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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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Six Flags New England to prevent '08 incident repeat
Construction concerns to be taken up with Massachusetts
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Six Flags New England, Agawam, Massachusetts 07/28/08 - By: Mike Strobel -
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© Josh Davidson
State Vs Six Flags:Though the original Dark Knight, now Batman: The Ride, stands tall, the new indoor Dark Knight's fate is still in question as Massachusettes and Six Flags try to prevent the occurances of 2008. |
It was apparent at the beginning of the 2008 season that things between Six Flags New England and the town of Agawam, Massachusettes had issues. Many spawned from lack of paperwork and unwillingness to follow through. However, things may go easier between the two after the state gets involved.
As proposed late in 2007, one of the parks to recieve the themed indoor wild mouse, The Dark Knight, which have been built at Six Flags Great Adventure and Great America, would have cost the park $7.5 million in exchange for bringing an estimated $280,000 in taxes for Massachusettes. The missed opportunity has people on both sides of this angry as well as the general public.
Also in question is the mediocroty of which the two existing Dark Knight rides have attained. Both have been heavily scrutinized as not being the thrilling attractions they were advertized to be, but Six Flags argues that's their goal, to install family based attractions and re-establish a reputation to keep families coming and attendance rising.
The Dark Knight project at the New England location was halted due to not having building permits, thus the ride could be deemed hazardous due to the lack of safety and building codes in affect. The state also claims that there were no talks with Six Flags about any of the stated problems.
After Six Flags was halted in construction, the existing structure of the soon-to-be Dark Knight ride were taken down. The park has not stated whether the ride will be discontinued or started again to open in 2009.
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Morey's Piers shows off the future
New wooden roller coaster in the planning
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Morey's Piers, Wildwood, New Jersey 07/16/08 - By: Josh Davidson -
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© Amusementpics.com
A Glimpse Ahead: The Moreys showed off design plans for a future wooden roller coaster on the piers.
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During Morey's Piers second annual Coastin' By the Ocean event, guests were greeted by a behind the scenes tour full of question and answer sessions with the Morey's family about all the latest attraction ideas coming in the near future as well as ERT and a dinner event with a luau.
The first concept mentioned is a development of a new "haunted house" attraction for the Marnier's Landing pier, which would feature a ghost ship and/or a lighthouse theme. On display, the park showed art which was using inspiration as well as a rough sketch idea of what they propose the attractions face to be.
This attraction would take over the current miniature golf course. There is no definitive plan currently for the building of this attraction or a target date, but the Morey's seemed hopeful. The Morey's even asked it's guests about ideas which could be a part of it.
More importantly was the new proposed new wooden roller coaster that is in the works. The proposed coaster will cross from Surfside Pier which is home to the Great Nor'easter to Hunt's Pier which the Morey's bought in the last few years. Their was renderings and variations all around the room of ideas.
The station would be planned to be made next to the Great Nor'easter and the lift would extend to the boardwalk. There the drop would go underneath the piers up over the beach onto Hunt's Pier. If this coaster is built, the Skyscraper would be either moved or deleted from the park's list of attractions.
But the Skyscrapper attraction as well as all other "up-charge attractions" are in the process of possibly being moved to the third pier which holds the Great White.
Currently no date of the coaster of both it's construction, as well its manufacturer has been finalized at this time, but the ride is planned to be 3,150 ft long, and being 85ft with a 100ft drop. It will be 55mph, and host steel columns to preserve the views onto the pier from the North, while stile retaining the look of a wooden roller coaster.
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Man exposes himself at Carowinds waterpark
Carowinds' Boomerang Bay guests mortified by incident
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© Clint Novak
An Unpleasnt Experience: Reports say that security refused to intervene during a flashing incident at Carowinds.
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A few eye-witnessed guests at Carowinds waterpark Boomerang Bay were not pleased on what they saw during their visit.
A man was exposing himself to young girls at the water park on the Sunday afternoon, but that is not where this outrage ends. The witnesses say security refused to do anything during this incident, so guests took this matter into their own hands.
A guest named Todd Rikard was sitting near a swimming area with his fiance and two children enjoying their day. He saw a man holding his daughter between his legs while staring at 3 other young girls with no clothing at all. When Rikard and others told the security, they said that they refused to make the man leave. Rikard says his fiance called 911 and was told to file a report with security.
After almost two hours of guests complaining of security to do something, Rikard noticed the man walking out the front gate. When he tried to stop the man, he was pushed. Rikard responded with a right hook and knocked the man out. That's when the York Country Sheriff's deputies arrived.
Carowinds has yet to respond to this incident. A York Country Sheriff's captain mentioned that an investigation will begin shortly.
