Park Updates #9

Despicable Me Update:

From Screamscape:

2012 - Despicable Me & Kong 360 - Rumor - (3/11/11) I’m hearing rumors that either Universal will not lose the rights to use Jimmy Neutron until the end of the year, or that they may have struck an extension deal to allow the ride to continue to operate a little longer. Either way, the rumors about a 2012 replacement attraction, still thought to be themed to Despicable Me, is going strong.
(2/18/11) In case anyone was wondering how much Universal may really want to have a Despicable Me attraction in their theme parks, consider this little tidbit. Sales of the Despicable Me DVD’s allowed Universal’s to show a 38% increase in their Q4 report.
(2/17/11) While I still don’t have any more solid info on the opening of a Despicable Me attraction for 2012, I did uncover that Despicable Me 2 was in production for a 2013 release. Adding a theme park attraction for 2012 would make perfect sense to see the characters alive and in the public focus for the year ahead of the new film’s premier. After all, Universal did the same thing with Shrek 4D, by opening it a year in advance of Shrek 2 hitting the theaters, and hyping it as the official story to bridge the gap between the two films.

I've come to the conclusion that I will just wait and see what Universal does. I trust them, and I'm ready for something new.

Don't get me wrong viewers, JNNB is a great ride at USF, but if it goes for a better attraction (Despicable Me), you got a deal! But if the rumor gets cheapened (Disaster), horrible (Fear Factor), or something bad (Miss Congeniality comes to mind), then just forget it: SAVE JIMMY NEUTRON!!!

So I will just wait and see what Universal does.

Cheetah Hunt:

Well, recently there was a fuss about the Skyride cable clearance and the airtime hill over the Skyride. It seems that the solution is to lower the towers around the coaster area:

(3/3/11) After yesterday’s big fuss over a possible miscalculation on Cheetah Hunt, I’m happy to report that I was able to get in touch with the park for a statement on the issue, which they report to be false. False as in there was no miscalculation… they have known all along that the they were going to lower the Skyride towers in that area to allow for Cheetah Hunt to jump over it. Here is the statement from the park below…
“…part of what makes Cheetah Hunt such an amazing addition is its use of an interaction with existing park elements. To make that happen, of course it has been necessary to make major changes to several park landmarks like Rhino Rally, the Clydesdale Hamlet, the Crown Colony and the Monorail Station.
Some of the more subtle changes include raising the floor in the Monorail Station, cutting back the waterfall outcropping in Rhino Rally canyon and moving some of the Serengeti Express’ train tracks. Some of the more major changes – many of which are immediately noticeable to guests in the area – that are taking place include building new guest bridges and pathways between Nairobi and Edge of Africa, building a seating terrace in front of the Crown Colony, replacing the Clydesdale Hamlet’s wooden stalls with secure “bedrooms” for the cheetahs, and, indeed, lowering certain Skyride towers near the area where the track “jumps” the cable.”
While we’re on the subject of Cheetah Hunt, check out the latest construction update over at BGT Nation and RCPro this week.
(3/2/11) The big rumor coming in from several contacts and sources over the past 24 hours is that a couple of big issues have come up with Cheetah Hunt. First of all, several people are saying that the work in “Trench 2” has hit a snag as the digging down there may be having a problem with water seeping into the trench that has to be addressed. (It’s hard to dig too deep in Florida before you hit the water table you know…)
The second and larger issue of note has to do with that “leap” over the Skyride. The big rumor going around this week is that a serious miscalculation was made here and that there is going to be clearance issues between Cheetah Hunt and the SkyRide. I attempted to get a statement about this rumor from Busch Gardens Tampa today, but as of this writing, they have not gotten back in touch with me with a comment.
Having said that, one has to wonder where the error was made. Did the surveyors make the mistake long before the construction started, or did an error come from Stengle’s layout calculations, the track fabricators or even Intamin itself? We can’t just point the finger at Intamin here and say, “Look, another Maverick” as there really are simply too many piece of the puzzle right now to know where the fault came from.
In the end, it sounds like either the coaster is going to have to be altered or the SkyRide itself. Don’t think that it would be simply to try and “shorten” the SkyRide towers however, as there is a lot more involved than that. They would have to get a new shorter cable for the ride, and then likely have to adjust the whole counter-weight system that maintains the tension on the cable at all times. If they used the same old counter-weight, it would likely put too much tension on the cable and could damage or even snap it.
Of course manufacturing new track for a higher jump over the SkyRide may not be a viable solution either if the coaster’s layout does not allow for the train to have enough velocity to achieve the higher jump at that point in the ride. In this case, they could be forced to return to the original idea, as seen in the animation, where the track simply goes under the SkyRide once again.
In the end, I’m really hoping the rumors are wrong here and that we’ll see Cheetah Hunt open as promised for Memorial Day Weekend. More as I find out…

Vertical construction has restarted today with the 130 ft. drop into the second trench going up.

http://www.bgtnation.net/2011/03/cheetah-hunt-tower-drop-started.html

And it seems that the trains are on site (they have been painted recently):

http://www.bgtnation.net/2011/03/cheetah-hunt-train-on-track-station.html

They look very cool... perfect for hunting with cheetahs! =D

Invertigo On the Move:

Looks like Dragon Coaster, one of the rides by the old Laser site getting removed, is going up at Valleyfair for Planet Snoopy (it has been reported on February 18). Meanwhile, more evidence of Invertigo going up at Dorney Park is appearing in the form of deliveries (this also includes recent Invertigo deconstruction updates):

February 14, 2011 - A crane has appeared by Invertigo.

February 18, 2011 - Some track from the spike is gone.

February 22, 2011 - Invertigo's cars arrive at Dorney Park.

February 25, 2011 - The spike supports/track are gone

March 8, 2011 - Invertigo track pieces have been discovered in the Dorney Park parking lot.

And from Screamscape:

2012 - Invertigo - Semi-Confirmed - (3/7/11) A local area reader snapped a great picture of a piece of Invertgo track leaving CGA on it's way to Dorney Park this week. This has been followed by two more pictures sent in showing off two entirely different trucks carrying different Invertigo track pieces crossing the country, which is kind of amazing coverage to have all in one short weekend. Way to go to the Screamscape readers for keeping their eyes open and camera phones at the ready!

This information pretty much confirms Invertigo's final destination.

Kings Island 2012:

From Screamscape:

2012 - New Attraction - Rumor - (2/22/11) Kings Island has been teasing their facebook fans for a couple of weeks now with strange drawings of a twisted red-line. At first I was thinking it was some kind of walk-around path, created by a GPS style tracking system, but now others also believe it may be a topography map that could show off a possible expansion to the X-Base area of the park. In any case, this seems to be the start of hints for what’s to come in 2012 to Kings Island. You can catch the latest image and some comments posted over at KICentral.

Recently there has been crazy rumors spreading that Kings Island will get something big for 2012 (their 40th season). I remember posting a rumor that Flight Deck (Arrow Suspended) was getting removed in 2011. The rumor then was the 2012 ride. As of November, however, the ride is getting repainted, so it seems it could be staying for a few more years.

Now the 2012 rumor (as seen on Screamscape) seems to involve a forest behind Racer (as seen on the "Planning" from February 14, 2011):


















Other teases from the park include:

January 28, 2011 - A picture of a dinosaur footprint in the snow.

February 4, 2011 - A strange picture of a red outline is posted on KI's Facebook page.

March 7, 2011 - A picture of Don Helbig (president of Kings Island) doing some work on the 2011 park map and covering the Son of Beast area and the stated area (I'm not sure if this is a teaser or not).

March 9, 2011 - Something weird appears on Kings Island's main page, showing the words "Something big is coming. You're history. 3-18-11" (hinting an announcement six days from now). It returns to normal later.

March 11, 2011 - The weird tagline appears again as: "Turn Back The Clock On Thrill. SOMETHING BIG IS COMING TO KINGS ISLAND." "3.18.11"

http://www.visitkingsisland.com/public/park/mud/index.cfm

And today, a little more of the page is revealed, showing a hilarious teaser video of the "announcement" (which is censored):



XD And other goodies include some pics:

















^A marked out tree.

















^Some really muddy water.

















^Some dirt with tracks on it (probably from construction equipment).

What could this be? Rumors seem to be out of control from a new section of the park (probably themed to prehistory), a new section of the park with a new coaster, or a new coaster. I doubt this has anything to do with Son of Beast, so we can rule that out for now, though some rumors state that the coaster will be getting a Texas Giant-type makeover (all depends on if the new Texas Giant is successful or not, which it seems so).

Anyways, I think the 2nd choice seems the most logical. As for the type of coaster, I think we could be dealing with one of the following options:

1. B&M Inverted Coaster
2. Intamin Blitz
3. Intamin Giga
4. B&M Dive Machine
5. B&M Wing Coaster

Any one of these sounds good, but I sense that this could be America's first B&M Wing Coaster, like Raptor at Gardaland and LC12 at Thorpe Park.

Either way, this looks like an interesting project to look, though this can be for anything (I still have a wild guess this is a B&M Wing Coaster). Why would I say something like that... well...

Because I'm CRAAAZY!!!!! Haha, just had to put it there somehow (I'm not just a coaster fanatic... Plants Vs. Zombies = HEAVEN TOO!!)...

Park Updates #8

Manta Confirmed for SeaWorld San Diego:

From SeaWorld Blog:

The new 2012 attraction will blend the exhilaration of a coaster with the grace and beauty of marine life.

