roller-coaster

Is the Flash Pass at Six Flags Fiesta Texas Worth it During Holiday in the Park? Maybe…

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I visited Six Flags Fiesta Texas on Saturday, November 22, 2025, the start of Holiday in the Park. It was a beautiful fall day and the park looked awesome. I had purchased the Flash Pass for my son and I several days in advance anticipating a busy day due to the great weather forecast and t. The Flash Pass was $39.99/person for the standard version which holds your place in the virtual line, so you can enjoy the park while waiting for your turn to ride. In theory this should approximately double the amount of rides you can get on in a day as you can be two places at once by virtually waiting for one ride while riding another ride, enjoying a show or having a meal. Was this a worthwhile purchase? The answer is a resounding “maybe” as although we saved a relatively minimal amount of time for our $80 investment, we did legitimately enjoy a few more things at a more relaxed pace than we would have without it.

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Is the Closing of Six Flags America a Sign of Things to Come for the Theme Park Industry?

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Entrance to Six Flags America
Entrance to Six Flags America

Six Flags America is closed, likely forever, unless the land is bought by a group who intends to reopen it, which seems unlikely. There have already been reports of trains from Professor Screamore’s SkyWinder being moved to Canada’s Wonderland for their Vekoma SLC Flight Deck, so it appears the dismantling is underway. Six Flags also announced on an earnings call its intention to divest other “non-core” parks, but it is yet to be seen if these sales will be to another operator or result in closure with the land seeing other uses. A closure is often in the best interest of a seller in order to drive business to their other parks nearby. National news gave lots of coverage to the Six Flags America closure, laying part of the blame on a “sluggish economy that’s hit Six Flags’ core middle-class customers particularly hard”. So what does this mean for the industry going forward?

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Minifigure Speedway Roller Coaster Coming to LEGOLAND Billund Resort

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Minifigure Speedway Windsor

Minifigure Speedway Windsor (Courtesy of LegoLand)

LEGOLAND Billund Resort is opening a new roller coaster in 2026 (or actually two credits due to the two tracks and dueling nature) called Minifigure Speedway. The attraction is already open at LEGOLAND Windsor Resort, where the picture above is from, and features a duelling element with each team having their own minifigure captain. The ride will be located between Knights’ Kingdom and Adventure Land at a height of ~50 feet and is being built on the site of the former Vikings River Splash. This is a “shuttle” style coaster manufactured by Zierer, so the fact it experiences the layout both forwards and backwards makes the most use of the 843 feet of track.

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What will Flying Fox at Kentucky Kingdom be Like? It Looks Like a Near Clone of Dragonflier at Dollywood, but That’s Not a Bad Thing.

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Flying Fox at Kentucky Kingdom Concept Art
Flying Fox at Kentucky Kingdom Concept Art

Kentucky Kingdon has announced its new suspended family coaster for 2026, Flying Fox by Vekoma. The theming on this ride looks great with a Kentucky farmland setting complete with the queue in a barn. The ride looks great and nearly identical to Dragonflier at Dollywood, but that’s not a bad thing as Dragonflier is a great ride! The specs are also sear identical with Flying Fox being 65 feet tall with 1,380 feet of track at 37 mph over 63 seconds while Dragonflier is 63 feet tall with 1,486 feet of track at 47 mph over 60 seconds. It’s not a clone, but so similar that Kentucky Kingdom actually used stock footage of Dragonflier in the Flying Fox promo video. Here’s the the description the park has provided about it:

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Six Flags Could See Boost in 2026 with Release of “Coyote vs. Acme” Movie Starring John Cena

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Looney Toons characters at Christmas at Six Flags Over Georgia

There is a new movie coming out in 2026 featuring the Looney Tunes characters which are a prominent license of Six Flags. Although it is entitles “Coyote vs. Acme”, it features other iconic Looney Tunes characters such as Bugs Bunny. The movie stars John Cena who is red hot right now with his WWE retirement tour, “Peacekeeper” show and new Amazon movie “Head of State”. This can only be good for Six Flags as anything that brings attention to an IP in your park can generate visits and merchandise sales.

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Texas Stingray at SeaWorld San Antonio is a Great Ride and Educational Experience

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Texas Stingray entrance sign at SeaWorld San Antonio
Texas Stingray entrance sign at SeaWorld San Antonio

The Texas Stingray roller coaster at SeaWorld San Antonio (SWSA) opened in February 2020, just before Covid, and is the tallest, fastest and longest wooden coaster in Texas.  The ride Designed by Skyline Attractions and manufactured by Great Coasters International (GCI) includes a 100 foot drop, 3,379 feet of track with a max speed of 55 mph while experiencing fast-paced twists, up to 76 degree turns, sixteen gravity defying airtime moments and a 100-foot tunnel. In 2024 Texas Stingray reached #26 on Golden Ticket’s global rankings of best wooden roller coasters. However, in addition to being a fantastic ride, it also provides an excellent educational experience about the Texas Stingray through signage and the design of the roller coaster train itself!

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Peanuts Characters to Remain at Legacy Cedar Fair Parks as Six Flags Entertainment and Peanuts Worldwide Extend Licensing Agreement to 2030

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Camp Snoopy with dog in canoe
Camp Snoopy (Image courtesy of Six Flags)

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation announced it has extended its licensing agreement with Peanuts Worldwide for another five years. The new agreement extends Six Flags’ position as the exclusive amusement park partner for Peanuts™ in North America meaning guest at Knott’s Berry Farm, Carowinds, Cedar Point, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Dorney Park, Canada’s Wonderland, California’s Great America, Michigan’s Adventure, Valleyfair, and Worlds of Fun will continue to experience the iconic Peanuts characters until at least the next decade.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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