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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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Goliath to soar into Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Inverted coaster to arrive at the Texas theme park
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Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, Texas 09/29/07 - By: Mike Strobel -
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© Six Flags
Goliath soaring into Texas:Goliath will be finding its new home at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, after surving Hurricane Katrina at Six Flags New Orleans. |
Down south around the city of San Antonio, Texas, Six Flags has announced that it's Fiesta Texas property shall receive another coaster, making it the park's eighth coaster. The new coaster is dubbed Goliath and shall be the forth track in a Six Flags park with that name. Though new to the area, the ride has quite a history behind it.
The ride is one of Bolliger and Mabillard's famous coasters, Batman: The Ride clones, sporting heights of 100 ft, five inversions, and speeds of 50 miles per hour. This particular coaster first hauled guests for Thrill Valley in Japan. Six Flags then purchased the coaster for the newest park in the chain in New Orleans. It became, however, quite clear after hurricane Katrina that the park was on the verge of an uncertain future. Now, the ride is to be erected at the San Antonio park, Fiesta Texas.
Notable changes to the ride other than location include a repaint to blue track with yellow supports and trains sporting orange, blue and yellow. Thus far, the track and trains are in storage at the Texas facility and preparations will be made soon to construct it.
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Six Flags St. Louis takes a ride with Evel Knievel
New Evel Knievel themed wooden coaster to debut in 2008
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© Six Flags St. Louis
Challenge Evel Knievel: Riders must be 48 inches or taller to be able to ride Six Flags St. Louis’ newest wooden roller coaster. |
The legendary daredevil Evel Knievel will take center stage at Six Flags St. Louis next summer. However, not as a daredevil attempting to perform yet another stunt, but as the theme around the park’s latest roller coaster, Evel Knievel.
Evel Knievel will be the park’s third wooden roller coaster, but will differ from the park’s other roller coasters, as it’s a compact twister style wooden roller coaster. This new $7 million wooden roller coaster was designed and will be constructed by Great Coasters International, one of the leading wooden roller coaster manufacturers in the industry today.
"The unpredictability and high energy of this coaster make it the perfect way to pay tribute to the king of adrenaline, Evel Knievel," said David Roemer, President of Six Flags St. Louis.
Evel Knievel will have a total track footage of 2700 feet, and will stand 82 feet tall. The ride begins with an 80-foot long first drop and then bottoms out into a 90-degree angle left turn. Guests willing to challenge Evel Knievel will face a 55-foot double-dip drop, a 40-foot fan turn, sixteen camelback hills, and a number of banked curves.
© Six Flags St. Louis
Another GCI wooden creation: Standing 82-feet tall, Evel Knievel will provide a visual for passing motorists on I-44 to see what Evel Knievel has to offer. |
The ride’s layout features a total of fourteen crossovers and Great Coasters International’s very own Millennium Flyer trains will careen through the compact design at a top speed of 50 mph. These Millennium Flyer trains are specifically designed to handle the ride’s high-banked curves while still providing smooth ride. Evel Knievel will run two of Great Coasters International’s 24-passenger Millennium Flyer trains.
Evel Knievel was born Butte, Montana in the year 1938, and his career as daredevil officially began in 1965. During his 12 years career, Knievel earned the title as America's Legendary Daredevil because of his unbelievable and spectacular stunts. Evil Knievel was news worthy across the world in both his successful jumps and his terrifying crashes.
The Evel Knievel wooden roller coaster is scheduled to debut mid-summer of the 2008 season, and will be located in the front of the park near the Log Flume and the Moon Antique Cars. This is the forth-consecutive year that Six Flags St. Louis has made a capital investment add something new to the park’s lineup of attractions.
Earlier this year, Tony Hawk’s Big Spin spinning roller coaster debuted, and in 2006, the park introduced a new children’s area titled Bugs Bunny National Park along with Superman Tower of Power, a free-fall drop ride. Finally, back in 2005, the Tornado water slide premiered at Six Flags St. Louis’ Hurricane Harbor water park.
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Hersheypark turns up the heat for the 2008 season
Fahrenheit will debut as Hersheypark’s 11th roller coaster
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© Hersheypark
One hot roller coaster: Along with Fahrenheit's six inversions, the ride also features two airtime hills and a high-speed, banked curve before it hits the brakes. |
Hersheypark decided in 2007 it was time to cool things off on a hot summer day, and they did that by spending $21 million to create The Boardwalk water park. However, they feel it’s time to heat things up once again and the addition of Fahrenheit will do just that.
