adventure

Busch Gardens Announces Kumba will Close August 2nd, but Surprises with Simultaneous Announcement of Kumba’s Revenge!

/ printingddd / 1 Comment

As rumored earlier, Kumba is indeed closing forever on August 2, 2026 and silencing the iconic roar forever. The park made it official with a release on social media today. This is sad for sure and August 2nd will be a dark day in the coaster community with the closure of both ArieForce One and Kumba on the same day. However, in the sadness there is some intrigue as the park simultaneously announced a new attraction to replace it called Kumba’s Revenge as part of a $100 million project. Could this be the much rumored Giga Coaster for Busch Gardens? Time will tell I guess, but today is a time to reflect and enjoy what we’re losing, we can focus on the future after August 2nd. Kumba was a beast and provided kinetic beauty and iconic sound to the back of the park. Enjoy these last few weeks with Kumba and hope to see you at the park!

Continue reading →

Review of Dinner at Sanaa at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Resort

/ printingddd / Leave a comment
Sanaa Entrance Sign

I had a chance to enjoy dinner at Sanaa, located at the Animal Kingdom Villas at Walt Disney World. Sanaa is a restaurant featuring African cooking with Indian flavors with spectacular views of exotic animals. Disney took a bit of a risk initially with Sanaa in that they used one of their best pieces of real estate for a restaurant serving food that many of its typical guests wouldn’t be very familiar with or find slightly intimidating. A safe choice would have perhaps been something like a steakhouse as opposed to the predominantly African-Indian menu. However, this place was packed and reservations at good times are sometimes tough to get, so apparently it’s working! The name is pronounced “Sah- NAH” with the first part like the beginning of “safari” and with the stress on the second syllable “NAH”. It is derived from Swahili, where it roughly translates to “artwork”.

Continue reading →

Gators Live at Wild Adventures is an Entertaining and Educational Show

/ printingddd / 1 Comment
Gators Live Show at Wild Adventures Theme Park
Gators Live Show at Wild Adventures Theme Park

The Gators Live show at Wild Adventures Theme Park is a chance to see the American Alligator up-close and learn more about them. The show focuses on the natural history and conservation of the alligator and and a couple other animal ambassadors like a Burmese Python and a tortoise. Guests get to watch expert gator handlers engage with these animals. In many cases audience members, especially children, have the opportunity to be extremely close to or even touch the animals! Here is a basic review of Gators Live and what else you can expect during the show.

Continue reading →

Large Section of Alapaha Trail at Wild Adventures Reopens

/ printingddd / 3 Comments

Wild Adventures is several types of family entertainment combined into one that is equal parts theme park, water park, concert venue, zoo and nature center. The Alapaha Trail is a large section of elevated boardwalk through authentic Georgia swampland. For the 2026 season the trail has more than doubled in size with a large section closed for over a decade reopened. The entire trail has been refreshed with more than 6,000 board feet of new wood. The Alapaha Trail is a peaceful, shaded boardwalk that provides a nice break from the neighboring rides with the opportunity to see several of the park’s animals along the way.

Continue reading →

World of PAW Patrol, now open at Chessington World of Adventures Resort!

/ printingddd / Leave a comment
Paw Patrol at Chessington World of Adventures (Courtesy of Merlin Entertainment)

If you have young children you’re probably familiar with the Paw Patrol. The children’s cartoon series has had remarkable staying power having premiered on Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. on August 12, 2013. New for 2026, Merlin Entertainment has brought the world of Paw Patrol to life at Chessington World of Adventures in the UK which opened on May 3, 2026. There have been Paw Patrol areas in theme parks before, such as at the Nickelodeon Universe locations at Mall of America and American Dream, but these have been more playground than rides. Paw Patrol at Chessington is a fully fleshed out theme park land complete with several rides and attractions. Paw Patrol at Chessington features a roller coaster, 3 flat rides and several other attractions including a play zone and pup meet & greet.

Continue reading →

The Spectacular Scouting America Adventure Weekend at Wild Adventures

/ printingddd / 1 Comment

We had a chance to experience the Scouting America Adventure Weekend at Wild Adventures Theme Park, April 17-19, 2026 and it was an incredible scouting event. This has to be the best bargain in scouting events with food, 2-day theme park tickets and 2nights of camping for only $50. The execution of the event by Wild Adventures was spectacular as everything was obviously extremely well planned. For a scout spending 2 days camping at Wild Adventures couldn’t be more fun with its combination of rides, waterpark and animals. If you’re looking for a fun spring camping event it’s hard to imagine anything better than a Scouting America Adventure Weekend at Wild Adventures.

Continue reading →

Rampage at Alabama Adventure to Reopen in Summer of 2026!

/ printingddd / 2 Comments
Rampage at Alabama Adventure Logo (Courtesy of Alabama Adventure)

On February 20th during the 2026 ACE Preservation T-Shirt Gala it was announced by Alex Ramsey of Alabama Adventure that the park would likely be reopening their wooden coaster Rampage during the summer of 2026! Alex is Alabama Adventure’s Human Resources, IT and Marketing Manager (he wears many hats) and was presenting during a night dedicated to wooden roller coaster preservation.

June 2026 Update: It appears the opening may be just around the corner. In late May the park posted pictures of workers on Rampage. Then on June 9th the park released the image below teasing an announcement coming soon. Maybe we see Rampage running here before July 4th?

Continue reading →

Get Your Engineering Cub Scout Adventure Loop at Fun Spot America Orlando with White Lightning!

/ printingddd / Leave a comment
Fun Spot America Logo
Scout in front of White Lightning sign at Fun Spot Orlando

Earning the Arrow of Light “Engineering” adventure loop can be one of the most fun and exciting activities in scouting and highly educational, especially increased focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Did you know 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 Orlando is a perfect real world laboratory for this adventure. Earning the “Engineering” Adventure Loop at Fun Spot Orlando is as simple as watching a few YouTube videos, discussing some questions, 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). This is essentially a prepackaged adventure that is sure to be memorable for scouts.

Continue reading →

New Theming and Story in the Lickskillet Area of Six Flags Over Georgia with Georgia Gold Rusher

/ printingddd / Leave a comment
LickSkillet Area of Six Flags Over Georgia
LickSkillet Area of Six Flags Over Georgia

There are amusement parks and theme parks with one merely being a collection of rides while the later uses decor, landscaping, attraction design and overall atmosphere to create a unifying theme throughout an area of a park or an entire park. Six Flags Over Georgia is not an amusement park, but a full fledged theme park. I would argue the park has at least two themed sections and the argument can be made for a couple more. The most obvious of these is the Gotham area of the park with all the rides pulled together by the Batman universe. However, potentially the most themed area of the park is LickSkillet area where food, rides, buildings and entertainment all come together to tell a cohesive story about the Gold rush times in Georgia.

Continue reading →

Top Gun Experience Coming to The STRAT in Las Vegas in 2028

/ printingddd / 1 Comment

The STRAT Hotel, Casino and Tower (formerly known as the Stratosphew), will be opening a Top Gun Las Vegas immersive entertainment experience in the summer of 2028. Not a lot of details are known yet, but there are several details out there that are very exciting. I mean I’m sure there are people who know more, but in the words of the movie, “It’s classified. I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” We’ll litter several more Top Gun phrases throughout this article for fun too. Top Gun Las Vegas is to include rides, immersive storytelling and a sing-along bar all in tribute to the beloved films.

Continue reading →