Intellectual property is a big deal for theme parks as guests come to immerse themselves in themed worlds of their favorite characters. The largest license at Six Flags is DC comics and with that comes characters like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. On July 11th the new Superman movie debuted and box office results of $122 million domestically had it #1 this week with the 3rd biggest opening of 2025! Having the IP of a #1 movie in your park is never a bad thing!
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The renovations on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom continue with a special vehicle on the new track on the coaster’s mountainous twists and turns. There’s also a bunch of scaffolding still around the track. With an attraction that quite literally is a large outdoor artificial mountain it’s difficult for Disney to camouflage the work behind walls or indoors like they often like to do. The ride is slated to open sometime in 2026 and that probably can’t come soon enough for Disney with the July 6, 2025 closure of Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island making this corner of the park pretty quiet for the rest of the year.
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On on July 6 2025 Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom closed Forever to make room for “Cars Land” and specifically what is being called Piston Peak National Park. Rivers of America have been part of Frontierland and Liberty Square since 1971 when the park opened, but the Liberty Belle steamboat and Tom Sawyer Island were actually added in 1973. This has long been known as a scenic and relaxing area of the park. This area is now being reimagined into a Cars themed land with a ride similar to the Radiator Springs Racers, a high-speed ride at Disney’s California Adventure. However, this is not a carbon copy of the California attraction located in the desert town of the first movie, but instead it will be an off-road adventure in a mountain and water-filled National Park.
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It was announced earlier this year that Disney World’s Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind would cease using the virtual queue system on February 25, 2025. This followed a similar previous announcement in September 2024 for Tron Lightcycle Run. This means there are currently no rides at Disney World using virtual queue for the first time in years and every attraction will have standby lines available. It also ends the stress for many of waking up at before 7am on the morning of a Disney vacation and feverishly hitting the refresh button to try to get a boarding group to ride the lastest Walt Disney World rides sometime that day without paying extra. Virtual Queue was the only “free” way to ride without paying for a Lightning Lane Single Pass, which could cost $100 or more for a family on top of a regular Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+).
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Earning the Arrow of Light “Engineering” adventure loop has the potential to be one of the most fun and exciting activities in scouting, especially with the increased interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). What’s even more exciting is that one of the recommended adventure activities in the cub scout handbook is to have scouts build their own roller coaster! A theme park is a great place for the scouts to explore and learn about engineering and Fun Spot America Kissimmee is perfectly suited for this adventure. Earning the “Engineering” Adventure Loop at Fun Spot Kissimmee can be as simple as watching a few YouTube videos, having a discussion, riding a roller coaster and participating in the park’s “build your own roller coaster” activity or doing your own at your next den or pack meeting.
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I visited Peppa Pig Theme Park at LegoLand Florida with no kids while visiting Winter Haven on a business trip and had a very enjoyable couple of hours. I mainly went to get the roller coaster credit for Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster, but found myself really enjoying and appreciating the rest of the park as well. The roller coaster is really phenomenal for what it is (a kiddie coaster), but the overall atmosphere is very lighthearted and pleasant. You’ll basically be able to do everything in a couple of hours and if you plan your visit accordingly you can do it at a reasonable price too.
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Six Flags Over Georgia opened its doors to the public on June 16, 1967. It is actually in the city of Austell, Ga, just west of Atlanta and was the second park in the Six Flags chain after the original Six Flags Over Texas 1961 opening. This made Six Flags the first theme park operator in the United States to operate parks in multiple locations.
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There are roller coasters on every continent other than Antarctica with 6,557 operating roller coasters worldwide according to Roller Coaster Database. However, there are some that are tougher to get than others, perhaps nearly impossible if you are American. We’ve written in the past about the indoor suspended coaster in Ukraine which may not be the safest place to visit today, but there are other countries where Americans are banned or advised against visiting like Cuba, Russia and North Korea. Of all the world’s coasters, North Korea’s 7 roller coasters may be the most difficult for outsiders to ride.
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I was walking through Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia and they had a great display about patents that actually highlighted the patent on the Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness ride. This roller coaster has a unique design with hidden lower vertical track and a “boom” arm to create the illusion of jumps, movement over rough terrain and fast track switches. However, Universal is far from the only company to protect their work with parents as with a quick search you will find patents from companies like RMC, Disney and many more.
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The 2025 season and Dollywood’s 40th anniversary are underway. For 2025 there’s no big new ride or attraction, but instead we’re getting a new restaurant, a bunch of refreshes/refurbishments and improvements to the guest experience. The park is already looking forward to 2026 with a reported $50 million expansion, the largest in the park’s history, and a major new attraction. An announcement this year teased a “Take Flight” theme with rumors of an indoor suspended roller coaster or flying theater coming to the back of Wildwood Grove. However, the additions for 2025 still represent millions of dollars in significant improvements that will make the park more enjoyable for years to come and help put the “theme” in theme park.
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BGT Safari 