Isn't the strong rumor that they're getting an Intimidator...of the 305 nature?
A personalized audio system for an amusement ride includes an audio selection system, a guest identification system and a ride vehicle enabled to reproduce audio selections made using the selection system in a specific seat of the ride vehicle corresponding to the seat occupied by the guest who selected the audio during that guest's ride on the amusement ride.
A personalized audio system for a dark ride, high-speed ride, roller coaster or other ride system allows guests to individually select an audio track or song for playback during the ride. The guests enter an audio selection into a selection system associated with an amusement ride they intend to ride prior to being seated in a ride vehicle of the ride. An audio reproduction system reproduces the guests' audio selections for the particular guest occupying a ride vehicle seat. A guest identification system is used to coordinate delivery of the guest's audio selection from the selection system to the correct seat in the ride vehicle. A guest's audio selection is thus delivered to the audio reproduction system for the ride vehicle seat occupied by the guest and then the audio selection is played during the amusement ride operation. The audio reproduction systems are designed so that guest's selections do not interfere with each other.
Son Of Beast Status - Closed Until Further Notice - (11/24/10) Is there a glimmer of hope for Son of Beast? Well… not for 2011, but according to an anonymous source who was at IAAPA last week, they claim to have overhead a conversation between someone from Cedar Fair and the Rocky Mountain guys about possibly doing work on Son of Beast in the future. Of course this may be every coaster fanboys dream rumor being talked about as well... so take this with a grain of salt until we hear something more serious.
(8/13/10) We’ve heard from several sources that the work taking place in the Son of Beast station building is indeed for a new Halloween Haunt attraction and not part of a covert effort to get the ride running again.
2014 - Avatar 4D - Rumor - (11/24/10) Over the last few weeks I’ve been hearing whispers of a possible attraction concept in the works to replace Terminator 2: 3-D at Universal Hollywood. Ironicly enough, today the LA Times also reported that T2:3-D in Hollywood is on the short list of attractions on the chopping block over the next few years. The Orlando version of the attraction has also been rumored to be up for replacement as well for the past few years.
If the rumors are true, Universal may be in talks with James Cameron once again about creating a new 4D attraction, this time based on the Avatar film series. Yes… I said series. There are now two more films in the works, tentatively planned to be shot back to back and released in 2014 and 2015. The hope is to release the new Avatar attraction into the parks in time to take advantage of all the hype these two films generate, so I’d look for it to open by Summer 2014 if they go through with it.
A long-term plan for Universal Studios Hollywood envisions adding seven new theme park attractions over the next two decades while removing or relocating several studio backlot tour favorites, including the "Jaws" lake, the "War of the Worlds" disaster scene and the famed "Psycho" house and Bates Motel.
The $3 billion NBC Universal Evolution Plan lays out a proposed blueprint for the 391-acre Universal City property in the San Fernando Valley, including new movie studio production facilities, CityWalk retail space and a residential neighborhood.
Additionally, the plan calls for 146,000 square feet of new attractions at the movie and television theme park. Inside the park, the 20-year plan also calls for three current attractions to be replaced: the "Terminator 2: 3D" special effects show, the "WaterWorld" stunt show and former "Fear Factor Live" theater.
Both the "T2" and "WaterWorld" shows, based on 1990s movies, have long been candidates for replacement. The former "Fear Factor" stage, which currently houses the relocated "Special Effects Stage," has played host to a number of theatrical duds over the years, including "Spider-Man Rocks" and "Creature from the Black Lagoon: The Musical."
The theme park plan also calls for the eventual removal of the Flintstones carnival midway games. No replacements for any of the theme park attractions have been announced. The "King Kong 360 3-D" drive-through movie, which made its debut this summer, and the Transformers special effects dark ride, scheduled to open in 2012, are not part of the growth plan.
Under the envisioned plan, the Studio Tour could see even bigger changes over the next 20 years. The footprint of the proposed 124-acre residential neighborhood would force the demolition or relocation of the Whoville village, the "Curse of the Mummy" revolving tunnel, the "War of the Worlds" plane crash set and the Falls Lake blue screen pond. Wisteria Lane from "Desperate Housewives" and the iconic "Psycho" house would be relocated to other areas of the backlot.