Manta is coming to SeaWorld San Diego. The new mega-attraction, which will open in 2012, will combine the thrill of a launch coaster with an amazing marine-life exhibit.

“We are very excited to unveil Manta,” said SeaWorld park president, John Reilly. “This new launch coaster, the first of its kind for SeaWorld San Diego, will take riders on twists, turns and drops, while also immersing them into the world of the bat ray and other incredible marine creatures.”

Swooping, diving and twisting, Manta will not only inspire visitors with its 100,000-gallon underwater animal habitat, but take them on an unforgettable ride on a coaster shaped like a giant manta ray.

Manta also will feature a unique “launch station” where the passengers will start the ride enclosed in a launch tunnel with larger-than-life images of rays projected on a 270-degree enveloping screen. This stunning introduction to the world of the rays also will visually enhance the physical acceleration as the ride launches down the track. This state-of-the-art projection system will be the first of its kind in the United States.

“We are delighted to bring energizing new attractions to our guests year after year, and Manta does just that and more,” said Reilly. “It combines the thrilling excitement of a coaster, with the wonderful educational experience of an incredible marine-life exhibit. Our visitors are going to love Manta.”

Riders and non-riders alike will be able to immerse themselves the graceful beauty of bat rays and fishes. Forbidden Reef, an existing SeaWorld attraction where guests can feed and touch bat rays, will be incorporated and enhanced as part of Manta.

“With Manta, our guests will be able to see and interact with 65 bat rays, 10 guitar fish, and hundreds of fishes,” said SeaWorld San Diego curator of fishes, Thad Dirksen. “The below-water viewing area will include eight acrylic windows and a reef design. The above-water interaction area will allow our guests more opportunities to touch and feed the rays.”

http://www.insideseaworld.com/seaworld-san-diego-announces-new-manta-coaster

This link also shows some concept art and an on-ride video.

Manta SoCal looks like fun. I've enjoyed the one in Florida and Blue Fire at Europa Park, and this one will look very enjoyable.

Thorpe Park 2012:

Recently, Thorpe Park has been teasing about their 2012 coaster project. Now it looks like this will be the next B&M Wing Coaster:

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=53056&start=60#p999885

Now before you say something... check out the pics of the side elevation... where it looks like the ride will flip ON TOP OF THE LIFT HILL! =O B&M has never done that before! And it looks like there will be four inversions:

1. The half loop on top of the lift hill (used as a drop)
2. Zero-G-Roll
3. Corkscrew
4. In-line twist

Those sound GREAT to me! Now I'm REALLY praying for one of these to come to America! =D

And it looks like there will be a post-apocalyptic theme (there are some ruined vehicles that act as theming, like a helicopter, airplane, and some ruined trucks(for shopping purposes)). The track will be painted light military green and dark green (according to a post on Page 9 of the above link).

Just in case there is any doubt this is B&M, check this out (Screamscape):

2012 - LC12 - In Development - (2/10/11) According to a posting at UK Park News, Thorpe Park has confirmed through a planning application that their 2012 coaster project is from B&M to be located on a new development island “adjacent to Stealth” and will be just under 40 meters tall. One item though that I have to question… why does this statement say refer to B&M as being a “German manufacturer”?
The error aside… If I were a betting man, I’d be placing all my chips on this being one of the new B&M 4th Dimension / WingWalker style designs (like Raptor at Gardaland) with some all new more progressive design elements.

From UK Park News:

That’s right! In a recent press release, it has been confirmed that renowned Roller Coaster manufacturers, Bolliger & Mabillard, have been commissioned to build a unique, 40m high Roller Coaster for the 2012 season!

The full press release can be read below

“In line with THORPE PARK’s Medium Term Development Plan, application for full planning permission for a new rollercoaster in 2012 has been submitted to Runnymede Borough Council. This can be viewed on the Runnymede Borough Council website, www.runnymede.gov.uk (ref: RU.11/0101).

The German manufacturer Bolliger and Mabillard have been commissioned to build the unique new rollercoaster due to their consistent record of delivering extreme rides of the highest quality. Subject to planning permission, the ride will open in Spring 2012 and will be located on one of the new development islands adjacent to Stealth, measuring just under 40 metres in height.

Mike Vallis, Divisional Director, comments:

“THORPE PARK has developed significantly over the last decade to create the ‘must do’ destination for thrill seekers in the UK. We have focussed our investment on delivering exciting new rides and attractions including SAW – The Ride: the world’s first horror movie themed rollercoaster, Stealth: one of Europe’s fastest rollercoasters, Colossus: the world’s first 10 looping rollercoaster and Nemesis Inferno the 4.5 G-force experience.

This new development for 2012 will further add to the Park’s impressive ride portfolio and firmly establish the THORPE PARK as the nation’s Thrill Capital with a wide range of adrenaline pumping rides.”

http://www.ukparknews.co.uk/entry/cms/?p=3016

Yep, it will be the next B&M Wing Coaster. =)

Invertigo Dorney Park:

Last week, Dorney Park sent plans to the local township for a new coaster to replace the old Laser site:

Mum's the word on a new ride slated to join Dorney Park's lineup of belly-dropping, giggle-inducing thrillers, and park representatives say enthusiasts will have to wait until summer 2012 to try it out.

Dorney Park's parent corporation, Cedar Fair L.P., submitted a plan to South Whitehall Township for a new 138-foot-high amusement ride. But the plan doesn't mention what kind of a ride it is, and the park's general manager, Jason McClure, said his lips are sealed.

"We are keeping our focus on 2011 and all the new things we have in store with Planet Snoopy," McClure said.

The park's opening day will reveal the results of an $8 million top-to-bottom makeover of 10-year-old Camp Snoopy, the 3.5-acre children's area named after the too-cool beagle from Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" comic strip. The renovation will bring six new rides, an amphitheater, a souvenir store and a "soda pop shop" featuring root beer floats.

Dorney representatives will take questions about the proposed 2012 addition from the South Whitehall Planning Commission on Feb. 17, but even that won't demystify the new ride.

"The Planning Commission can ask us a variety of questions… but it's premature to get into a lot of detail," McClure said.

That hasn't stopped people from speculating that the incoming ride will be a coaster from California's Great America called Invertigo. The coaster happens to be 138 feet tall and is being relocated to another park within Cedar Fair's amusement park empire, according to a Great America news release issued last week.

Invertigo takes riders sitting face to face up a 138-foot-tall tower, then on several loops and twists both forward and backward through three inversions.

The rumor of the swap surfaced last week on a theme-park fan site called Screamscape.com, but Dorney spokesman Chuck Hutchison said the rumors are just that — rumors.

Invertigo reopened in July almost a year after a mechanical failure left two dozen people trapped 80 feet in the air for at least three hours, according to CNN. All of the trapped riders were rescued and no one was injured.

Under Dorney's proposal for a new ride, several kiddie rides would be removed, as well as a basketball game, concrete midways and a portion of a paved service drive, affecting about 1.7 acres of the 187-acre property zoned as commercial recreation.

Three Dorney rides are listed for sale on Ital International LLC, which dubs itself as the amusement industry's most comprehensive new and used ride brokerage source. The Antique Cars and Dune Buggy rides are both listed for $18,000, and the Kiddie Merry-Go-Round is listed for $25,000.

The ride is slated for the western portion of the park, just north of Lincoln Avenue and Dorney Park Road and south of the mammoth Steel Force coaster, where the old Laser coaster used to be.

The Laser was removed in 2008 after 22 years of double-loop thrills. The portable coaster, anchored by tanks of water, was originally named Colossus.

The site of the new ride, where Laser stood, is on the edge of a 100-year flood plain. The location caused heated debate at the township level when Dorney sought approval for Laser. It was eventually approved with a host of conditions attached.

If Invertigo greets fans in 2012, it would be the park's third inverted coaster, making Dorney Park the only amusement park in the country to have three true inverted coasters, according to a post on Screamscape.com.

McClure said the park will release more information on the ride this summer.

It looks quite similar to Invertigo at CGA:

2012 - Invertigo - Rumor - (2/3/11) Dorney Park has now submitted plans to the local township for a 138 foot tall ride for the 2012 season. Funny how that proposed attraction height matches up almost perfectly with the Invertigo coaster being removed from California’s Great America. The proposed site will take up the former site of the removed Laser coaster, as well as some surrounding area, removing a few kiddie rides in the process.

Hmmm...

Cheetah Hunt Construction:

Looks like track is nearly complete, as the only bit of track left is the drop, second trench, and the first half of the first s-bend (which according to pics looks to be going OVER the Skyride =O). It's looking really good.

Raptor Begins Testing:

You heard that right, testing has begun on Raptor at Gardaland recently (from paolobrescio):



http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56021&start=530#p996406

Oh my, those trains look so awesome! =D And also...

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56021&start=600#p999878

They've added some theme elements to one of the turns. Looks good! =)

Harry Potter Phase 2:

From Teebin at Orlando United:

Hmm... about two weeks ago, two baby sand hill cranes that were born on the property next door almost a year ago were sent packing by their parents. One of them was sent west to meet with a very well known theme park design group on the west coast regarding a more distant pacific new project. The other, so it was hinted to me took an eastern flight of 6 hours or so... to propose/present a whole lot/small lot (I do not know) of somethings re: a non-sPACIFIC project. Said crane is hesitant about a breakfast of neeps and tatties for several days. The parent cranes maintain a constant presence in the area since I have lived here and appear to breed "industry" cranes. Have a nice day.

