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.
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Busch Gardens Launches Great 2027 Fun Card Deal of 16+ Months Including Adventure Island for Only $114.99
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.
Did the “B&M Rattle” Cause Bolliger & Mabillard to End Their Relationship With US Based Track Supplier Clermont Steel?
Coaster enthusiasts have claimed for the last several years that new B&M (Bolliger & Mabillard) coasters aren’t as smooth as they used to be with a rattle or shake. Complaints have centered on rides like Penguin Trek at SeaWorld Orlando and Iron Menace at Dorney Park. It seems like sport now every time a new B&M opens, like Tormenta, to wait for reports of if it has the B&M rattle. There has been much speculation as to the cause ranging from issues with the ride bearings or something with the train to inconsistencies with the track gauge causing the train to go “hunting” for center. This rattle is not like riding an old school wooden coaster or anything, but merely a departure from the glass smooth rides B&M has gotten a reputation for over the years. So did something in the design change? Is it a quality control issue? There are rumors of B&M ending a long relationship with track supplier, Clermont Steel, could this all be related?
Continue readingFlorida Teachers Can Get a Free Season Pass to LEGOLAND Florida!
Florida Resident Teachers (Grades PreK-12) can get a free annual pass to LEGOLAND Florida that also includes Madame Tussauds Orlando, SEA LIFE Orlando, and The Orlando Eye! There are about 60 blackout dates (like spring break, Saturdays in the summer, weekends in October, Thanksgiving week and Christmas week), but free is free. Admission to the LEGOLAND Florida Water Park is not included in the standard Teacher Pass but you can purchase the Teacher Pass + Water Park for $59.99 which will remove those blackout dates too! You could use it for a scouting trip for your school as LEGOLAND Florida also offers tickets for field trips as low as $19.99/student.
Continue readingCould a Lawsuit Dismissal Lead to More B&M Surf Coasters like Pipeline at SeaWorld Orlando?
SeaWorld Orlando built Pipeline, the world’s first “surf coaster” by B&M (Bolloger & Mabillard) in 2023. It was a prototype that was meant to be an improvement on the old stand-up coasters. It could also potentially provide B&M another genre of coasters to sell along with it’s wing, hyper, Giga, dive and other models. Pipeline got rather solid reviews from the public, but another surf coaster has yet to be built. However, it turns out there was a good reason why, but that may now be about to change. In 2024 Vekoma filed suit against B&M claiming the “surf coaster” design violated their patent US7987793B2. However, several months ago according to PatSnap a judge dismissed this case with prejudice (meaning Vekoma cannot sue again) and thus B&M is now clear to sell its design to other parks without fear of subsequent patent infringement lawsuits. This could potentially open the door for more surf coasters in 2027 and beyond.
Continue readingTexas Teachers Can Get a Free SeaWorld San Antonio Season Pass
SeaWorld San Antonio is offering Texas credentialed Pre-K-12 school teachers a FREE SeaWorld Teacher Card that provides unlimited admission to SeaWorld San Antonio. The Teacher Card is good from the time of redemption through January 3, 2027. Teachers can add unlimited visits to Aquatica for only $39. OR add both unlimited Aquatica PLUS Parking for only $84. If you’re a Texas teacher getting a free pass is an easy decision. No doubt during the remainder of the year you’ll be able to catch one of the many sales so non-teacher friends and family inexpensively join you too.
Continue readingSix Flags Unveils 2027 Season Pass Plans with 4 Regions for Gold Pass and Free Fountain Beverages with Prestige Pass
Six Flags Great Adventure has announced their has officially launched sales for 2027 season passes Tuesday saw the announcement of their brand-new record-breaking 382-foot spinning roller coaster, Bakunawa and their new 2027 season pass plans. The bottom line is It looks like things are getting a tad more expensive 2026, but there are at least a couple of new nice benefits. The prices below are for Great Adventure with a massive new ride, so prices for other parks may be $10-$20 cheaper, but I’d expect them to be similar. Last year I was able to get a free “All Parks Passport” with my Six Flags Over Georgia season pass with the 2025 MVP Promotion (which was a stupid good deal) that I’ve used a bunch this year. It appears going forward the only way to do this is the Prestige Pass, but it is nice that the Prestige Pass now offers free beverages!
Update: Six Flags Over Georgia (SFOG) is out with season their pass info and it’s $65 for Gold and $189 for Prestige! You can also get 20 meals for only $89!
Continue readingVisiting Enchanted Parks Great Escape with a Six Flags All Park Passport Season Pass
Here’s my experience and review of visiting Enchanted Parks Great Escape (formerly Six Flags) using my Six Flags Over Georgia Gold Pass with All Parks Passport. The bottom line was that everything wasn’t seamless, but the Great Escape team did a great job at making everything work in the end. This included complementary parking, admission and even my drink plan.
Continue readingFive Major Differences Between LEGOLAND Florida and LEGOLAND Billund
LEGOLAND Florida and LEGOLAND Billund are both “LEGO” theme parks, but they are by no means copies of each other. Both parks are run by Merlin and share a common IP and feel, but there are some distinct differences between the properties. These are good differences, not things that make one better than the other, but rather things that make each property unique. LEGOLAND Billund is the original “LEGO” park, opening in 1968, while LEGOLAND Florida followed in 2011, giving it the opportunity to take some of the best of LEGOLAND Billund, but also make the LEGO IP it’s own for a different audience. This article will look at five (5) differences you’ll probably notice if you visit both parks as well as some similarities between the two locations.
Continue readingIs Nateland Theme Park Real? As More Information Comes Out it Appears This Could Really Happen!
Comedian Nate Bargatze is looking to build a theme park and it’s slated to be called Nateland! The park is inspired by Bargatze’s childhood memories of the former Opryland and looks to blend in aspects of his childhood and career. For example, the entry plaza will resemble a 90’s shopping mall (a modern take on Main Street USA), a Tennessee section and a section dedicated to Times Square. Nate is partnering with Storyland Studios, a group who specializes in the master planning, architectural modeling and full project delivery of themed environments filled with former Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Creative folks. At first some saw Nateland as a publicity stunt or a joke, but now with Storyland Studios involved and some actual park renderings, it appears to be becoming more real by the day.
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BGT Safari 