Under the plan, four new backlot attractions could be added to the Studio Tour, including proposed buildings near the seaside "Jaws" village of Amity and the "Fast & the Furious" special effects car show. The other two proposed backlot attractions are envisioned for areas not currently on the tour.
Next door to the theme park in the CityWalk retail center, Universal imagines a 3,000-seat theater that could host a permanent entertainment troupe such as Blue Man Group, which currently performs at the Universal CityWalk in Orlando, Fla.
Los Angeles city planners recently released a 39,000-page draft environmental impact report identifying possible effects of the proposed development, including increased traffic, on the surrounding area.
(12/21/09) One of our readers has posted a few new pictures taken outside the plant that makes all the world’s B&M coaster track. While there wasn’t all that much to see in the snow, there were a couple of pieces of Blue-ish track in the background here, as well as some small support pieces on the ground here.
(2/1/10) I don’t know much about this rumor, but we’ve heard that B&M maybe actually be building a brand new Stand-Up coaster for Ocean Park as early as 2011. Anyone know more?
It hasn't been confirmed yet, but First Drop reported it was for the expansion of Ocean Park in Hong Kong!
2012 - B&M Inverted Coaster - Rumor - (11/15/10) The latest issue of First Drop magazine confirms the long standing rumor that Parc Asterix is ready to build a B&M Inverted coaster the 2012 season. According to the article the ride will have an Egyptian theme and be the anchor for a new themed area. You can find a picture of the layout the posted here, which looks to have a unique layout as well as a reported “underwater tunnel” feature. You can even find a NoLimits coaster layout preview of what the ride may be like here.
(3/27/10) Screamscape sources have confirmed to us that Parc Asterix will be adding a new B&M Inverted coaster for their 2011 season, and not an Intamin ride.
(3/1/10) Its been awhile since we’re heard much from Parc Asterix, but I’m hearing that a new themed serious thrill coaster is in the park’s future for 2011. Lord knows that the park is long overdue for a new coaster as the last one installed was way back in 2001, which was the Trace Du Hourra bobsled coaster from Mack. So far Intamin’s name is dropped most often, so I’ve got to wonder if perhaps they are looking to build their own version of Maverick.
B&M - (11/22/10) One of our readers went by the B&M track production facility this week and found a whole yard full of new mysterious Blue track for an unknown project. Nothing odd to see about this track, as it all looks to be fairly standard B&M track size and style.
While the exact nature of the B&M Track Tags are somewhat of a mystery, I’ve been working on trying to break the code for some time and have a few speculative hints I can share. I’ve come to believe that when the Customer section reads “X-WORKS” it means that the track is for an international destination. I still believe that the letter codes at the start of the “Part No.” are also an indication of what kind of coaster this will be. This track is coded as “IC” which I believe stands for Inverted Coaster. Since this track does not match the color used for the only 2011 Inverted Coaster project known, Starry Night Ripper in China, then I can only assume that we are looking at a 2012 coaster project. The latest issue of First Drop magazine mentions that Parc Asterix is planning a new B&M Inverted coaster for 2012, so this could be it.
So it looks like Robb Alvey from TPR spoke with Sandor Kernacs from Intamin at IAAPA. He posted the following:
"Sandor tells me there will be some changes in i305, and I'm not allowed to mention what I was told, but let me tell you the locals will not be disappointed!!!"
2012 - Attraction 2012 - (11/19/10) Screamscape sources tell us that the station for the 2012 coaster will indeed take over the current Tilt-A-Whirl site, with the ride’s queue taking over the site of the nearby bathroom in Comet Hollow. While we don’t know the entire layout, our source says to expect to see it go down past the Comet’s entrance and follow the creek up to the existing dam area by the picnic pavilion near the Comet’s turnaround.
Just something I noticed, in the IAAPA video that was recently posted the person Robb interviewed from Maurer said that they were in discussions for something in America that they can't talk about until April and since Hershey is announcing it next spring..perhaps they're working with Maurer on something?
There's nothing saying that Maurer can't use those new four-across X-car trains and make themselves a good hyper.
The Kentucky State Fair Board will be asked next month to consider a $50 million bond issue to help upgrade and reopen the Kentucky Kingdom amusement park next to the Kentucky Exposition Center.
Developer Ed Hart, who was designated in May by the fair board as the park's preferred operator, said his proposal calls for park revenue to pay off the bonds over the next 20-plus years, covering an annual debt of about $3million.
