travel

Family Review of Galacticoaster at LEGOLAND Florida: A Spectacular Experience That’s So Much More Than a Ride

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Galacticoaster (Image courtesy of LEGOLAND)

Our family of 3 had a chance to experience Galacticoaster at LEGOLAND Florida and we were wowed, awestruck and captivated by this amazing attraction. Calling Galacticoaster and “ride” or a “roller coaster” really sells it short as this is a multi-part story driven experience. The actual “coaster” portion of Galacticoaster is pretty short, but you’ll be entertained thoroughly over 10 minutes or so as you’re completely immersed in the ride’s story. This ride and its twin at LEGOLAND California represent a $90 million investment by Merlin Entertainment and you’ll immediately see it was money well spent.

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If you Visit Fun Spot Atlanta, Be Sure to Make the Short Drive to Truett’s Luau, the Hawaiian Themed Chick-fil-A

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If you make the pilgrimage to Fayetteville, Georgia and Fun Spot America Atlanta to ride the amazing ArieForce One, there’s also another unique restaurant experience less than 15 minutes down the road. Truett’s Luau, often referred to as the “Hawaiian Chick-fil-A”, that is also located in Fayetteville, Georgia. This is not your standard Chick-fil-A with different as in addition to the standard Chick-fil-A staples, the restaurant features unique, tropical, and Polynesian-inspired items like fish tacos, Kalua pork, mahi-mahi, and bubble tea. The restaurant was opened in December 2013 when att 92 years old, Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy created this special project to share his love of Hawaiian vacations. He even handpicked the decor to bring the island spirit to his home state.

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The Best Six Flags Dark Ride is Monster Mansion at Six Flags Over Georgia

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Monster Mansion is also an opening day attraction at Six Flags Over Georgia in 1967. It was formerly known as Tales Of The Okefenokee (1967–1980) and Monster Plantation (1981–2008) and now it’s Monster Mansion. There’s a ton of history here and even connections to Disney. This was the first “dark ride” at Six Flags Over Georgia and most reviews claim it is the best in the whole Six Flags chain or any regional theme park. It is also a source of original characters for meet and greets and some cool merchandise for the park. So let’s dive into what makes Monster Mansion at Six Flags Over Georgia so special and it’s evolution that continues today.

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Large Section of Alapaha Trail at Wild Adventures Reopens

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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.

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The Use of 3D Printing at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay to Bring Howl-O-Scream to Life by Massivit and Hatch X

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Queen Sculpture (Courtesy of Hatch X and Massivit)

I recently had a chance to attend an IAAPA webinar entitled, “Off with Their Heads! Build Unforgettable Experiences with XXL 3D Printing” that was tied directly to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The webinar was put on by Massivit, a company involved in large scale additive manufacturing (3D Printing). In the webinar Massivit highlighted the “Giant Chess Queen” character at the Shadows of Wonderland haunted house at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s annual Howl-O-Scream event. This house is based on the story of “Alice in Wonderland” and made its debut in 2024 and returned for 2025. Out front of this Howl-O-Scream house was a 9 foot 3D printed sculpture of the queen of hearts created by Hatch X and Massivit. You can watch the video below with the Busch Gardens content starting at ~10:30 mark.

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Dude Perfect Theme Park to Open this Summer as Part of New Dig World Location in Grapevine, Texas

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Dude Perfect Exca-Putter Golf challenge at Dig World Grapevine (Courtesy of Dig World)

The famous YouTube trick shot artists Dude Perfect are opening their first theme park. To be more specifici they are opening a construction-themed trick shot zone as part of the new Dig World theme park in Grapevine,TX opening this summer. In the Dude Perfect Zone guests will attempt three outrageous construction/sports trick shots from Dude Perfect. Dig World opened its first facility in Katy, TX in 2022 with a goal of a national roll out with the Grapevine location as its second location in this plan. The chain is partnered with Caterpillar to let kids and adults safely operate real, full-sized Cat machinery. Attractions Magazine recently reported that bookings are now open for Dig World in Grapevine for July 2026, so opening day is not far away!

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Review of Panda Express at Carowinds: An Excellent Quick Service Option with Large Portions and Great Flavors

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Panda Express at Carowinds
Panda Express at Carowinds

It’s not uncommon these days to see familiar chain restaurants inside theme parks such Starbucks. However, at Carowinds Theme Park you’ll actually find a Panda Express and it’s one of the best and most popular quick service restaurants in the park. Panda Express Panda Express is a fast food restaurant chain that specializes in American style Chinese cuisine. It has over 2,400 locations and is probably best known for its orange chicken dish. At Carowinds you’ll sometimes find that one of the longest lines in the park is for Panda Express because it offers large portions of good food at a reasonable price.

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Review of EXPEDITION: BIGFOOT! The Sasquatch Museum in Blue Ridge, Georgia

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EXPEDITION: BIGFOOT! The Sasquatch Museum in Blue Ridge, Georgia is the World’s largest Bigfoot museum. The attraction is 3,700 square feet of self-guided exploration of Sasquatch footprint casts, historical artifacts, life-size replicas and interactive displays. Visitors will also discover the lore, culture and ongoing research surrounding Bigfoot. The museum strikes a good balance of attempting to present science while simultaneously not taking itself too seriously. This museum isn’t especially large, but priced at only $9 for adults and $6 for kids you’ll easily get 45 minutes of entertainment and possibly more if you want to do a deep dive into all the information here.

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

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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.

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New Water Attraction Coming to Busch Gardens Tampa to Replace Stanley Falls Flume

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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay filed plans for a major new water attraction and will serve as a flume-style replacement for the demolished Stanley Falls Flume. According to the permit description this is the “removal of an existing water ride and construction of a new water attraction”. It appears some things (perhaps the station) may be salvaged as the project is a redevelopment with improvements including themed structures, building modifications, utility upgrades and hardscape/landscape enhancements. The project will span a 91,400-square-foot footprint, has a price tag of $16.5 million and has the codename: “Project Driftwood” . So now let the speculation begin!

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