Splash Island Waterpark at Wild Adventures Claims No. 1 Spot for Best Lazy River in America

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Wild Adventures Theme Park & Splash Island Waterpark in Valdosta, Georgia are celebrating a big win for Paradise River as America’s “Best Lazy River” according to readers of USA TODAY in the 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. The historic win follows four weeks of intense competition between twenty lazy rivers at parks nationwide, including Universal Studios, Disney, Aquatica and Six Flags. Wild Adventures and its staff should be commended for the impressive campaign they mounted to secure this great honor and you can read the complete press release here.

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Is the Theme Park Industry Going Virtual?

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During IAAPA 2025 I was struck by the number of virtual and digital attractions on display. What also surprised me was how exceptional most of them were in creating a totally immersive experience. Also, many of these attractions were of a size that could allow them to be used by any park, family entertainment center (FEC) or even arcade. Some would require a building, some a room and some were as small as a single chair. Some were purely ride experiences where others were enhanced versions of classic sit down arcade shooters and many combined both. The Rilix Coaster VR stood out as a compelling immersive experience in a traditional arcade format. The virtual theme park probably isn’t replacing your favorite roller coaster anytime soon, but it does offer operators another option to entertain guests.

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The Spectacular Scouting America Adventure Weekend at Wild Adventures

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We had a chance to experience the Scouting America Adventure Weekend at Wild Adventures Theme Park, April 17-19, 2026 and it was an incredible scouting event. This has to be the best bargain in scouting events with food, 2-day theme park tickets and 2nights of camping for only $50. The execution of the event by Wild Adventures was spectacular as everything was obviously extremely well planned. For a scout spending 2 days camping at Wild Adventures couldn’t be more fun with its combination of rides, waterpark and animals. If you’re looking for a fun spring camping event it’s hard to imagine anything better than a Scouting America Adventure Weekend at Wild Adventures.

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The Battle Over Straws at Walt Disney World

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Cup with straw in front to castle at Magic Kingdom

The humble drinking straw appears to have become a political lightning rod and the controversy has extended to Walt Disney World. It almost seems like you can tell someone’s political affiliation by their straw preference, it’s the new “paper or plastic?” for this generation. In July 2018, Walt Disney World announced a major environmental initiative to eliminate single-use plastic straws in all their global parks and resorts by mid-2019. In 2023 Disney went one step further in no longer making any straws readily available at quick service locations and only providing paper straws upon request. However, Florida lawmakers are now trying to ban paper straws in the state starting in 2027 due to concerns over PFAS (forever chemicals) often found in paper straws. Scientists however point to similar PFAS chemical concerns with plastic straws as well the consumption of microplastics. It seems like the answer going forward may just be no straws.

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Review of Atlanta’s Rooftop Skyline Park on a Spectacular Spring Saturday

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I had a chance to visit Skyline Park, a rooftop amusement park in downtown Atlanta. Skyline Park is perched on the roof of Ponce City Market, just east of downtown Atlanta, and draws inspiration from a former amusement park on the site 100 years ago. At Skyline you’ll find a slide, Heege Tower, roller skating, carnival games, food and spectacular views. The staff here is also noticeably excellent and their professional service is part of the nostalgia vibe you feel all over Skyline Park. My 9 year old son and I spent over 3 hours here and both found it to be great fun and a good value.

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Six Flags Launches New “Perks & Play” Reward Program

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Six Flags Logo

Six Flags has launched its new rewards program that appears to be an improvement on the excellent previous program. The new Perks & Play program unifies the Six Flags loyalty programs into one seamless experience.  If you held a Season Pass in 2025, you might remember the “visit-to-earn” model of Pass Perks where rewards were unlocked based on monthly attendance. This is now gone with no visit requirements or complex point systems to track with benefits throughout the season simply by being a member. Six Flags mentioned this type of program better fits today’s busy families and it also lets them dynamically use marketing and attendance info to push and pull attendance throughout the year.

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Firehouse BBQ at Six Flags Over Georgia Up for USA Today 10BEST Award with More New Food Options Coming in 2026

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The Firehouse BBQ at Six Flags Over Georgia (SFOG) has been nominated for “Best Theme Park Restaurant” in USA Today’s 2026 10BEST. Firehouse BBQ was a new dining option for 2025 at SFOG and it’s great to see it already getting such great recognition. We had a chance to review Firehouse BBQ last year and it’s easily the best dining experience in the park and part of a broader initiative to improve dining options across the chain. This has included multiple Six Flags parks hiring their first-ever executive chefs including Jeremy Hacker at Six Flags Great Adventure, Josh Streeter at Six Flags New England and Priscilla Nicole at Six Flags Over Georgia. I’ve personally met Pricilla, she is simply wonderful and has been doing great work for the park.

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Downtown Atlanta Amusement Park History: From the Site of Ponce de Leon Amusement Company 100 Years Ago “Springs” Skyline Park Today

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Ponce de Leon Amusement Company
Skyline Park
Skyline Park (Courtesy of Slater Hospitality)

Back in the mid 1800’s and early 1900’s there was a popular tourist destination called Ponce de Leon Springs near downtown Atlanta. It was seen more like a local spa with the mineral content of the water thought to provide health benefits. In January 1903, 47 acres of the land surrounding the spring was purchased by the future Ponce de Leon Amusement Company. Construction quickly started on a theater, a carousel and a casino. The owners tried to mimic Coney Island by building a ping pong parlor, a gravity railroad (precursor to our modern roller coasters), a Ferris wheel and a penny arcade and the park soon became known as “the Coney Island of Atlanta”. It only lasted to the 1920’s, but fast forward 100 years and remarkably on the same site today you’ll find Skyline Park, a modern carnival-style rooftop amusement park!

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Minecraft World Opening in 2027 at Chessington in the UK

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Minecraft World Rendering
Minecraft World Rendering (Courtesy of Merlin Entertainments)

Minecraft World will open at Chessington World of Adventures in Greater London (UK) next year in 2027. The land will include new attractions including a world-first Minecraft coaster, themed retail and dining, plus a host of fan favourites and ridiculous fun from the Minecraft universe. The coaster looks especially intriguing and could perhaps follow the model of the well received Galacticoaster at the US LEGOLAND parks being indoors with controlled rotation cars (think Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind) , screens and launches.

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New Lookout Safari Roller Coaster Coming to Lake Winnie in 2026!

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In a somewhat surprising development, Lake Winnie has announced it is getting a new roller coaster in 2026! The roller coaster will be called Lookout Safari and is actually the coaster formerly known as Kombo that was removed from the Indianapolis Zoo. Lookout Safari gets its name from the unique train cars that look like safari “jeep’ vehicles complete with seat backs that look like gas cans. This is a great family coaster that should fit in perfectly at Lake Winnie and will look great along the water across from Cannonball.

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