He said the park's reopening is dependent on a public-private partnership. He described the state's contribution as an investment in a community facility worth about $200million.
Among Hart's plans are spending $20million to add a major ride and to double the size of the water park.
“My goal is to see Kentucky Kingdom flourish again, and it can. It will pay for itself,” said Hart, who headed a group that owned Kentucky Kingdom from 1988-97. He sold the park in 1997, for about $80million, to Six Flags, which closed it early this year.
Six Flags has filed for bankruptcy in Delaware. The court is expected soon to approve agreements with the fair board under which Six Flags would end its obligations for the park.
In an interview earlier this week, Hart said he will submit a business plan and a proposed lease for operating the park when the fair board meets in October.
Fair board president Harold Workman said the bond issue and the investment in the park make sense, but would require General Assembly approval in 2011.
He noted that a new state-funded economic impact study found that the return on the investment would be “pretty significant, a little better than I thought it might be.”
The $50,000 study done by the AECOM consulting firm and paid for by the fair board and the Kentucky Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet, found that revenue from a reopened Kentucky Kingdom would be around $11million and include more than $1million in annual lease payments from Hart, new tax revenue and money taken in by hotels and restaurants near the fairgrounds.
The study said the park's reopening would eventually create about 1,200 jobs, primarily hospitality positions and some construction employment.
Hart said he is proposing that the state spend $8million of the bond money to add a “marquee” roller coaster. (The park plans to keep six existing coasters.)
Another $12million would go to expand Hurricane Bay water park, which was renamed Splashwater Kingdom, doubling its size and adding 16 water slides along with four new water towers. Other improvements would include a wave lagoon and a quarter-mile adventure river.
Hart's proposal calls for most of the rest of the bond money to cover upgrades of park infrastructure.
Both Hart and Workman said the goal is to have the park reopened by Memorial Day 2011.
Hart pledged the reopened park will have free parking, other good deals such as free use of inner tubes, and $1 for all drinks. He said the cost of admission and season passes would be “very competitive” with other regional theme parks.
He projected that the park would draw at least 1 million paid visitors in its first full year. Some of that gain would be achieved by sharply increasing advertising in regional cities, such as Cincinnati and Nashville, Hart said.
He is proposing an initial annual lease payment to the fair board of around $1.2million. The lease would let Hart rent about 50 acres at the expo center for theme park facilities, with nearly all of the land outside of Ring Road.
The proposed lease also would permit Kentucky Kingdom to use about 20 now-vacant acres for parking in the old Ashton Adair neighborhood owned by the fair board. A new park entrance would be developed off Phillips Lane, west of Gate 1.
Hart said the business plan will call for him to set aside a “significant sum” every year — a figure he declined to disclose — for investing in new rides and other park improvements.
Chad Carlton, Mayor Jerry Abramson's spokesman, said the theme park would be a major job creator and have a positive impact on the region's economy. “We very much would like to see (the park) reopened as soon as is practical.”
Hart already has paid $3million to the fair board, which under a deal between the board and Six Flags, used $2.35million to give to Six Flags to acquire about 20 acres of amusement park land that Six Flags owns outside the road circling the exposition center. The rest of the $3million will go for maintenance, security and other costs. The state deal with Six Flags is subject to expected bankruptcy court approval.
Kentucky Kingdom will not be open next summer, as originally hoped, but instead will aim for a 2012 reopening.
The delay is tied to the need to get the General Assembly’s approval of bonds that would be issued to finance improvements at the amusement park, which was abruptly abandoned by the Six Flags system earlier this year, in proper order.
The State Fair Board intends to recommend that the 2011 legislature, which convenes in January, authorize the sale of an estimated $50 million tax-exempt bond issue to pay for the upgrades, including at least two major new attractions and an expanded water park.
The state would have little financial risk with the bonds and Harold Workman, fair board president, said, “Every public official we have met with supports the park’s reopening” at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
The bond debt, likely to be around $3 million a year for 20 or more years, would be retired out of revenue generated by Kentucky Kingdom, which will be operated by the Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Co. headed by investor Ed Hart.
