Busch Gardens Tampa announced their 2014 addition: the long-rumored drop tower installation, called Falcon's Fury. It will stand 335 ft tall (making it the 6th tallest drop tower in the world, counting Zumanjaro going up in SFGAdv, and the 3rd tallest in America, also counting Zumanjaro). It is replacing Sandstorm and will open next Spring. I'm really excited for this installation!
Looking at the future, 2015 and beyond, one has to wonder what could possibly be the next coaster installation in the park. Rumors are actually spreading about the next coaster already. Unfortunately, however, these rumors seem to point to another coaster departing from the park.
Yes, if rumors are true, Gwazi will be getting removed in the coming years. At this point, Gwazi's maintenance budget has taken a huge toll, and the ride has been stripped to running only one side (Lion). It even got to the point where some of the trains have been dismantled and a bridge has been built over the old Tiger station last year. Very sad to see, but it's the truth.
So what could possibly replace Gwazi? While I am one of the few who like Gwazi, I think if they replaced it with a better coaster, I will be pleased! I've narrowed it down to three options: B&M Wing, B&M Giga, and RMC/Intamin Wooden.
B&M Wing
I think this is least likely, because I think a Wing Coaster will fit better in SeaWorld Orlando. Though it'd be cool to see a keyhole inversion over the Serengeti Express (with the "keyholes" themed as rockwork). Maybe the ride could be themed as some bird of prey, though it could be redundant with SheiKra being themed to a bird of prey. Then again, Gwazi has lions and tigers, and Cheetah Hunt has... cheetahs.
B&M Giga
There is one type of coaster Florida has been lacking for a long time: a coaster designed for nothing but AIRTIME. The only problem is space, but I suppose it could run through the service roads behind SheiKra. I think it'd look better in the Rhino Rally plot, interacting with Kumba (similar to Shambhala running through Dragon Khan, and Leviathan running through Dragon Fire) and running to Congo River Rapids and back. That or behind Jungala and running through Rapids and Kumba (interacting with it) and towards the employee lot by Kumba and back. I think it's possible for it to be a giga, because Busch has proven that they can go above 300 ft with Falcon's Fury. Also, Central Florida has a demanding theme park audience. A giga will bring in the money!
RMC/Intamin Woodie
This is my favorite choice! After riding El Toro last summer, I have fallen in love with Intamin Plug n' Plays! Also let's face it: the general Floridian view of wooden coasters isn't too spectacular (though I'm not sure about White Lightning at Fun Spot. I personally enjoyed it and other woodies). If an El Toro-type ride comes, this could change this less-than-stellar view. Florida needs a great and large wooden coaster!
I also think a Rocky Mountain coaster is possible. There has been a recent popularity in these rides, starting off with "Iron Horse" conversions, like New Texas Giant at SFOT (2011), Iron Rattler at SFFT (2013), and Medusa: Steel Coaster at SFMexico (2014), to full-on coaster installations, like Outlaw Run (SDC) (2013) and Goliath (SFGAm) (2014). I would also love to see one of these rides in Florida, and this can also fill in the airtime criteria!
Well, we'll see how this turns out! With Universal going all out with additions left and right, BGT is going to have to find some way to combat back!
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Carowinds to Build a Giga for 2015?
It seems like for their next coaster, Carowinds will be going BIG!
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/09/18/4323933/new-carowinds-ride-to-be-70-feet.html#.UjqthhC76tN
As for the giga, I think this is possible considering what Cedar Fair did at Canada's Wonderland when they added Leviathan in 2012. The park already had Behemoth as a hyper and I think this will be similar at Carowinds with Intimidator as a hyper. I have yet to ride Leviathan, but I think that ride is designed more as a "speed" coaster then airtime after airtime like Behemoth. I think this will be a similar case with Carowinds's Giga, either Intamin or B&M (most likely B&M).
Taking a nod from another recent Cedar Fair installation (Gatekeeper at Cedar Point), I also expect to see changes come to the North Gate, possibly involving the giga interacting with the entrance plaza like an airtime hill going right over the entrance (similar to Gatekeeper's two keyholes over CP's entrance).
Having been to the park once, I think a giga will definitely drag me back there (I loved the park in my visit too). Expect more news to come soon!