It looks to me like the first crane he mentioned went for Universal Singapore or Dubai (or even South Korea) and the other could be for London, England, to meet with JK Rowling for Harry Potter Phase II. And to prove my point about that last one, from Disneyhead at Orlando United:

OK, Teebin beat me to it, but what I am hearing is that the plans are drawn up and have been presented to JK. They are waiting for her approval. The expansion plan presented includes one major attraction and at least one minor attraction. And that is all I know about it. I have no clue what the area will be or what any of the attractions concepts are.

Yep... definitely starting to reach the grips of reality. =D

Let me just say that the Lost Continent, unfortunately, has become a shell of its former self. Poseidon's Fury was my least favorite attraction at IOA (though last time it was a little bit better, but still lame), and I'd take a Gringotts indoor coaster over this attraction anyday. While I haven't tried Mythos, I wouldn't mind seeing Leaky Cauldron going up (though they can keep it to, like Screamscape says) in its place. And while Sinbad is a fun show, it unfortunately can't save this poor island. And a Triwizard show would be awesome! =D

Well, next time I'm at Universal (assuming I won't be there for a long time after that), I'm going to have to experience the Lost Continent and Terminator one last time.

Park Updates #8

Well, I'm in the middle of my California trip (in Sacramento) and I thought I'd catch what I missed lately:

SoCal Harry Potter:

From Screamscape:

???? - Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Under Consideration - (12/17/10) While there is a huge push right now to bring the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Universal Hollywood, I’ve also heard from some insiders that not all members of management are hot to jump on the bandwagon. It’s not that they aren’t impressed with the Wizarding World, but more to do with the timeline the Hollywood park would face if they were to approve the project.
Even if a deal is signed, the land designed and budgets approved, your still facing the fact that a West coast version wouldn’t be ready to open until at least 2014 at the earliest. With the final film in the series set to launch a little over 6 months, it would be 3 more years until guests could walk the corridors of Hogwarts. So to these more concerned management members, they have to address the elephant in the room and ask, does Harry Potter have the staying power to stay a hot property for 3 solid years beyond the release of the final film?
In most cases, the answer would be no… something new is always ready to come along, but there is a chance that Harry Potter could become a timeless and endearing entertainment series for the ages, much like Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Back To The Future. Still, the ever enticing profit margin reports from Universal Orlando are proof enough for most Execs that they need to pursue this. After all, you’ve got to take risks in business from time to time…
That all said… one does also have to ask, is Harry Potter’s story all over and done? Are there other tales that JK Rowling may have left in her pen that may take place in the Wizarding World, outside of the goings of Mr. Potter? Even JK Rowling isn’t sure it seems, as she apparently told Oprah not long ago that she could definitely write an eighth or a ninth book but, “I think I am done, but you never know.”

Honestly, IMO, HP does have the staying power to last 3 years (and possibly more).

And even if it didn't, I would still say build it. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has been the greatest success for Universal since 1999, when they added Islands of Adventure, CityWalk, and the resort (the hotels). I really don't see a reason why they can't build it in Hollywood.

As for my idea, now I think it makes sense to put up Forbidden Journey where the Gibson Ampitheater sits, and Flight of the Hippogriff in between that and the Waterworld site. They can put up Hogsmeade after Hippogriff, and a Dragon Challenge clone where Waterworld currently sits.

If USH were to do that, I'd be all for it. =)

Cheetah Hunt Construction:

Well, it seems like track work has shifted to the old wet portion of Rhino Rally, where the drop from the block brake and most of the canyon track has been installed recently. As of today, footers for what seem to be the third launch and the block brake have been poured. Footers have also been poured for the heartline roll. As for the third trench, rebar is going in for the footers, so looks like footer pouring will begin pretty soon in that area.

Foundations are also getting poured for the entrance theming (they started on December 16), as seen in the concept art leaked out in September, and as of today, work has begun on the entrance itself. And another thing I didn't notice was that the old Skyride sign was removed (as of July 6, when they were starting construction in the old monorail station). I actually thought it was still there, until I saw a pic from RCPro's latest update. XD

Another thing I've noticed is that some Rhino Rally props are still in the canyon (such as the big waterfall, the falling water scene, and the old jeep). Could they be reusing them for this new coaster? Hmmm...

This is REALLY starting to excite me... =D

Kentucky Kingdom New Coaster:

It seems that Ed Hart wants a B&M coaster when he reopens the park in 2012, according to one of his recent videos. Here is what Screamscape has to say about it:

Park News - (12/21/10) An interview with Ed Hart about Kentucky Kingdom has been posted to ParkThoughts. The big surprise is that Ed claims that the new coaster he wants for the park will be a B&M, though the exact type was not mentioned. With so many other B&M’s in the Ohio area (Diamondback, Mantis, Raptor) I would almost thing that Ed might want to look into a coaster design not already used in the area.
That knocks out Hypers, Stand-Ups and Inverted designs, and due to height restrictions a Dive Machine is right now as well (unless they go deep underground), so to me that leaves Floorless, Flying and the new Wing Rider style design under construction in Europe right now.
Any of these would be a good idea, but I think a really classy Flyer may be a great idea for the park, and as SeaWorld has shown with Manta, a nice intense Flyer with lots of low to the ground elements can be a fantastic addition. Plus it would blow away Firehawk at nearby Kings Island, which is always a plus.
Other news from Ed Hart included: a dedicated parking lot for the park, with free parking for guests, plus the prices of food will be competitive with outside food vendors in order to keep guests IN the park rather than leaving to eat elsewhere.

I really like the Flying Coaster idea (partially because of my love for Manta and Tatsu, which I've ridden recently at SFMM). Ed also mentions that it would go up in the old entrance area.

I'm really looking forward to how this park will be brought back from the dead. A redone Twisted Twins, a new B&M coaster, a big water park expansion... I'm just wondering what he will do with Greezed Lightning (currently sitting in the park entrance).

Either way, this is getting interesting... =) It's hard to believe that this park, which I thought would be demolished, is coming back from the dead with some great additions.

HP Phase II:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/wizarding-world-of-harry-potter/os-universal-harry-potter-20101215,0,1982334.story

When "60 Minutes" profiled Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg earlier this month, the TV piece included a look at some of Zuckerberg's personal posts online. They showed that the 26-year-old billionaire, whose website has more than 500 million users, had recently been in Orlando — visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

It was yet another jolt of publicity for Universal Orlando, which has been basking in a global spotlight since Wizarding World's formal opening in mid-June. The rides, shops and eateries themed around J.K. Rowling's beloved boy wizard have triggered a renaissance at Universal this year, snapping an extended slump and powering the resort to the strongest performance in its 20-year history.

"It has definitely exceeded our expectations," said Alice Norsworthy, Universal's executive vice president for marketing and sales.

But now, as it concludes 2010 and prepares for a new year, Universal faces a new challenge: keeping Potter's magic alive. Already, resort executives are wrestling with questions such as when to expand Wizarding World and how to keep business balanced between Islands and Universal Studios Florida — the park without Potter.

Experts say how Universal answers such questions will ultimately determine whether it is able to hold on to the gains it has made this year.

"The challenge will be to create a continuous buzz," said Abe Pizam, dean of the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management. "It's difficult to maintain the high level of [initial] interest. You have to create buzz on a regular basis."

36% attendance jump

It is difficult to overstate how dramatic Universal's turnaround has been. Last Christmas, Orlando's No. 2 theme-park resort was limping to the end of a year in which attendance tumbled by 1.3 million people to 9.3 million — its first year with fewer than 10 million visitors since Islands of Adventure opened in 1999.

This year's yuletide is far merrier. Attendance for the third quarter — which began days after Wizarding World formally opened June 18 — skyrocketed 36 percent, as Universal drew an extra 1 million people in just three months. It has continued to climb through the fall.

"I can't remember the last time anyone saw a 36 percent increase in attendance," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, a Cincinnati consultancy.

Wizarding World's effect has been even more pronounced in areas beyond attendance. Universal's merchandise revenue more than doubled to $48.7 million, fueled by sales of magic wands and other Potter souvenirs. Food-and-beverage sales jumped 59 percent to $43.4 million on the popularity of butterbeer. And non-theme-park revenue rose 61 percent to $48.2 million, thanks primarily to sales of vacation packages through Universal's travel unit that offered early entry to Wizarding World.

The resort's CityWalk nightlife district has benefitted, as well. When " Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" arrived in theaters last month, Universal scheduled midnight shows on all 20 screens in CityWalk's movie megaplex. The resort said every showing sold out.

Universal has had to make adjustments on the fly to manage the crowds. The resort has at times distributed to guests receipts with return times just to enter the Wizarding World section of Islands of Adventure. Inside, it halted sales of liquor over the summer so workers in the "Hog's Head" tavern could more quickly fill mugs of butterbeer.

It has faced some complaints. Some fans, for instance, have criticized the small size of Wizarding World's shops, where long lines routinely spill outside. And some experts say the limited capacity has likely cost Universal sales as frustrated guests forgo purchases.

"The undersizing was a major issue," Speigel said. "It cost them money."

But Universal executives, who call the shops "retail theater," said they were designed to look just as they are described in the Potter books and appear in Potter movies. The authenticity, they say, is what has made Wizarding World so popular in the first place.

"That's how crowded it is; that's how chaotic it is [in the books and movies]. I think that is what helps to create the demand," said John Sprouls, Universal's chief executive officer. "I don't think we have any concerns about leaving revenue on the table."