Hart had been scheduled to present a preliminary business plan for the revamped park’s operation to the fair board at a meeting Thursday. But the fair board postponed the presentation and gave Hart until March 31 to refine the plan, to negotiate a lease for the park and to give the legislature time to consider the bonds. The fair board owns about 60 acres where the park will operate.
Hart declined to comment beyond a news release issued jointly with the fair board after the agency’s meeting.
Hart said recently that he had at least a preliminary business plan ready for the fair board’s consideration. Hart said in the prepared statement that “we share in the disappointment that the park will not be ready to open next spring.…We will certainly do our best to bring Kentucky Kingdom back as soon as is reasonably possible.”
Workman told the board that all signs point to the park’s resumption of full operation in 2012.
He said in an interview that the board initially held out hope to have the park open perhaps as early as summer 2011, because it hadn’t ruled out financing the park’s improvements through conventional lending sources. But he said prevailing commercial interest rates are prohibitive to large borrowing.
He also acknowledged that the fair board approached the city about issuing tax-exempt bonds for the park’s makeover but that city officials indicated that they felt they already had a “full plate.” In addition, the park is on state, not city, property.
Hart said in the statement that keeping an interim agreement with the fair board in place for as long as five more months will give him time to fix more precisely the costs of repair and replacement of the park rides, buildings, equipment and infrastructure.
“Kentucky Kingdom is like a small city. It takes time to prepare it for opening,” Hart said in the statement.
Hart previously operated Kentucky Kingdom throughout most of the 1990s and sold the park to Six Flags for about $80 million in 1997.
In an interview, Workman said federal bankruptcy court in Delaware has approved all the transactions between the fair board and Six Flags, which is in bankruptcy proceedings. The approvals give the fair board clear title to all the remnants of Kentucky Kingdom. The board has agreed, for now, to share the ownership of the rides and property with Hart to provide collateral for $3 million that he has paid the fair board.
The board used $2.35 million of the payment was given to Six Flags so the fair board would acquire about 20 acres of amusement park land that the company owned outside the road circling the exposition center. The rest of the money is going for maintenance, security and other costs.
Hart’s preliminary business plan predicts that the park would draw at least 1 million paid visitors in its first full year, with Hart intending to promote the park across the region. He has proposed an annual lease payment to the fair board of around $1.2 million.
Hart intends to develop a new entrance into Kentucky Kingdom off Phillips Lane and to offer free parking rather than have patrons pay $8 to park at the fairgrounds.
The business plan calls for spending $20.3 million of the $50 million from the proposed bond issue for new attractions, including about $8 million for a new roller coaster. The rest of the budget calls for: $9.3 million to repair existing rides; $3.8 million for site work and water park expansion; $2.4 million for new buildings; $2.1 million for repair and relocation of existing rides; $2.1 million to replace existing equipment; $2.3 million for a new parking lot off Phillips Lane; $2.4 million for repair of existing buildings; and most of the rest for contractors, demolition, contingencies, landscaping and signs.
A recent state-funded study found that economic impact of a reopened Kentucky Kingdom could be about $11 million a year, including tax revenue and money taken in by hotels and restaurants near the fairgrounds.
Workman said he is confident that the park’s economic benefits “will make a strong case for funding, when we approach the legislature in January.”
“We have made great progress” since Six Flags walked away from its long-term lease early this year, Workman said.
“A lot of issues have been worked out, and the board is committed to reopening Kentucky Kingdom. But there is still a lot of work to do,” said fair board chairman Ron Carmicle.
Park News - (11/17/10) A few new videos (five I think) have been added to the Kentucky Kingdom YouTube page, where they answer a few more questions about rides and the project’s status. One question addresses the intended new use of the 10 acres used for the old entrance (for bigger/taller rides!), as well as questions about Chang, Quake and Twisted Twins. Oh… and Chang’s replacement is promised to be an “equal if not better than Chang”. The old Chang site will however be used to expand the waterpark.
Twisted Twins, which may have it’s name changed back to Double Trouble perhaps (the intended name Ed Hart had for it) will undergo a $3 million refurbishment and reprofile, as well as have brand new trains purchased for it.
(11/15/10) According to the official Kentucky Kingdom facebook page, the new park operators do plan on restoring and reopening the Twisted Twins wooden coaster. In a public response to a question about that coaster, the official answer was, “At this point, our plan calls to completely renovate it and re-open the dual wooden coasters!”