...though I hope I have time to post it! LOL
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/09/18/4323933/new-carowinds-ride-to-be-70-feet.html#.UjqthhC76tN
Cedar Fair Entertainment, the parent company of Carowinds, plans to build a 300-foot-tall roller coaster – 70 feet taller than the park’s biggest attraction, the Intimidator – according to a closed-session transcript the Charlotte City Council released Wednesday.
The council and Mecklenburg County commissioners voted this week to give Cedar Fair $922,000 in incentives through rebates on property taxes over three years.
The incentives drew some criticism from council members, who said the projected number of new jobs from the park’s $43.5 million expansion would be too small. Carowinds expects to create 15 full-time jobs with an average salary of $43,000 and 270 seasonal jobs that would pay as much as $8.25 an hour.
Some also questioned whether Cedar Fair would expand with or without the incentives.
The closed-session discussion, held in June, gives additional insight into Cedar Fair’s plans and the city’s deliberations:
• At a news conference in August at the Charlotte Chamber announcing the expansion, Cedar Fair was vague about its plans, saying only that it would build new rides, improve restaurants and make other infrastructure improvements.
The city economic development office had given council members more details about plans for the park in June.
The new 300-foot roller coaster would cost $30 million. In addition, the park would spend $2.5 million on a new water slide, $7 million on a new food complex and $4 million on ticket booth and parking lot improvements, according to Peter Zeiler of the city.
• In the June closed session, only two of 11 council members voted against the project – Democrats Patsy Kinsey and Michael Barnes.
Barnes voted against the deal again Monday, but Kinsey has since been elevated to mayor. She did not veto the incentives Monday.
Her replacement, Democrat Billy Maddalon, voted no Monday, as did Democrats Claire Fallon and Patrick Cannon. Fallon and Cannon voted for the incentives in closed session.
“I just have a sense that when something like this comes through the Chamber or somebody else, I feel pressured for one thing, but secondly I just don’t know if the Chamber says, ‘Oh, well, you can go to the city and county to get some money,’ ” Kinsey said during the closed session.
• Carowinds also told the city that half of the 270 seasonal jobs likely would be filled by North Carolina residents and half by South Carolina residents.
The city estimates the expansion would generate an additional 20,000 hotel room nights, about 0.4 percent of the total Mecklenburg hotel market. The city doesn’t expect that to be large enough to drive any new hotel development. Carowinds told the city that about two-thirds of its current hotel stays are in North Carolina.
• When the city’s incentive, called a Business Investment Grant, expires after three years, the city expects the Carowinds additions to generate an additional $110,000 a year in new city property taxes.
• The city said in June that Sandusky, Ohio-based Cedar Fair was deciding whether to expand Carowinds or its King’s Dominion park in Virginia. Some council members were skeptical, saying they believed expansions were likely at both parks.
But city staff didn’t discuss in detail the park’s announcement in 2011 that it had bought 61 acres of vacant land next to Carowinds. That purchase suggests that a Carowinds expansion was a priority for Cedar Fair.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...#storylink=cpyAccording to the latest Screamscape report, the coaster is supposed to replace Xtreme Skyflier (which will be removed at the end of 2014) and will be located in the Thrill Zone section of the park:
2015/2016 - New Coaster - (9/23/13) Carowinds’ official revealed at a Q&A session this weekend that the park’s Skycoaster (Xtreme Skyflyer) would be removed at the end of the 2014 season. Since we know the new 300+ foot roller coaster coming in 2015 will also be placed entirely on the North Carolina side of the park, this makes sense as the most logical location for Carowinds to place the station and queue for the 2015 coaster.I think that is the perfect location for a coaster in Carowinds, as the North Carolina side is lacking in attractions compared to the South Carolina side (when I visited in 2011).
If it were me and we were looking at a long / narrow style coaster layout, I’d love to see the coaster run from here along the treeline down to the freeway and back.
As for the giga, I think this is possible considering what Cedar Fair did at Canada's Wonderland when they added Leviathan in 2012. The park already had Behemoth as a hyper and I think this will be similar at Carowinds with Intimidator as a hyper. I have yet to ride Leviathan, but I think that ride is designed more as a "speed" coaster then airtime after airtime like Behemoth. I think this will be a similar case with Carowinds's Giga, either Intamin or B&M (most likely B&M).
