The Closure of Mountasia Family Fun Center and the Collateral Damage of a Theme Park Sale

Mountasia Family Fun Center Sign
Mountasia Family Fun Center Sign (from X.com @mountasia037)

Earlier in 2025 it was announced that Herschend was aquiring the US based assets of Palace Entertainment. This acquisition included famous properties such as Pittsburgh’s Kennywood, Iowa’s Adventureland, Noah’s Ark water park in Wisconsin Dells and Lake Compounce, the oldest continuously-operating amusement park in North America. It also included some smaller family entertainment centers including Malibu Norcross in Norcross, GA and Mountasia in Marietta, GA that we subsequently closed on September 28, 2025. Mountasia was specifically known for three mini golf courses, bumper boats and go-karts. I had a chance to drive by the now shuttered Mountasia and got some current pictures.

Continue reading →

The World of Sid and Marty Krofft: Atlanta’s Former Indoor Theme Park in the Old CNN Center

The World of Sid and Marty Krofft

If you visited Atlanta over the last couple of decades that trip may have included a stop at the former CNN Center integrated into the Omni Hotel. This is especially true if you were visiting the neighboring Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Dome, Mercedes Benz Stadium Philips Arena (now State Farm) or Centennial Olympic Park. The food court at the base of the atrium was massive with tons of choices for those looking for a quick meal, but there was also a CNN Tour. However, this space 50 years ago in 1976 housed an indoor amusement park called The World of Sid and Marty Krofft.

Continue reading →

Fright Fest, Oktoberfest, Kids Boo Fest and New Heroes Fest at Six Flags Over Georgia this Fall

Hearse at Six Flags Over Georgia Fright Fest

It’s ‘fest” season and Six Flags Over Georgia and that means Fright Fest, Kids Boo Fest and Oktoberfest. Also, a new event called Heroes Fest will debut Nov. 9, celebrating both comic book icons and real-life community heroes. One can argue that fall is the best time to visit a theme park between the weather and the extra attractions available!

Continue reading →

Spending National Roller Coaster Day 2025 at Lake Winnie Riding the Historic Cannon Ball Coaster

The Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park in Rossville, GA (affectionately known locally as “Lake Winnie“) is a beautiful park located on a 9 acre lake. The park is family owned celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and is filled with history, nostalgia and character. The park’s best known attraction is the Cannon Ball wooden roller coaster built in 1967. On National Roller Coaster Day 2025 on August 16th we felt like getting some rides on the park’s historic Cannon Ball coaster was a great way to celebrate.

Continue reading →

Oklahoma Theme Park American Heartland Appears Cancelled After Investor Files Fraud Lawsuit Over “Text Messages From God”

American Heartland theme park in Northeastern Oklahoma. A new lawsuit claims that the park’s founders defrauded a 91-year-old man, Gene Bicknell, out of over $60 million in investments toward the park using text messages pretending to be from God. According to reports, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants “executed a predatory conspiracy of psychological manipulation” and obtained the investment by “convincing Bicknell, through fraud and impersonation, that God himself was commanding him”. American Heartland was to be a $2 billion world-class theme park and resort off Route 66 in Vinita, Oklahoma scheduled to open in 2028. However, the park’s website has gone dark (along with that of parent company Mansion Entertainment Group) and combined with the lawsuit it almost certainly marks the end of the development.

Continue reading →

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

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 →

Review of the Georgia Mountain Coaster: The Perfect Addition to Downtown Helen, Georgia!

The Georgia Mountain Coaster is Georgia’s first and currently only mountain coaster. This may be the first mountain coaster in Georgia, but it will have everything you love about mountain coasters in areas where they are more commonplace, like Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. What makes this coaster special is location location location. It is located in the heart of Helen, Georgia, a popular German themed tourist destination in Northern Georgia and it’s LITERALLY on Main Street. You can easily walk to it from all the popular shops and restaurants and it’s the only pedestrian accessible coaster I know of other than Ripley’s Mountain Coaster in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee. However, even though it’s very close to everything, when you’re up on the hill it still feels quiet and isolated.

Continue reading →

Atlanta’s Six Flags White Water is a Beautiful Water Park in the Woods

July 28th is National Water Park Day and it’s a great day to spotlight Six Flags White Water, which feels like a water park built in the woods. As you drive in the parking lot is your typical sea of concrete, but from the moment you step through security and towards the park entrance you’ll be walking through a forest of trees. This continues throughout the park with really only the wave pool and a few of the kids play areas not being tree covered. If you look at a Google Maps satellite view you’ll see the wave pool and a few patches of concrete elsewhere, but the rest is trees with hints of blue slides and water peeking through the gaps. This article is part history, part review and part looking towards the park’s future which may unfortunately be uncertain.

Continue reading →

Review of MISSION: ESCAPE Cartersville and the Disney Inspired Mayan Temple of MISSION: Copán!

MISSION: ESCAPE Cartersville front enytance
MISSION: ESCAPE Cartersville

MISSION: ESCAPE is one of Georgia’s newest escape rooms and is located in downtown Cartersville, Georgia. MISSION: ESCAPE Cartersville has 3 rooms to challenge you including MISSION: Copán. In the MISSION: Copán game, “Your mission will take you to the Copán Ruins in Honduras where you will infiltrate the operation of the GCS and retrieve the burial mask of Mayan ruler, Yax-Pasaj, before the GCS is able to use it for horrendous ends.” MISSION: Copán is a multi-room challenge with several types of puzzles and tons of kinetic action for a thoroughly entertaining escape room experience. The local creator of this room was also inspired by Disney’s Haunted mansion and included one of its famous special effects!

Continue reading →

Superman IP Likely to Pay Dividends for Six Flags with New Superman Movie #1 at the Box Office

Intellectual property is a big deal for theme parks as guests come to immerse themselves in themed worlds of their favorite characters. The largest license at Six Flags is DC comics and with that comes characters like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. On July 11th the new Superman movie debuted and box office results of $122 million domestically had it #1 this week with the 3rd biggest opening of 2025! Having the IP of a #1 movie in your park is never a bad thing!

Continue reading →