Hersheypark’s 11th roller coaster, Fahrenheit, will be known as one of the most unique in the amusement park industry to date. Fahrenheit will make its debut in May of 2008 at a cost of $12.1 million.
Fahrenheit will feature 121-foot tall lift hill that propels the three car, 12-passenger trains up to the sky at a 90-degree angle. Riders will then experience the steepest first drop in the US, which is angled beyond vertical at 97-degrees.
Riders will hit a top speed of 58 mph at the bottom of the first drop before flying into an element yet to be used on a roller coaster in the United States. This element is known as the 107-foot inverted loop, and then the train immediately barrels into inverted corkscrew roll. In all, riders will challenge six inversions, which include the two just mentioned, a cobra roll, an airborne inverted S roll, and a second inverted corkscrew roll.
© Hersheypark
Hersheypark's 11th roller coaster: Fahrenheit has been one of the most highly anticipated rides since the park hinted the addition of a new roller coaster earlier this year. |
Fahrenheit’s trains will travel 2700 feet of track and will feature stadium seating. This elevates riders who sit in the cars behind the front row and allow them to view the 97-degree first drop that lies before them. Three 12-passenger trains will be used on Fahrenheit to give it a capacity of 850 riders per hour.
Fahrenheit was designed and will be built by Intamin AG, also known as IntaRide LLC. Hersheypark worked with Intamin AG in 2004 to create the park’s 10th roller coaster, the ever-popular Storm Runner. Fahrenheit will be constructed just alongside The Boardwalk water park at Hersheypark.
Along with Fahrenheit, Hersheypark will open a second ride named the Howler for its 101st season of operation. The Howler will be a spinning ride designed for families and will be located in the Pioneer Frontier section of the park.
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Six Flags announces the Dark Knight coasters
Three of the chain's parks have gone to the dark side
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Six Flags New England, Six Flags Great America, and Six Flags Great Adventure have definitely gone to the dark side with today’s announcements. They've announced The Dark Knight, a new coaster that will sure take the chills out of anyone that’s afraid of the dark.
The Dark Knights will be an enclosed wild mouse style coaster. The ride will be 1213', 2:00 ride through Gotham City. Manufactured by Mack and designed by the Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH, this ride is sure to be a hit among Six Flags guests.
The ride's theme is a trip through Gotham City, with a terrorizing twist. The Joker has just vandalized Gotham City, and you have to go through the debris. The ride consists of unexpected drops, wild turns, and darkness. The only hope of the victims is the one and only Batman.
© Six Flags
TITLE:The Dark Knights will open next year. |
However, in order to install these new attractions around the Six Flags chain, there has to be consequences. Sadly, the signature attraction Batman and Robin: The Chiller will be permanently shut down in order to make room for the new ride. Also, Batman: The Dark Knight at Six Flags New England, has been renamed Batman: The Ride so the Dark Knight name can be for the new coaster.
Nether less, the rides, which will cost $22.5 Million in total, will not disappoint. The Dark Knight coasters are each scheduled to open in April and May 2008.
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Wild Adventures and Cypress Gardens find new owners
Adventure Parks Group officially sells its two theme parks
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© Cypress Gardens Adventure Park
One wild ride: Cypress Gardens will try to succeed with a new owner while Wild Adventures will get fresh start with the Herschend Family Entertainment. |
The Adventure Parks Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month and with that came the announcement that the organization planned to sell both of its major amusement park based properties. Yesterday at the Chapter 11 bankruptcy hearing, the purchase of both Wild Adventures and Cypress Gardens Adventure Park became official.
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park, Florida’s oldest amusement park, has changed ownership once again and will continue to operate as an amusement park. Land South Holdings of Mulberry, Florida bought the historical amusement park for $16.8 million.
Land South Holdings bid held up after William Beach of Miami, Florida pulled out of the auction at the last minute. The 68-year old William Beach, a former skier at Cypress Gardens, considered making a bid to purchase the park, but decided not to because he thinks the company would have had trouble making money.
Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia, Cypress Gardens’ sister amusement park, was purchased by Herschend Family Entertainment of Missouri at a cost of $34.5 million. Herschend Family Entertainment owns a number of already successful amusement parks and various family attractions including Silver Dollar City in Missouri and Dollywood in Tennessee.
Adventure Parks Group LLC, run by Kent Buescher, is approximately $135 million in debt, which led to the sale of Wild Adventures and Cypress Gardens. With help from the state of Florida and Polk County, the Adventure Parks Group purchased Cypress Gardens Adventure Park in 2004 and invested money into remodeling the amusement park into completely different experience.
