Industry News, Park Updates, Reviews, and Photography. http://themeparkvillage.com Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:56:34 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://themeparkvillage.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://themeparkvillage.com Industry News, Park Updates, Reviews, and Photography. http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/articlesreviews/Disney-World-Park-Planning.html Congratulations! You’ve nailed down when you’re going, how you’re getting there, and where you’re staying; now it’s time to figure out how to spend your days in Walt Disney World. With four theme parks, two water parks, two nighttime districts, and countless other diversions, the main obstacle is figuring out how to pack it all into the typical week-long vacation! The easy answer? Don’t! Instead, flag activities that will be most important to you and your companions and make those into your priorities. Here are a few tips and resources to get you started with your daily Disney World Theme Park Planning. For more tips and resources for planning, visit www.wdwforgrownups.com (http://www.wdwforgrownups.com). Buy a great guidebook. We recommend a classic—Bob Sehlinger’s Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (http://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Guide-Disney-World-Guides/dp/0470089636/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8 s=books qid=1220052274 sr=8-2). This book is the Bible of Disney park planning and will give you insight into how to cut down on wait times for rides and make the most of your vacation. If you do nothing else in preparation for your vacation, at least read this. Arrive early and stay late. Getting to the parks when they first open is the best way to guarantee a ride on headline attractions with a minimal wait. Other good times to ride headliners are during each park’s major parade or fireworks show (most folks are lined up 10 deep to watch, leaving the busy attractions less busy), or late at night when other park-goers have called it a day. Remember, as long as you jump in line the minute the park closes, you can ride!This doesn’t mean you have to stay all day, however! One of the best tips is to go to the parks during their least busy times—early morning and late evening—and use mid-day to catch up on sleep or take a swim. Learn about and use Fastpass. (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/common/guestServicesDetail?id=FastPassGuestServicesDetailPage) This service is free to all park guests. Take a look at some Touring Plans. Basically, these are daily schedules that help you determine when to visit rides and attractions so that you minimize your wait time. You can find sample touring plans on the web, in the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World or other guidebooks, or at www.touringplans.com (http://www.touringplans.com). (Note, you do have to subscribe to this website to see touring plans.) Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/carolinacoaster006.html Carowinds has announced their new for 2009 coaster, Carolina Cobra. The Vekoma Boomerang coaster is being relocated from the now defunct Geauga Lake Amusement Park. Carolina Cobra will feature new trains designed by Vekoma to increase the enjoyment of riding. We all know how uncomfortable a Boomerang ride can be, so these new trains will definitely be an improvement.Visit the official Carolina Cobra website (http://carolinacobra.carowinds.com/) for more information. Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:53:32 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Wild-West-World-Future.html Wild West World could be reopening next spring in time for Memorial Day. The long drama continues for the troubled park as its new owner is prepared to invest $12-15 million in new rides and repairs. At the forefront of the investment is “a large wooden roller coaster, bungee jump, and a plunge ride…” It sounds like the park will be transformed into one of those extreme thrill parks with an assortment of large skycoaster type rides. The new wooden coaster sounds very interesting though.Read more here. (http://www.kansas.com/business/retail/story/524175.html) Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:37:41 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Diamondback-Update.html Copyright 2008 KIExtreme (http://www.kiextreme.com/) Supports are going up for Diamondback at Kings Island. The new B M hyper coaster is being constructed in a very unique order, there are pieces going up in different areas of the ride. While some lift supports are going up, the photo above shows there are also pieces on the other side of the ride near Flight of Fear.View all the construction photos over at KIExtreme. (http://www.kiextreme.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=345) Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:58:32 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Valleyfair-Flume-Headed-Out.html Copyright 2008 Valleyfair Zone (http://valleyfairzone.com/) The log flume at Valleyfair is on its way out. The rumor mill claims that a wave pool will be taking its place for the 2009 season. Photos posted to Valleyfair Zone (http://valleyfairzone.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14 t=598) show that demolition could be coming in the very near future. Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:47:01 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/The-Chance-Toboggan.html Copyright 2008 Coaster101 (http://www.coaster101.com/) The Chance Toboggan (http://www.rcdb.com/ir.htm?model=40) was a short lived coaster concept that was introduced in the 1970s. There were about twenty operating around the globe at one time, today there are three. The concept of the ride doesn’t look like much fun at all, quite painful to be honest.It’s no wonder that most of the Chance Toboggan’s operated for just a couple of years before closing. For example, Swamp Buggy at AstroWorld in Houston, Texas operated from 1970-1971. At least it had nicer theming than any other Chance Toboggan!Be sure to check out more photos from AstroWorld 1971 over at Coaster101. (http://www.coaster101.com/index.php?option=com_content view=article id=56:astroworld1971 catid=38:features Itemid=66) Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:01:24 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/hitagain001.html Come on people, is it really that tempting to hop a fence and go into a restricted area? Well apparently it was for a 20 year old man who was struck by Ninja (http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/man-hit-by-roller-co-2664/) at Six Flags Magic Mountain over Labor Day weekend. Park medics arrived within two minutes of the accident to find the man breathing but unconscious. Apparently the man lost his hat on Jetstream, the log flume which travels under Ninja. Are people seriously that desperate to get…a hat?Readers of Theme Park Village, do yourselves a favor, if you loose your hat, sunglasses, or phone…just go to Guest Relations. They’ll look for it when the park is closed. It’s that easy! Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:56:05 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Astroland-Closes-September-7th.html 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. Read more here. (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/yet-again-astroland-threatens-to-close/?hp) Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:27:11 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Live-Your-Worst-Nightmare.html erM3N-djvJk 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.For more information on HHN Hollywood 2008, read the press release (index.php/Press-Releases/HHN-Hollywood-Opens-October-3rd.html) here or visit the official website. (http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/hollywood/) Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:45:27 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Manta-Glides-into-SeaWorld-Summer-2009.html SeaWorld announced back in May that a B M Flying Coaster was on its way to Orlando for 2009. Manta (http://www.seaworld.com/orlando/experiences/default.aspx) 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. (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_orlando/2008/09/seaworlds-manta.html) Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:00:00 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/articlesreviews/wdwplanning1.html Theme Park Village is partnering with WDW For Grownups (http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/) 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 (http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/General/) 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 (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/calendar/extraMagicHour) and Magical Express Airport Transportation (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/benefitDetail?id=BenefitDMEDetailPage), 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 (http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/General/Accommodations/VacationPackages/), 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 (http://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 (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/tickets/ticketsLandingPage?id=TicketsLandingPage#). 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 (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/dining/diningFinder?id=DiningFinderPage) 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 (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/benefitDetail?id=BenefitDisneyDiningPlanDetailPage). Next week: Walt Disney World Park Planning! Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:00:00 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Halloween-Haunt-Arrives-at-Great-America.html 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.For more information on Haunt, read the full press release (index.php/Press-Releases/greatamericahaunt08.html) or visit the official CGA Haunt site. (http://haunt.cagreatamerica.com/) Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:32:31 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/A-Prowler-is-Coming-to-Worlds-of-Fun.html 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. Go to the Prowler website (http://prowler.worldsoffun.com/) for more information and animation videos. (http://prowler.worldsoffun.com/public/ride/video.cfm?video=pointOfView) Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:45:00 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Golden-Ticket-Awards-2008.html The results are in for the Golden Ticket Awards 2008 (http://www.amusementtoday.com/8002gta090308.html). Just as you’d expect, the winner for best park is Cedar Point and best water park is Schlitterbahn. Best new coaster went to Ravine Flyer II, the wooden coaster at Waldameer Park in Erie, Pa. In the new category of best Christmas event, Dollywood took the victory with their event, Smokey Mountain Christmas.Also, Knoebel’s once again won for having the best food. Does anyone know what makes their food win every year? Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:36:50 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Holiday-World-Introduces-Pilgrim-s-Plunge.html Holiday World will take the record next season for having the world’s tallest water ride, Pilgrim’s Plunge. The Intamin water ride will use a vertical lift to hoist the boat up for the record 131 foot drop. Pilgrim’s Plunge’s tower will dominate the skyline at Holiday World. The vertical lift raises the boats up the 165 foot tall tower for the record drop. To me it seems like this new water ride is out of place at Holiday World. The massive tower with the innovative lift seems like a ride you would see at a Cedar Fair park, not a family owned park. Hopefully Holiday World will add some theming to the ride to give it the family park charm. How do you think Pilgrim’s Plunge will fit into Holiday World?Read more about Pilgrim's Plunge here. (http://www.holidayworld.com/new2009.html) Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:13:42 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Blue-Sky-Disney-Update.html Blue Sky Disney has posted what is possibly on the horizon for Disney Parks. There is some information about California Adventure that most of us already know, but there are some new rumors about Disney World and Disneyland Paris.Read all the rumors! (http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/2008/08/happenstance-part-one.html) Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:45:51 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Aquatica-Construction-Overhead.html I was browsing Microsoft Live Maps today and came across SeaWorld Orlando. Right across the road is Aquatica, SeaWorld’s new water park. Aquatica is the first water park to mix classic water park attractions with live animals. Granted Aquatica has been open for awhile now, I still thought this was interesting. These overhead construction pictures were taken during the early stages of construction. Here’s a shot of the many slide pieces being staged for assembly.Aquatica has two wave pools, one has larger waves than the other. Aquatica also has two lazy rivers, one of which has the quickest current of any lazy river. Near the top of this image you can see the assembly of a slide tower.If you want to see what Aquatica looks like in its completed form, check out these photos. (http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42041) Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:25:31 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/PETA-Is-At-It-Again.html Last week PETA claimed victory (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2008/08/members-of-an-a.html) over Six Flags for making them retire the Fright Fest cockroach eating contest. Now PETA is at it again, this time with SeaWorld. PETA wants to make an offer (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-peta2008aug20,0,2621350.story) on one or more of the SeaWorld parks with the intention of releasing all the animals. PETA claims to have a major donor lined up that would fund the purchase. After they release all the animals, PETA would replace the exhibits with virtual reality or animatronics. Read their statment here. (http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=11822) I’m pretty much at a loss of words on this; I’m not sure how to respond. I think Fred Jacobs, a Busch Entertainment Spokesperson said it best, he sees the offer as “a publicity stunt.” Any thoughts? Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:32:11 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Site-News/Park-Updates-Return.html Done! Finally! After months of putting it off, I’ve finally restored all of our park updates. When the site switched over to a new version, I never really had time to transfer over all the old data. Here we are almost 8 months later and I’ve finally finished. I apologize for the long delay in getting these updates back up. But hey, now you can go check out 48 park updates from the past two years! It’s a great trip down memory midway. Check out the updates! (index.php/Table/parkupdates/) Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:14:58 +0100 http://themeparkvillage.com/index.php/Latest/Diamondback-Has-Arrived.html Copyright 2008 :: Kings Island Central (http://www.kicentral.com/) Track has arrived for Diamondback at Kings Island. Part of the transfer track was the first piece to be hoisted into place for the park’s new B M hyper coaster. View more photos of Diamondback at Kings Island Central. (http://www.kicentral.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=258) Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:10:42 +0100