Dolly Parton Gave Dollywood Leadership the “Gift of Time” by Letting them Prepare for her Passing and the Impact it Potentially had on the Opening of NightFlight

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

Many of us hoped Dolly Parton was immortal and would live forever, but apparently Dolly herself recognized this wasn’t the case and worked with Dollywood park leadership to prepare for the time she would no longer be with us. Park President Eugen Naughton was quoted in an interview with WVLT saying, “She gave us the gift of time to prepare for what was going to eventually happen here. We have plans until 2036 that she laid emphasis on us as a leadership team that I am confident in.” It also appears that Dolly had input and gave approval for the memorials in the park that will honor her including a new guitar sculpture to be placed in the Dollywood fountain near the park’s chapel and a special reflection area for visitors to write about how she impacted them through her music and philanthropy. If you wondered how the park came out with these tributes so rapidly following Dolly’s death, this is the reason. The park was also very quick with posts on social media that the park would be open the day after her death as it was what she wanted and with reassurance that Dolly’s vision for the park would be retained.. it also gives reassurance to the thousands of employees as Dollywood is the engine to the economy of this area.

Continue reading →

The Dollywood Refillable Mug Beverage Program is a Great Value

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

Dollywood has a very guest friendly refillable mug program. You hear these refillable beverages called souvenir cups, bottles and sports bottles in some places, but at Dollywood they’re mugs. On top of competitive pricing, one of the things that makes Dollywood’s program great is that it’s all automated with QR codes at easily accessible drink stations. This means you’ll very rarely have to wait in a line to get a refill on your drink.

Continue reading →

Several Rides From Fun Spot Atlanta Moving to Orlando and Kissimmee with Perhaps a New RMC Coming Soon?

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

Fun Spot put a new video out on social media as part of their podcast series where they interview Fun Spot America CEO, John Arie Jr. In this video we learned about some of the rides moving from Atlanta to Florida, a new ride opening in Orlando around Thanksgiving and the possibility of Fun Spot getting another RMC! The park has been very transparent these last few months about the company and it appears they are firmly focused on the future. I’d imagine this became much easier recently too with the future and legacy of ArieForce One appearing secure after the sale to Six Flags.

Continue reading →

How Many of the New for 2026 Roller Coasters Have You Ridden?

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

2026 has been a great year for new roller coasters. We’ve had record breakers like Tormenta, indoor highly themed coasters like NightFlight and Galacticoaster as well as first of their kind like Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift. There’s also been a ton for the family from Bluey to Jurassic World. A new coaster can drive park attendance as people visit to try the new ride. It’s the plan that attendance spikes year over year for several years after a multi-million dollar addition like a new roller coaster. So here’s a list of the new coasters we’ve seen for 2026.

Continue reading →

Did you Know the Comet at Great Escape is a Rebuild of an Infamous Canadian Coaster Called the Crystal Beach Cyclone?

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

The Comet at Great Escape (formerly Six Flags and now Enchanted Parks) is a relocation from a shuttered park in Canada called Crystal Beach. The ride has a fascinating history in that it was also known as the Comet at Crystal Beach at the time of its closure, but in the early 1900’st it was known as the infamous Crystal Beach Cyclone, considered one of the most violent and terrifying rides ever built. It had a “modern” metal support structure with wooden tracks which allowed for more aggressive elements than would normally be seen on a wooden coaster. The layout featured no straight sections of track (except through the station), non-stop banked turns and drops and a sharp turn near the ground with a 90-degree bank that would cause many riders to temporarily pass out. The ride had 4-5 G’s of force, which some rides actually exceed today, but with G-force it’s not just about intensity, but duration as well. The Crystal Beach Cyclone would operate for 20 years before being shuttered, but its structure gave birth to a new and less intense coaster called the Comet that would eventually move from Canada to Great Escape in New York.

Continue reading →

The Quirks that Come with Operating Carowinds, the Theme Park that Exists in Two States

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

If you visit Carowinds you’ll constantly hear the phrase, “where the Carolinas come together” when exiting a ride. That’s because the park actually straddles the border between North Carolina and South Carolina and you’ll find yourself crisscrossing states all day, sometimes on a single ride! There’s a pair of blue lines painted throughout the park that mark the border that comes out through the front entrance. However, there are some significant quirks Carowinds has to deal with due to its location and differences between its two home states.

Continue reading →

Steamin’ Demon at Great Escape Found its Way From New Orleans to the Adirondacks

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

The Steamin’ Demon at Great Escape (formerly Six Flags and now Enchanted Parks) has quite a history. The ride actually began its life in New Orleans at Pontchartrain Beach as the Ragin’ Cajun in 1978. The coaster was built by Arrow and featured 3 inversions over a compact 1,565 feet of track. Ragin’ Cajun would close along with Pontchartrain Beach in 1983 and open as Steamin’ Demon one year later in 1984 at The Great Escape. The ride is quite prominent at the front of the park with great views of the Adirondack Mountains of New York in the distance. The ride has operated 42 years now at Great Escape essentially unchanged except for a brief stint in 2016 when it was outfitted with Oculus VR headsets. In 2028 Screamin’ Demon will celebrate its 50th anniversary!

Continue reading →

Could More Parks Use Indoor Flat Rides Like Blizzard at Great Escape?

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

Blizzard at Great Escape (formerly Six Flags and now Enchanted Parks) is a simple concept, a scrambler inside a building. However, this is a case where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The scrambler itself is a pretty standard model by Eli Bridge Company in a beautiful light blue color. However, the magic comes with it being located in an igloo style building allowing for lighting effects, music and perhaps most important, air conditioning. It’s such a simple concept to put a classic flat ride inside a small building. It provides an indoor attraction on rainy, hot or cold days and allows for a unique audiovisual effects to mimic a snowstorm.

Continue reading →

Lake Winnie Launches $89 Season Pass for 2027 with “Bring-a-Friend” Tickets

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

Lake Winnie has launched their best sale of the year for 2027 season passes that also includes the remainder of 2026, including Spookah. You will also get a “Bring-A-Friend” (BAF) in 2026 and 3 BAF’s in 2027. The park even laid out its intended sales for Black Friday, the Holidays and Preseason next year to show this is the best offer. This is quite the sale and a significantly better package offer than previous years. If you and a friend intend to visit Lake Winnie this fall you’d nearly break even with one of you getting a season pass and you could go three more times for free next year. Lake Winnie has some great classic rides like the Boat Chute, the ACE Landmark Cannon Ball Roller Coaster and the upcoming new Lookout Mountain Safari Roller Coaster. At over 100 years old there’s a character to Lake Winnie that’s not replicated many other places. This great deal lasts until November 1st, so grab it while you can!

Continue reading →

Six Flags Buys ArieForce One!

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

Six Flags teased a major announcement for today and it did not disappoint, SIX FLAGS HAS ACQUIRED ARIEFORCE ONE! We’ve known for about a week now that ArieForce One was sold because of Fun Spot’s Announcement, but to who was a mystery. There was much speculation that today was going to be an ArieForce One announcement, but there was a possibility it was something else (like the new Magoc Mountain coaster). Six Flags announced on social media, “Some roller coasters become rides. Others become legends. We’re excited to share that ArieForce One has officially joined our family.”

Continue reading →