Taking a nod from another recent Cedar Fair installation (Gatekeeper at Cedar Point), I also expect to see changes come to the North Gate, possibly involving the giga interacting with the entrance plaza like an airtime hill going right over the entrance (similar to Gatekeeper's two keyholes over CP's entrance).
Having been to the park once, I think a giga will definitely drag me back there (I loved the park in my visit too). Expect more news to come soon!
...though I hope I have time to post it! LOL
I'm A Proud UCF Knight+My Dream Park
Hey everyone, once again I neglected the blog, over a YEAR. This is one of my most prized possessions and I shouldn't be neglecting it like this.
But with that said, as of now I am a Freshman in college (UCF - Go Knights!) going for the Civil Engineering degree, so it will be difficult to update my blog. However, I think I will make a commitment to try and post every month (at least three times).
I have also finally started designing my theme park that I will build in the future. South Florida has some quality places: South Beach, Miami, great shopping districts, other great beaches, great nighttime entertainment, etc. The only thing South Florida lacks is a quality theme park, the closest one(s) being three hours away in Tampa/Orlando. Now, I live in the Oviedo area now, but I would still love a theme park in South Florida, for that reason. And that is what I am designing now.
My park is apocalyptic-themed. No this won't be the occasional "zombie theme park" that some keep hearing (though it will have zombies). Some of this park will be inspired from Universal Orlando, Busch Gardens, and Europa Park (theming wise) and combined with high speed roller coaster thrills found in Cedar Point and other Cedar Fair parks, as well as Six Flags parks. There is a big division in the theme park universe: theming vs. thrills. I am intending this apocalyptic-themed park to combine BOTH aspects (theming AND thrills). Europa Park serves as a great example of this: they have an abundance of amazing coasters and they combine it with heavy theming and dark rides. This will be much more special then just a "zombie theme park."
This apocalyptic-themed park will have 7 sections: Hollywood, Rocky Mountains, New York, La Palma, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Some of my coasters will include an B&M Giga (themed to a meteor impact), a Rocky Mountain woodie (themed to the Big One - an earthquake that is supposed to devastate Los Angeles), a unique Intamin hyper coaster/dark ride combo combining I305 and Expedition Everest (themed to Yellowstone), an Intamin strata (themed to Cumbre Vieja and the megatsunami that will strike the eastern seaboard), and other coasters like a Premier Shuttle (like Superman Ultimate Flight in SFDK), B&M Dive Machine, dueling MACK LSMs, B&M Inverted (similar to Banshee in Kings Island), B&M Wing Coaster, as well as dark rides such as a Godzilla ride (like Indiana Jones in Disneyland), a shooter ride (like MIB in Universal), and a 3D thrill ride (similar to what has been seen on Spider-Man and Transformers). There will also be flat rides like a HUSS Giant Frisbee, a drop tower, and many more (yes, there will be water rides).
Of course, we gotta have stuff for the little kids too. While the park itself sounds scary being apocalyptic-themed, to cater to the families this park will need a kids area, as well as many family rides scattered throughout the park, like a spinning coaster from MACK, family dark rides, and small flats like the scrambler. It will be themed "apocalyptically" but at the same time cater to families of all ages. Additionally, this park would have a new resort hotel and shopping district
The name of the park may sound stupid at first, but thinking about it, it fits the theme of the park nicely:
APARKALYPSE
Basically, take "Apocalypse" and replace the "poc" with "park."
I even thought of a great location for the park at this point. South Florida still has plenty of space for a theme park, mainly in the area around I-75 and the Homestead extension of the turnpike. What I am looking at is the HUGE plot to the southwest corner of that intersection. No water retention, no land buyouts (as opposed to the northwest corner which I was originally looking at). Plus it will bring plenty of attraction to an otherwise poor looking area (as well as new jobs for South Floridians):
This plot is 2927.28 acres. It's big enough for not only a theme park, but plenty of new shopping districts and resorts (of course, keeping the apocalyptic theme). The only difficulty is traffic, and flow from the Florida Turnpike and I-75. A few adjustments, as well as the addition of a highway in the southern section of the plot, will do the trick.
Additionally, I said it will bring "plenty of attraction to an otherwise poor looking area." I was also talking about the areas in the southern section, around US 27 and NW 138th St. I think with the addition of a new apocalyptic-themed complex, this area will thrive into a new Intl Drive-like district (like what Walt Disney World did to International Drive).
