Fun Spot America has launched an amazing Valentine’s deal that comes with rides, dinner and a refillable soda or beer cup for two for only $72.50! It’s called the “Gals, Pals, & Vals” deal, so if you’re celebrating “singles awareness day” instead or just in the friend zone, you can still get this great offer.
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Update January 2026: Sunset on the Serengeti is back at Busch Gardens! It is being offered January through March. The good news is the price is unchanged at $89.99/person.
Busch Gardens Tampa has begun offering a Sunset on the Serengeti adventure that is both an animal encounter and a dinner. The adventure begins promptly at 5:30pm with a guided safari experience at sunset followed by dinner and drinks at the park’s Treetop Kitchen. The experience is currently offered only on Saturdays and starts at $89.99/person, but this does include dinner, a cocktail and the animal encounter portion and park admission is NOT required to participate. The park describes the experience below:
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Six Flags Over Georgia announced its 2025 opening date will be March 15, 2025. The park also announced its event schedule including things such as the much loved Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park events. Holiday in the Park was recently recognized as one of the best theme park holiday events by USA Today’s “10 Best” contest. This spring will also be BIG with the opening of the new Georgia Gold Rusher roller coaster!
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Earlier this year Ari Novick was featured on the CW magic themed show Penn & Teller Fool Us and the show made prominent mention about his time as a theme park designer. The concept of the show is that magicians perform a trick for world famous magicians Penn Jillette and Teller who then try to figure out how they did it. The trick Ari performed even had a theme park bend on it using the carnival game of rings and bottles as the basis of a prediction trick. Although Ari did not fool Penn & Teller to “win” the game, he certainly still won overall by obtaining great exposure for his new professional magic career. In this article we’ll delve deeper into Ari’s theme park background and the surprising number of connections with magic.
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Mine Blower is the signature coaster at Fun Spot Kissimmee. Among coaster enthusiasts it’s both famous and infamous as it has an amazing layout that’s wildly fun, but has also gotten a reputation for being rough, even by wooden coaster standards. However, the park has recently attempted to address this issue with an RMC 208 partial retrack. I had the chance to ride it on a recent trip to the Orlando area and here’s my review of the experience along with an overview of the great Gravity Group creation that is Mine Blower.
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On January 22, 2025 Six Flags Over Georgia announced its newest thrill attraction, Georgia Gold Rusher, will open in Spring of 2025. This first-of-its-kind family ride combines high-speed adventure and soaring elevation with free-spinning gondola seating and dynamic water features. This attraction was originally announced with the name Georgia Surfer and the new Georgia Gold Rusher’s name and reimagined theming is part of a larger investment in overall guest experience. Enhancements in dining, décor, storytelling and retail will accompany the new attraction.
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Cadbury World is part theme park, part museum and part immersive advertisement all in one located on the campus of the the Cadbury chocolate plant in Bournville, Birmingham, England. This is not a factory tour, however you will learn about the company’s history and the chocolate making process through some great interactive experiences. On a recent business trip the the United Kingdom I got a chance to experience Cadbury World and left with a bunch of new knowledge, good memories and pockets full of free chocolate! Here’s my review of one of the sweetest places on Earth.
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On a recent trip to Strand Adventures, a family entertainment center in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, I ran across the Rilix Coaster in the arcade. It was quickly obvious it was a VR experience, but with the twist of being coaster themed. I’ve ridden virtual reality coasters before, but they’re not usually in the regular arcade and instead are more of an upcharge experience, usually with an attendant. There are other arcade VR experiences too like Virtual Rabbids, but not with a complete coaster theme, so the Rilix Coaster is unique in its offering.
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I was sad to see the closure of La Vibora at Six Flags Over Texas on November 4, 2024. As far as I can tell it was the last standing of what was known as the Swiss Bob roller coaster by Intamin. On a Swiss Bob a bobsled like vehicle is taken up a lift hill and then released into a tubular track to free roll and mimic the action of Olympic bobsledding. Most classify this style of ride as a roller coaster even though it lacks traditional track. La Vibora is being removed to make room for a new dive coaster for 2026 (here’s a video of the demolition from Amusement Source), which no doubt will be a great addition for the park, but the uniqueness of the Swiss Bob will surely be missed.
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Just over the Missouri border outside St. Louis in the southwest corner of Illinois you’ll find the town of Grafton with Aerie’s Resort and Aerie’s Alpine Coaster. This Wiegand mountain coaster opened in September of 2022 and is currently the only mountain coaster in Illinois. The coaster sports 3,885 feet of track in a beautiful resort setting that offers insane views of the Mississippi River below.
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BGT Safari 
