|
|
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!
|
 | |  |
|
|
|
Waldameer Park, Erie, PA, USA 04/30/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
 After many, many years of waiting, Ravine Flyer II has finally gotten approval. Park owner Paul Nelson has dreamed of building this coaster since he was a boy he said.
However, enthusiasts will have to wait another 3 to 4 more years to get a ride on Ravine Flyer II. Nelson estimated that it would take that long to build the coaster and at a cost of around $6 million. This will be a wooden coaster with steel supports and would be built on a cliff and cross Peninsula Drive. The coaster will also have to meet 17 strict requirements set forth by the Millcreek Township zoning board. Having a $15 million liability insurance policy for the coaster is just one of those requirements.
Nothing official has been announced, but likely builders for this project include S&S Power and the Gravity Group.
|
|
|
|
|
Knoebels, Elysburg, PA, USA 04/27/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
 Since it seems like there has been a lot of bad news about roller coasters and amusement rides lately with related deaths and injuries, I thought this would be a great story to post.
A couple was married this weekend while riding the Phoenix at Knoebels. Pete Moppin III and Heather O'Toole were married while the train was stopped at the top of the lift for around 10 minutes while the service was performed. The couple said that going to Knoebels was one of their first dates together and they have visited the park together several times since.
Rev. Cliff Herring who performed this service also holds the record for most weddings performed on a roller coaster, this being his third on Phoenix.
|
|
|
|
|
M&Ds Scotland's Theme Park, Motherwell, Scotland 04/25/04 - By: Coaster Force -
|
|
Eleven people were saved on Saturday, when two carriages were stopped 30 feet above the ground on M&D's Tornado roller coaster. The Tornado opened in 1998 and features three inversions. Firefighters rescued the passengers using raised platforms. Luckily, nobody was injured, but an investigation has been launched, and the ride itself has been closed.
Malcolm Cannon, the park's commercial director, said, "We are not sure whether it was a problem with lubricant or a problem with the wind, but the police were in attendance and no one was hurt."
This latest incident happened only just over a week after a teenager fell from the Hydro ride at Oakwood Leisure Park on April 15th. She was later sent to the hospital but died of internal injuries.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A bill has been proposed by a congressman now well-known in the amusement park industry that would impose new restrictions on filling ride operating positions for parks.
Rep. Edward Markey, previously known for his allegations of dangers caused by rides themselves, put forward the legislation setting a minimum age of 18 for the operating of amusement rides and making it illegal for minors to run rides.
Nine states of the 44 that are home to operating parks currently have the 18-year-old age limit in place that would be made nationwide by the bill.
|
|
|
|
|
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park, Winter Haven, FL, USA 04/24/04 - By: Devin Olson -
|
|
 Three dozen rides and new ownership will transform the Orlando region's Cypress Gardens into Cypress Gardens Adventure Park when it reopens later this year, and the park's new owner is hoping that the gardens' transformation into a thrill park will make a major player in the central Florida park wars out of the property.
Kent Buescher, owner of Valdosta, Georgia's Wild Adventures, purchased the park early this year ten months after Cypress Gardens closed its gates due to low attendence.
The 36 new rides planned for Cypress Gardens are intended to draw families with thrill seekers, and include four coaster tracks, a 12-story S&S Power freefall tower named Thunder Bolt Shot Tower, two water rides including one of the largest rapids rides in the world, and 11 kiddie rides.
All of the coasters are expected to be family-sized, and will include a Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster named Screaming Crocodile, a Vekoma Junior Coaster by the name of Storm Surge, and a wooden coaster which will be the first from the Martin & Vleminckx Group.
A tentative redebut date for Cypress Gardens Adventure Park is currently slated for July 1st.
|
|
|
|
|
Camelot Theme Park, Chorley, Lancs, UK 04/20/04 - By: Josh Davidson -
|
|
Yesterday at around 6PM UDT a bus struck a five-year-old boy outside of the Camelot Theme Park in Chorley. The Lancashire Constabulary cited massive head trauma as the cause of death.
