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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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F1-X delays opening to 2010
Financial difficulties cause the park to delay completion.
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F1-X, a theme park under construction in Dubai, has delayed its opening to 2010. F1-X, which is owned by Union Properties, was originally expected to open in 2009. The $460million Park was to be the first F1 themed park in the world. It is also a part of Union Properties’ MotorCity project. This comes not to long after F1-X announced that it would be delaying its opening.
© GERSTLAUER
Gerstlauer is building a Eurofighter with 2X3 tains for the park |
The reason for this park’s delayed opening had been blamed on poor credit due to financial looses. Union Properties reported a loose of 37.6 million dirhams, or 10 million US Dollars in the Fourth Quarter of 2008. Also, the bank’s liquidity has been damaged, affecting the parks themselves.
Dubai’s theme parks have been greatly affected by the current Financial Crisis. Busch Entertainment corp. recently announced that it was suspending all of its four theme park projects in Dubai. As well, Universal Studios announced that its park would continue construction despite the current economic downturn. F1-X stated that the project will continue because
Dubai is not alone in loosing parks due to the economy. Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, went bankrupt after a season due to financial difficulties. However FPI MB Entertainment LLC has saved the park by buying it for $25million. Hard Rock Park will be open for the 2009 season. However, Geauga Lake Water Park, after closing its “dry park” in 2006, will not open in 2009 due to financial difficulties.
This current economic downturn has also affected Formula One itself. The Honda F1 team went up for sale due to financial difficulty from Honda. As well, the Williams F1 team lost RBS and Levono as sponsors, leading to speculation that Williams will drop out of F1. Other companies have stated their intension to stay in F1.
F1-X was the first park to be officially sponsored by F1. Bernie Ecclestone, head of F1, signed a deal in 2005 to allow the park to be F1 themed. Work begun on the park in December 2006 and is currently 50% complete. Among the attracted being built include a Gerstlauer Eurofighter, which is currently unnamed. Other attractions being built for the park are currently unknown.
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Six Flags Fun Park Released
Collection of 40 mini games based on Six Flags
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© Wiitalk.co.uk
Six Flags Fun Park:Brash Entertainment’s theme park themed game. |
Brash Entertainment and Ubisoft have finally released Six Flags Fun Park, a game made for The Nintendo DS, Play Station 2 and Wii. It comes with 40 classic fair games adapted to fit each operating system. Games that come with Six Flags Fun Park include Skeet ball, Go fish, and Strong man. Another in game feature is the option to make your own character, which is almost standard now among Wii games.
Six Flags Fun Park is a game very similar to Carnival Games and Mario Party. It is essentially a collection of Mini games that you can unlock and play as you complete the story mode which includes playing various arcade and fair style games, rides, and of course winning stuffed animals.
© Wiimedia.ign.com
Basketball:An in game screen shot. |
Six Flags is one of the largest theme park chains in the world. As of late, Six Flags has been making many cooperate partnerships, this being one of them. Adding the Six Flags name to Six Flags Fun Park most likely boosted sales of the game and will boost attendance slightly for Six Flags. This has been the recent trend with similar partnerships.
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Hard Rock Park is Back in the Saddle Again
The sale is finally official.
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© Hard Rock Park
Under New Management: FPI MB Entertainment LLC is now officially the new owners of Hard Rock Park. |
Hard Rock Park's craziest roller coaster has been its financial situation. This time last year, everyone was looking forward to the grand opening of the best themed park since Universal Orlando built Islands of Adventure. But after only one lackluster season in operation, the much heralded park was forced to file bankruptcy.
That was back in October. The next few months were filled with speculation on the fate of Hard Rock Park. Rumors circulated naming everyone from Universal to Parc Management as possible buyers of HRP. Some even speculated that a developer might buy the park and tear it down to build condos.
But just when hope seemed lost, a offer to purchase Hard Rock Park came from out of the blue. FPI MB Entertainment LLC was created for the sole purpose of buying HRP, and it was soon discovered that two of the original founders/investors of Hard Rock Park were involved in the new company.
Thankfully for the theme park community, they could not just sit back and watch their baby die. For the incredibly low sum of $25 million, FPI MB Entertainment LLC purchased the entirety of Hard Rock Park.
