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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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Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, England, UK 06/25/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Just days after the death of her son, Doris Thompson, daughter of Blackpool Pleasure Beach founder, passed away at age 101. Doris was Chairman of the Pleasure Beach Company which operates Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
After being too ill to be present at her son's funeral on the 23rd, Doris Thompson died in her sleep that night, just six hours after the funeral of her son.
Doris is remembered for being the matriarch of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and was seen on rides as late in life as when she rode the 2002 Spin Doctor to celebrate her 100th birthday.
Her son Geoffrey, died on June 12th at the age of 67 after being taken to a hospital from the park following his daughter's wedding reception. Geoffrey Thompson was the park's managing director.
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Steamboat City, Brunswick, GA, USA 06/22/04 - By: Carl F -
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Steamboat City, the proposed theme park for Georgia, has taken another step closer to opening. This $150 million park now has secured funding for the project. The developers of this project include W.G. Pitts Company Jacksonville and Powers Design of Ponte Vedra Beach.
Steamboat City is set to be a 700-acre theme park in Georgia's Glynn County next to I-95. The plans for the parks include 18 major attractions, resturants, shops, shows, and four theme lands (history, heritage, nature, and adventure). There are also plans for a 140-acre campground and RV facility. Of course there are also the usual hotels planned for the area around the park to accommodate its visitors.
The current opening date is now set for sometime before the fall of 2006.
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Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, IL, USA 06/18/04 - By: Coaster Force -
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 A maintenence worker of Six Flags Great America died Wednesday, after he was struck by the new Ragin' Cajun roller coaster just two weeks after its first day of operation, according to officials.
52-year old Jack Brouse was struck in the head by the Ragin' Cajun coaster while he was on the ground, beneath the tracks, during a normal maintenence operation. Brouse had worked for Six Flags Great America for five years.
A day before the accident, the Illinois Department of Labor had issued a permit for the ride, allowing it to begin operation. Labor Department spokeswoman Stephanie Noble said, "It checked out 100 percent... There was nothing at fault with the ride itself."
Jack Brouse died two and a half weeks after the accident of head injuries in a hospital in Milwaukee. This incident is being further investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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Sea World, San Diego, California, United States 06/17/04 - By: Coaster Force -
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On Tuesday, two earthquakes, measuring 5.1 and 4.7 on the Richter Scale, struck California. However, no large amounts of damages resulted from the earthquakes, which reportedly were located approximately 49 miles southwest of San Diego.
Several rides were shut down near San Diego. One of them was the Journey to Atlantis attraction in Sea World, which was evacuated by stairway. Scientists estimate aftershocks could occur during the next two weeks, but they are expected to not rise above 4.0 on the Richter Scale.
Luckily, 35 riders were evacuated safely from the Journey to Atlantis attraction, which reaches heights of 95 feet, which was not damaged from the earthquakes. The ride reopened later, at approximately 5:45 PM.
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Cypress Gardens Adventure Park, Cypress Gardens, FL, USA 06/15/04 - By: Carl F -
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 Cyrpess Gardens will not be opening during the peak summer days as originally planned. The new owner Kent Buescher says that it took much longer than he had planned to get the deal to go through for him buying the park.
There have been many other factors that contributed to pushing the reopening date back as well. Many of the buildings on the park's property will need major repairs including new rooves. Buescher also said that many of the maps they have that show the utility lines buried under the ground were incomplete, which is a very important thing to know when you are pouring foundations for new roller coasters and rides. Speaking of foundations, the new owner also said that it will be difficult to find the 13,000 cubic yards of concrete needed to finish the construction since there is a worldwide shortage of concrete.
Buescher was quoted saying that it will be hard for them do finish everything they need to, but that he is comfortable with the recently announced opening in October.
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Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, England, UK 06/12/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Geoffrey Thompson, the managing director for Blackpool Pleasure Beach, has died after overseeing the park for nearly thirty years at the age of 67.
Last night at 8:20 local time, Thompson died at a hospital that he was taken to after becoming ill at the park during a family reception in the park's Paradise Room.
Thompson leaves behind a legacy of service to the family-run park. In 1976, he became the managing director of Blackpool Pleasure Beach following the death of his father, who had held the job previously.
Blackpool continues to be a family operation, with Thompson's son and two daughters currently holding places on the Pleasure Beach board of directors.
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Mont Saint Sauveur, Saint Sauveur, Quebec, Canada 06/11/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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 The proposed addition of a wooden coaster to the Mont Saint Sauveur amusement park has drawn resistance from Saint Sauveur residents as of late. And while wooden track and support beams sit in sections on site at the site, but any vertical action will have to wait until Mont Saint Sauveur can clear the hurtles that obtaining a permit to construct the coaster have created.
The yet-unnamed wooden coaster would stand at 70 feet tall with 2,500 feet of track in a compact figure-eight layout. It previously operated at Race World in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee up until that park shut its gates in 2001. But now residents say that it would harm the Canadian town's rustic feel and attract unwanted traffic.
Mont Saint Sauveur is currently no more than a waterpark, but hopes were to expand it into a small amusement park with the addition of the wooden coaster. If plans fall through, the park's parent company Cascades d'eau Piedmont may try erecting the coaster at one of their other properties.
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Grona Lund, Stockholm, Sweden 06/11/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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A dramatic rescue took place at Grona Lund in Stockholm, Sweden on Wednesday. At the park, a 16-year old somehow came out of his gondola on Grona Lund's ferris wheel roughly thirty feet above ground. Meanwhile, a staffer in costume, Ben-Hur Pereira, was standing in front of the haunted house he was on duty at.
