Tech & Business

Do You Have Some Favorite Coaster Merch? Carowinds Does a Great Job with Fury 325!

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Do you have a favorite coaster t-shirt? Perhaps a refrigerator magnet? Carowinds takes merchandise one step further than most with their famous Fury 325 roller coaster. You’ll of course find standard fare like t-shirts, but you’ll also find Dippin’ Dots and Squishmallows. The Dippin’ Dots is a custom flavor called Fury Freeze in the same colors as the iconic ride. The flavor combines vanilla, blue raspberry and lime, and is exclusively available at the Carowinds. They also have several official Squishmallow stuffed animals with one even officially named Fury!

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Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Wild Adventures

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Lowndes County Board of Commissioners proclamation of May 9th, 2026 as Wild Adventures Day

The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners declared May 9th, 2026, as Wild Adventures Day, a local holiday in honor of the park’s 30th Anniversary! This great event included a talks from the park’s Marketing & Sales Director, Adam Floyd, and the park’s General Manager, Donald Spiller. There was also a reading of a proclamation by the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners declaring the day Wild Adventures Day. Additionally guests had the opportunity to enjoy new and fan-favorite menu items including lemon pepper wings, churro bites and boba lemonade.

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Jon Vigue Named New President of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

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Jon Vigue (Graphic courtesy of @SaxOnTracks)

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has named Jon Vigue park President (as first reported by @SaxOnTracks). Mr. Vigue formerly served as Vice President and General Manager of Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia. At Wild Adventures he was part of several major projects including the opening of the Safari Campground and developing the park’s 10-year master plan. Mr. Vigue replaces Brian Bacica who left Busch Gardens in late 2025 to become park president of LEGOLAND Florida Resort. Mr. Vigue is the park’s 3rd president in as many years, but he’s potentially a great long term fit for the park. There are many similarities between Busch Gardens and Wild Adventures given the mix of animals, rides and adjacent water parks, so the fit is obvious. Mr. Vigue is also very active in IAAPA, serving as the Chair of the Food & Beverage Committee. We wish Jon tremendous success and look forward to seeing him at the park.

Ever Wonder How Disney World Controls Mosquitoes? Would you Believe it Involves Garlic and Chickens?

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Mosquito with mouse ears

Disney is famous for being built on former Florida swamp land. Given that Florida is known for being a mosquito mecca, how does Disney assure you’re not spending your vacation swatting away bugs? It turns out it’s not just one thing, but a combination of things in an eco-friendly comprehensive program. The heart of the program is a barely detectable liquid garlic spray coupled with constant water circulation and design considerations to prevent standing water. Disney also uses mosquito natural predators like bats along with traps as part of a comprehensive control strategy to target the whole mosquito life cycle. There are even chickens involved in Disney’s mosquito strategy, but more about them later!

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Splashville Sign Up and Pools Filled for Memorial Day Weekend Opening of New Bartow County Water Park

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The “Splashville” sign is up at the new water park at Hamilton Crossing in Bartow County. It looks sincerely great with “Bartow County” in small red text and then a big blue wave. The sign also has a great internal lighting package that the crew was showing me pictures of from a test the night before that looked stunning. This sign will pop both day and night and lights on both the front and the back.

Review of the Spectacular New Splashville Water Park in Bartow County

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Is the Theme Park Industry Going Virtual?

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During IAAPA 2025 I was struck by the number of virtual and digital attractions on display. What also surprised me was how exceptional most of them were in creating a totally immersive experience. Also, many of these attractions were of a size that could allow them to be used by any park, family entertainment center (FEC) or even arcade. Some would require a building, some a room and some were as small as a single chair. Some were purely ride experiences where others were enhanced versions of classic sit down arcade shooters and many combined both. The Rilix Coaster VR stood out as a compelling immersive experience in a traditional arcade format. The virtual theme park probably isn’t replacing your favorite roller coaster anytime soon, but it does offer operators another option to entertain guests.

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Minecraft World Opening in 2027 at Chessington in the UK

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Minecraft World Rendering
Minecraft World Rendering (Courtesy of Merlin Entertainments)

Minecraft World will open at Chessington World of Adventures in Greater London (UK) next year in 2027. The land will include new attractions including a world-first Minecraft coaster, themed retail and dining, plus a host of fan favourites and ridiculous fun from the Minecraft universe. The coaster looks especially intriguing and could perhaps follow the model of the well received Galacticoaster at the US LEGOLAND parks being indoors with controlled rotation cars (think Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind) , screens and launches.

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Busch Gardens and SeaWorld Parent Company United Parks Sued by Sesame Street Over Unpaid License Fees

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Sesame Workshop (the company behind Sesame Street) has sued United Parks & Resorts (parent of SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens) over unpaid royalties. Sesame Workshop file in federal court in New York on March 12, 2026 and is seeking to end its licensing agreement with United Parks & Resorts. United Parks & Resorts operates full themed park lands around the Sesame Street IP with rides, shows and parades and for many locations it is the centerpiece of their kid’s area. In addition to unpaid royalties Sesame Place also alleges plans for a 3rd Sesame Place theme park were shelved and that United shortened seasons or completely closed Sesame Street themed lands without proper notice.

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Slides Erected at New “Splashville” Water Park in Bartow County

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Slides at Splashville Water Park

We’ve written previously about the new municipal water park coming to Bartow County in Cartersville, Georgia. The flume slides arrived a couple weeks ago at the Hamilton Crossing site and have now been put up. The slides look great and with most of the splash pad constructed the project is coming together ahead of the anticipated May 2026 opening.

Review of the Spectacular New Splashville Water Park in Bartow County

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The Lumber for Your Favorite Wooden Roller Coaster May Have Come From S.I. Storey in Armuchee, Georgia

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Wooden Roller coasters primarily use a very specific type of wood called Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) for their structure and track. Southern Yellow Pine has become the industry-standard wood used worldwide for most modern wooden roller coasters due to its density, strength, and pressure-treatment capabilities. For more than two decades, S.I. Storey Lumber Company in Armuchee, GA has specialized in high quality treated Southern Yellow Pine that has been used in roller coasters around the world. S.I Storey lumber is in use at many Six Flags parks, smaller local parks across the United States and even international parks like Walibi Belgium. Please note that of the coasters pictured in this article only Viper and Weerwolf are known for certain to have S.I. Storey lumber.

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