On a recent trip to Universal Islands of Adventure VelociCoaster had wait times reach 205 minutes (3 hours 25 minutes) and regularly sit at 175 minutes. This was likely due to Hagrid’s and Forbidden Journey both having numerous closures that day. However, as awesome as VelociCoaster is, it got me thinking which rides I’d be willing to wait 3 hours to ride. Which attractions would you wait 3 hours to ride?
Continue reading
Rilix Coaster is a VR coaster experience in the arcade packaging. The Rilix Coaster isn’t just VR visuals though, but a complete immersive experience using haptic technology in the seat and a variable speed fan. The haptic transducer lets you feel every bump and turn while the fan creates wind which helps create a sensation of speed. These can combine to create an immersive experience and mentally tie together the visuals with a physical feeling of motion when you’re actually stationary. You can see in the reaction video below just how convincing the effect can be.
Continue reading
Many fans spotted Victor Wembanyama (Wemby) and several Spurs teammates including Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle visiting Six Flags Fiesta Texas last Sunday for Fright Fest. In comments to reporters Monday Wembanyama, who is 7’4″, said he was unable to join his teammates on rides at Six Flags last weekend. “I can’t do it safely, so I’d rather not do it,” Wembanyama said “I didn’t pass the height requirement.” You can see the interchange in the Spurs Nation post below:
Continue reading
Andy Grove is the legendary former CEO of Intel and his office actually overlooked California’s Great America. One of the most important conversations in the history took place as he was looking out his window at the park. At that point in time Intel was primarily in the memory chip business and losing to Japanese companies subsidized by the government of Japan. Grove remarked to Gordon Moore (then CEO and co-founder), “If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what do you think he would do?” Moore replied immediately, “He would get us out of memories.” At that point Grove remarked, Why shouldn’t you and I walk out the door, come back and do it ourselves?”
Continue reading
Six Flags has begun more aggressively marketing the regional access that comes with their Gold Season Pass. They have even created great maps like the one below that highlight the parks of each region. Although only a small percentage of season pass members will go to a distant park, the program does increase the perceived value of a season pass. It may serve to build loyalty and perhaps have some members plan a vacation around visiting a new park. Six Flags has even built web pages highlighting attractions at each park and even places to stay like this one for the Six Flags East Coast Region. This year I’v had the chance to travel to several Six Flags parks outside my home park of Six Flags Over Georgia and I couldn’t recommend using this benefit more!
Continue reading
On Friday, October 16, 2026 Hershey Park announced the reopening of their B&M Hyper Candymonium. It had been shutdown since the tragic incident with the similarly designed Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia like other B&M Hyper and Giga roller coasters nationwide with the “clamshell” restraint. However, what was most telling and newsworthy was the press release. It stated, “We also consulted with the ride’s manufacturer. Based on the information presently available, the manufacturer has not identified an engineering basis to recommend shutting down similarly designed coasters solely because of the incident in Georgia.” Here’s the complete release.
Continue reading
Mythos at Universal’s Islands of Adventure is the 10-time #1 Theme Park Restaurant in the World by Theme Park Insider. You’ll frequently find waits of an hour or more to get a table (reservations are also available). Mythos was even the inaugural inductee into the Theme Park Insider Awards Hall of Fame in 2022. So is it worthy of the hype? In a simple word, yes. However, the Lost Continent area of Islands of Adventure where it is both located and themed for is under a transformation. Universal has announced Mythos will close permanently in 2027 as part of the Lost Continent retheme. Therefore if you want to try it, the time is now. Here’s our review of a spectacular October 2026 dinner at Mythos.
Continue reading
Orlando, Florida is known as the theme park capitol of the world and the local science center embraces this with its own roller coaster exhibit. The Orlando Science Center has the Coaster Challenge, where you’ll use pipes to build a model of whatever radical roller coaster you can dream up! The Coaster Challenge is located in the museum’s Kinetic Zone exhibit where guests explore the fundamentals of forces and learn the principles of physics.
Continue reading
Wild Adventures Theme Park has announced its 2027 Wild Adventures LIVE! concert series presented by Circle K. This year’s Wild Adventures LIVE! concert series kicks off April 10 with legendary rock ‘n’ roll band Cheap Trick and include acts throughout the year such as Styx, Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC, Clint Black, Jo Dee Messina, Lecrae and MercyMe. General Concert Admission is included with a Wild Adventures Season Pass and Guests can purchase a 2027 Gold Season Pass now for just $99.99, the lowest price in years. A season pass gets you admission to 14 star-studded concerts and the ability to enjoy the park’s 35+ rides, 300+ animals, water park and special events throughout the year. It’s a great bargain for a whole year of fun!
Continue reading
Disney has a new patent application out called “System and Method for Verifying Proper Usage of Passenger Restraints” where it uses a combination of cameras, sensors and machine learning (AI) to verify restraints on rides are being used properly. The cameras can look for several “keypoints” to assure the rider is secured. For example, a sensor can tell you that a seatbelt is buckled, but a camera can confirm it is on top on the rider’s torso and not underneath it. The cameras could also assure a restraint is completely closed and securing the rider so that there is a second check to the position sensors already used on rides. This could be especially important for riders with unique physical characteristics (large riders, small riders, missing limbs, odd body shapes, etc.) where a sensor would register as good, but perhaps a potential safety issue remains.
Continue reading
