Amusement park floods after Texas downpour
"DALLAS (AP) - Rain swept across northern Texas for a record 18th consecutive day on Wednesday following flooding that chased people out of their homes and a major amusement park. Up to 7 inches of rain fell in a three-hour period early today in southern Texas and the San Antonio area, the National Weather Service said. The 18 consecutive days of rain in northern Texas was a record for June. No deaths or injuries have been reported, but flooding closed the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park in Arlington on Tuesday." From The Columbia Tribune.

Theme park to reopen
"TACOMA, Wash. -- Humpty Dumpty escapes demolition in this story. Metro Parks officials have at least temporarily reversed their decision to tear down Never Never Land, a 40-year-old theme park that has been hit by vandals in recent years. Pleas from Tacoma schools psychologist Tod Sharon and other members of the public persuaded parks officials to leave what remains of the much-loved children's play area until a permanent decision about its future can be made, spokeswoman Susan Hulbert said." From The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Passengers trapped at theme park
"Thrill-seekers at a theme park were left dangling on a ride for three hours, after one of the pods on Alton Towers' Skyride cable car broke down. 150 people were left waiting as engineers investigated the fault, and the other 28 cars were brought back into the nearest station." From BBC News.

Woman trapped on log flume ride
"A woman is recovering after getting her leg trapped in a ride at an amusement park on the East Yorkshire [UK] coast. Firefighters were called to Corrigan Amusements in Bridlington at 0120 BST to free the 21-year-old, who was stuck in the log flume. Humberside Police said the woman had fallen and trapped her leg after climbing up on to the ride." From BBC News.

Inquiry hears rollercoaster fans: Campaigners fighting to save the Dreamland theme park in Margate [UK] are giving evidence at a public inquiry
"The attraction closed in November 2003 but has been given a temporary reprieve for three months this summer. Protesters say they want Thanet council to change the local plan to allow the site to remain as an amusement park instead of being redeveloped. The council said the planning inspector would look at using the site as an amusement park and for other activity. " From BBC News.

Busch Gardens roller coaster evacuated
"Dozens of patrons at Busch Gardens [Tampa Bay] theme park were evacuated from the Montu roller coaster Monday afternoon when a computer for the ride detected a problem with a pressure switch. No one was injured." From the St Petersburg Times.

Fire breaks out at Gold Coast theme park
"A fire has broken out at a Gold Coast [Australia] theme park. More than 10 fire crews are fighting the blaze in a sound studio at Movie World, Coomera." From ABC News.

RFID chips on kids makes Legoland safer
"Parents taking their children to Legoland theme parks this summer need not worry about losing little Johnny, Jesper or Johan thanks to advances in RFID technology. Children entering the parks will be fitted with an RFID bracelet that can be tracked anywhere within its boundaries - meaning that should they run off and find themselves lost, the parks' staff will easily be able to track them down and alert parents via SMS. The scheme launched in Denmark last month and if successful it's likely to be seen in other amusement parks in the group - such as Legoland Windsor in the UK. " From silicon.com.

More grief for Blackpool dynasty
"The mother of Blackpool Pleasure Beach boss Geoffrey Thompson has died - just six hours after her son's funeral. Doris Thompson passed away peacefully at home in Blackpool after a short illness, a spokesman for the amusement park confirmed today. She was 101." From Manchester Online.

High-tech, roofed Disneyland for Hong Kong
"Disney plans to keep its Hong Kong operation under cover, to protect its newest amusement park against the city's high humidity and heavy rains. A unique feature of Disneyland in Hong Kong will be that 83 percent of the attractions and 90 percent of the eateries will be roofed, and mostly air-conditioned, the theme park's director of information technology, Noble Coker, said Wednesday. The park is to open in late 2005 or 2006." UPI story from The Washington Times.

First private manned space launch a success
"SpaceShipOne on Monday hurled Michael Melvill beyond the confines of the atmosphere and into the void. Three minutes later, the carbon fibre rocket flexed its wings, tipped on its tail and brought the pilot, gliding 100 vertical kilometers, back to California. Mr Melvill, 62, had earned his astronaut's wings at the controls of the world's first private manned space vehicle. Fuelled by more that $20m of billionaire investor Paul Allen's money and propelled by the ambition of aerospace designer Burt Rutan, SpaceShipOne was the first out of a clutch of private adventurers to succeed in robbing the government, and especially NASA, the US space agency, of its monopoly on space flight." From FT.com. Now that's a thrill ride!

