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COASTER-net.com > Your guide to ride on the wild side > News & Releases

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!

Dollywood's Adventure Mountain Back on Track
$5 million dollar project re-started after a year delay.

Dollywood 06/30/09 - By: Ryan Shrout -

© Dollywood

Economic Woes No More: The highly interactive Adventure Mountain originally slated for 2009 will be built in 2010.

Back in August of 2008, Dollywood announced the conception of one of the largest, and most thrilling play structures ever built. Adventure Mountain would cover 2 acres and include a waterfall, ropes course, cave, and even zip lines. Construction of the attraction would cost $5 million.

But just after the groundwork started, the economy took a nose dive and construction costs soared, adding what would be another $2 million dollars to the bill. Rather than trim back on their new addition, Dollywood decided to postpone the opening until the economy grew more favorable.

2009 did see the addition of Sky-Zip, the zip line part of the plan but the ropes coarse and interactive labyrinth stayed in a state of limbo. But in 2010, that will all change.

Having weathered the economic storm, Dollywood has announced that it is ready to go on with the project as planned. When the new season opens, the Wilderness Pass area of the park will become home to world's largest interactive ropes course.

With thrills for the young and the older alike, Adventure Mountain will be sure to bring more families to the park and continue the high standard of excellence that Dollywood strives to achieve with all their rides and attractions.

Son of Beast closed again
Kings Island's hyper woodie down for the count

Kings Island, Kings Mills, Ohio 06/23/09 - By: Mike Strobel -

After a successful run since opening its new coaster, Diamondback, for the 2009 season, Kings Island has come upon the first mishap of the season.

Allegedly, on May 31, a woman reported to have gained a head injury on Son of Beast after riding it. However, the complaint wasn't filed to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which oversees amusement park operations, until June 16th. The park has since voluntarily closed the ride due to the inspections upon the woman's complaint, and the park also states that mechanical reasons called for the ride's closure. It is now known at the moment how long Son of Beast will be down for this incident.

Son of Beast is no stranger to long closures and accidents. The ride was plagued with delays when it first opened in 2000, and in 2006, a damaged piece of track in the first helix sent a train load of 27 passangers to the hospital, prompting the use of new trains and the removal of the signature loop that once had the ride claim to be the world's only looping wooden roller coaster.

While the recent closure has prompted rumors on the ride's removal, Kings Island has not revealed public intentions to perminately close the ride.

Freestyle Music Park's Attendance Lower Than Expected
Attendance Higher than Hard Rock Park

Freestyle Music Park 06/22/09 - By: Tyler Carlton -

Despite opening with a bang, Freestyle Music Park's attendance numbers are not living up to the owner's expectations. However, attendance numbers are higher than the former Hard Rock Park.

Freestyle Music Park opened on May 25, 2009 with success, but attendance has since settled down. Hard Rock Park underwent a similar situation last year, but park owners are reassuring us that Freestyle Music Park will not meet a similar fate to Hard Rock Park. Freestyle Music Park's marketing director Jon Stine has said, "We've seen a build on attendance and while it's not maybe as high as we expected, we're encouraged by the growth." He also went on to say, "We're here for the long haul. As a matter of fact, we're already working hard on our 2010 season." This shows promise that Freestyle Music park is here to stay.

Since opening, Freestyle Music Park has already faced some major challenges. Dealing with the publicity of the failure of Hard Rock Park and the problem of a bad location behind an empty mall are just a few of the roadblocks Freestyle Music Park has faced. Stine says that the park hopes to overcome these challenges by advertising heavily and doing some beautification around the park.

Although not currently meeting expectations, Stine says that attendance is on the rise. Also, the opening of Fantasy Harbour Bridge later this summer should bring more visitors to the park.

Power Outage Strikes Six Flags Over St. Louis
Several Riders Stranded On Rides

Six Flags St. Louis 06/22/09 - By: Tyler Carlton -

On June 17th Six Flags St. Louis lost power to the park at around 9:00 PM. Although the power outage occurred around closing time for the park, several riders were capturing their last ride of the day. These riders became trapped on the rides after the power went out.

Employees at the park were forced to manually release riders from the rides and escort them out of the park. The most difficult ride to release riders from was the Colossus Ferris Wheel. Since there was no power to turn the wheel, the wheel had to be manually cranked to get riders safely to the ground. The last passengers were escorted off the Colossus Ferris Wheel at around 10:15PM, an hour and fifteen minutes after the park lost power.

The loss of power was not a safety issue due to the safety devices implemented on thrill rides. The brakes used on these rides must have power to allow trains to pass through them. In the event of a power outage these brakes close and do not allow trains to pass through. This ensures that no trains will collide and all riders can be safely escorted off the rides. Also, the anti-rollback devices used on the lifts make sure that a train will not roll backwards down the lift hill in the event of power loss or a lift chain malfunction.

Power was restored to the park around midnight.

Mysterious Black Ring Spotted Above Kings Dominion
Park Claims it is Smoke From Volcano: The Blast Coaster

Kings Dominion 06/18/09 - By: Tyler Carlton -

© Devin Olson

Possible UFO?:Kings Dominion claims the mysterious black ring was caused by fire from Volcano: The Blast Coaster.

On June 17th, guests visiting Kings Dominion in Virginia were treated to a surprise in the sky. Guests looked towards the sky to see a mysterious black ring floating in the sky. Many guests thought they saw a UFO or some sort of alien contraption, but Kings Dominion claims the ring was caused by smoke from the fire on the ride Volcano: The Blast Coaster.

