events, Roy E. Disney, Nephew of the late Walt Disney, and Stanley Gold have started a website asking people their thoughts about Eisner and the direction of Disney. SaveDisney.com is the name of the site, and you can email each man. It contains the resignation letters and links to Disney fan sites.
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Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, England 12/10/03 - By: Matthew Vickers -
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Blackpool Pleasure beach have announced that they are to be building a new ride to spice up the park. The star-shape ride is to be called 'Bling', influenced by british comedian Ali G.
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Never Never Land, Tongeren, Belgium 12/09/03 - By: Carl F -
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Marc Taminiau, who is the owner and director of the Dutch theme park Het Land van Ooit, has signed a contract to open a second theme park in Belgium slated to open in 2006.
This new park will also be called Het Land van Ooit, which translates to mean Never Never Land. You may be able to tell by the name that this will be a park aimed at children, ages 12 and younger to be exact. This upcoming park has also received the rights to use the Sesame Street characters.
The new park will be built on 22 hectares of land in Tongeren, Belgium, which is on the border of Germany and France. At this point, the total investment is 42 million Euros.
It is hoped that this new park will get 150,000 visitors in the first year of operation.
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Valleyfair, Shakopee, MN, USA 12/09/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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Minnesota's Valleyfair! has announced that the park plans on replacing their current kids' area with a new $1,350,000 section geared for families.
KidWorks will be the name of the replacement for Valleyfair's current Berenstain Bear Country, which was one of the few remaining childrens areas left in the Cedar Fair park chain with a non-Camp Snoopy theme. Being that an entire Camp Snoopy park is located in the same state as Valleyfair, the park decided to go with a new original theme.
Highlighting the new additions will be Foam Ball Factory from KoalaPlay Group's Interactive BallPlay, an area for balls to be blasted, thrown, and dropped. Also new to the section is Zamperla's Rockin' Tug flat ride.
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Paramount's Kings Dominion, Doswell, Virginia, USA 12/09/03 - By: Carl F -
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At the end of this month James E. Copp, Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Paramount's Kings Dominion, will retire after 30 years of faithful service to the park.
Copp has been with Kings Dominion since 1973, 2 years before the park opened to the public. In fact, he was responsible for naming the park's classic wooden coaster, the Rebel Yell.
"It's been exciting. I can honestly say I have really loved my job," Copp said. "I always feel bad for those who say they hate going to work, because I've always looked forward to going to work."
Copp has outlasted four general managers, several owners and other officials at the park during his career, said Lew Hooper, who was the park's general manager from 1981 to 1983. "He's a pretty remarkable finance guy who has stood the test of time," Hooper said.
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Busch Gardens Tampa, Tampa, Florida, USA 12/08/03 - By: Carl F -
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Wild Maus, which is being removed from Busch Gardens Williamsburg to make way for a new ride in 2004, is heading South to Busch Gardens Tampa.
Today, the new name of this coaster and specific location were announced. Wild Maus will now be called Cheetah Chase to fit in with the African-themed animal park.
"It's a family coaster," said Busch spokesman Gerard Hoeppner, confirming the ride will be set up near the Ubanga-Banga bumper cars in Timbuktu. "We think it will have a broader appeal than the ride it replaces."
To make way for Cheetah Chase, the Crazy Camel, a small kiddie ride, is headed for storage after a 24-year run.
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Santa's Kingdom, Punchestown, Ireland 12/08/03 - By: Carl F -
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A ceiling collapsed at Santa's Kingdom that sent two people to the hospital. Policemen on the scene said that two employees were rushed to the Naas Hospital after the ceiling fell on top of them.
Santa's Kingdom is a seasonal theme park that is held at the Punchestown racecourse in Ireland. The park was open at the time of this accident and was evacuated and closed for the remainder of the night.
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Various Wooden Coasters 12/07/03 - By: Carl F -
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The results of the annual wooden coaster poll have been released. Balder, the Intamin 2003 woodie came out on top. Here is the top 10.
1. Balder, Liseberg
2. Tremors, Silverwood Theme Park
3. Shivering Timbers, Michigan's Adventure
4. Boulder Dash, Lake Compounce
5. Raven, Holiday World
6. Phoenix, Knoebels
7. Aska, Nara Dreamland
8. Rampage, Visionland
9. Ozark Wildcat, Celebration City
10. Comet, Great Escape
Click here to view the complete list of results from the poll.
And don't forget to cast your vote in the 2003 Steel Coaster Poll if you haven't already. This poll will be accepting ballots until December 15th.
