Universal City, California  and Orlando, Florida– Consistent with a company-wide initiative, creative teams at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando have employed a variety of technological innovations in the design and construction of “The Simpsons Ride” --opening at both parks in May 2008 -- and are ushering in a new era of environmentally conscious theme park ride construction.

"The Simpsons Ride” is a new mega-attraction based on the blockbuster movie and TV series.

 Dramatic savings in energy consumption will be achieved through the use of new lighting technologies, new technologies in electric motor drives and through cutting-edge software designed to control hydraulic systems for maximum efficiency.

Read more here.

Feeling especially green? Check out News Plus Notes article on how to be green on your next amusement park visit. 

New week, new topic. The Coaster Critic was up with this week: Steel Coasters vs. Wooden Coasters. However, there is a twist, what if you could only ride one type?

Over the past several years, I’ve slowly drifted into the wooden coaster camp. The out of control feeling and unique designs are what I love about coasters. My new favorite coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is the wooden coaster Roar, not the B&M floorless coaster Medusa!

But what if I had to choose, only wooden coasters or only steel coasters? It’s tough, but I’d have to say steel. I know I’m a sell out to the gimmicky world of steel coasters. However, it’s simple really, it’s all about comfort. You can ride steel coasters over and over again, one right after another. Wooden coasters? Not so much. After being beaten to a pulp, a re-ride isn’t normally in order. Sure, I love wooden coasters, but the re-rideability (neat little phrase there) isn’t there.

If it came down to a park that only had wooden coasters and a park that only had steel, I’d have to go with the steel monstrosities.

Responses: News Plus Notes | A Walk In The Park Blog | Coasterdom

California’s Great America has announced that they are auctioning off seats for the first ride on FireFall, the park’s new topspin flat ride. The auction, which closes April 22 at noon, will benefit the Mission City Community Fund of Santa Clara. FireFall is set to open on Friday, April 25th.

For more information, visit cagreatamerica.com or read press release here.

Universal City, CA—The Universal Studios Hollywood “Eco-Fair” returns on Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as The Entertainment Capital of L.A. celebrates Earth Day with over 30 engaging and educational displays, celebrity appearances, an offer of free parking for hybrid vehicles, and a hazardous waste disposal drive sponsored by the City and County of Los Angeles.

This is the first of hopefully many Weekly Topic discussions where we will look at different topics around the amusement industry. Many sites will be participating in the Weekly Topic including our friends at Coasterdom and News Plus Notes. The first topic was posted by Coasterdom, “Cedar Fair, the New Company to Hate. ”

Cedar Fair is indeed the new theme park chain to hate. No longer is Six Flags the punch line of all amusement park related cheap shots. Cedar Fair is now regarded as the bottom of the line when it comes to theme parks.

Why? Two words: Geauga Lake.

Sure Cedar Fair wasn’t all that popular before they announced they’d be closing down the amusement park side of the historic Ohio amusement park. When you destroy 100 years of amusement history, the fans and enthusiasts will retaliate. It doesn’t take a patch wearing Acer to appreciate the history of an old park. While people love thrills and new technology, everyone likes a bit of nostalgia. Bulldoze 100 years of history, you get negativity.

Why else? Two words: Public Relations.

Has anyone heard of the improvements at Six Flags Magic Mountain? Chances are, you probably have seen one of the countless photo trip reports or read an article on the LA Times’ Funland Blog. Six Flags has been receiving massive amounts of press when it comes to chain wide improvements. CEO of Six Flags, Mark Shapiro, has made it known that he is here to improve Six Flags. He’s appeared in interviews and has a positive outlook on where the company is headed.

Cedar Fair? Haven’t heard too much about improvements. Now I’m not saying that they are not making improvements. California’s Great America, for example, is a adding a new themed flat ride for 2008, a new ice skating show, a new wooden coaster in ’09, a new Halloween event, extended hours, and even the staff has improved over the past year. Yet the Cedar Fair bashing is still going around. (Did I mention they’ve added plenty of new trash cans!)

Good luck Cedar Fair PR teams, you’ve got some work ahead of you!

Responses from other blogs:

 A Walk in the Park Podcast

News Plus Notes 

Discuss the Topic