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Worker struck by roller coaster in New Jersey
Man currently on life support
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Casino Pier, Seaside Heights, NJ, USA 07/16/08 - By: Josh Davidson -
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© Josh Davidson
Tragedy at the Pier: New Jersey is known for its amusements on the boardwalk like the one involved in the accident.
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A Bulgarian man working at the Casino Pier in New Jersey was struck by the Star Jet Roller coaster while trying to obtain a child hat in a restricted area. The worker is being kept alive currently by life support at a local hospital.
This incident is frightening similar to what happened at Batman: the Ride at Six Flags over Georgia only a week before when a guest there was in a restricted area underneath the ride and was struck and decapitated.
Details of this accident remain sketchy and police have only referred all inquires to the Casino Pier spokeswoman.
"He was trying to something nice for the child," said Marilou Halvorsen, the spokeswoman for the Casino Pier. Halvorsen said it appeared that Stanislav Dragnex was walking underneath or alongside the roller coaster tracks when one of the cars struck him in the head, injuring him.
The ride has remained closed since the incident on Monday, pending the completion of a investigation by the police and the state Department of Community Affairs.
According to the park, the ride was last inspected on March 8th and was found to work properly. Inspectors will try to determine whether the ride malfunctioned Sunday or if it was the workers fault. Casino Pier is one of two amusement ride areas on the Seaside Heights boardwalk in New Jersey.
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InBev buys Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion
Busch parks' fate uncertain as InBev takes over
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Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc Headquarters, St Louis, Missouri 07/14/08 - By: Mike Strobel -
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© Busch Gardens
On Track for Now: While the future of Busch Entertainment is unknown, the parks will continue the operate under the InBev deal. |
It seems that the Busch parks may find new owners after a recent occurrence. It's been on the table for more than a month and seemed inevitable.
After a near month long endeavor to buy one of the biggest breweries in the world, Belgium based InBev has completed the take-over of Anheuser-Busch; at the cost of $52 billion. The deal comes after many offers that the Missouri based company refused.
Among the many changes, surprisingly, the Busch parks were not mentioned in the overall agreement. At the moment, their future is up in the air. Many speculate that the parks' futures lie in the hands of potential buyers Six Flags or Cedar Fair. A number of parks in the Dubai region will also be affected as Busch had bids to build there as well. The sale has left InBev in over $7 billion in debt, and to pay it off, some non-essential assets may be sold, including the parks.
As a chance to build up advertising for their company, Anheuser-Busch began by building amusement parks by their plants across the United States. Many institutes involving endangered animal programs and energy conservation became the staple of Busch operations. Various water parks and the Sea World chain also arose from Busch's ingenuity.
Also added was the possibility of the headquarters moving to Orlando. Those who've operated Busch through the years are sticking around as InBev finds it's place in the American trading market. No layoffs or plant closures are to occur. The end result of all of this; the biggest beer company commanding a quarter of the global market.
Anheuser-Busch currently employs 600 people in it's main St. Louis plant as well as thousands more at a total of 12 other plants as well as the parks. In total, 48.5 of beer sales will be attributed to InBev / Anheuser-Busch.
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Two men injured at Silverstone fun-fair
One injured seriously when he fell off ride
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Two men fell from a ride Sunday at a funfair in Silverstone, UK, held for the British Grand Prix. One suffered minor injuries while the other was taken to the hospital in a serious state.
One man was knocked unconscious until paramedics arrived on the scene. He suffered serious yet not life-threatening head injuries. He is reported conscious and in stable condition, while the other man walked away from the ride with only minor injuries.
The scene, across the road from the racing circuit, has been secured while investigations into the incident are conducted. The British Health and Safety Executive have started investigations.
A spokesman for the British Health and Safety Executive said the two men were thrown from the ride. He refused to give local press any more details.
Police said that the incident would have no affect on the race.
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20 riders stuck upside-down on 'King Kahuna'
Kennywood ride back up and running now
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Kennywood, West Mifflin, PA 07/07/08 - By: John Cooke -
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© KDKA News
Testing: Park officials filled mannequins with water in order to test the ride. |
About twenty riders were stuck upside-down for around ten minutes on Saturday, as one of the ride operators on King Kahuna at Kennywood Park attempted to make an emergency stop.
The gondola-type ride was meant to come to rest at the bottom of the ride with its riders right-side-up, but instead the ride stopped at the top with the riders upside-down, dangling sixty feet in the air. Engineers had to release air from the tanks in order to bring the ride to its resting position.
"We don't know why it happened. It's never happened before, in all the years we've had it -- so, it's a little tough to figure out what happened," said Kennywood spokesperson Mary Lou Rosemeyer to a local T.V. news station.
Investigations went underway and the problem was found.
A speck of dirt on the ride’s braking system caused it to malfunction. Mary Lou Rosemeyer says it was, “Probably about the size of a grain of sand."