Add to Universal Studios?

Few, if any, experts expect the frenzy to subside in the immediate future.

John Puchalla, an analyst with Moody's Investors Service, predicts Universal's attendance will continue climbing by 15 percent or more through the first half of 2011. He expects it will turn slightly negative in the second half of the year — but only because Universal will be facing tough comparisons against this year's grand-opening crowds.

"We believe the attendance lift generated from the June 2010 opening of [Wizarding World] will continue for the next several years," Puchalla wrote in a research note last month.

Still, amid all the attention being paid to Potter and Islands of Adventure, Universal is taking steps to prop up Universal Studios, which is the resort's original theme park and was, until Wizarding World opened, its busiest. The resort's lowest-priced annual passes for 2011 prohibit entry to Islands of Adventure over the summer — but permit admission to Universal Studios.

Executives have also begun discussing how and when to add to Wizarding World. Among the debates: whether to add something more to Universal Studios first.

Puchalla expects Universal to spend about $80 million on construction in 2011. Though that would be significantly less than the $105 million a year it averaged from 2007 to 2010 — when it built Wizarding World in Islands and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and The Simpsons Ride in Universal Studios — it would still be about twice the annual capital spending that Universal averaged during the middle part of the decade.

Although they won't discuss specific plans, Universal executives say additions to Wizarding World will happen at some point. The resort's licensing contract with Warner Bros. requires it to incorporate elements from the final Potter films, the last of which will open in theaters in July.

"We intend to very gladly live up to all those commitments," Sprouls said.

I wonder what USF will do if they were to expand before Potter... hopefully the end of Fear Factor. >=D And maybe they will expand to that plot of land behind the Simpsons Ride (Back to the Future-themed MACK LSM anyone?).

As for one of the last sentence... I wonder if that will involve a Gringotts-themed indoor coaster, with a dragon animatronic? Hopefully so. =D And maybe a Ministry of Magic walkthrough in Poseidon Fury's place (of course, WAY better than what is currently there)? Oh yeah... *drools*

Either way, all this is making me smile... with a BIG grin! =D

Park Updates #7

Harry Potter USH:

From Screamscape:

???? - Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Under Consideration - (12/13/10) The buzz about the possibility of a second Wizarding World of Harry Potter coming to Universal Hollywood has got some of the big Hollywood gossip hounds talking now. The news we revealed even made the headlines over at Perez Hilton, though for some reason they chose to link to our news indirectly through a posting at MuggleNet instead of coming right to the source, but what can you do, right?
Of course from what I’ve been told, Universal is 100% at this point, and like the Universal Orlando project, the fate of it all lies once again in the hand of JK Rowling. Of course this may not be the end-all either as there may be another mystery project in development between Universal Creative and JK Rowling as well… hmmm. More on this later.

Well, if this is true, HP is bound to come to California soon... I hope so! With me being a huge Harry Potter fan, I think "the more Potter, the better!" =D

Trike Encounter Returns:

Well, after months of speculation, the Trike Encounter in Jurassic Park (at IOA) has reopened today:

http://orlandoparksnews.blogspot.com/2010/12/breaking-news-triceratops-discovery.html

Well, JP does need more things to do... I hope this is their first step. Then maybe a Raptor Encounter, a Pteranodon Flyers redo to Canopy Flyers, and a B&M 4D/Wing Rider using the Pteranodon theme.

I305:

From Screamscape Twitter:

PKD Fans, John Pagel (PR Mgr) will be live on In The Loop tonight at 8pm EST, talking about Intimidator 305.

I can't see the video tonight (because its almost bedtime), but I wonder if this involves the rumored reprofile. I can't wait to see.

Cheetah Hunt:

As of now, the track has been complete from the final brake run, through the station, the first launch, first turn, first trench, second launch, and half of the Windcatcher Tower (with the supports for it up too). I wonder if before winter break, they will complete the tower and the second trench, or if they'll just complete the tower.

Either way, I'm getting excited! =D

X-Raptor:

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56021&start=400#p971151

As of December 5, 2010, X Raptor is complete, with the over-banked turn after the first drop up.

Hmmm... I wonder when I'll see one of these go up in the USA (I know, I keep saying it)...

Park Updates #6

Orlando Thrill Park:

From Screamscape:

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?

Okay, the time I hear that an inverted Intamin Strata is coming to Florida is when I start drooling over this... oh, how I hope this is true! =D

And here is the link to the artwork:

http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/news/25759223/detail.html

According to the artwork it seems to include the following (from quotes):

1. "Ride 1 Inverted Accelerator Coaster 425 ft height" (world's first Intamin Inverted Strata)
2. "Ride 5 Motorbike Launch Coaster 55 ft height" (Vekoma Motorbike)
3. "Ride 3 ZacSpin Coaster 82 ft height" (Intamin ZacSpin, 2nd in America)
4. "Ride 7 Stingray Flying Coaster 106 ft height" (Vekoma Stingray)
5. "Ride 8 Drop Tower 312 ft height" (*manufacturer guess unknown* Drop Tower)
6. "Ride ? Revolution 74 ft height" (Chance Revolution)
7. "Ride 4 Mega Splash 121 ft height" (Intamin Mega Splash)
8. Vekoma SLC

There are also some unknown rides, possibly some kind of hyper coaster made by B&M or Intamin (oh please let this be true!! =D) and another Intamin Blitz coaster (Maverick, Cheetah Hunt).

Sounds good to me! =D

Busch Gardens Tampa:

Track has yet to go up, but a plethora of footers have been poured in the first trench/first launch/second launch area, with the bridge (that goes over it) frame taking shape. There is also work going on inside the old Clydesdale Hamlet, which will become home to Cheetah Run. As for the construction in the middle, it seems that land clearing has expanded from the second trench to the third trench (which recently got metal frames). In the upper portion, footers have also been poured in the old wet portion of Rhino Rally. Also, according to BGTNation's latest update, it seems that vertical construction will start NEXT WEEK. I'm just wondering why vertical construction hasn't started now.

In any case, I'm VERY excited!

Gardaland:

More track has gone up for X Raptor, featuring a third inversion:

http://www.theparks.it/gardaland-p1/notizie/2010/11/ufficializzata-la-terza-inversione-per-x-raptor-n875/

It seems to be an inline twist. Sounds like this ride is going to be pretty intense.

Park Updates #5

Green Lantern:

http://coasterfusion.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?9492.210

So it seems that green track (aka Chang track with a new look) is on site (and has been for a 2-3 weeks). It seems to be in a fenced off portion of the parking lot by Kingda Ka. They also seem to have closed off some of the premium parking lot for work on the area soon to hold Green Lantern's lift hill to begin (it will be parallel to Superman Ultimate Flight). In fact, from the looks of those pics, they seem to have already begun tearing out some of the concrete on the parking lot.

Cheetaka:

It seems that the 4th teaser video has been released (October 4th), showing the part of the ride entering the old wet portion of Rhino Rally. It includes an inversion (a heartline roll over the railroad), two straight-aways, a near-miss with a waterfall, and some trick tracks. It also seems that after the 3rd launch, you go up a massive (literally massive) airtime hill as you head back to the station. And here's this neat theory from Shellemonster at Orlando United:

Interesting indeed, Busch is really trying something new here. It's like a terrain coaster with launches. I love how this takes us in and around the veldt because what isn't shown in these videos is the fact that we will be flying close by through animal exhibits.

Like at SeaWorld where you become the manta ray on Manta, it seems like we will become a cheetah on Cheetaka. You prowl out of the station, jump up to get a good vantage point to select your prey (figure8 tower), launch off chasing the prey, circle it, and wrestle it to death in the valley, then return from the kill. Maybe I'm reading too much into this...

And as for construction, it seems that some bars were installed in the second trench (currently being excavated), and it seems that work has begun on tearing out the old wet portion of Rhino Rally.

Meanwhile, check this out:

Next week, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Discovery Cove in Orlando will both announce major new attractions coming to the parks in 2011.

But this message will be shared in a different way than many of the parks’ previous new attraction announcements. In an effort to grow and support its eager online Fan base, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove will announce the new attractions on their Facebook pages FIRST via video messages from the parks’ executives the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 13.

Stay tuned to these Facebook pages (make sure you "Like" them!) and you will be amongst the first to receive the big news:

www.Facebook.com/BuschGardensTampaBay

www.Facebook.com/DiscoveryCove

http://www.seaworldparksblog.com/busch-gardens-and-discovery-cove-make-major-announcements-next-week

Hmmm... isn't BGT rumored for a new addition in 2011...? Yep, it's pretty much safe to say that this announcement will be for Cheetaka. BTW, as for Discovery Cove, they are building an expansion, but I'm more excited for Cheetaka. =D

X-Raptor:

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56021&start=190

Vertical construction has begun on X-Raptor. It seems that station track is up, as well as some of the break run and final turn. Now I'm just wondering when the trains will be revealed and what the layout is. =D

Heide Park:

From Screamscape:

2011 - B&M Coaster - Rumor - (10/8/10) Now this may be an odd shot in the dark here, but I’m starting to really think we may be seeing something new and unique about this Heide Park B&M coaster. In addition to this being listed as a Dive Machine style coaster, but using what appears to be standard sized coaster track, something else seems to be sticking out as being different. Take a look again at the picture of the track found on site previously and take a good look at those two straight track pieces… with what looks like fins sticking up on them.
A few others have pointed this out before, but these seem to be magnetic brake fins, not unlike the style of brake fins we’ve seen Intamin using for the past few years. Others have pointed this out as well, that this is new for B&M as every other B&M coaster with magnetic brakes uses a very different system that has a horizonal fin run through the magnetic braking channels mounted close to the center of the tracks. (See Here)
B&M doesn’t experiment or change things lightly so there has to be a reason for switching to this new narrow-profile system, putting the fins on the tracks instead. I wouldn’t think adding the mag-brake units to the trains was a benefit, as they have to be heavier than the fins, so the real purpose here must have been to open up some space under the center of the train for something new perhaps. About the only thing I can think of that would go there would be hardware for either a new style lift system (cable lift?) or could we be seeing brand new B&M launch system technology put to use here?

