Tormenta at Six Flags Over Texas Opening June 26th (delayed) with World Record 218 Foot Inversion

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Tormenta versus Sheikra

Tormenta Rampaging Run at Six Flags Over Texas, the highly anticipated and first Giga Dive coaster by B&M, is scheduled to open June 26, 2026. Tormenta Rampaging Run will be the tallest, fastest, longest, first-and only giga dive coaster in the world! This coaster has a huge 285-foot first drop from a height of 309 feet, but what’s even more astounding are the inversions. It has the highest Immelmann Inversion at 218 feet and the tallest Vertical Coaster Loop at 179 feet. This means the Immelmann is significantly higher than the first drop on Sheikra at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

Update June 22, 2026: According to the Six Flags Over Texas social media, Tormenta has been delayed from the original June 26th date.  First news of the delay started with the postponing of media day for June 25th. The commissioning and testing process is taking longer than expected and the park wants everything perfect for opening.

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June 21st is World Giraffe Day and Wild Adventures Theme Park is a Great Place to Celebrate!

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Giraffe Enrichment (photo courtesy of Wild Adventures)

Happy World Giraffe Day! Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia is celebrating this special day with their two giraffes, Bariki and Bakari, with some new animal enrichment! This large ball provides tactical and cognitive enrichment for both Bariki and Bakari. Currently, they’re becoming used to the presence of the ball, but soon they’ll be able to push, kick, and nudge it around their habitat! Bakari has also gotten celebrity status recently due to his unlikely friendship with Kurtsie, a zebra born in December 2023. The two are rarely far apart. Guests can often see them grooming one another, resting side by side in the field, or sharing hay in the giraffe barn.

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Exploring the FIFA® World Cup 2026 Experience at LEGOLAND Florida

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During a recent trip to LEGOLAND Florida we got a chance to visit the FIFA® World Cup 2026 Experience. This experience is exclusively at LEGOLAND Resorts from June 11th through July 19th. It is a high-energy soccer celebration, featuring LEGO soccer heroes, interactive soccer games and a LEGO build activity. All of this is 100% free and included in your regular LEGOLAND admission. The experience is essentially in two parts with an amazing Lego display near the park entrance just past the LEGO shop and several interactive games in the Heartlake City near Mia’s Riding Adventure. My 9-year-old son had a blast playing the games and you’ll have some great photo opportunities across the experience. At the LEGO shop you’ll also find some great World Cup merch to take home with you as a souvenir too.

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NightFlight at DollyWood Officially Delayed, but has a Target “Mid-August” Opening Date

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NightFlight Rendering (Courtesy of Dollywood)

Dollywood released on social media and email that NightFlight would not open in Spring as originally anticipated. Park President, Eugene Naughton, made the announcement citing the challenges of getting such a new and innovative ride system going. He mentioned they are targeting a middle of August opening day and will work to openly communicate progress going forward. The delay of NightFlight was first noticed when “spring” was removed for the website marketing and train conductor script. It’s now officially delayed, but at least we have a target date. No doubt this delay will soon be forgotten about if NightFlight is as great as expected. Also, even with the late opening in August, it will still have huge 2026 financial upside for the park as this is an indoor ride and Dollywood does huge Fall and Christmas business. Thank you to Dollywood for the candid update, this ride looks groundbreaking and will no doubt positively change the park for decades to come.

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Family Review of Galacticoaster at LEGOLAND Florida: A Spectacular Experience That’s So Much More Than a Ride

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Galacticoaster (Image courtesy of LEGOLAND)

Our family of 3 had a chance to experience Galacticoaster at LEGOLAND Florida and we were wowed, awestruck and captivated by this amazing attraction. Calling Galacticoaster and “ride” or a “roller coaster” really sells it short as this is a multi-part story driven experience. The actual “coaster” portion of Galacticoaster is pretty short, but you’ll be entertained thoroughly over 10 minutes or so as you’re completely immersed in the ride’s story. This ride and its twin at LEGOLAND California represent a $90 million investment by Merlin Entertainment and you’ll immediately see it was money well spent.

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Rampage Roller Coaster at Alabama Adventure to Reopen on June 19th!

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The long wait is over. Rampage is back and better than ever! On June 19th, 2026 the ROAR of Rampage will return to Alabama Adventure! The park put out a social media post on June 13th announcing Rampage would be open just 6 days later! This coaster has been SBNO (Standing But Not Operating) since August of 2023. Later in February of 2024 the park confirmed in a very honest video that it would remain closed for that season targeting a 2025 return. Some budget adjustments and plans for a multi-year retrack caused it to miss 2025, but then in February 2026 came word that Rampage would be back for summer 2026!

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The Super Cyclone by Wade Shows is an Impressive Traveling Roller Coaster

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When you think of a roller coaster at a fair or carnival you’re usually going to picture a Wacky Worm or a Dragon Wagon. Carnival rides need to be easily portable which is often counter to a larger coaster experience. However, Wade Shows transports two copies of the Super Cyclone with 1,148 feet of track. The ride is an impressive 1 minute 20 seconds with a height of 30 feet and series of sharp figure-eight switchbacks and bunny hops. The ride has a theoretical capacity of 1,400 riders/hour which is greater than most theme park coasters.

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Review of the Phenomenal Capyfriends Cafe Capybara Experience in Helen, Georgia

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The humble capybara is having a moment where they seem to be everywhere. The internet is filled with adorable pictures of baby capybaras creating tremendous demand to meet these creatures in person. Capyfriends Cafe in Helen, Georgia is an opportunity to do just that! This unique experience is a partnership between Nacoochee Adventures and North Georgia Wildlife & Safari Park. At Capyfriends Cafe, guests have the rare opportunity to meet, interact with and learn about these gentle, curious creatures.

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Could Themed Restrooms Ever Be a Thing? Busch Gardens Already Has an Egypt Themed One!

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Theme parks are known for being immersive, but that usually ends at the restroom door. A typical restroom is plain and boring, however there are some exceptions. In the men’s restroom near Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa you’ll see some great Egyptian art. This is mild theming, but still pretty cool. LEGOLAND Florida also has some great theming on the outside of the restroom near the front of its park. It has a huge LEGO plumber carrying a toilet and he even talks with several humorous phrases and even a knock-knock joke! These examples are the exceptions though, so is the lack of restroom theming perhaps a lost opportunity for parks?

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The Tasmanian Tiger Roller Coaster at ZooTampa Has Gone Extinct

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Tasmanian Tiger at ZooTampa (Courtesy of ZooTampa)

After 28 years the Tasmanian Tiger roller coaster at ZooTampa has closed and dismantled. The ride itself was simple, but it had some pretty iconic tiger trains. It was also relocated from Wild Adventures where it previously operated as Tiger Terror (great name), but we’ll discuss that more later. The coaster opened at ZooTampa in December of 2008 and has given more than 4.5 million rides to zoo guests during its life. The ride area has a sign by it mentioning this fact and its retirement in general:

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