Owners of the Astroland Amusement Park on Coney Island have announced that Sunday, September 7th will be the final day of operation for the park. The 46 year old park has been threatened ever since Thor Equities bought the property.
Co-owner Carol Albert stated, “Coney Island’s future as a tourism and amusement destination is clearly in peril. Thor Equities, which now owns most of Coney Island, came onto the development scene showing beautiful renderings of this great 21st Century amusement park they were promising to build. All indications, however, are that their real priority is retail and high-end housing.”
This basically sums it up. A big developer moves in, says how great the property is and how they want to help keep history alive…and then demolish it. Thankfully the Cyclone rollercoaster is protected as a national landmark.
Coney Island’s Astroland will join the long list of closed down seaside parks come Sunday. September 7th, 2008 will mark the end of an era.
SeaWorld announced back in May that a B&M Flying Coaster was on its way to Orlando for 2009. Manta will be the first flying coaster in the state of Florida and will feature a 113 foot drop, top speeds of 56 miles per hour, and four inversions.
SeaWorld has released several photos of the track being fabricated in Ohio. You can view some of the photos at the Orlando Sentinel Blog.
Theme Park Village is partnering with WDW For Grownups to bring readers planning tips for a Walt Disney World trip! Over the next four weeks there will be tips for travel planning, theme parks, restaurants, shopping, and resort hotels.
The trick to a fantastic Disney World vacation is careful planning. We’ve included in this article the basics on planning along with a few great tips and resources. For even more info, planning tools, and resources, visit www.wdwforgrownups.com’s Planning Pages
When To Go?
Weather, crowds, seasonal events, and park hours vary widely depending on what part of the year you’ll be visiting Walt Disney World. For example, Orlando’s weather is warm year-round, but is blistering and humid from June-September, while crowds and park hours follow a vacation/holiday pattern (i.e., if there's a school break or holiday, parks will be crowded, but open longer hours). For a trip with temperate weather (80's F), relatively low crowds, average park hours, and access to a seasonal event, we suggest booking in early May or October.
Where To Stay?
The most important decision about where to hang your hat is whether you do so “on-site” (i.e., at a hotel owned by Walt Disney World) or “off-site.” On-site = more expensive, closer to everything, access to hotel-guest-only perks such as Extra Magic Hours and Magical Express Airport Transportation, and easy access to the free Disney transportation system. Off-site = usually get much more room for your money, can be closer to other Orlando area attractions like Universal Studios and Sea World.
On-site hotels come in four price ranges: value ($82-$160+ per night), moderate ($149-$274+), deluxe ($240-$2,000+), and villas (efficiency rooms ranging from studio to 3-bedroom--$269-$2,000+). You also have the option of booking a Disney Vacation Package, which can tie flights, park tickets, hotel, and transportation together in one big price. We’ll expound upon this in a later article. You can book by phone at 407-wdisney or online at www.disneyworld.com.
Tickets And Transportation
Theme Park tickets for Disney’s four main parks and two water parks are sold through its “Magic Your Way” system. Starting with a fixed price, one-day “base” ticket, you can easily add features (e.g., more days in the park, the ability to “park hop” in the same day, a “no expiration” option for your tickets, water park visits, etc.) and pay based on the final product.
Disney ticket-holders and resort guests have access to Disney World’s free transportation system, which includes busses, monorails, and boats to and from all Disney World points. If you’d rather not deal with the types of waits you’d experience with any public transportation system, or if you’re staying off-site, consider renting a car at the airport or at the Alamo location in Walt Disney World.
Where To Eat?
Disney offers several dining options from quick service “fast” food to 5-star restaurants. With the popularity of Disney World’s 120+ restaurants for guests and locals alike, it makes sense to book reservations (called “Advanced Dining Reservations” or “ADRs”) for “table-service” meals--even if you're traveling during a slow season. You’ll soon be able to do this online, but, for now, reservations can be booked by calling 407-wdwdine. If you're booking a vacation package with Disney World, you can add on one of Disney’s Dining Plans.
Next week: Walt Disney World Park Planning!
Live Your Worst Nightmare
Written by Eric
Thursday, 04 September 2008
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood is just weeks away. The park is releasing behind-the-scenes videos of what it takes to put on HHN. This first video talks about the planning and conception of the mazes.
Halloween Haunt at California’s Great America is “beckoning brave souls” starting October 3rd. The all new Halloween event will feature five haunted mazes, four scare zones, and three Halloween shows. Mazes will include CarnEvil, Club Blood, Slaughterhouse, Corn Stalkers, and Werewolf Canyon. Great America will also be transforming their log flume into Camp GonnaGetcha.
This is certainly an event that I’m excited to visit. Having a large scale Halloween event is something that Northern California parks have always lacked.
Laying low to the ground is a Prowler, coming to Worlds of Fun in the spring of 2009. The new GCI wooden coaster will feature a low to the ground, out and back layout. Prowler is custom designed for Worlds of Fun’s varying topography.