Stuck Roller Coaster
"There was nothing amusing about the ride several people took at Great Adventure, when the roller coaster they were riding got stuck... The Nitro Roller Coaster ride got stuck with passengers on board. Park personnel helped the riders off." From WPVI.com.

Westchester County suspends Playland worker
"
RYE [New York] - A mechanic at Playland Amusement Park was suspended without pay this week after allegedly shoving the park director to the ground and then standing over him in a dispute over the safety of a new ride at the park. The mechanic, Frank Carrieri, was discussing the ride with park director Joseph Montalto when the discussion turned personal, said Susan Tolchin, chief adviser to County Executive Andrew Spano." From the Journal News.

Rawhide's eventually rollin' theme park to new spot
"The land occupied by the Rawhide Western Town won't be turned into a car lot, but the new owner of the property is keeping the rest of his development options open. Car dealer and developer Larry Van Tuyl paid $46 million for the approximately 148 acres in north Scottsdale [Arizona] that is partially occupied by the Wild West theme park. Principals were mum about the deal until Thursday, when a confidentiality agreement expired and they laid their cards on the table... the theme park eventually will move when the landowners come up with a plan for the property and construction starts. Park operators say Rawhide will continue where it is at least through May of next year." From The Arizona Republic.

Great America mechanic dies
"A ride mechanic at Six Flags Great America died in a roller coaster accident at the Gurnee [Illinois] amusement park. Jack Brouse, 52, performed routine maintenance on the Ragin' Cajun ride May 29. Then, as he was leaving, he was clipped by one of the coaster cars, a Great America spokeswoman said. Brouse, of Zion, was airlifted to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, where he died Wednesday of head injuries." From The Chicago Sun-Times.

2 ex-colleagues sue 3 senior Cedar Fair execs
"Three executives of Cedar Point's parent company are being sued by two longtime colleagues who say they were not treated equitably under a recent plan to reorganize the company. Charles Paul, vice president and corporate controller of Cedar Fair LP, and John Albino, who retired June 4 as Dorney Park's vice president and general manager, say they should receive a portion of the $3.45 million in Cedar Fair stock transferred as part of a plan to change the management structure of the parent of several amusement and water parks." From The Toledo Blade.

Bill clarifies amusement park tax
"Tickets to amusement parks would be taxed on one-quarter of their value under a bill that has passed both houses of the [New York State] Legislature. The bill is aimed at clarifying how New York's sales tax applies to theme parks. Under state law, the tax applies to the admission price to parks but not the cost of rides. The situation became murky in recent years as many parks began charging one price for admission and rides." From The Democrat & Chronicle.

Amusement park removes games: Celebration City yanks 3 devices police say may be illegal; no charges planned
"Branson [Missouri] - Operators of Celebration City amusement park have removed three arcade games that authorities say may have been illegal gambling devices, calling their installation at the park 'an honest mistake.' On Friday, following an anonymous complaint, Branson police inspected the park's games and warned management that three machines called 'sliders' were 'just on the edge' of violating state gaming statutes, said Capt. Kevin Powell of the Branson Police Department." From News-Leader.com.

Wild Wild Wet Waterpark opens in Singapore
"Local residents and visitors to Singapore will have somewhere else to go to escape the country's tropical temperatures from now on, with the opening of Wild Wild Wet - Singapore's newest theme park attraction. The two-hectare waterpark, which opened on 5 June, represents a $20M (S) development for the government-run National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Club - the leisure and entertainment division of NTUC. Entertainment technology specialists, Melchers Project Management - based in Singapore, were enlisted by NTUC to design the layout and install the equipment, including all the major rides. " From World Leisure Jobs&News.

Pleasure Beach Boss Dies at Amusement Park
"The managing director of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Geoffrey Thompson, has died suddenly after being taken ill at the world-famous amusement park. Mr Thompson, 67, was rushed to hospital from a private family function at the park's Paradise Room. He was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital and was pronounced dead at 8.20pm last night." From The Scotsman.

