Disney has increased the peak single day ticket price for Magic Kingdom $10 to $219 for the 2027 season. EPCOT has also crossed the $200 barrier going form $199 to $214 while Disney Studios and Animal Kingdom increased to $209 and $184 respectively. The $10 increase is unlikely to have many Disney fans canceling their vacations, but the $200 per person per day price had me thinking of the relative value of a single day at Magic Kingdom versus a whole season at another park or chain of parks. This isn’t to demean Disney World in any way, it’s awesome, we’re merely looking at what ~$200 gets you at different theme park options in the Southeast today:
Fun Spot Atlanta closed back in August and the auction for the rides and other property at the park is underway. Dozens of items are for sale from coasters like Sea Serpent and Hurricane to Flat rides like Hook & Slice to arcade games to kitchen equipment. The online auction began on September 22nd and runs through October 14th. “Our Atlanta park made lifetime memories for a lot of families, and the equipment behind those memories has been well cared for,” said John Arie, Jr., Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Fun Spot America Theme Parks. The bidding is already strong on many items with interested buyers to include other amusement parks, family entertainment centers or even local fans.
Many of us hoped Dolly Parton was immortal and would live forever, but apparently Dolly herself recognized this wasn’t the case and worked with Dollywood park leadership to prepare for the time she would no longer be with us. Park President Eugen Naughton was quoted in an interview with WVLT saying, “She gave us the gift of time to prepare for what was going to eventually happen here. We have plans until 2036 that she laid emphasis on us as a leadership team that I am confident in.” It also appears that Dolly had input and gave approval for the memorials in the park that will honor her including a new guitar sculpture to be placed in the Dollywood fountain near the park’s chapel and a special reflection area for visitors to write about how she impacted them through her music and philanthropy. If you wondered how the park came out with these tributes so rapidly following Dolly’s death, this is the reason. The park was also very quick with posts on social media that the park would be open the day after her death as it was what she wanted and with reassurance that Dolly’s vision for the park would be retained.. it also gives reassurance to the thousands of employees as Dollywood is the engine to the economy of this area.
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.
Lake Winnie has launched their best sale of the year for 2027 season passes that also includes the remainder of 2026, including Spookah. You will also get a “Bring-A-Friend” (BAF) in 2026 and 3 BAF’s in 2027. The park even laid out its intended sales for Black Friday, the Holidays and Preseason next year to show this is the best offer. This is quite the sale and a significantly better package offer than previous years. If you and a friend intend to visit Lake Winnie this fall you’d nearly break even with one of you getting a season pass and you could go three more times for free next year. Lake Winnie has some great classic rides like the Boat Chute, the ACE Landmark Cannon Ball Roller Coaster and the upcoming new Lookout Mountain Safari Roller Coaster. At over 100 years old there’s a character to Lake Winnie that’s not replicated many other places. This great deal lasts until November 1st, so grab it while you can!
Wild Adventures has always excelled at helping their local community with food drives, toy drives and other charitable efforts. As part of their 30th Anniversary, they have created a Round Up Partners program on their online store. So, for example, if you purchase a $99 2027 Gold Pass online like I did earlier this week ($94 as a renewal), you’ll be given the opportunity to round up to the next dollar for charity. Each month there will be a new local partner that you can donate to and with tax you’ll inevitably end up with an odd number to round up. This will work for anything you purchase online including admission tickets, a cabana or a Season Pass.
ArieForce One will get the chance to continue to thrill riders! John Arie announced on the park’s social media that the coaster had indeed been sold in an enthusiastic video. He teased about when and where it was going, but ultimately no details were given. I guess we’ll have to just stay tuned, but this is spectacular news! Pretty amazing it all came together one day past a month of Fun Spot Atlanta’s closing too!
Scooter Pals are essentially a scooter or ECV in fun and fuzzy packaging. The Scooter Pals website says they’re, “More than just a ride, these ScooterPals Fur-Wheelers® are a full-fledged animal attraction.” They have great names like Lumi McSparklepants the Unicorn, Boogie P. the Giant Panda and Rey’s the Giraffe. They are often found at places like zoos, but they’re now also available at Six Flags Darien Lake right near Rolling Thunder. You can rent a Scooter Pal for a $5 activation fee plus $0.39/minute. That’s the activation fee plus $23.40/hour. During a recent visit later in the day we saw several people enjoying them with a good percentage of the Scooter Pals rented.
The first modern wooden shuttle roller coaster Switchback has been sold and will be headed to a new home. ZDT’s Amusement Park in Seguin, Texas closed a year ago and the coaster along with it. The owners have been trying to find a home ever since and have announced a year later that it has finally happened. No details at all about the new location are known yet. Hopefully this is both encouraging and calibrating for fans of the recently closed ArieForce One at Fun Spot Atlanta. It’s encouraging to show there is a market for coaster relocation, but also calibrating in that it took a year to happen.
2027 Fun Card Promotion (Courtesy of Busch Gardens)
Busch Gardens Tampa has begun selling 2027 Fun Cards that include the rest of 2026 as well for only $114.99. As an added bonus you also get an Adventure Island Fun Card included! Fun Cards have their limitations compared to season passes in that there are some blackout dates and there’s no in park discount or free parking. However, you do get the most important thing, admission to the parks at Busch Gardens until December 31, 2027 and until October 24, 2027 at Adventure Island. Blackout dates are really light for 2027 too, just 8 days for BGT and 7 for Adventure Island. This year Busch Gardens plans to offer “Fun Card Rewards” that include “special offers and discounts to limited-time experiences and free guest tickets to bring a friend”. If you visit more than a handful of times a season pass may make more sense with the free parking and food discount. However, a season pass is nearly double the cost of a fun card, only good for 12 months and doesn’t include the water park. Just consider your situation before picking one or the other and often in you’re planning a weekend trip 1-2 times a year a Fun Card can be way more economical than standard tickets. Busch Gardens says this is their best offer of the year, so if you’re planning a trip in the next 16 months it could make sense to get a Fun Card.
