Last night at the very end of the D23 Experiences Showcase a suspended coaster announced for Monsters Inc. Land at Disney Studios! This land was not something that was telegraphed or widely expected and was quite surprising. What was even more surprising was that construction is set to begin next year, so this isn’t “blue sky” stuff, this appears to be really happening. In fact it is supposed to being construction next year in 2025!
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Last night at the very end of the D23 Experiences Showcase the long anticipated Villains Land was announced for Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The details were VERY sparse with no opening date or specific attractions announced, just mention of 2 attractions, shopping and dining. However, if you zoom into the top left of the concept art shown last night it’s very obvious there is a coaster in the works!
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Consumers are feeling the pinch of higher restaurant prices and chains like McDonald’s and Burger King have responded with $5 meal deals. In a move that was quite surprising, you can now get a complete meal at a theme park for just $5! Through August 14, 2024 you can get a hot dog, chips and a drink for just $5 at Grogan’s Grill from 11am – 7pm. According to @TrillGeek you can also add a second hot dog for just $2.50 if you’re feeling a bit more hungry. $5 is what you’d pay for the drink alone in many places, so this is a great deal. Thanks Busch Gardens for this awesome promotion!
Pat McAfee, the popular and sometimes controversial ESPN host, spent nearly 20 minutes of his June 30, 2024 show talking Kennywood and its rides. The show was commenting on a tweet by a local news channel showing The Racer roller coaster apparently being held up by a cinder block. It was obvious Pat loved the park and talked about his childhood visits there that devolved into watching a POV of the ride and reviewing the park in general. The viral story started with a Facebook post by oneBURGH and resulted with the park briefly shutting down the ride, a state inspection and some non-structural repairs.
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We made an end of summer trip to the Smokey Mountains visiting Cherokee, NC for some whitewater tubing and a trip to Santa’s Land Fun Park & Zoo. In Georgia our kids started school August 1st which is crazy! Santa’s Land is sincerely both an amusement park and zoo that’s full of charm for kids and families. You can relax and ride all day for one low price with cheap eats under a beautiful tree canopy in the Smokey Mountains. We visited on a Saturday afternoon in summer and there were no wait times for anything even though the park felt like it was buzzing with activity. There’s not much here for adrenaline junkies, but tons of uniqueness and nostalgia that’s headlined by the amazing Rudicaoster, a “one of a kind” family roller coaster by Zamperla.
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Update April 2025: It appears Disney and Ludo Studios came to an agreement in December 2024 for Bluey to come to Disney cruise ships in 2025. It also appears there will be a Bluey movie in cooperation with Disney in 2027 and potential for theme park involvement too. So Disney has not “bought” Bluey, this is an enhanced license deal beyond just having the show on Disney+.
If you have children you know all about Bluey (and probably if you don’t too). Bluey is the Australian cartoon about a dog family with sitcom level writing and humor both children and adults can appreciate. Bluey has been on Disney+ for years with some reports stating it is responsible for nearly 30% of the streaming on the service, but Bluey has not yet made an appearance at a Disney park. Have you wondered why?
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Thanks to your friends at Schlitterbahn we appear to have the first details of the the new Six Flags Cedar Fair chain-wide combined season pass. It falls under the old Passport Add-on system from Cedar Fair and for $75 you can add all the extra parks! This benefit won’t start until January 6, 2025, but happy to see it coming. Access to 42 Parks on one season pass is amazing!
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Today (July 21, 2024) is opening opening day for Phoenix Rising at Busch Gardens. Phoenix Rising is is the new family suspended roller coaster by B&M. The ride is in the Pantopia area of the park in the area previously occupied by Sand Serpent, a couple of kiddie rides and the original Phoenix looping starship by Intamin. There will be many articles today celebrating the new Phoenix Rising, but I wanted to take a few minutes to remember the original Phoenix. Perhaps I can also take credit for being a bit of a future teller in the name of the new coaster?
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On my last visit to Six Flags Over Georgia I noticed for the first time several of these green signs offering the Flash Pass One Shot. When you follow the QR code you’re taken to the Flash Pass website where you can buy a flash pass for the day, the season and now a Flash Pass for a single ride. This “One Shot” is reminiscent of the Lightning Lane Single Pass at Disney parks where you can buy “skip the line” access to certain attractions. The cost seems to vary by ride and day (similar to the Disney system) and I’ve seen prices range on a Friday between $6 and $14 each. However, a Flash Pass on that same Friday went for $60 for the Standard (virtual line holder) Flash Pass all they way up to $145 for the Ultimate (no wait) Flash Pass. So if you’re a regular and only going for a few hours, Single Shots seem to be the way to go.
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Animals are a huge part of the appeal of Wild Adventures in Valdosta, GA. It’s great to be able to look at them, but to have an animal experience where you can feed and interact with them will make your trip much more memorable. The Ultimate Animal Feeding Package at Wild Advantage is a great way to have several animal interactions together as a family. At under $30 and including a souvenir photo it’s a tremendous value too.
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