Author: printingddd

Is “Spinning Coaster” by SBF-Visa the Most Popular Roller Coaster Ever?

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Spinning Coaster roller coaster by SBF-Visa at Incredible Pizza in Cordova, TN
Spinning Coaster by SBF-Visa at Incredible Pizza in Cordova, TN

There are a lot of coaster clones out there from the numerous iterations of “Batman” at the Six Flags parks to the Sky Rocket II rides across Busch Gardens and SeaWorld. However, the one that may be the most numerous is “Spinning Coaster” by Italian manufacturer SBF-Visa. This simple figure 8 spinning coaster seems to be everywhere from family entertainment centers to small amusement parks. By my count on Caosterpedia there are at least 66 installs of the several different variants of this ride all in just 10 years from its 2014 debut.

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Review of Awesome and Affordable Penguin Encounter at Sea World San Antonio

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Penguins can be the stars of an animal exhibit as they are cute, active and playful. Many guests would love an up close encounter with these “cool” animals and you can do just that at SeaWorld San Antonio Penguin Encounter. Most people only ever see the main exhibit below, but the Penguin Encounter Tour lets you go backstage to see the animal care areas, meet some trainers and even pet a penguin! At just $45, this animal encounter is a great value too.

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Turn it Up Remix Ends at Busch Gardens to Make Room for New Rhythm of Nature Ice Skating Show

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Thanks to@ThemePark_Dan for use of the image https://twitter.com/ThemePark_Dan/status/1774567434713702662

March 31, 2024 was the last show of Turn it Up at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. This long running show opened on May 26, 2017 and transitioned to the “Remix” version on January 22, 2023. It played in the beautiful and nicely air conditioned Moroccan Theater displaying singles, pairs and group ice skating routines. The park teased the closing the last couple of weeks on social media, but it was pretty obvious that although this particular show was going away that ice skating in the park was not. In the final performance it was announced that Turn it Up would be replaced with a new show called Rhythm of Nature. (thanks to @ThemePark_Dan for the pic and info)

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Don’t Miss the Massive “Hidden Hollow” Indoor Playground at Dollywood

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Hidden Hollow sign
Hidden Hollow entrance
Hidden Hollow play are
Hidden Hollow play area at Dollywood

It’s not uncommon to have a playground type area at a theme park consisting of slides and suspension bridges. There are some huge outdoor play areas like Elmo’s Treehouse Trek at Busch Gardens, but Dollywood is in a league of their own with a massive indoor play area in the Wildwood Grove area of the park called Hidden Hollow. However, “Hidden Hollow” is a very appropriate name as the building it’s in is very nondescript and without obvious signage, so you could easily pass it by thinking it was a shop, restroom or something else. The indoor space is well air conditioned with seating for parents and is a great place for families to refresh on a hot day, get out of the rain or cold or just give kids something to do with zero wait.

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Is the Fireworks Desert Party at Magic Kingdom Worth it? One Family’s Review of the Pre-Party.

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Walt Disney referred to the fireworks display at the parks as their “kiss goodnight” for the guest, a way to end the day on a memorable note. For many visitors the fireworks are an essential part of the Disney experience and they’ll arrive in front of the castle 1-2 hours in advance to scope out the best seats. However, did you know Disney has several options that give you reserved seating for the fireworks? The fireworks pre-party, post-party and sweets & seats provide reserved seating along with unlimited desserts and alcoholic beverages. Of course this comes at nearly a $100/person price, but is it worth it?

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Where to watch “A Total Eclipse of the Theme Park”

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Them Parks Where You Can Watch the April 8, 2024 Total Eclipse

On Monday, April 8, 2024 a total eclipse cuts across much of the central and eastern USA and some theme parks as well!. These celestial events are rare and we won’t have another one for 20 more years. I had the chance to watch the “Ring of Fire” eclipse back in 2023 at SeaWorld San Antonio and it was a fantastic experience! There’s something about experiencing an event like that with a crowd that brings energy and excitement you just can’t get on your own. You can see below on the map that the “totality” (where the sun is 100% covered) occurs in several major cities like San Antonio, Dallas and Cleveland and the nearby theme parks below could be a great place to watch the eclipse.

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March 2024 Brings Opening Day for Many Southeast Theme Parks

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Photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels.com

In the south it feels like spring is here. Daffodils are blooming, temperatures are warming and trees are budding. This also means the return of most of our favorite theme parks! Some of the new rides and attractions may not be ready yet, but the parks will be open. The parks are open more days than ever (for example Dollywood is open 280 days this year, 23 more than last year), which means greater value for our season passes and more fun! Here is a partial list of opening days:

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Wild Adventures has a Great Souvenir Cup Refill Program at Just $20 for the Whole Season!

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Update April 2025: For 2025 all season cups are still an amazing $19.99! There’s also a new dining pass offer for $29.99 where you get a meal, 2 snacks and an all season cup and only $25.99 if you’re a passholder. Even if you just visit for a hot summer day you can probably get $20 of value from a cup and if you’re a season pass holder it’s a no brainier. If you’re going to have a meal and a drink the dining pass is a no brainier too.

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Air Grover at Busch Gardens has More in Common with Space Mountain than you Might Think

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The title of this article may have you confused, an iconic roller coaster and a kid coaster are similar? However, when I found myself trying to describe the forces some new riders might experience on Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom with something they already knew. It turned out the best comparison I could come up with in terms of drop and speed was Air Grover and I was surprised with how similar they really were.

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