History

The Most Important Ride You Take this Month Could Be to Your Local Polling Place to Vote!

/ printingddd / Leave a comment
Vote spelled in roller coaster track
Ride the “Voter Coaster” this November!

Election Day is November 5th and many states have already been voting for weeks. This season the most important ride you take could be the one to your local polling center to cast your vote. I know sometimes politics can be deflating and voting can seem inconsequential, but nothing gets better when good people sit on the sidelines. I’n some ways I’ve heard it said that if you don’t vote you lose your ability to complain about the outcome. Democracy works best when we all participate and exercise the freedom to vote that was fought for in several iterations by so many before us.

Continue reading →

Have the Real Zombieland Experience at Wild Adventures this Halloween Season!

/ printingddd / 1 Comment
Blazer Blast Off at Wild Adventures
Blazer Blast Off at Wild Adventures

Halloween is approaching when people like watching their favorite scary movies. One of my favorites is Zombieland with its great blend of action, horror and humor. I recently saw some online buzz about the “real Zombieland experience” at Dubai’s Motiongate theme park with their “Zombieland Blast-Off” launch tower ride based on the Blast Off ride seen in the movie. The park even launched a “fears becoming reality” advertising campaign. There’s just one problem, the only place to get the real Zombieland Blast Off experience is at Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia!

Continue reading →

Hurricane Milton Closes Disney, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Other Florida Parks

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

UPDATE 10/11/24: Most of the Orlando Area Parks including Disney, SeaWorld, Universal Studios, LEGOLAND and Fun Spot are set to reopen on Friday, October 11, 2024 (Fun Spot actually reopened at 3pm on Thursday). These parks sustained minimal to no damage. Busch Gardens in Tampa remains closed through Saturday, October 12, 2024 with the park asking guests to check its website for further updates. There is no word yet on any damage to the park itself, however there was extensive damage to the surrounding Tampa region.

Continue reading →

Politicians at Theme Parks, Fairs and Carnivals Including Reagan, Nixon, Carter, Obama, Tim Walz and the Amazing Sir Ed Davey of the UK!

/ printingddd / 1 Comment
Sir Edward Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, rides a Scremin' Swing
Sir Edward Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, rides a Scremin’ Swing | Source: X/@EdwardJDavey

The United States election season is in full swing and inevitably some of the candidates end up in or near theme parks, fairs or carnival as part of their campaign. These are excellent places to meet with potential voters and get a great photo op. This is especially important in the age of social media where video is consumed in viral bite-sized pieces. Sometimes the visit is just a meeting at a hotel on property, occasionally a speech with iconic visuals like Obama in front of the castle at the Magic Kingdom, but every once and a while the politician will take in a thrill ride like Tim Walz or Sir Ed Davey! The point of this article isn’t to take political sides, but merely to point out some examples (both domestic and international) of politicians at theme parks, carnivals and fairs.

Continue reading →

How Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort Drew Inspiration From The Hyatt Regency Atlanta Hotel

/ printingddd / Leave a comment
Disney Contemporary Resort
(Brian Kendig, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons (cropped))

As a kid I remember the Contemporary Resort near Magic Kingdom being iconic. It was the hotel you literally passed through as you took the monorail from the parking area to the Magic Kingdom. The Contemporary had a huge open atrium and the train literally drove through the building with a station inside. However, did you know that this large open atrium that is key to the amazing monorail views was actually inspired by The Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Atlanta?

Continue reading →

Scorpion Roller Coaster at Busch Gardens to Close September 2, 2024

/ printingddd / 1 Comment
Instagram post from Busch Gardens

In a surprising development Busch Gardens announced the impending closure of Scorpion on September 2, 2024. This cam out of nowhere and gives fans only about 10 days to enjoy “the sting of the Scorpion” one more time before closing forever. Thankfully though the announcement came with a promise that “new attractions “future thrills” would be announced shortly to take its place (get ready for the Giga rumors). Here is what the park wrote:

Continue reading →

Why Didn’t Disney Announce a 5th Gate at D23?

/ printingddd / Leave a comment

D23 has come and gone with lots of major announcements that have fans excited. One thing fans had hoped for was a “fifth gate” or another theme park to add to Walt Disney World to match what Universal is doing with Epic Universe. Instead, Disney’s announcements were expansions and retheming of existing attractions. Many would argue you could preserve the existing attractions at the existing parks and simply roll all the new together to make a pretty amazing new park. This way you increase capacity at Disney world rather than keeping the status quo of real estate and attractions. The question is why?

Continue reading →

Remembering the Original Phoenix that Lead to the New Phoenix Rising at Busch Gardens

/ printingddd / 1 Comment

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?

Continue reading →

ACE’s “World’s Largest Ride” at Wild Adventures on Boomerang

/ printingddd / 3 Comments

On June 16th at 2pm participating parks simultaneously dispatch coasters as part of “The World’s Largest Ride” to celebrate the anniversary of LaMarcus Thompson’s Switchback Railway, the first modern roller coaster. The event is organized by American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) and this year is the 3rd annual celebration of the event. About 20 parks participated this year including Wild Adventures of Valdosta, GA where I participated.

Continue reading →

Review of an Afternoon at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Amusement Park

/ printingddd / 1 Comment
Arial view of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
View of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk from Sky Glider

On a recent business trip to California I had a free afternoon and decided to check out the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. This seaside park opened in 1907 and is California’s oldest surviving park. Walking down certain parts of the boardwalk feels a bit like a trip in a time machine, but most of the rides are now modern with one huge exception, the Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster. The Giant Dipper is the signature attraction of the park dominating the skyline and it was the main reason for my visit.

Giant Dipper Roller Coaster
Giant Dipper Roller Coaster
Giant Dipper Roller Coaster
Giant Dipper Roller Coaster
Continue reading →