Just past Acrophobia and the train station at Six Flags Over Georgia there is a garden area with a plaque dedicated to Angus G. Wynne, Jr. This unassuming memorial celebrates the life of Mr. Wynne, the founder of Six Flags Over Georgia who also founded Flags Over Texas and Six Flags St. Louis. The inscription reads as follows:
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Six Flags Over Georgia is home to a historic carousel and when they say historic they mean it as it was actually added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1995 (NRHP reference number 94001639). The carousel is named the Riverview Carousel and takes its name from Riverview Park in Chicago, Illinois where it operated from 1908 to 1967. That makes the carousel over 100 years old! The carousel was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) and is one of only four 5-row carousels built by the company. The Riverview Carousel is one of only two surviving carousels still operating in that “5-wide” original configuration with the other one being the Prince Charming Regal Carousel at Magic Kingdom. The carousel opened at Six Flags Over Georgia for the 1972 season and has been a park staple for over 50 years. It now sits on “Carousel Hill” which is visible from many areas of the park.
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The DreamSong Theater is one of Dollywood’s premier live entertainment venues. However, it wasn’t always a music venue, but actually housed several iterations of a motion simulator ride. The attraction opened in 1996 and used seat movement synced to the films to create an immersive experience. The two films that were primarily played were first Thunder Road followed by Smoky Mountain Wilderness Adventure Ride with Polar Express interspersed during the holidays. The attraction closed in 2008 and the facility was then converted to a live performance theater that today is called the DreamSong Theater. Today the Dreamsong Theater is primarily home to the Heidi Parton’s Kin & Friends show. Heidi Parton is Dolly’s niece and the show largely serves as a tribute to Dolly. It features Heidi Parton along with her family and friends performing hit songs across a variety of genres and celebrating the Parton family gift of music. The recent addition of NightFlight has been applauded for giving Dollywood a much needed “all-weather” attraction, but years ago it actually had an indoor simulator ride.
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The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York is a large interactive destination devoted entirely to the history and exploration of play. This includes toys, video games, childhood characters, games and a few rides. It’s not unusual to spend 3-4 hours or more to do a quick run through all the exhibits and a deep dive could extend your visit even more. Highlights include a toy hall of fame, video game hall of fame, historic pinball area, a butterfly garden and there are a few rides including a carousel and a train. The museum is also conveniently located near several New York theme parks and amusement parks making it a great addition to a credit tun or a diversion on a rainy day.
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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.
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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.
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One of the most iconic rides at Lake Winnie is the Boat Chute. The ride was originally designed and constructed by park founder Carl O. Dixon during the winter of 1926–1927. The Boat Chute is what is known as a “mill chute” ride and was a precursor to the log flume (the first log flume was El Aserradero at Six Flags Over Texas which opened in 1963). A mill chute ride combines a dark and winding tunnel section with a final water drop and splashdown. It was a classic amusement park water ride, but the one at Lake Winnie is the last one remaining in the United States. Some mill chutes sustained weather damage and others succumbed to time while most were phased out in favor of more modern dark rides or log flumes, both with much greater capacity. The Boat Chute was actually the very first attraction at Lake Winnie and remains a guest favorite still today.
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Opryland was a famous theme park in Nashville that closed almost 30 years ago. It had a nice group of rides which you probably need to be almost 40 to remember riding. Remarkably though, several of the rides from the park were relocated and are still operating today. One of those is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, a classic Arrow mine train, which is now operating as Canyon Blaster at Six Flags Great Escape (Enchanted Parks) in Queensbury, New York. There were a few modifications to fit the space, but it’s essentially the same ride. The signature moment for Canyon Blaster is the huge 900 degree helix at the end.
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I was lucky enough to be at Dollywood on Monday, August 24, 2026, just hours away from Dolly Parton unexpectedly passing away the following morning on August 25, 2026. Dollywood was already scheduled to be closed on August 25th, and the park has already announced that “Dollywood will be open Wednesday as Dolly wanted, always reminding everyone with her signature sparkle, ‘the show must go on’.” Monday was simply a gorgeous day with mostly clear skies and a buzz in the air for the opening of a new ride, NightFlight Expedition. I was traveling for work passing near Dollywood and decided to stop in for a few hours to check out the new ride. It made for a long late day, but I was excited to do it. However, I didn’t realize I’d be visiting on the last day before the park would lose its namesake and the World would lose the sparkle of a universally beloved star.
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The log flume is one of the most iconic rides at Busch Gardens. At Busch Gardens Tampa the recently closed Stanley Falls Flume opened in 1973 as the park’s first “thrill” ride and was built by the famous roller coaster company Arrow Dynamics. At Busch Gardens Williamsburg there’s Le Scoot which opened in 1975. However there was a third Busch Gardens log flume known as Ya-Hoo Barrel Ride (sometimes known as Busch Barrels) which opened at Busch Gardens Van Nuy in 1972. You might be wondering, “There was another Busch Gardens?” Well sort of, but not as extensive as the parks we know today and the log flume closed in 1976 and the entire park closed in 1979. However, this ride would be moved and still operates today as Desperado Plunge at Great Escape.
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