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Tokyo Disneyland, Maihama, Urayasu, Japan 12/06/03 - By: Carl F -
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As reported yesterday, the Space Mountain roller coaster at Tokoyo Disneyland became the second Disney coaster to derail this year. Today, another report was issued about this accident.
Officials at Orient Land Co., which runs Tokoyo Disneyland, says that the Space Mountain coaster derailed about 10 meters from its final destination shortly after 10 a.m. As the train was running at a slow speed, no major damage was reported.
The report says that a rear wheel on the second car of the two-car train derailed. The other trains running at that time automatically stopped following the accident. The passengers of the other trains and those who were waiting in line were evacuated from the site.
On Friday, the day of the accident, over 18,000 people visited Tokoyo Disneyland and 2,200 of them took a ride on Space Mountain prior to this accident.
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Warner Bros. Movie World, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia 12/06/03 - By: Carl F -
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According to reports, there was a fire that erupted on the Wild West ride in Warner Bros. Movie World Australia.
The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service said that the fire broke out around 6:15 p.m. on December 5th. Thankfully, the park was closed at the time of the fire and no injuries have been reported. However, the ride itself sustained major damage before the fire was finally brought under control around 6:45 p.m.
Reports also say that six fire departments responded to the fire.
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Tokyo Disneyland, Maihama, Urayasu, Japan 12/05/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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A steel coaster at Japan's Tokyo Disneyland partially derailed this morning. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported so far as a result of the incident.
The coaster on which the derailment occured was the twenty-year old Space Mountain enclosed ride built by Vekoma. Space Mountain carries twelve individual trainloads of twelve passengers each, with six riders per car, and top speeds of just over thirty miles per hour.
A wheel assembly is reportedly at fault, and caused the coaster to derail most of the way through the 3,450-foot long track. Space Mountain has been closed for an unknown extent of time while investigators look into the occurance.
Only one week ago, an official report was released for a similar derailment due to a loose bolt on a wheel assembly at another Disney park, California's Disneyland, on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in which one rider was killed last September. Poor maintenance and communication were found to be contributing factors to the accident.
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Walt Disney Company - Eisner Facing Uphill Battle 12/03/03 - By: Josh Davidson -
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Michael Eisner is facing toughest times that he has confronted at the helm of the prestigious Disney Corporation since he first came to the company in 1984 when he proceeded to take it from a company with a couple theme parks and a small studio of famous but aging animated movies to a massive media conglomerate encompassing divisions ranging from the most prestigious sports network to one of the "big 4" TV networks to reviving the most famous animation company in history. However, most recently he, in the face of Disney's slumping margins, has been asked to step down by long time allies Roy Disney and Stanley Gold who resigned from the Board of Directors this week in the face of what they see as a dilemna at the helm. Many of the board members are said to feel the same way.
Eisner however, is credited with leading the company through the 1990s. Resisting courting Internet companies that have since doomed competition. He has been embattled by various scandals that involve him being criticized for taking too much control of the company and micro-managing it beyond necessity. He has also been criticized for not producing the same kind of sucess that News Corp. has seen in the past few years.
-Associated Press
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Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia 12/03/03 - By: Kevin Russell -
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The vice president and general manager of Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas is coming to Atlanta to run Six Flags Over Georgia. Her name is Melinda Ashcraft and is a native of Atlanta. She got her first job at Six Flags over Georgia when she was a teenager in Atlanta in 1967. She will be the head also of the other parks Six Flags owns in Atlanta, American Adventure and White Water. She has been the General Manager of Six Flags Fiesta Texas since 2000 when she replaced John Odum when he left to become general manager of Six Flags Over Georgia.
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Seabreeze Park, Rochester, NY, USA 12/02/03 - By: Devin Olson -
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New York's Seabreeze Park has confirmed the addition of a new currently unnamed Maurer-Sohne Spinning Coaster for 2004 which is being relocated to the park from Germany.
The fifty-foot tall, 1,400-foot long spinning steel twister is being moved to the New York park from traveling German fairs, and replaces Seabreeze's Quantum Loop, a Soquet double-looping coaster which was also used as a portable coaster before coming to the amusement park in 1994.
Seabreeze Park opened in 1879, making next season its 125th year of operation.
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Walt Disney Company, Orlando, Florida 12/01/03 - By: Kevin Russell -
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In a stunning annoucement, Roy Disney, nephew of the late great Walt Disney, stepped down from the company saying his reasons for leaving were because of what he calls conflicts in the management style and the beliefs of the company, and has asked Michael Eisner to do the same, the current CEO.
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