This unfortunate accident took place exactly a week after five people were killed by being hit by a bus outside of an Ingoldmell, Lincs, theme park.
|
|
|
|
|
Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, TN, USA 04/20/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
 A few days ago, there was an update released concerning the woman who fell from the Dollywood steam train and was airlifted to the hospital.
A spokesman for the park said that the woman, whose identity has not been released, fell from the train after loosing her balance when someone spilled a drink on her. An investigation was performed and no mechanical problems were found on the steam train. The woman has since been released from the hospital and the steam train reopened the day after the accident occurred.
|
|
|
|
|
Anheuser-Busch Co. 04/20/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
 Anheuser-Busch has joined a fight ongoing in Florida against a proposed plan for a bullet train. This bullet train would bypass Busch Gardens Tampa and the SeaWorld park's that Busch owns but would make a stop at Walt Disney World. Many feel that bitterness over this is what brought Anheuser-Busch into the fight, but the Chairman has denied this and also proposed to expand the highway instead. This highway expansion could hold 14 times more people than the bullet train and cost only 11% of what the train would cost.
Florida's Governor Jeb Bush, along with cheif financial officer Tom Gallagher, are leading a petition that will give the voters the chance to fight this as well.
|
|
|
|
|
Six Flags Park Chain 04/20/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
As you may know, Six Flags recently sold Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and also put their European park division up for sale. A few days ago, Six Flags officially announced the buyer of the European parks.
Palamon Capital Partners will be paying $183m for all of Six Flags' European parks except for Warner Brothers Movie World in Madrid, Spain. No official word on the new names of the parks or if any of the rides will be renamed, but it was reported that the new owning company will be called Star Parks Luxembourg.
Six Flags told reporters that the money from these two deals will go to pay off part of their mounting debt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
On Saturday the IX Indoor Amusement Park was running fine Until something really scary happened.
There was a bomb threat there, but the bomb squad and the police said they could not fine anything. They searched everywhere mostly the food court but found nothing.
The park has reopened and they are planning on running it till May 2.
|
|
|
|
|
Attractiepark Toverland, Sevenum, Limburg, Netherlands 04/14/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
 A few days ago, Vekoma announced that Attractiepark Toverland will be the home of their first Motorbike Launch Coaster. This new innovative ride was first shown at IAAPA 2003 and received great interest.
This new innovation, now named Booster Bike, will combine the thrills of riding a roller coaster with the freedom experienced by riding a motorbike. Vekoma went to great lengths to mount the "bikes" to the train and keep the feel as close to the real thing (riding a motorbike) as they could.
Booster Bike will be around 1968 feet long, 49 feet high, and go from 0 to 46.6 miles per hour in just 3 seconds. This latest Vekoma creation is set to open in early July of 2004.
|
|
|
|
|
Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, CA, USA 04/11/04 - By: Devin Olson -
|
|
 Following a Six Flags Magic Mountain employee's death on Friday and investigation into the death, the park's Scream coaster is slated to reopen on Monday after being cleared by the California's Occupational Safety and Health division.
The woman killed, who has been identified as 21-year old Bantita Rackchamroon, was performing pre-operational inspection on the coaster when an empty train running through the circuit as part of testing struck her.
Rackchamroon was said to have been walking across the coaster's track when exiting the ride area after completing the inspection, instead of taking the correct exit.
|
|
|
|
|
Auckland Showgrounds, Auckland, NZ 04/11/04 - By: Devin Olson -
|
|
 An employee of New Zealand's Auckland Showgrounds performing maintenance on the Super Loops ride died on Thursday after falling.
Bill Mahon, who operated the ride and partly owned the showgrounds, took a fall from over 30 feet on the 55-foot tall vertical loop structure of the ride.
Super Loops, part of the Auckland Easter Show fair, is running again following reauthorization for the Auckland Showgrounds to operate the attraction.
The ride is a Larson International Inc. vertical circular loop ride commonly known as a 'Ring of Fire,' (seen at left) that is now common among fair, carnival, and small park operations around the world.
|
|
|
|
|
Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, CA, USA 04/09/04 - By: Devin Olson -
|
|
 Today, an employee of Six Flags Magic Mountain was pronounced dead after entering a restricted area and being struck by one of the park's major coasters.