Wild Adventures isn’t just an amusement park, but the property also includes a zoo and water park. Cypress Gardens Adventure Park features six roller coasters, including the recently relocated Starliner wooden roller coaster, from the Miracle Strip Amusement Park in Panama City Beach, Florida. The park is also home to a water park and series of landscaped gardens.
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Tony Hawk set to take flight at Six Flags Over Texas
Tony Hawk’s Big Spin spinning coaster to premier in 2008
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© Six Flags
Spinning once again: For the third time in two years, a Tony Hawk themed Gerstlauer spinning coaster named Tony Hawk's Big Spin will open at a Six Flags park. |
Back in 2006, the world famous skateboarder Tony Hawk joined with Six Flags to create Hawk’s Boom Boom Huck Jam tour, which was performed at various Six Flags parks across the country. Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington was one of the parks included in the tour, and just so happens that it wouldn’t be the last time Tony Hawk would make his mark at the original Six Flags amusement park.
Six Flags Over Texas has plans to build their latest roller coaster next year, which will be known as Tony Hawk’s Big Spin. The park’s 13th roller coaster will replace the 25-year old Wildcatter thrill ride in the Boomtown section of the park.
Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio both unveiled a Tony Hawk themed spinning coaster earlier this year. Both named Tony Hawk’s Big Spin and were both manufactured by Gerstlauer of Germany. Six Flags Over Texas’s version of Tony Hawk’s Big Spin will be very similar to these two spinning coasters, will have a height of 52.5 feet, and a track length of 1,351 feet.
Riders will sit facing each other in four person skateboard-themed cars as they spin freely as if they were Tony Hawk jumping and spinning through a series of acrobatics. Six Flags Over Texas will spend $6.5 million to install there own take on a roller coaster designed to appeal to all ages.
The park has yet to file any building permits with the city to build their newest roller coaster therefore construction hasn’t begun yet. However, park officials have met with city staff to discuss the construction process involved in building Tony Hawk’s Big Spin.
Six Flags as a company plans to make a number of announcements including official details on Tony Hawk’s Big Spin spinning coaster later this week on Thursday, September 27. This will be the first major roller coaster addition at Six Flags Over Texas since 2001 when the park opened its largest roller coaster, Titan.
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Kima Bay to make a splash at Holiday World next summer
Interactive water play area to become the park's latest addition
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Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, IN, USA 09/22/07 - By: Matthew Grauberger -
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© Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari
Go Bananas!: Kima Bay is the latest addition to Splashin' Safari water park, which has undergone a drastic expansion in recent years. |
Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana will invest $6 million in additions this year, and topping that list is a new water park attraction that is designed to make its visitors go bananas.
This new interactive water play structure coming to Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari will be known as Kima Bay. Standing four stories tall, the monkey-themed Kima Bay structure will feature more than 125 water jets, seven water slides, and a 1,200 gallon bucket that continually fills and then tips over, soaking guests with water.
Kima Bay will costs $1.7 million, and will be the single most expansive of the parks’ $6 million worth of additions for the 2008 season. Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari’s president, Will Koch, says he still making decisions concerning additional news attractions and infrastructure upgrades. When these decisions are officially made later this fall, they will be announced on the park’s website and blog.
"Kima is the Swahili word for monkey," says, Will Koch. "We think children will especially enjoy the fun monkey theming, nearly as much as all the climbing, splashing and sliding in store for them at Kima Bay."
Koch also mentioned that Kima Bay will add needed capacity, which is a major priority considering this years attendance will once again exceed one-million guests. The park also thinks this year’s addition will result in the hiring of an additional 50 seasonal employees for the 2008 season.
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The ride has come to an end at Geauga Lake
Rides will close but Wildwater Kingdom will stay in operation
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© Cedar Fair Entertainment
The roller coaster finally ends: Geauga Lake becomes the latest amusement park to become part of history joining parks like Six Flags Astroworld and the Myrtle Beach Pavilion. |
After over 100 years of operation, Geauga Lake’s run as an amusement park has finally come to end. It was announced today by Cedar Fair that the rides section of Geauga Lake will close for good. However, the park’s Wildwater Kingdom water park, which opened in 2005, will continue to operate in years to come.
“The market demand simply isn’t there to support the park in its current structure,” Cedar Fair spokeswoman Stacy Frole said. She said Wildwater Kingdom, the $25 million water park Cedar Fair built on the south side of the lake, “has really been the most popular attraction at Geauga Lake. We believe that’s where the property is going to succeed — as a water park.”
Geauga Lake has been recognized as an amusement park rich in tradition and history. The park opened as a picnic grove in 1887, and the property became as amusement park in 1889.