Park officials spent Sunday trying to duplicate the event. They used water-filled mannequins filled with differing amounts of water to simulate differing body weights. It took them all day to find the grain of sand.
Officials say that nobody was seriously injured in the event.
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Four injured on 'Cobra' in Denmark
Coaster is in its first operating season
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Tivoli, Aarhus, Denmark 07/07/08 - By: John Cooke -
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© Tivoli Gardens
Injuries at Tivoli: Four suffered fractures and injuries after a car separated from the track on Cobra. |
Late Friday afternoon, four were injured on the Cobra coaster at the Tivoli fairground.
The injuries occurred when the lead car on one of the trains running on the inverted coaster's track became disconnected from the others and the track itself, then fell to the ground.
The two men and two women were in their early twenties, and were “…injured, but not seriously,” according to park spokesman Henrik Olesen in a local newspaper. “There are some investigations and experts working at the moment on the attraction.”
Cobra is 437 yards long and 67 feet high and reaches speeds of 40 m.p.h. The ride is in its first season at Tivoli, and the first coaster ever attempted by the company Ride Tek.
The four injured are still at the hospital. They suffered bruises and fractures. No further details are available on their condition.
It is unknown if the ride will reopen or when.
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Kings Island begins teasing coaster fans
2009 signs revealed on Independence Day
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© Kristine Boyce and Lee Sandy
Independence-Day Hints: Kings Island posted these signs yesterday for its Fourth-of-July crowds. |
Heavy equipment shifts dirt throughout a long swath in the Ohio backwoods.
To your average theme park guest, there's nothing out of the ordinary about this clearing. To seasoned fans of Kings Island, however, they know it's something special.
The last time a construction site this massive ate acres of the park's property, it transformed into Son of Beast, the tallest, fastest wooden coaster in the world. Before that, it became Beast, the longest roller coaster on earth from 1979 to 1991.
Even as the 2008 season reaches its height at one of the world's largest, highest-attended theme parks, 2009 is already taking precedence in the minds of thrill-seekers. Especially ever since yesterday morning, when Kings Island treated their guests to a new surprise: their first teasers.
Kristine Boyce and boyfriend Lee Sandy visited the park for Independence Day festivities when they stumbled upon the fresh reminders of 2009's still unknown attraction: signs that had appeared overnight hinting at the extreme ride to come.
"We were going to go ride the Beast but they were closing the rides down for the fireworks," she recalled. "That's when he noticed the signs and I was like 'go take pictures.'"
In all caps, between "warning" and "the park strikes back in 2009!", Kings Island inserted the words "move slowly / do not disturb" "run for the hills" "slippery when wet" "steep incline ahead" and "ride sally ride!!!" -- signs much like those that hinted at Son of Beast nine years ago.
"A couple came up to us and asked, 'What's it gonna be?'" Boyce said, "and we told them it would be a huge new roller coaster, and one that's going to get you wet."
Earlier in the year, the park drained a scenic pond, replacing it with a concrete basin riddled with footers. The translation: a future "splashdown" finale for a steel roller coaster and the future location of its support columns.
So when's an official announcement going to reveal all of the other details on the park's fourteenth coaster?
"We still have a lot of the 2008 season left," Kings Island public relations manager Don Helbig noted. "We have a lot of events lined up, and we just want to make sure that we're really focusing on those for now."
Yet, as the 2009 season slowly approaches, thousands of eyes from around the world continue to focus on the ever-expanding construction site as it takes over more of Kings Island's 364 acres.
"There's going to be a lot more great photo opportunities [relating to the 2009 attraction] soon," Helbig said, noting that more teasers will likely appear soon.
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Hersheypark set to cool off in 2009
$16.1-mil water park expansion planned
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Hersheypark, Hershey, Pennsylvania 07/01/08 - By: Mike Strobel -
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© Josh Davidson
Cooling off again: With the new Boardwalk expansion, the water rides at Hersheypark will climb to 10. |
Following up on their red hot debut of Fahrenheit, Hersheypark has unveiled plans for 2009. The investment will cost the park $16.1 million.
Most recent visitors have noticed a sign behind Great Bear's immelman inversion saying "Something Cooler is Coming." Many have speculated as to what it would be, but finally, the park has announced what that cooler something will be.
The additions will consist of a major expansion of the Boardwalk water park area, which will now stretch all the way to under Roller Soaker and Canyon River Rapids will be removed in the process. A 378,000 wave pool, dubbed The Shore, and Intercoastal Waterway, a lazy river type ride, will replace the Canyon River Rapids.
Also new that will be exclusively for Hershey Resort guests will be 27 premium waterfront cabanas. There will be a lounge and food and beverages nearby. Two retail outlets are also planned. The overall project will cover approximately 5 acres.
Even with the newer expansions, the waterpark will continue to be included in the one day admission to Hersheypark.
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