So could we be seeing the first launched B&M Dive Machine???? *drops jaw* If that's the case, I might just have to visit this place soon... =D

Park Updates #4

Chang:

Looks like it is finally confirmed... after nearly a year of speculation... I give you... Chang's new home and new look!

JACKSON — Six Flags Great Adventure plans to add a new, 15-story roller coaster to its stable of thrill rides.

The new ride will be named Green Lantern, after the DC Comics superhero, and will be the 12th roller coaster featured at the park, park officials said Wednesday.

The theme park plans on a public unveiling of Green Lantern in the spring, according to spokeswoman Angel Aristone. The opening of the coaster also will coincide with the release of a motion picture based on the Green Lantern comic book character.

Designing the structure will be the Swiss-based company Bolliger & Mabillard, an engineering consulting firm that specializes in coaster construction.

Bolliger & Mabillard also is responsible for designing roller coasters such as Nitro, Bizarro, Superman-Ultimate Flight and Batman the Ride--all featured attractions at Great Adventure, park president John Fitzgerald said.

"Six Flags is home to many of the biggest roller coasters in the world, and Green Lantern brings an all new dimension of thrills,'' Fitzgerald said in a statement.

Officials said Green Lantern will stand 154 feet tall and reach speeds of up to 63 mph.

The newest coaster will offer a 2 minute ride and will begin with a 45-degree vertical drop before rocketing riders through five inversions … including a 121-foot-tall loop, a 103-foot dive loop and a 72-foot inclined loop.

Six Flags Great Adventure is home to Kingda Ka, considered the tallest and one of the fastest coasters in the world.

Green Lantern will be located in the boardwalk section of the theme park, Aristone said.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100916/STATE/100916019/What-comic-book-superhero-is-Six-Flags-Great-Adventure-s-new-roller-coaster-named-for-

And HAHA, they used No Limits for this! =P



Anyways, the colors look great! And the ride looks amazing with TWO TUNNELS!! =D

Cheetaka:

BGT continues to tease us with teaser videos... but this time, this one looks more exciting:



Someone made a Youtube video of a video they posted on the teaser site. From the looks of things... this looks like some of the POV of the coaster (from the second trench to the area before the former wet portion of Rhino Rally).

And if those colors are the official colors... that means "Yay!" for two green coasters! Seriously though, those colors look AWESOME! =D I also like how it gets close to the Skyride with those twisty-looking airtime hills! =D And the track... it looks like INTAMIN track (I am aware that Intamin was confirmed with the track piece, but I'm still in shock that I'm finally seeing an Intamin coaster in Florida). =D

Ratmead continues to excite us with cool BGT coaster pics:





These look to be from the second trench (at least I THINK that). These also seem to look like from the old wet portion of Rhino Rally.

In construction news, they've finally begun to dig the third trench (that goes under the path from Nairobi to Edge of Africa). See pics here:

http://www.orlandounited.com/forums/showthread.php?2618-Cheetaka/page52

Go to Octobers Fade's post.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Expansion:

And let me say, the Big Bad Wolf's removal last year was involved. It seems there will be an expansion involving both that area and the old Drachen Fire area. The expansion is rumored to include a drop tower (2011) and a new coaster (2012). And it seems like it will be announced TOMORROW.

Here's some reports from Screamscape for more info:

2011/2012 - Tower Ride / New Land / Flying Coaster - Rumor - (9/16/10) BGWFans has some new details about the upcoming announcement for the Williamsburg parks. In short, the drop tower is still coming, but will likely have a structure around the lower part of it like Dr. Doom in Florida. Catapult looks like it will be moved to New France, buildings revised, and coaster still on track for 2012.
(9/8/10) I’ve been told that Busch Gardens Williamsburg will make an announcement about their big plans for the next two years at both BGW and Water Country USA on September 18th.
(7/29/10) BGWFans has found the first group of numbered survey markings placed around the Katapult ride. As I’ve come to understand, numbered survey markings like this are actually the various control points that will surround the area to be surveyed… kind of a numbered sequence of markers that if you could connect the dots, you’d be able to draw an outline around the area where the construction will be taking place. Since some of the markings are inside the actual Katapult ride area, I’d guess that it is likely safe.
(7/22/10) Busch Gardens Williamsburg has put in a building permit to the local county planning office for an expansion to Germany that will include new food buildings, walkways and “a major ride and ride locations”. You can read it yourself here.
(7/11/10) Time to shake up the rumor mill… as we’ve been sent a new rumor about BGW’s next coaster project tentatively planned for 2012. According to our source the new coaster could actually come from a German company. I’m going to assume Schwartzkopf is still out of the picture, and they would likely avoid Maurer at this point given the troubles Universal has had with the Rockit coaster. This pretty much narrows things down to Mack and Gerstlauer. While Mack is mostly known for the Mouse coasters, they did make a big splash into the launched coaster market last year with Blue Fire, and their spinning coasters are very cool as well. Plus they have a long standing relationship with the Busch parks.
While Gerstlauer hasn’t been used by the former Busch parks yet, their impressive Eurofighter line of coasters (launched and vertical lift hill varieties) have already proven to be very adaptable to highly themed environments as seen with Dollywood’s Mystery Mine and Hansa Park’s Curse of Novgorod. A highly themed indoor/outdoor ride like this would be a great fit into BGW’s already impressive coaster collection.
(6/10/10) According to a report about the meeting BGW had with the local council about getting a waver to build their new drop tower ride, the park was granted their request. The few details given about the ride seemed to indicate that it may be placed on the old Big Bad Wolf site. Comments also mentioned at the meeting regarding noise issues and such seemed to indicate that the ride would not be fully enclosed either.
(4/29/10) According to the local news Busch Gardens Williamsburg has applied for a height waver to build a new “tower” style attraction, “not to exceed 260 feet above ground level”. The plans suggest that the tower will be built in the Germany section of the park next to Der Wirbelwind swing ride.
The funny thing is that I had first posted a rumor that an application for a height waver around 250 feet way back in January. And if you go back to a little over a year ago, we announced that one of Busch’s next two big thrill rides would indeed be a freestyle style drop tower ride. If the plans from one year ago remain the same, this new drop tower ride will actually be enclosed inside a dark castle themed structure, inspired by the Mystery Castle ride from Germany’s Phantasialand theme park. I’ve embedded a video below giving a unique, looking up from the ground, view of the Mystery Castle ride. This seems to offer a ride experience more like Disney’s Tower of Terror ride with speedy Up and Down movements along with special effects along the way. For comparison’s sake, the German ride is listed as being 65 meters tall, or 213 feet.
The idea of adding drop tower ride at BGW isn’t new however, as various plans have been drawn up at different times over the past decade. The first plan I had heard of was way back in 1999 when the park was coming up with plans to retheme the Hastings area into Ireland for 2001. While the only ride that made the final cut for Ireland was Corkscrew Hill, the land was actually envisioned to have a massive new signature attraction at one point, a pair of S&S Space Shot towers with the lower halves enclosed within a Castle themed structure, with the tops half of the towers poking out from a pair of tall castle spires. If this sounds familiar to anyone who has visited Florida’s big theme parks, it should, because the concept was an admitted copy of the brand new (at the time) Dr. Doom FearFall towers at Islands of Adventure.
As for this new version… I guess it’s finally time to see if the new owners are ready to build something as impressive as this could be, or if it will be stripped down in concept to be a more simply, plain and ordinary outdoor drop tower ride. More when we find out.
(1/31/10) A Screamscape reader tells us that Busch Gardens Williamsburg may have applied for a 250 ft height waver for a future attraction at the park, likely for the 2011 season. Can anyone else confirm this?
(1/25/10) One of our readers put together a little documentary video for everyone to enjoy entitled, “Say Goodbye to the Big Bad Wolf”. It was shot during a last second trip to the park to visit the Wolf one last time just days before it was to close down for good.
(12/29/09) It seems BGW’s Christmas Town event was popular enough that not only will it return in 2010, but they’ve put out a sign to say that it will expand into Italy next year. Take a look over at Behind The Thrills. Now for the bad news as I’ve been told that there is no longer any trace of the Big Bad Wolf coaster as you can see in the pictures posted here.
(12/4/09) A pic a friend gave me shows that the drop over the Rhine River is the only thing standing left from Big Bad Wolf.
(12/1/09) Christmas Town starts. Now for some bad news, almost all of the Big Bad Wolf is gone. They have the second and first lifts, and the drop over Rhine River still intact, but no sign of anything else. Shame…
(11/9/09) The Big Bad Wolf will get an exhibit.
(9/9/09) A tribute video for the Big Bad Wolf has been posted to Coaster-Net.
(9/8/09) From what I’ve been told Big Bad Wolf was pronounced dead at Busch Gardens Williamsburg last night at about 8:42pm. The lines were said to be fairly large on the last day until a spot of bad weather hit which ended up causing a good percentage of park guests to pack it in for the day early. Sunday seemed to also be a very good day for the Wolf with the average line length reported to be 60-90 minutes all day and the park extended hours to keep the Wolf running later into the night so everyone in line could get their final rides in the front row. According to one reader, the park was supposed to close at 9pm and the Wolf was running until 10:45pm on Sunday night. So sad… but I’m going to end this with a reader review of the Wolf’s final day.
“I have been riding the Wolf faithfully since she opened in 1984, and like many thousands of fans, have been saddened at her retirement. I did, however, make the most of her final season, and have enjoyed a few dozen rides on her in the past 4 weeks. I was at Busch Gardens when the gates opened this morning with my 6 year old son, and we were among the first riders of the final day to go out of the station in her first run of the day. It was awesome, and though sad, it was also a great way to pay respects to a coaster legend. It was also neat to be amongst the hundreds of other riders who were there to say so long, many of whom were in vintage t-shirts and hats that dated back to the Wolf's heyday! We will all miss her and only hope that her replacement will be half as grand as she was. Goodbye Big Bad Wolf, and retire knowing that you have thrilled millions in your 25 years! We will all miss you!”
(9/7/09) Today is supposed to be the last day for the Big Bad Wolf! Give her proper send off and for those of you who have bought the Save The Big Bad Wolf T-Shirts, lets see some pictures of you wearing them at the park! Sadly, it was already reported to me that the park has already removed the Wolf from their online park map. So sad…
(9/3/09) BGW wants to remind everyone that you only have until this Friday at 3pm to put in your bids to be one of the final 24 riders on Big Bad Wolf. The money does go to a good charity, the Busch Wildlife Conservation Fund at least. Looks like the top bidder is a huge one, having bid $27,300 for just one seat. Umm… that’s more than all the rest of the bids put together…wow… for that you could have bought every seat on the train and had a private last ride.
(9/1/09) According to the Bruce Wilson, the park’s Communication Supervisor, “anyone in line for The Big Bad Wolf prior to park closing will be able to ride. The last ride, however, will be reserved for the top 24 bidders in the auction.” So there you have it… and while I’d love to be there for the last ride myself, I’ve got to pity those who bought tickets to do so, as it could be a very very long wait for that privilege.
(8/30/09) The countdown to Save the Big Bad Wolf is on… as the last day is set for Sept. 7th. If that wasn’t bad enough, the park is trying to take advantage of enthusiasts now and is going to auction off the last seats on the last ride ever. How sad and tacky… I was hoping we could see some kind of massive crowd of people on the last night, howling all the way, filling the queue to the point that they would have to keep the Wolf open for several hours after the park closes just to give everyone a last ride. Now they’re going to try and organize it into one final ride? I just don’t see how they can do that without knowing how long the line of legit riders is going to be unless they’re going to do something extra insulting and close off the line several hours before the park even closes, thus denying the regular park guests the chance to get a last night ride in.
(8/13/09) Before it’s too late, I’ve summoned the aid of well-respected artist and coaster enthusiast JM Toussaint, to create a special T-Shirt design for our Save The Big Bad Wolf effort. JM Toussaint is a concept designer who, among other things, worked on the Dania Beach Hurricane at Boomers, the TransDemonium dark ride at Parc Asterix in France, The Cobra coaster at Admiral Vrungel's in Russia... He also created the RCDB logo and is currently working with the Dreamland Trust on plans to revive the legendary amusement park in Margate, UK. If I’m not mistaken, he is also the man responsible for nearly every cover of First Drop Magazine, the publication of the European Coaster Club.
Now please do head over to PrintFection to check out our new official Screamscape Gear store where you can view our cute Wolfie T-Shirt design. I chose PrintFection to create the shirts after hearing some good reviews for them, and also the fact that they seemed to have reasonable prices, and allowed me to put these shirts up for sale with zero mark-up from myself. So just in case anyone is wondering, I’m not making a dime off these items, they are all being sold at PrintFection’s lowest cost. Pick up a shirt and wear it to the park to show your support and love for The Big Bad Wolf!
(7/28/09) The About.com Theme Park page has posted a poll to get your opinion about the closing of the Big Bad Wolf. Meanwhile I’ve been told one of our readers make it on the air at a radio station in New York City to bring some attention to the closing of the Big Bad Wolf and our efforts to keep the coaster around for future generations. An online petition has just been started to Save The Big Bad Wolf so please do go and sign up.
(7/25/09 - Updated) I’m afraid it is official now, Busch Gardens Williamsburg has come clean with their plans to rip apart the Big Bad Wolf. Even worse, according to their press release you only have until Labor Day (Sept. 7th) to ride it, so it won’t be open through Howl-O-Scream which is a shame as a night time ride through the woods in the dark is as big a part of Howl-O-Scream to me as the haunts themselves. It’s almost funny as they say they are making the announcement now so fans can get a last ride in, but they’re only giving you a little over a month’s notice and without Howl-O-Scream rides, I know there sure is no way I’m going to be able to make it back one last time to pay my respects.
In the press release and new FAQ on the park’s website they keep saying that Big Bad Wolf has “reached the end of its service life” which is a bunch of crap. All rides need care, repair, and maintenance as they get older. The truth is that the Wolf is simply run out of “budget money.” It’s all bad timing as they want to build something nearby, want to create a better access pathway to former Drachen Fire site and with the economy the way it is, it’s just easier for them to deny the budget to make any needed preventative maintenance work.
Knowing Busch Entertainment as I do, I’ve always said that Busch has been more than willing to pay top dollar to buy the best rides and coasters they can get their hands on. As the capital for these projects comes from the corporate office, they get approval nice and easy... but for some reason Busch never has a good budget to maintain things after the fact... and the older something gets, the harder it is to push a maintenance budget for anything through the red tape, department meetings, and so on. After all the budget needed to maintain and keep Big Bad Wolf running has to go up against other things... like kitchen upgrades, new gift shops, restaurants... you know... things that make money and give a quicker Return on Investment. So when the VPs all sit around and haggle over which projects will make the budget on any given year, you can pretty much count on the ‘operations’ and ‘entertainment’ side of things getting the shaft every time since they don’t directly bring in income like Food and Merchandise departments and don’t have the ears of the corporate masters like the HR and Marketing departments do.
What almost makes this more insulting is that while they claim they have other ideas they are looking at for the Big Bad Wolf site in the future, they claim that those projects are far enough away that they haven’t been finalized yet. And yet... Big Bad Wolf has an “established timeline to dismantle this major attraction.” Sounds like they’ve had this in the works for some time to me! So why are they removing the Big Bad Wolf so early then? From what I’ve been told (off the record) it is because that when they do get around to announcing the unimpressive lackluster plan that is in place, they would rather have the Wolf be only a memory and a non-issue, rather than face the negative feedback from park guests.
So I’ve got to ask everyone... are you willing to fight for the Big Bad Wolf? Then you’ve got to write in, call in, or visit guest relations and let them know just how upset you are about this. I’ve seen coasters come and go... but something about the Big Bad Wolf has always been special to me, and I don’t think that I’m alone. Frankly, I’d rather see the Loch Ness Monster sent to the scrap-pile long before Big Bad Wolf was ever touched. While Nessie is a bit unique itself... it is not nearly as unique or as amazing as the Big Bad Wolf is. Once the Wolf is gone there will only be 3 suspended coasters left in the USA (Ninja, Flight Deck and Iron Dragon). Internationally there is also the Vortex in Canada, Vampire in the UK(which was upgraded a few years ago with new floorless trains) and Eagle’s Fortress in South Korea. On a global level, only Eagle’s Fortress has been able to give the Wolf some competition as to which one is the best in the world. There are also a small handul of Vekoma made version of the same ride system such as Grampus Jet in Japan, Sky Coaster in Thailand and Dream Catcher in Europe, the later two were both upgraded to Floorless trains as well. I really think Busch Gardens is just “missing the boat” here and not trying to upgrade and save the Big Bad Wolf for the next 25 years.
It’s just ironic that a park that is supposed to care about “preservation” and protecting “endangered species” has been so quick to sentence one of the most rare coaster designs in the world to an early death after only 25 years. The marketing folks just can’t see the value is reinventing this classic ride for another 25 years and the bean-counters are all too quick to deny the budget for it so they can pay off InBev’s debt from the purcahse of Anheuser-Busch. To be honest... had InBev never come knocking at Busch’s door with their take-over, I don’t think that this would be happening right now.
Here is the official press release from the park... read it and weep. I did...
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (July 24, 2009) – After 25 years traveling at the speed of fright, The Big Bad Wolf will take its last trip through Busch Gardens’ Bavarian village Sept. 7. “We hate to see The Big Bad Wolf go,” said John Reilly, Busch Gardens’ general manager. “We realize The Big Bad Wolf is a guest favorite. We’re making the announcement now so coaster fans can ride one last time before it closes after Labor Day.”
The world’s first suspended roller coaster took coaster design to a new level when it opened in 1984. And while it cannot claim to be the fastest or the tallest, more than 29 million guests have ridden what has become one of the park’s most beloved thrill attractions. Legions of fans—young and old alike—often cite it as their introduction to the coaster experience.
“The Big Bad Wolf offers a thrilling ride experience coupled with aggressive ride dynamics. While it remains a safe attraction, it has simply reached the end of its service life,” said Larry Giles, Busch Gardens’ vice president of engineering and design. Park officials are reviewing several design concepts for a new park attraction to replace The Big Bad Wolf, but no announcement is planned at this time.
(7/14/09) A few of you have already send off comments to the park in support of saving the Big Bad Wolf however it seems that the park has already drawn up a general reply letter where they give off the same line that we’ve heard before, “While the park's management appreciates your comment, the company has a long-held policy
against commenting on rumors or speculation concerning future park attractions.” Keep it up for now though... the battle isn’t going to be won in a day. I came up with a new idea today, one that was also suggested by a reader as well, that we come up with some kind of T-shirt design for the enthusiast crowd to wear into the park that clearly says something about saving The Big Bad Wolf as a way to let the general public know about the park’s plans to remove this world class coaster. The park can see fit to blow off enthusiast claims to keep the ride as a “minority opinion” but if we can bring this news to the attention of the rest of the park guests who will also complain, there may be a chance we can Save The Wolf!
Meanwhile one source claims that the public outcry that started earlier this summer over the leaked plans to remove the Wolf may have been enough to ensure it returns for the 2010 season, but the plans to remove it are still alive and well. I think they failed to understand how much people loved this coaster, on top of the higher upkeep costs involved with a coaster of this age. After 25 years of operation, the ride’s systems could use some upgrades and the trains are also nearing the end of their life span and need replacing. Instead of embracing the opportunity to buy new “open body” style trains that would increase the thrill of the ride as well as increase the rider’s visibility, they are instead opting to drag the old girl off into the woods on a date with a shotgun which is just sad beyond words.
(7/13/09) Bad news for the Big Bad Wolf this week. Ever since we brought the story to light to the greater public that Busch Gardens Williamsburg was possibly seeking to remove their most popular family coaster, The Big Bad Wolf, the park and all rumors about it went dead silent. All attempt to find out more information about this over the past month have been met with a brick wall… as no one associated with the park is willing to talk about it either way. In fact… no one wants to talk about the Wolf at all, which is concerning as this summer is the Big Bad Wolf’s 25th Anniversary… (1984 – 2009) and yet the park jumped at the opportunity to hail the Loch Ness Monster’s 30th Anniversary last summer.
If your luck enough at all to get a question about the future of the Big Bad Wolf off to someone who might be “in the know”, about all anyone has gotten so far is the standard “I can’t comment about future blah blah blah…” Of course as I’ve said for years, when it comes to situations like this, it’s not always what they say that matters, but sometimes what they are not saying matters just as much. If you were to ask one of the members of management if a rumor that they were going to remove Griffon next year were true, they would surely short and tell you that was complete hogwash. And yet no one is reacting that way to the rumors of The Big Bad Wolf’s demise.
I know sometime that a particular ride’s time has come… and it’s removal while sad was just a matter of time, but I don’t believe that this is the Big Bad Wolf’s time at all. If you visit the park, be sure to stop by guest relations (or e-mail them) and tell them how much you enjoy riding it. How having the Big Bad Wolf has really made every trip to Busch Gardens special for you and your family. Tell them how much your kids loving being able to ride it, as it was the only major family friendly coaster in the entire park. Let them know you care and how upset you would be if they removed it… because once the Wolf is gone… it’s gone forever. It was custom built to take advantage of the park’s terrain and there is no way it will ever be moved to a new location. Surely there has got to be a way to keep the coaster and build whatever expansion plans they have for the former Drachen Fire location.
To hell with the three little pigs… save The Big Bad Wolf!
(6/1/09) For the past week or so I’ve been trying to track down any solid leads to a very disturbing rumor about a popular ride that could be leaving the Williamsburg Park... and so far I’ve only met with silence. I’m not convinced this rumor is true so I’m going to keep digging until I find out more, but on the off chance that it is true, I feel everyone deserves a fair warning so you can start planning a trip to get your possible last ride in.
That said, the nasty rumor buzzing around the park is that this could be the last season for the Big Bad Wolf. While the coaster certainly isn’t as popular as it’s bigger and newer B&M cousins, Big Bad Wolf is still a very popular ride. On top of having a most interesting pedigree as a ride that started out under Schwarzkopf and ended as an Arrow Suspended Big Bad Wolf is generally considered to be the very best Suspended coaster ever created anywhere. For those reasons alone, I find it shocking that Busch Gardens would even consider removing this coaster, on top of the simply fact that Big Bad Wolf is the only true full scale Family Coaster they have in the park with a height limit of only 42 inches, compared with 48” for Nessie and 54” for Apollo, Alpengeist or Griffon. Personally, I know I was able to use Big Bad Wolf as a great transition coaster for my oldest son as he moved up away from the kiddie coasters and was ready to try something bigger but wasn’t 48” yet. Big Bad Wolf was the perfect kid, as a full scale awesome ride and I just can’t believe they would be so dumb as to remove it only to make room for a new access pathway to provide better access into the former Drachen Fire area for the rumored new land. There has got to be a way to keep the Wolf and add the new land, so I can only hope that this rumor is wrong wrong wrong... please let it be wrong. They wouldn’t dare... would they?
(4/16/09) Our spies tell us that the park still has big expansion plans on deck to add a new land to the park, taking over the former site of Drachen Fire. The unfortunate side of things is that many of Busch’s big plans were put on hold when InBev took over the company, so there is no telling if this plan is still moving forward or just on hold for the moment. Either way, it seems that the multi-year plan to build an entirely new country (Spain is the most likley) in still very solid. It’s all a matter of “when” and not “if” at this point from what I’m told.
In addition to adding a new train station to service this area on the line, we’ve heard about two major new attractions that will also be fighting for your attention. One would be the chain’s second B&M Flying coaster, where the design will be based on what they’re learning from Manta right now. Like many of the rides in Williamsburg, I’d expect this one to be an even bigger and longer coaster than what we’ve seen from Manta already, and given the location, I can help but wonder just how close some of it may some to Big Bad Wolf, or perhaps even diving down close to the river. The second big attraction being talked about would be actually something unique for the Busch parks, their first true “freefall” style tower ride. However don’t expect to see another Drop Zone style tower or something as basic as that. From the sound of things, they want to keep the entire experience INDOORS... offering an experience more like Mystery Castle from Phantasialand in Germany. Since this is a multi-year project, let’s assume the plan is to build up the land in complete phases, so expect one new ride with each phase if everything gets approved.
(10/30/07) The latest whisper on the wind in Williamsburg indicates that there may be a possible multi-year plans to add a new country at Busch Gardens Europe. A multi-year build plan is very likely as we’ve seen Busch do with SeaWorld Florida’s Waterfront area. Over the years different counties have been mentions as possible future projects, but some say that they’ve heard Spain mentioned specifically as a primary choice in the past. As I recall, the park currently has an old England area, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy… so there are still other options as well such as Greece.
(10/24/07) We’ve heard an interesting rumor for Busch Gardens Europe today that gives us a good location to watch for the park’s next big expansion in 2009 and possibly beyond. In short, we’ve been told to keep our eyes open for a possible fourth train station to be added to the line, this time in the German area of the park. Things get interesting when you realize that the best place to put down a new train depot in Germany would be back along the existing tracks near the old Drachen Fire spot, which is a fairly large and undeveloped area currently being used for the three back-to-back Never After haunt experiences. Given the massive size of this area alone, it could be used for anything from a massive new coaster to a large new themed land. Of course the bigger the size of the development, the bigger the chance that this could become a project that will take more than one year to build out, so 2009 may just be the beginning.