Worker Dressed As Devil Saves Teenager
"Ben-Hur Pereira was dressed as a devil but became the guardian angel of a teenager dangling from a four-passenger gondola on a Ferris wheel. Pereira, who works as a devil in the 'Ghost House' at the Groena Lund amusement park in Stockholm [Sweden], had stepped out of the attraction Wednesday and saw the 16-year-old boy holding tight to the gondola. He had somehow fallen out of the passenger compartment and was hanging 30 feet above the ground. Pereira, a trained acrobat, scaled the Ferris wheel, reached the teenager and pushed him back inside the gondola car. " AP story from Yahoo! News.

Navy MWR Announces Theme Park Salutes to the Military
"Sailors and their families can take advantage of free or discounted tickets to several world-renowned theme parks this summer. Busch Entertainment Corporation, the family entertainment subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch, is offering substantially discounted tickets to six of the company's theme parks through a program called 'Military Appreciation Days.' Additionally, as part of their 'Operation Homecoming' program, Busch Entertainment Corporation is offering a free admission to one of the company's SeaWorld, Busch Gardens or Sesame Place parks for military personnel who are returning from overseas service and were unable to participate in last year's Operation Salute program. 'Sailors and their families are encouraged to check with their local ITT office for details'... Military Appreciation Days tickets may be purchased only at local ITT offices. Tickets will not be available at park ticket windows, and the discount applies to single day tickets only. " From Navy Newsstand.

Euro Disney Seeks Debt Restructuring Pact
"Theme park operator Euro Disney SCA said Wednesday it could default on debt payments to The Walt Disney Co. and other lenders unless creditors approve a debt-rescheduling agreement by the end of next month. The company, which operates Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studio parks outside Paris, said French banks Caisse des Depots et Consignations, BNP Paribas, and Calyon - a unit of Credit Agricole SA - have approved a provisional agreement. Euro Disney, which is 40 percent owned by California-based Walt Disney, said a deal also depended on creditors agreeing to extend a waiver on some financial obligations by June 30. " From Forbes.

N.J. amusements executive pleads guilty in N.C. corruption case
"A New Jersey carnival company manager pleaded guilty Monday to hiding his efforts to curry favor with former [North Carolina] state Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps and win a big contract to operate the State Fair midway. The plea by Morris Vivona Jr., 45, of Verona, N.J., and a deal with his family's company close the federal probe of Phipps and her campaign payoffs, U.S. Attorney Frank Whitney said Monday... The general manager of his family's amusement-ride business, Vivona runs Amusements of America." From Newsday.

Piedmont residents say no to amusement park
"Piedmont residents can live with the giant water tap and slides that sprouted up decades ago alongside the Laurentian Autoroute. But they draw the line at the addition of an amusement park and a 22-metre-high roller-coaster. Opponents of the expansion project at Cascades d'eau de Piedmont are to deliver a petition of 1,063 names tonight at a town council meeting." From The Montreal [Canada] Gazette.

Gov. Bush Vetoes Cypress Gardens Funding
"Restoration efforts at Cypress Gardens will not receive state funding. A $1 million line item to fund restoration of state owned historical properties was among the items Gov. Jeb Bush announced Friday he would veto." From The Lakeland Ledger.

La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil(R) Celebrates Five Years at Walt Disney World Resort
"With grand fanfare today, La Nouba at Walt Disney World Resort kicked off a six-month series of special events that will offer guests a never-before glimpse backstage into the artistic talents of the Cirque du Soleil performers... For Florida residents there are savings to go with the celebration. Cirque du Soleil offers Florida residents a 20 percent savings on select seats through Sept. 30." From PRNewswire via Yahoo!

Man Gored By Elephant In Accident At Calif. Theme Park
"An elephant trainer at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo was in critical condition Tuesday after he was gored by one of the pachyderms, a fire department spokesman said. Patrick Chapple, 39, was standing next to 7,000-pound Misha, a 23-year-old female African elephant, at about 3:30 p.m. when the animal turned suddenly from grazing and knocked him to the ground." From NBC 4 News.

Theme Park Worker Hit by Roller Coaster
"A theme park worker was critically ill in hospital today after he was struck by a roller coaster car. The 32-year-old ride operator, who has not been named, was involved in an accident on the Wall's Magnum Force triple-loop ride at Flamingo Land, near Malton, North Yorkshire [UK]. Witnesses said the married man, who is a seasonal worker in his first year at the park, was hit as he tried to cross the track." From Scotsman.com News.