The worker, who has not yet been identified, was standing on the track of the park's newest coaster, Scream, before the park opened when an empty coaster train ran through the course and the employee failed to move from the track in time.
After being taken to a local hospital, the employee was pronounced dead. An investigation into the accident is officially underway.
|
|
|
|
|
Stratosphere Tower, Las Vegas, NV, USA 04/09/04 - By: Devin Olson -
|
|
 Plans have come to the surface for a fourth ride that the Stratosphere Tower is planning to place atop the near-1,100-foot observation deck of the building.
The new yet-unnamed flat ride, which would open in 2005 if approved, would rotate riders around beyond the edge of the 866-foot observation deck in a circular motion over Las Vegas.
 Passengers would board the new ride, attached to a curved arm, in five groups of two on swing-like seat setups before the arm rotates a quarter turn to take the ride out over the edge of the Stratosphere and rotate the passengers in circles.
The Stratosphere Tower opened in 1996 with the Big Shot launched freefall tower and High Roller circular kiddie coaster, and added X-Scream late last year. The possible new ride would come as a result of the success that X-Scream has seen since opening.
|
|
|
|
|
Geauga Lake, Aurora, OH, USA 04/08/04 - By: Devin Olson -
|
|
 New names have been officially announced for Cedar Fair's removal of Six Flags-related names from the rides located at its former Worlds of Adventure park, now given its original name of Geauga Lake back by the Cedar Fair acquisition.
Many of the new names will be shared with rides among other Cedar Fair parks. The park's floorless coaster, formerly named Batman Knight Flight, will now go by Dominator, sharing the name with a freefall tower complex at Pennsylvania's Dorney Park. In addition, the Gotham City area that once surrounded the coaster will be rethemed as Power City.
Meanwhile, the inverted Intamin Impulse model shuttle coaster Superman: Ultimate Escape, will be known as Steel Venom, named after an identical coaster at Minnesota's Valleyfair. Geauga Lake's Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster model, formerly called Serial Thriller, will be redubbed ThunderHawk, after rides at Dorney Park and Missouri's Worlds of Fun.
Other rides receiving new names are Mind Eraser, a Vekoma Boomerang shuttle coaster, which will be called Head Spin, and Roadrunner Express - now called Beaver Land Mine Ride.
Geauga Lake is set to reopen on Saturday, May 1st.
|
|
|
|
|
Universal Studios Florida, Orlando, FL, USA 04/07/04 - By: Coaster Force -
|
|
 Universal Orlando officially announced the grand opening for the highly anticipated Revenge of the Mummy attraction- May 21st, 2004. Revenge of the Mummy will be the third new attraction to open within about a year at Universal Studios.
Revenge of the Mummy combines many ride elements: a detailed storyline, special effects, and a thrilling roller coaster. Universal Studios claims the Mummy is so unique that it defines a whole new genre: a psychological thrill ride.
In this ride, riders experience sight and sound special effects, like pyrotechnics, projected CGI animation, amazing robotic figures, and illusions created to effect all of your senses.
Bob Gault, president of Universal Orlando, states, "We set out to change the face of Universal Studios with new experiences that are relevant and thrilling to today’s audience." He continues by saying, "The result is a trio of compelling, new attractions that give our guests the maximum entertainment experience they expect from our theme parks."
Gault is confident that the new Mummy attraction will make for an exdraordinary summer season in Universal Studios.
To read COASTER-net's Ride Gallery page on Revenge of the Mummy click here.
|
|
|
|
|
Busch Gardens Tampa, Tampa, FL, USA 04/07/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
Busch Gardens Tampa didn't stop by just adding Cheetah Chase to their line-up this year. The park will also be expanding their entertainment section tomorrow, April 8th.