Dressed as the devil, Pereira ascended the ferris wheel and guided the passenger back into the car. Pereira's acrobatic skills are credited with making the rescue possible.
The rider left the scene with no injuries, and the incident is still under investigation.
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Visionland is expected to become easier to access and much more visible to the public in the next few months as a brand new interchange is built off of I20/59. The new exit at Visionland Parkway will improve access to the park by making the entrance more directly aligned to the freeway.
The park is also planning an oversized Marquee to attract attention to the park which is obscured from the roadway by thick, mature forests.
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Maritime Midway Fair, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 06/09/04 - By: Carl F -
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A carnival ride at Dartmouth's Maritime Midway Fair malfunctioned last Friday, injuring several people. The accident happened around 7:45 p.m. when the Matterhorn, a carousel-type ride, derailed.
Two of the people injured were sent to the hospital following the derailment. One was treated a shoulder injury and the other for an injury to their arm. There were also several other riders that were treated for minor injuries such as bruises and cuts.
The Matterhorn was shut down after the accident and the Department of Labour is investigating.
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Six Flags over Texas, Arlington, TX, USA 06/09/04 - By: Carl F -
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 Although little information has been released, it has been reported that a fire broke out at Six Flags over Texas on Monday.
The fire reportedly broke out during the park's Texas Rangers and Outlaws show. The show included pyrotechnics, which caused sparks to set a part of the stage on fire due to the windy conditions.
No injuries were reported following the fire and no information on the extend of the damage was released at this time.
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Playland Park, Rye, NY, USA 06/06/04 - By: Carl F -
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Last month, a 7-year-old girl fell from Playland Park's Mind Scrambler ride and was killed. A report has been filed from the investigation that says it was found the girl wiggled from out from under the safety bar and caused her to be thrown from the ride. The girl did meet the height and age requirements to board the ride. The report says that the girl was kneeling on the seat after she got free from the safety bar.
Although the Mind Scrambler remains closed, it is set to reopen after modifications are made to the ride. Those modifications include adding seatbelts, adding more lights to the structure of the ride, and the addition of a second operator to be on scene when the ride reopens. Since the ride is in a darkened tent, the operator's controls will have the emergency stop button and safety instructions labeled in glow in the dark paint.
Playland Park has also hired a safety specialist to inspect all the rides in the park.
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New live action shows are being planed for the park. Its called “BATMAN VS. CATWOMAN: CATFIGHT”. This willbe the first Launch of Most Ambitious Action-Adventure Show in Park History.
There are going to be many of Hollywood stunts like stuntman director, scenic designers, and award winning composer.
The shows will have major special effects, stunts, and live action in it. There will be hand to hand combats. It will also feature new technology like Segway Human Transport Vehicles, non stop fire and explosions. The set will have a real fountain.
Some of the special features are, Exploding power lines, a 750-gallon water tower and a sequence of pyrotechnics and propane-ignited flame blasts stretching 60 feet. It is Scheduled to debut Memorial Day weekend.
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Lake Compounce, Bristol, CT, USA 06/02/04 - By: Carl F -
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 When you hear the phrase "down time" in the amusement park industry, you usually think of a bad time. Not anymore for Lake Compounce guests! The park recently opened their latest addition, a S&S drop tower named Down Time.
The new Down Time ride takes its riders 185 feet up and drops them straight down at around 50 miles per hour. The ride is already becoming a favorite of many visitors.
Since Kennywood Entertainment Corporation purchased Lake Compounce eight years ago, they have now installed 30 rides into the park.
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Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA, USA / Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, CA, USA 06/02/04 - By: Carl F -
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  Following 3 deaths since 2001 on the Intamin AG manufactured rides Superman: Ride of Steel (Six Flags New England), Hydro (Oakwood), and Perilous Plunge (Knott's Berry Farm), the state of California has requested that two roller coasters be shut down. Those two coasters are Knott's Berry Farm's Xcelerator and Six Flags Magic Mountain's Superman: the Escape.
A spokesman for the state said that they have requested that these two roller coasters be shut down until proper modifications can be made to the restraint system. Both parks have already said that they will comply with the state's request.
The three Superman: Ride of Steel roller coasters just recently reopened after modifications were made to their restraint systems as well.
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Flamingo Land Theme Park & Zoo, Malton, North Yorkshire, England 06/01/04 - By: Carl F -
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A worker on Flamingo Land's triple looping coaster Magnum Force was struck by a train at around 1200 BST today. The 32-year-old man was airlifted to the hospital following the accident and was only described as "badly injured".
No reason for the operator being in an area restricted to experienced mechanics was released at this time. The man was treated on site and then airlifted to the James Cook Hospital. An investigation has already begun.
The Magnum Force roller coaster opened at Flamingo Land in 2000 after being purchased from Sunway Lagoon in Malaysia. The coaster is around 3,444 feet in length, is 111 feet tall, hits speeds of up to 53 miles per hour, and gives riders around 4.7 G's while going through 3 vertical loops.
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Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY, USA 06/01/04 - By: Carl F -
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A train on the Coney Island Cyclone was brought to a hault on the top of the second hill on Sunday, May 30th. Apparently, a woman on the train that went through on the previous cycle lost her wig during the ride. That wig then got lodged in the wheels of the next train and ground it to a dead stop.
The manager of the Cyclone said that this usually happens when someone looses a purse or sweater during the ride. Needless to say, people were surprised when they found out what caused the stop. The train stalled around 75 feet high on the second hill and was stuck for about a half hour. Once firefighters and emergency workers found the problem, they pushed the train off so it could finish the course.
The wig has yet to be claimed.
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