It is not known at this time whether or not the new owners will be able to reach an licensing agreement with Hard Rock Cafe. The new owners have said however that they plan to have the grand re-opening of the park on Memorial Day weekend.
With the present condition of Hard Rock Park finally on solid footing, lets all hope that it enjoys a long and prosperous future. Lets rock and roll!
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Updates From Dubai
Projects react to current economic crisis
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The possibility of more F1 theme parks being built is possible, says an executive of Union Properties. The Dubai based company is currently building F1-X, the first F1-based theme park in the world. F1-X is expected to open in 2009 with one coaster, a Gertslauer Eurofighter.
"We are still at the discussion stage regarding F1-X theme parks abroad” Says Michael Jackson, a marketing officer. Jackson also has said the ongoing financial crisis has caused the business to shift plans, but all projects with F1-X and the Motorcity are to continue.
Busch Entertainment Corp. announced that the construction of its theme parks are being put “on hold”. This announcement comes as many building projects in Dubai are being put on hold or cancelled. Busch, which has two parks currently operating in the US, Busch Gardens Europe and Busch Gardens Africa, plans to build four parks in Dubai.
Universal Studios has broken ground on its new theme park. Universal Studios Dubailand is due to open as Universal Studio’s fourth park and Second in Asia. Universal Studios has intended that it will continue building this park, even with the current economic downturn. It is unknown when the park is expected to open.
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Expoland has gone into liquidation
Japanese park with infamous coaster crash is closed for good
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A park in an accident plagued by a crash has announced it has gone into liquidation. Expoland, a pioneer park in Japan’s amusement industry boom, has officially announced that it will not open again. The park initially closed after a failure in safety tests, but has officially closed due to financial difficulties.
The owners of the park initially tried to file for protection under the Japanese corporate rehabilitation law. However, the park voted on Monday for corporate liquidation and withdrew the application on Tuesday. "It was hard to find a sponsor company. Also, because of the bad economy, we decided to close the park. We couldn't regain the people's trust on safety,” said a park spokesperson
The park’s decline started with the May 2007 accident of the TOGO Stand up Fujin Rajin II. In that accident, Yoshino Kogawara, a 19 year old, died and 19 people were injured when the real assembly fell off and hit the walkway rail adjacent to the coaster. Afterwards, the park closed and parks all around Japan checked coasters for safety reasons. After reopening in December 2007, the park closed after failing a safety test and was trying to reopen since.
Expoland opened in 1970. It had several notable rides including Orochi, a clone of the Cedar Point ride Raptor and Daidarasaurus, currently the world’s longest roller coaster. Expoland’s fate is unknown, but the Osaka Government has stated they would like for Paramount Parks to buy out the park. This is unlikely, as Paramount Parks sold all its parks in 2006 to Cedar Fair.
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Mr. Six Returns to Advertisements
Six Flags Mascot To Come Out Of Retirement
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© SIX FLAGS
MR. SIX:Six Flags mascot. |
After quite some time in retirement from advertising for Six Flags, Mr. Six, Six Flags’ former mascot has returned. His theme music and picture has been featured in recent commercials online and on the television.
After a survey of costumers comparing new and old six flags advertisements the company decided to bring back Mr. Six because of his popularity. This is hoped to boost attendance to the parks.
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Camelot Goes Into Recievership
British park may be forced to close
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Camelot Theme Park fans may have to find another park to go to as the Lancashire theme park goes into receivership. Camelot is a troubled theme park and hotel in Charnock Richard. This comes as no surprised as managers have admitted to financial troubles in the recent past. The receivers predict they will find a buyer for the hotel, but not the park.
Camelot has had an eventful history. In 2000, the Tower of Terror, a Schwarzkopf Silverarrow, caught fire while being dismantled, destroying the castle theme and scorching some of the track. In 2006, a prediction was made by the Chief Executive saying the park "would not exist much past the next seven to 10 years". At the same time, it was rumored that a village would take the place of the park.
As for now, the park is still scheduled to open for 2009 on April 4th.Camelot is currently home to coasters such as Whirlwind, a Maurer Sohne Xtended SC 2000 and Knightmare, a Schwarzkopf-Zierer with a storied history. It was originally BMRX at Kobe Portopialand. However, when that park closed, Camelot relocated it across Eurasia and reopened it in July 2007. If the park does close, it is unknown what will happened to the rides.
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