BTW, some reports I added/edited the quote, because of its involvement with the expansion (I forgot what was quoted, and that's why I edited).

As for the coaster, I have this strange feeling that it could be one of these possibilities:

CHEETAKA CLONE:

Usually when BGT adds a new coaster, BGW adds something similar (Montu to Alpengeist, SheiKra to Griffon). I have this feeling that they may clone Cheetaka if it is successful.

But say that tradition is broken (Blackstone ownership), then there's always...

B&M Flying Coaster:

If you look at an early report, it seems like one of the possibilities of a new coaster is a B&M Flying Coaster that swoops down the Rhine River (with the design based on Manta). That's why I think it's possible.

MACK Launch:

Now this one is one I hope comes true (or the B&M Flyer/Cheetaka clone rumor). I rode Blue Fire at Europa Park last summer, and it was EPIC!

Gerstlauer Eurofighter:

I haven't been on an Eurofighter yet, but they DO look cool.

So who knows what coaster? But I do know that it will most likely take over the old Big Bad Wolf spot (from an article).

Rockit Problems:

http://www.wftv.com/news/25052714/detail.html?treets=orlc&tml=orlc_break&ts=T&tmi=orlc_break_1_12160109172010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- One of Universal Orlando's most popular rides has been closed for days. WFTV spent Friday working to find out if Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit's closure is because the manufacturer issued a service bulletin (read it) about one of the ride's parts.

A Universal spokesman told WFTV the roller coaster's closed due to maintenance.

The ride is a wildly-popular roller coaster at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, but for three days it has gone nowhere.

"What happened when you got up there and you couldn't go on it?" WFTV reporter Ryan Hughes asked a park guest Friday.

"We were leaving, it was closed, that sort of thing. Go on to a new ride," the guest said.

Universal officials cited maintenance as the reason for the closure, but it comes in the midst of a recall involving one of the ride's parts.

