Our Fun Evening Solving “The Great Wax Heist” at Madame Tussauds Orlando

Madame Tussauds Orlando is a highly interactive, indoor celebrity wax museum located at the ICON Park Complex along International Drive. This year the museum is hosting the The Great Wax Heist, a Halloween event where guests can complete a scavenger hunt with clues hidden throughout the attraction to solve a mystery. The Great Wax Heist is totally free to do and is included with regular admission to the attraction. This will be a spoiler free review that hopefully provides you enough information to be interested, but doesn’t give any clues to prevent you from solving the mystery yourself.

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Could B&M’s Patent on the “Clamshell” Ride Restraint Design Offer Clues as to What Happened on Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia?

Incredibly sad news out of Six Flags Over Georgia as it’s being reported one man was killed after being ejected from Goliath, the B&M hyper coaster. Many news outlets have posted pictures of people being evacuated from the lift hill, but insiders I know said the incident was actually on the bunny hills on the return. The next train was stopped on the lift and they thus needed evacuate people there. The details I heard sound horrific though and appear to have been captured by the ride camera, but I’ll spare all the details. We have zero idea the cause of the incident at this point, but generally it’s between mechanical failure, control system failure, poor maintenance, ride operations error (either overriding a safety system or allowing someone to ride who shouldn’t) or rider behavior. Early reports are often wrong (see the Stardust Racers incident earlier this year), but there is some speculation already as to if rider characteristics contributed to this incident. Initial attention has been placed on the restraint since there was an ejection. B&M has a patent on their clamshell restraint and I wanted to provide some technical information about it here.

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Fast and Furious Hollywood Drift at Universal Studios Florida Testing with Train on the Spike

Fast and Furious Hollywood Drift at Universal Studios Florida has a car on the track and has been conducting “pull-through” and “envelope” testing. The train started Saturday morning October 10, 2026 at the base of the spike and ended the day suspended high on the spike. You can see clearly the “envelope” testing apparatus which is meant to mimic the distance rider extremities could possibly reach to test for safety and clearance around the vehicle. The “pull-through” test is a way to winch a train through the course to ensure smooth travel across the tracks. With the train left where it was it appears either the team just quit right there for the day or thought it would be a fun place to leave it for guests to see.

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Universal Orlando Delaying the Reopening of Jurassic Park River Adventure Until December 17, 2026

On Friday, October 9th, 2026 Universal Orlando made a quiet change to its “park hours” page where it also displays current and scheduled ride closures. The reopening of Jurassic Park River Adventure was delay out a month until December 17, 2026. The ride has been down since January 5, 2026 and was originally slated to reopen November 20, 2026. The ride is a “people eater” with a massive capacity of 3,000 riders/hour, so when another major attraction at Universal’s Islands of Adventures goes down (like Hagrid’s or Velocicoaster), there’s not many places to put the overflow. No doubt the park certainly wants this ride back as soon as possible and the renovations must be taking slightly longer than originally anticipated.

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A Rare Ride on Pteranodon Flyers at Universal

Our son is in the Universal “Goldilocks” zone of 55” where he can ride everything including Pteranodon Flyers. Universal is strict in that only kids 36” to 56” can ride and each one can take only one adult with them. This was my first ride on this rare credit and it did not disappoint (other than being too short at 80 seconds). The views as you soar right next to Velocicoaster are great and at night it’s even better with torches burning below. You get a sense of swinging and flying that you don’t find with a traditional invert. The relative quiet as you move about is great too and you get this sense of launching like a hang glider as you leave the lift hill. Find yourself a niece or nephew and get yourself a ride on Pteranodon Flyers if you can!

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The LumiNight Legends Pumpkin Gallery at Wild Adventures by Master Pumpkin Carver Jim Morey

The highlight of Great Pumpkin LumiNights at Wild Adventures for us was the LumiNight Legends Pumpkin Gallery. Here you’ll see your favorite singers, actors, sports stars and Wild Adventures attractions all carved into glowing pumpkins. The pumpkins are created by master pumpkin carver Jim Morey and there’s a video playing in the corner of the gallery explaining the carving process. Mr. Morey’s story is also quite unique in that carving pumpkins started as a personal hobby, but eventually morphed into a full-time profession. Mr. Morey is from Huntington Beach, California and his work has been shown on TV and at festivals and attractions across the country.

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Great Escape by Enchanted Parks Unveils New Logo

New Great Escape Logo
New Great Escape Logo (Courtesy of Enchanted Parks)

Great Escape has unveiled its new park logo and begun the process of converting over from the old Six Flags name and logo. 2026 was slated to be a year of transition with the move over to Enchanted Parks branding expected by 2027. The logo incorporates the Adirondacks mountains, a roller coaster, a water ride and Merry Miller’s Mill in the storybook section of the park, tracing back to the park’s Storytown USA roots. Similar identity changes for the Great Escape Lodge and the water park are expected by the end of the year.

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Did you Know the London Eye is Owned by Merlin, Parent Company of LEGOLAND?

The London Eye has been an iconic part of the London skyline for over 25 years, visible almost anywhere along the river. It originally opened as the Millennium Wheel (opening on 12/31/99) and was the tallest wheel at the time it opened at 443 feet. It has since been surpassed by the Star of Nanchang in China at 525 feet, but still hold the the record for largest cantilevered observation wheel (supported solely by an A-frame on one side). However, did you know it was actually owned and operated by Merlin Entertainments, owner of the Popular LEGOLAND parks? The website calls it “The World’s Most Iconic Ride”, so having it owned by a theme park company seems appropriate.

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A Trip to LEGOLAND May Inspire you to Try to Break the Fastest 100 Meter Run Barefoot on LEGO Bricks World Record

Have you ever stepped on a LEGO on the floor?

There are a bunch of memes about accidentally stepping on LEGOS, but there is one woman who did quite intentionally to set a world record. Gabrielle Wall of New Zealand broke a world record for fastest 100 meter run barefoot on LEGO bricks in a time of 24.75 seconds. Gabrielle is a mom of two and may have accidentally stepped on a brick or two, but the track was made using over 600 pounds of LEGO bricks.

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