Thus, I think the addition of a theme park in South Florida will not only be a great addition to an already thriving metropolitan area, but it will also bring in great benefits to this area as well. I will try posting ideas of Aparkalypse in the coming months. I have plenty of ideas already! :)
But with that said, as of now I am a Freshman in college (UCF - Go Knights!) going for the Civil Engineering degree, so it will be difficult to update my blog. However, I think I will make a commitment to try and post every month (at least three times).
I have also finally started designing my theme park that I will build in the future. South Florida has some quality places: South Beach, Miami, great shopping districts, other great beaches, great nighttime entertainment, etc. The only thing South Florida lacks is a quality theme park, the closest one(s) being three hours away in Tampa/Orlando. Now, I live in the Oviedo area now, but I would still love a theme park in South Florida, for that reason. And that is what I am designing now.
My park is apocalyptic-themed. No this won't be the occasional "zombie theme park" that some keep hearing (though it will have zombies). Some of this park will be inspired from Universal Orlando, Busch Gardens, and Europa Park (theming wise) and combined with high speed roller coaster thrills found in Cedar Point and other Cedar Fair parks, as well as Six Flags parks. There is a big division in the theme park universe: theming vs. thrills. I am intending this apocalyptic-themed park to combine BOTH aspects (theming AND thrills). Europa Park serves as a great example of this: they have an abundance of amazing coasters and they combine it with heavy theming and dark rides. This will be much more special then just a "zombie theme park."
This apocalyptic-themed park will have 7 sections: Hollywood, Rocky Mountains, New York, La Palma, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Some of my coasters will include an B&M Giga (themed to a meteor impact), a Rocky Mountain woodie (themed to the Big One - an earthquake that is supposed to devastate Los Angeles), a unique Intamin hyper coaster/dark ride combo combining I305 and Expedition Everest (themed to Yellowstone), an Intamin strata (themed to Cumbre Vieja and the megatsunami that will strike the eastern seaboard), and other coasters like a Premier Shuttle (like Superman Ultimate Flight in SFDK), B&M Dive Machine, dueling MACK LSMs, B&M Inverted (similar to Banshee in Kings Island), B&M Wing Coaster, as well as dark rides such as a Godzilla ride (like Indiana Jones in Disneyland), a shooter ride (like MIB in Universal), and a 3D thrill ride (similar to what has been seen on Spider-Man and Transformers). There will also be flat rides like a HUSS Giant Frisbee, a drop tower, and many more (yes, there will be water rides).
Of course, we gotta have stuff for the little kids too. While the park itself sounds scary being apocalyptic-themed, to cater to the families this park will need a kids area, as well as many family rides scattered throughout the park, like a spinning coaster from MACK, family dark rides, and small flats like the scrambler. It will be themed "apocalyptically" but at the same time cater to families of all ages. Additionally, this park would have a new resort hotel and shopping district
The name of the park may sound stupid at first, but thinking about it, it fits the theme of the park nicely:
APARKALYPSE
Basically, take "Apocalypse" and replace the "poc" with "park."
I even thought of a great location for the park at this point. South Florida still has plenty of space for a theme park, mainly in the area around I-75 and the Homestead extension of the turnpike. What I am looking at is the HUGE plot to the southwest corner of that intersection. No water retention, no land buyouts (as opposed to the northwest corner which I was originally looking at). Plus it will bring plenty of attraction to an otherwise poor looking area (as well as new jobs for South Floridians):
This plot is 2927.28 acres. It's big enough for not only a theme park, but plenty of new shopping districts and resorts (of course, keeping the apocalyptic theme). The only difficulty is traffic, and flow from the Florida Turnpike and I-75. A few adjustments, as well as the addition of a highway in the southern section of the plot, will do the trick.
Additionally, I said it will bring "plenty of attraction to an otherwise poor looking area." I was also talking about the areas in the southern section, around US 27 and NW 138th St. I think with the addition of a new apocalyptic-themed complex, this area will thrive into a new Intl Drive-like district (like what Walt Disney World did to International Drive).
Thus, I think the addition of a theme park in South Florida will not only be a great addition to an already thriving metropolitan area, but it will also bring in great benefits to this area as well. I will try posting ideas of Aparkalypse in the coming months. I have plenty of ideas already! :)
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