The ride's manufacturer says the coupling bars on the coaster's vehicles can become loose over time; they're used to keep the rider inside the car.

Universal spokesman Tom Schroder insisted that is not the reason why the roller coaster is closed. In a statement to WFTV, he wrote, "We are obsessive about safety. We have aggressive inspection and safety programs in place for all our rides and attractions. Those programs meet or exceed all manufacturer guidelines. Anything in a September 2nd manufacturer’s advisory would have been dealt with weeks ago. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is temporarily closed for unrelated maintenance."

Schroder would not confirm if the ride had the defect in the past, but chatter on Internet blogs indicates it could have something to do with the shut down.

The service bulletin, issued by Maurer Söhne on September 2, 2010, identifies issues with "the coupling bar of our X-Car vehicle." According to the bulletin, the company will have to revise the design of the coupling bar and the "repair solution or new design will be available in approx. 2-3 months."

The bulletin was very specific that operation of rides using Maurer Söhne's X-Car Coaster must immediately stop.

"Any operation of the Sky Loop or X-Car Coaster with tandem train must be immediately and strictly stopped until the examination has been evaluated!" the company wrote in the service bulletin.

Rip Ride Rockit opened in August 2009. It's considered an "X-Car Coaster" that was designed by Maurer Söhne, who at the time it opened called it the largest roller coaster of its kind in the world.

Visitors were turned away at the entrance to the roller coaster Friday. A spokesman told WFTV rides are inspected every day at Universal and closures are common. He added that the theme park is obsessive about safety.

A ride attendant told WFTV reporter Ryan Hughes the roller coaster will be closed until further notice.

AHHH!!! Okay... these problems are giving me an awful headache! I had a nightmare at one time (took place in the future): I was visiting Universal and I noticed they were tearing the ride down. I really don't want that to happen because of this!!!!

I pray this will be up by Thanksgiving.

Park Updates #3

Knott's Berry Farm:

Just a head's up, could 2012 bring a coaster to Knott's? I don't know, but I found this interesting bit of info from Jim Disney at Westcoaster forums:

2011 is not a coaster... 2012 is a different story.

Still a bit bummed about the coaster not up in 2011... but at least they're getting a Wind Seeker, which would be fine by me too.

Now here are two questions... where will the coaster go up? And what type of coaster will it be?

I've heard rumors that they're going to reuse the old Kingdom of the Dinosaurs building (taking out the arcade for the queue). And judging by where the other survey markings are (not the ones around the Sky Cabin to be used for the rumored Wind Seeker), it seems that the coaster will border Western Ave (maybe the lift hill) and possibly enter the employee backstage area (south of Bigfoot Rapids) and turn around in the Knott's Berry Farm Resort parking lot and then travel back (over Bigfoot Rapids and Pony Express) and possibly have a block brake over the Amphitheater and possibly go to Xcelerator's entrance (possibly over the Coasters Diner). Adding to the rumored Perilous Plunge removal, if they were to take that out, they could expand/reuse some of the lake for possibly a splashdown like Diamondback at Kings Island and have a final brake run to the station.

As for the type, I keep thinking that it will be a B&M Hypercoaster with a combination of Intimidator and Diamondback (cool airtime hills and a splashdown at the end) and staggered seats similar to what Intimidator, Behemoth, and Diamondback got.

And how could they get track in...? This sounds a little bit of work, but possibly temporarily close the train, and use some of the footprint of the train (behind the bumper cars, Kingdom of the Dinosaurs and Perilous Plunge) as a temporary path while temporarily closing that lot (between KOD and the Ampitheater) including the Bumper Cars (though I hope not... wanna try me some bumper cars at Knott's =P), while keeping the ampitheater open through the stairs that surrounds the bumper cars (while temporarily closing the ampitheater while lift hill work is in progress).

Here's an overview of the speculated area (including coaster layout):



I know this looks a little far fetched, but this is just a possibility.

And here are the cars I think of for a Knott's hyper...:



I'm going to name this version "Firestorm" (BTW I called Intimidator that name before it was announced). It will be the name of this project for now.

Gardaland:

http://www.gardalandtamtam.com/News.asp?ID_news=431

Track is on site in Gardaland. Hmmm... it looks cool in black. Can't wait to see the trains! Here's a pic from that site:



Yep... looking good! =D

Heide Park:

For 2011, there is Gardaland's B&M Prototype... now Heide Park is another park in Europe building a B&M coaster... and it's going to be a B&M Dive Machine. Track is on site as of yesterday (picture sent by someone to Screamscape):



It looks... beautiful! =D Unfortunately, from what I hear it will just be a 122 ft. lift hill/vertical drop, an immelmann, and a splash down (but still, ANY Dive Machine is a great addition to a park =D).

New Water Park Over in Miami?!:

Just found this in the news:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/18/v-fullstory/1782580/plans-for-new-water-park-making.html

The Dolphins are opening a water park! =D:

A new water park with wave pools, slides and a snorkel area is planned just across the street from the current playground of the Marlins and Dolphins.

Miami Dolphins owner and real-estate developer Steve Ross intends to turn a 40-acre parking lot next to Sun Life Stadium into a water attraction pegged to a spring 2012 opening -- just as the Florida Marlins will move from Sun Life to the new baseball stadium in Little Havana, said Dolphins CEO Mike Dee.

``We're looking at any and all ways that we can utilize the stadium and bring economic value. It's both an opportunity and a challenge,'' Dee said.

The water park -- which would include private cabanas and a ``swim with the fish'' pool -- would be South Florida's first new major attraction since Jungle Island opened in 2003 on Watson Island. And it will be the region's first water park since Atlantis the Water Kingdom closed almost two decades ago. The water park would occupy 20 acres, with another 20 acres of parking.

The Miami Gardens land designated for the park is owned by Ross, former team owner H. Wayne Huizenga and other team partners. The project, still unnamed, will cost ``tens of millions'' and will be privately financed, Dee said.

It will require a zoning change from office use to an ``unusual'' designation that must be approved by the Miami-Dade County Commission. The project is meant to offset revenue losses in the summer months that would have normally been busy with baseball. It is the first stage of a new stadium master plan, Dee said. Talks on other plans to improve the stadium are ongoing, he said, though he wouldn't give details.

It is expected to create approximately 600 construction jobs and an additional 400 jobs from the water-park operation and increase tourism stays in the area, according to a company release.

The new park would be a unique attraction in South Florida. While the World Waterpark Association says an estimated 1,000 water parks operate in North America, none have existed in this area since Hollywood's Atlantis closed in 1992. The closest comparable park, Rapids Water Park in Palm Beach County, is slightly larger than the planned new project.

Earlier this year, team officials floated the idea of a hotel tax increase to fund nearly $200 million in stadium upgrades, saying the improvements were necessary to keep the Super Bowl coming back. The campaign was put on hold.

But the addition could also boost the region's chances of hosting the Super Bowl again, said William Talbert III, CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

``Certainly we would use any asset, any enhancement to the facility, as part of our bid,'' Talbert said.

Dee called the planned park a ``best-in-class, state-of-the-art facility'' that should appeal to tourists: ``We're going to market it aggressively.''

So will the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Talbert said. ``It would have an appeal to the family vacationer as something new and exciting.''

Company estimates forecast nearly 700,000 visitors during the first year and and additional $7 million in local, state and federal taxes.

Dreams of grand attractions are not new in South Florida. Huizenga himself had planned in the 1990s to build Blockbuster Park, a baseball stadium, movie studios and entertainment complex. The designated site was in Miramar west of Interstate 75. The plan fell apart when Blockbuster was taken over by Viacom in a merger.

While water parks are not primary draws like Disney or Universal theme parks, they still play a role in tourism, said Abraham Pizam, dean of the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

``It would be an addition to the attractions that are already there,'' he said. ``If people are already there, they can extend their stay for another half a day or day, which is great because everybody wins.''

Water parks have survived despite the recession, with more coming online during the past 5-10 years. More of that business has been indoors or at resorts or municipalities rather than outdoors, said Aleatha Ezra, the association's director of park membership development.

Florida -- specifically, Orlando -- has four of the world's top seven parks in terms of visitors, with a combined total of more than 6.7 million visitors in 2009, according to an attraction attendance report from AECOM and Themed Entertainment Association.

``They are still good drivers of tourism and, similar to regional theme parks, they have tended to do a little bit better than larger, more extensive destination-oriented ones,'' said Edward Shaw, senior associate with the economics arm of consulting firm AECOM. ``The tickets tend to be a little more reasonable for the markets and they're good for staycations and the resident-oriented market.''

The proposed water park will have some features similar to Aquatica, SeaWorld's water park in Orlando, which opened in 2008.

The Neuman Group, the aquatic destination planning and construction firm shoring up the local project, is involved with both. Theme-park operator Palace Entertainment -- which runs Boomers arcades and Sea Life Park in Hawaii, among others -- is also working with the Dolphin venture.

The downturn in the economy could actually be a boost to a new project like the one Ross plans, some experts say.

``It's much cheaper to build anything nowadays than it was two or three years ago,'' said UCF's Pizam. ``People are out of jobs, companies are looking for projects. The cost has been going down, almost spiraling down.''

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/18/v-fullstory/1782580/plans-for-new-water-park-making.html#ixzz0xIPKil5Y

OMG!!! =D I'm going to start visiting the site frequently for some construction pics (when construction starts and before construction starts)! Can't wait!!!! =D