The park has changed ownership several times. In 1969, Funtime Inc. bought the amusement park and had an impressive run of successful seasons while running the park. Premier Parks, Inc. then purchased the park in 1995, but when Six Flags purchased Premier Parks, Inc. in 1998, the park was renamed Six Flags Ohio the next season.
© Clint Novak
Swirling rumors arise: Coaster enthuiests are making there predictions about which of the park's rides will find a new home in the years to come. |
As a Six Flags park, the property continued to grow when in 2001, Six Flags purchased the nearby SeaWorld Cleveland at a cost of $110 million. The park was then renamed Six Flags Worlds of Adventure as it became a marine life, thrill, and water park. Then finally in 2004, the park was purchased by Cedar Fair and was renamed Geauga Lake. The marine life section of the park closed and from then on, attendance began to fall.
With the rides section of the park closing, the question is what will happen to all of the rides. That question has been left unanswered as of now, but Cedar Fair did confirm that some of the park’s major rides will be relocated to other Cedar Fair parks.
Geauga Lake’s 2008 operating schedule, admission pricing, and other operating details will be released at a later date. The 119-year-old park has had an impressive run, and it’s a disappointment for coaster enthusiasts and the general public to see the park fade into history.
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Snyder and Shapiro are keeping positive
Six Flags shares drop nearly three dollars.
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© Josh Davidson
Family-oriented: Six Flags Great Adventure added a Wiggles-themed area in order to attract more families to the park. |
Over the past two years, Six Flags has tried to gain more attendance by attracting families instead of a teen crowd. However, this strategy does not seem to be working as well as planned. Six Flags is now down to a 52-week low of $3.18 a share.
Last year the price of an average share for Six Flags was $6.58. This year they have plummeted to an average of $3.65. This may seem like only a three dollar drop, but for people who have many shares, it affects them greatly. Dan Snyder, the chairman of the board for Six Flags, can prove that- Last year his 11,500,000 shares were worth $137 million and this year they are only worth $41 million.
Six Flags has added more kiddy rides, children’s sections to the park, and has advertised itself as a more family-friendly park. The park has had an attendance growth of 3%. Mark Shapiro, CEO of Six Flags, considers this an encouraging statistic and feels that aiming towards families is helping the company and the growth of attendance will keep increasing over the years.
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England is set to go vertical
New sky theme park for the city of Birmingham
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Birmingham is now going through a renovation project that will improve the city, providing education, housing, tourism and business. However, the main tourism attraction will take the city vertical.
Pettifer Estates proposed a £95 million tower that will change the Skyline of Birmingham for ever. The VerTiPlex 200, or VTP 200 will be 200 Meters tall and will be one and a half times bigger than the London Eye when completed.
The lower part of the building will just be enough for the whole project to make news. The notable venues on the low lying section of the tower include a wall made of plants, a hotel, an education center, a shopping center, and the entrance to one of the thrilling rides on the tower.
Once beyond the base, visitors will be able to take a pod up the tower to the glass viewing area. However, some of them choose to take a ride on The Giant Drop, which will go 32 stories up, giving them a short view of Birmingham before dropping them to the bottom. When the pods get on the top of the tower, guest will walk into a 360 degree viewing platform, where they will see a great view of the city. They now have a variety of choices to choose from. They can do a sky walk with a harness, a fight simulator where you can choose your own flight, a 100 meter bungee jump, or relax at the cafe, yet that’s not all. If guests want to get a near-miss view of the city, they can ride the See Saw at 129 Meters, which is similar to X-Scream at the Stratosphere Tower. Finally, if guests want to go the higher they can go, they can ride the Gyro , a 360 degree spinning tower ride that will gently take visitors up to 200 meters above ground level.
The VTP 200 is set to attract 1 Million tourists a year. It's also set to open in 2010, where Birmingham’s east side will change for ever.
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Astroland may become history in the near future
One of Coney Island's signature attractions may be closed for good
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© Astroland
The Coney Island Cyclone: The Cyclone would be the only ride to remain from Astroland. |
Astroland at Coney Island, once one of the most electric places in New York City, completed yet another season last Sunday, September 9th. Though it seemed like just a traditional day at the park, the conclusion to this season is different. Astroland, which is one of the oldest remaining parks in the Coney Island area, may never open again.
Carol and Jesse Albert, the owner of Astroland, agreed to sell property to Thor Enquires last November so that Thor could redevelop the land. However, Thor hasn't made up their mind yet on whether they want completely redevelop the property.