Volcano: The Blast Coaster shoots a blast of fire out the top of its volcano structure several times throughout the day. This fire also releases smoke (which forms a ring as seen in the picture on the right) that may gather in the clouds and stay together in the absence of high winds. Given the right situation, this could potentially cause the black ring spotted by park guests.

A witness, Denna Smith, doesn't believe the park's claim that it was smoke. When interviewed by a local news station she said, "Smoke usually looks smoky, cloudy ... this was a perfect circle. This thing was lined up so tight like it was a cut in the middle of the sky."

Cameron Pack, an expert on UFO's said, "I'm thinking it that it might be what Kings Dominion said it was." However, a similar looking ring was spotted in the 1950's at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Because of this sighting in the 1950's, investigators are taking a close look at the ring spotted at Kings Dominion.

Six Flags Declares Bankruptcy
Will Not Effect Daily Operations

Six Flags 06/14/09 - By: Tyler Carlton -

Six Flags, owners of 20 theme parks across the United States have declared chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company declared bankruptcy in an attempt to get rid of their large amounts of debt.

Although Six Flags posted record revenue and served over 25 million guests in 2008, the company had $1.8 million worth of debt. This debt accumulated over time with the addition of new rides and the acquisition of new parks into the chain. Six Flags was forced to declare bankruptcy in order to get out of their massive debt.

Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro has stated that filing for bankruptcy will not effect the day to day operation of parks throughout the chain. This means that you will still be able to ride your favorite rides at your local Six Flags the same way you have in the past.

Six Flags took measures to relieve themselves of debt in the past, but none were successful. Out of court deals with creditors have been attempted, but they did not work out. Other measures taken by Six Flags to relieve debt have been to restyle and update old rides instead of building new ones. Examples of this are Six Flags Magic Mountain's X2(formerly X), Six Flags Great Adventure's Bizarro(formerly Medusa), and Six Flags New England's Bizzaro(formerly Superman - Ride of Steel). However, Six Flags has not stopped building brand new rides in their parks, as Six Flags Magic Mountain's Terminator Salvation: The Coaster represents.

Lincoln Park Comet Collapses
Section of Abandoned Ride Falls

Lincoln Park 06/10/09 - By: Tyler Carlton -

The back section of the Comet at Lincoln Park in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts has recently collapsed. Lincoln Park and the Comet are both currently abandoned, so no injuries were sustained from the collapse.

Lincoln Park closed in 1987 due to financial issues and questions about the park's safety after a fatal incident on the Comet in 1986. The Comet closed with the park and has been standing but not operating ever since.

The lift hill of the Comet collapsed in 2005 during a heavy snow storm. No effort has been made to demolish the ride and the ride has been left to rot and collapse on its own.

Little Amerricka in Marshall, Wisconsin is rumored to have purchased Comet's National Amusement Device Company trains. Little Amerricka is rumored to have plans to build a copy of the Comet using these trains. However, this would be a huge project and there is currently no timetable for this project.

The land that Lincoln Park and the Comet now sits on is being considered for use in a housing project. However, dedicated enthusiasts are making efforts to save the land for use as a picnic area and park and to serve as a historical monument.

Louisville Zoo's Train Derails
Many injured in train derailment

Louisville Zoo, Louisville, KY 06/03/09 - By: Tyler Mains -

Monday night at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky, 30 people aboard a normal Chance Rides train were all injured as the train derailed from the tracks. It's released that 30 people were aboard and approximately 17 children. One man and two children are still hospitalized from the accident. They are still unsure of what has caused this problem.

It is said that each train car weighs at about 2,700 pounds. Part of the injuries occurred when the trained toppled onto people and other people were flung out of the cars. The train reaches the speed of about 12 M.P.H. and when the accident happened, it was at that speed. The incident occurred over by the Gorilla Forest exhibit.

Workers have also including it could have been from brake failure. Out of the 30 people onboard, 18 were sent to the hospital. Most of the smaller injuries were treated at the accident. This all was the cause of a locomotive derailed from the track.

More has yet to be released. It's still a big possibility of failed brakes. It also could've been from something else not even regarding the brakes. The zoo hasn't had any previous accidents up until now. They still unsure what to do next about the train.

Supports Arrive At Kings Dominion
Suggests Construction for 2010 Season

Kings Dominion 06/02/09 - By: Tyler Carlton -

Supports have recently been spotted being unloaded at Kings Dominion. Not much is known about this potential ride.

There is currently a cleared section of land near Flight of Fear, Rebel Yell and Anoconda, and that is currently the spot where this new ride is believed to go. The area of the clearing is said to be over three acres, which is slightly larger than the area covered by Raptor at Cedar Point.

The supports pictured appear to be very square shaped, which is unusual from most coaster designs. However, these supports bear a striking resemblance to the supports on the newly constructed iSpeed at Mirabilandia in Italy. However, no conclusions can be made until track arrives on site.

Kings Dominion's most recent additions are Dominator, relocated from the closed Geauga Lake park in 2008, and the Back Lot Stunt Coaster in 2006. Other recent park activities by Kings Dominion include the removal of HyperSonic XLC in 2007.

Recently, the Cedar Fair chain has been busy with the former Paramount owned parks. Behemoth, a B&M hyper coaster was added to Canada's Wonderland for 2008. Also, Diamondback, another B&M hyper coaster, was added to Kings Island for the 2009 season. These supports at Kings Dominion suggest that Cedar Fair will continue the trend of adding coasters to the former Paramount owned parks.

Kings Dominion currently features 13 roller coasters. This coaster would push Kings Dominion's coaster count to 14, cementing its reputation as a major amusement park.

No information about the potential new attraction for 2010 has been released by Kings Dominion. We will keep you updated on any news surrounding this ride including track arriving on site and any information released by Kings Dominion.