Busch Gardens Tampa will open a theatrical production named KaTonga, which will be the park's biggest investment with the exception of their roller coasters. The show will include 18 performers who will depict how the aspiring storytellers in Africa master their art. The shows will be approximately 40 minutes long.
|
|
|
|
|
Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA 04/07/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
Michael Chartrand, a Disney World employee, has been arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Chartrand works as the character Tigger and was arrested for molesting a mother and her 13-year-old daughter while posing with them for a picture in the Magic Kingdom's Toon Town.
Chartrand has been charged with one count of simple battery and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child between the ages of 12 and 15. Disney has suspended Chartrand without pay.
|
|
|
|
|
Disneyland, Anaheim, CA, USA 04/07/04 - By: Devin Olson -
|
|
 Just over half a year after a fatal accident occured on Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad mine train coaster, another accident has taken place that has been cited as the result of the error of ride operators.
The ride was temporarily closed when the latest accident occured on Saturday night, in which two trains collided. A guest had pushed on a gate in the station, resulting in the automatic closing of the ride. Once the ride was emptied of passengers, the operators attempted to restart the ride without clearing the track of trains, causing the collision.
Two employees are being retrained with proper operating procedures following the incident.
|
|
|
|
|
Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, Orlando, FL, USA 04/06/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
To keep pace with Disney, Universal's Orlando parks have raised their admission prices again. This is the second increase in the park's admission prices in 2004, and this is only April. The first price increase was in January with the tickets going up $2.00 to keep up with SeaWorld Orlando.
The first increase brought ticket prices to $53.95. With this second increase of 2004, tickets are now $54.75, the cause of a 80 cent rise.
A spokeswoman for Universal said that this rise in ticket prices is justified by their opening of attractions like Revenge of the Mummy, Shrek 4-D, and Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast.
This is the first time in Universal's history that there have been two admission price increases in one year.
|
|
|
|
|
Miami-Dade County Fair, Miami, FL, USA 04/05/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
The Gravitron at the Miami-Dade County Fair "broke open" while in motion on Friday, April 2nd.
When the ride broke open, many riders were flung from the ride and injured seven people, one of which was a teenage girl who was last listed in critical condition.
A spokewoman for the Department of Agriculture said that a bolt that holds an interior panel in place sheared, causing this accident. The Gravitron passed its inspection before it opened on March 18th. The fairgrounds were closed for the remainder of the day but reopened for normal hours on Saturday.
|
|
|
|
|
Rockin' Raceway, Pigeon Forge, TN, USA 04/05/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
Rockin' Raceway has removed the Hawk from the park. The ride was shut down last month after a 51-year-old woman died after falling from the ride. The woman fell from the ride due to an improperly secured safety belt that came undone while the ride was in motion.
Park officials have said that the ride will now be placed in storage and will not be reassembled at the park.
|
|
|
|
|
Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, TN, USA 04/05/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
The thrid of April marked the debut of one of the newest creations of Great Coasters International. Thunderhead flew its way into Dollywood this past weekend, opening along with the park's new themed area named Thunderhead Gap.
Thunderhead is Dollywood's first roller coaster since they debuted Tennessee Tornado in 1999. This brings the park's coaster count up to three coasters, along with the Tennessee Tornado and Blazing Fury.
Thunderhead is already making it's way to the top of many riders coaster lists! Head to Pigeon Forge and experience the thrills for yourself! Here are some fast facts about the ride.
Drop: 100 ft.
Legth: 3230 ft.
Speed: 55 mph
Millennium Flyer trains
Features a station "fly-through" element
Cost: $7 million
|
|
|
|
|
Six Flags Park Chain 04/05/04 - By: Carl F -
|
|
Six Flags has signed a deal with MGM Studios that will bring a Stargate SG3000 interactive simulation to various U.S. Six Flags parks.
Stargate SG3000 will be opening in the coming months at Six Flags Marine World, Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, and Six Flags Great America. This ride made its original debut in December of 2003 when it opened at Space Center Bremen in Germany.
Stargate SG3000 will be approximately a four minute ride/film that lets riders soar through the Stargate. The whole experience will be around 20 minutes long, which is including the themed que area, the mission briefing, the simulator itself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