Therefore, the Albert’s rented the park this year for $170,000. So due to the ramifications of the possible sale, if the park wanted to remain open for the 2008 season, they'd have to pay $3 million.
"Its way beyond what we could afford." said Mrs. Albert. The Albert’s have owned Astroland since it opened in 1962 and only sold the land because they thought the park would die out due to Thor's redevelopment of the area. Now with Thor not making up their mind, Astroland seems to have been frozen in ice.
Thor announced last November that they intended to build a modern theme park resort complex where old Coney Island once was. Along with that they planned to build hotels, condos, and apartments, which could possibly destroy the traditional Coney Island experience. Deconstruction is currently underway. So far GoCart Tracks, the Zipper, and the Spider between Stillwell Avenue and 12th West Street have been removed. This is sign that Coney Island could have a very different image in the years to come.
In spite of that, Deno's Wonderwheel Amusement park was not sold and will operate next year. Also, The 80 year old Cyclone will not close due to the fact it is a New York City landmark.
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Six Flags America roller coaster leaves riders stranded
Two-Face: The Flip Side strands riders for 40 minutes
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© Devin Olson
The Flip Side: Two-Face: The Flip Side opened Six Flags America in 1999 and has had some technical issues in the past. |
During a traditional day last Sunday at Six Flags America in Maryland, a somewhat untraditional event occurred. That afternoon one of the park’s roller coasters, Two-Face: The Flip Side automatically stopped and stranded 28 riders for approximately 40 minutes.
The incident wasn’t serious, but the park currently does not know what caused the ride to automatically stop. The actual incident occurred at 4:30 PM, and riders were stranded almost 100 feet in the air.
Rescue crewmembers were notified and the ride was lowered back down to allow riders to leave. Though park officials say there were no injuries, two people requested to be taken to the hospital as a precaution.
This inverted shuttle coaster was part of a similar incident in 2003 when riders were stranded in a similar manor because a safety sensor stopped the ride from running.
Six Flags America, along with Prince George’s County officials, are conducting an investigation at this time. So far there isn’t a timetable for when Two-Face: The Flip Side will reopen.
Six Flags America is currently closed for the regular season, and will only be open for private events. However, the park will reopen October 6th for there Halloween-themed “Fright Fest”.
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BG Europe bans guests for breaking safety restraint
Two friends apparently jam safety harness on 'Griffon'
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Busch Gardens Europe, Williamsburg, VA, USA 09/09/07 - By: Ryan Blevins -
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©Steven Wright
Coaster Malfunction: Busch Gardens believes two men tampered with the Griffon harness. |
Busch Gardens is upset with two men they believe caused a roller coaster malfunction and then put a video of the incident on YouTube. The two men, named Matthew Sassone and his friend Clayton Mercurio, claim they had nothing to do with the malfunction in which the safety restraint would not release for Matthew’s seat. Director of Communications for Busch Gardens, Cindy Sarko, continues to believe the men are behind it. She states, “He poked some kind of a metal object whether it be a screwdriver or something to bend the harness to not allow that harness to open properly as it should have done.” Cindy Sarko also claims that out of the 1.5 million Griffon riders since May, this type of incident has only happened twice and both incidents involved Matthew Sassone.
Sarko says, "Our experts have concluded: Operations, maintenance engineers and safety experts with more than 30 years of experience in this business have concluded, there was a deliberate act done by these two gentlemen." Matthew’s friend Clayton Mercurio argues, "The fact it happened twice shows there's a problem with the ride. The fact it happened twice shows that they need to look into why Matthew got stuck on it two times in the same seat in the same row." In response to the incident Busch Gardens revoked their Season passes without refund, and banned them from the park, Matthew for two years, Clayton only for one.
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Valleyfair attraction shut down due to fire
'Xtreme Swing' will be closed for the week
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©Cedar Fair Entertainment
Valleyfair Fire: The fire was spotted by a telephone junction box. |
A fire within Valleyfair leaves the Xtreme Swing attraction closed for inspection.
Maintenance crews worked to put out the fire but failed to do so before bringing in help from the Shakopee Fire Department. Rachel Onken, marketing manager for the park stated that “Valleyfair maintenance workers are assessing the damage to determine what caused the fire.”
The Xtreme Swing was constructed at a cost of $6 million, and opened on May 13, 2006. The ride was created by S&S Power and is known as the larger version of the Screamin’ Swing, one of the manufacturer’s most popular attractions.
Hitting a top speed of 60 mph, the Xtreme Swing has been one of the many thrilling additions to Valleyfair in recent years.
Xtreme Swing is currently going through testing and should reopen to the public as soon as this weekend.
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