(11/13/10) Kentucky Kingdom has launched an all new website at KentuckyKingdom.com. While there isn’t much to see, perhaps the most interesting thing is that they have put a picture of a Maurer X-Car coaster right on the front page. A hint about the park’s intended new coaster project perhaps?
Central Florida News - (11/13/10) One of our readers who got a closer look at the plans for the Orlando Thrill Park identified a few more rides for us. One was an Intamin Mega-Splash, very much like Perilous Plunge at Knott’s Berry Farm, another was a Chance Revolution flat ride and the most exciting was a Vekoma Stingray coaster, an ultra compact Flyer design with a vertical lift hill. One of the slides also clearly shows off the classic layout of a Vekoma “SLC” Inverted coaster, like The Hangman at Wild Adventuers. (...)
(11/12/10) Some new artwork for the proposed Orlando Thrill Park was shown off to local residents this week, and you can find some pictures of it posted here. Included are some overhead layout drawings of the proposed coasters, but I’m not sure if you can gleem too much information from these. Perhaps the most reveling clues were some of the text shots that described one of the coasters as a ‘Motobike Launch Coaster / 55 ft height” and the monster 425 ft coaster is listed as “Inverted Accelerator Coaster / 425 ft height”. That note right there may give you shivers… as an Inverted version of Kingda Ka or Top Thrill Dragster could be a real treat. Anyone go to this meeting and snap some better shots of the map for themselves?
KRAKE: Attack of the giant octopus!
Coming to Heide Park in 2011 - A B&M Dive Machine!
The German amusement park Heide Park has benefited from its last opening weekend before the winter to formally present to the press its great new ride for 2011: a Diving Machine made by Bolliger & Mabillard, second of its kind in Europe and first in Germany.
In front of the park lake, the public was invited to listen a pirate storytelling about a terrible sea monster when, suddenly, one of the boats of the "Der Mississippi-Dampfe" ride has been attacked and virtually "destroyed" in a blaze of fireworks, before that the name KRAKE (means "octopus" in German) is unveiled.
With a total investment of 12 million euros, the thematic of KRAKE is focused around a giant octopus that has established itself in the new area "Bay of pirates" . The dark atmosphere will begin in the queue and visitors will be invited to challenge the monster, in a setting inspired by the theme of pirates and a ship destroyed.
The roller coaster layout itself:
- 476 meters long (1,532 feet)
- 41 meters high vertical drop (134 feet) which plunge into a pit (like Obålivion) representing the mouth of the octopus
- An underground passage and a splashdown
- An Immelmann
- A series of curves and a camelback.
Merlin Entertainments compliments B&M, with project manager Dirk Loppnow explaining they consider the swiss company as the "Ferrari of the roller coaster manufacturers". KRAKE is the largest investment made in Germany by the group, which opened recently in the United Kingdom Saw: The Ride at Thorpe Park and Th13teen at Alton Towers.
According to Merlin's artistic director, Candy Holland, KRAKE will go into the continuity of development already carried out at Heide Park in recent years with the Maya-Tal area and the Splash Battle Die Bucht der Totenkopfpiraten.
When asked "Why a Diving Machine?", Candy Holland replied with a smile "It's not just a Diving Machine, but a real experience that will be, for its passengers, not only physically but also mentally captivating. They will be like a pirate approaching the plank suspended above the mouth wide open of a terrifying sea monster".
She adds "With a first-class material and attention into the details of the theming, the ride will be unique in Europe, and it a pleasure to work on its design!"
The tracks represent the tentacles of the octopus, while the trains will be composed of 3 rows of 6 seats arranged like a staircase, allowing passengers seated in the back row to take advantage as much as others in the drop! Note that the trains will be the less wide in the world, other Diving Machine models offering a row of 8 or 10 seats.
Several technical details on the huge construction site (10,000 sqm) have also been revealed. KRAKE will require about 50,000 hours of work, 2000 cubic meters of reinforced concrete, 150,000 kilograms of steel rods (for ground works), 700 tons of steel (supports, tracks and structures) as well as thousands of screws, nails and nuts to fix all that! Several concrete blocks of 12 tons have already been used to construct the pool of water.
"Only the bravest will survive the attack of an octopus!" You have been warned!
To see the progress of construction, go to: http://www.heide-park-baublog.de
