Six Flags: It's Fly or Die
"If you thought that Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder was quick with the hook on his football team's head coaches, you should see him invest. Making the Steve Spurrier experiment seem like a Lombardi lifespan, Snyder is pulling out of regional park operator Six Flags (NYSE: PKS) just months after he accumulated a significant stake that rivaled that of a more patient investing group that includes Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Bill Gates." From The Motley Fool.

Short-lived German park files for bankruptcy
"Space Center Bremen, Germany's space-themed indoor park, has closed its gates and filed for bankruptcy less than one season after opening." From Amusement Business.

Visitors Rescued From Incredible Hulk Roller Coaster
"There was an unexpected thrill Friday for some thrill seekers at Universal's Islands of Adventure. Some visitors had to be rescued from the Incredible Hulk roller coaster. Thirty-two people were stuck on the ride for about an hour Friday. Fortunately, no one was injured and, better yet, they weren't even stuck upside down. It was a short ride and a long wait for a coaster full of Hulk riders. Super heroes came to the rescue in the form of Orlando firefighters after passengers in the front row were left hanging past an emergency catwalk." From WFTV.com.

Tornado to Touch Down at Six Flags SplashTown - Spring 2005
"Officials confirm Tornado, an enormous new thrill ride, will touch down at Six Flags SplashTown [TX] for the 2005 season on opening day, April 30. Guests will experience a ride of a lifetime, directly through the eye of a gigantic award-winning funnel slide. Plus, guests can double their excitement with the purchase of a 2005 Six Flags AstroWorld season pass by receiving a free 2005 Six Flags SplashTown season pass. This special offer is good through April 30, 2005." Press Release on Yahoo!

Park losing STEAM?
"Seven years after developers first promised a theme park would open in northern Glynn County [GA], Steamboat City is running late again. Financing problems have pushed back the proposed park's opening date to 2007 at the earliest, said Will Pitts, president of W.G. Pitts Co., the project's general contractor and a managing partner with landowner Wildlife Realty Associates. '2006 would be very tough right now,' Pitts said, referring to the May 2006 opening date publicized by the company last year. 'It looks like this project has slipped minimum into 2007.' The 'slip' is just the latest turn in the roller coaster ride taken by Steamboat City, the wildlife park turned history-themed amusement park sandwiched in the crux between Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 341." From The Brunswick News.

Theme Park Hopes Dashed
"Brockville, Ont.'s mayor believes that, in light of the Ontario government's decision not to support new gaming facilities, the proposed multi-million dollar Leisureville theme park is no longer a possibility. 'I think the door is closed on this,' Ben TeKamp told the Recorder and Times after the provincial government's announcement. Toronto businessman Anton Stephens was behind the proposed theme park, which was dependent on provincial approval of a harness racetrack and gaming facility. 'A decision has been made for us and has been made for him (Stephens),' TeKamp said. 'I'm extremely saddened over this. It would have meant a significant impact from the economic development point of view.'" From Standardbred Canada.

ConAgra national food sponsor for Six Flags theme parks
"ConAgra Foods Inc. will be advertising its products on amusement park rides this year. In a two-year deal announced Monday, the packaged food company and theme park giant Six Flags Inc. said ConAgra will be the national food sponsor for Six Flags' 28 U.S. parks, from Los Angeles to New Jersey, including Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Ky. ConAgra will hawk its Armour hot dogs and Hunt's ketchup, and kids and parents stepping up for a salty snack will be eating Orville Redenbacher popcorn." AP story in The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Large Crowds Give Recently Opened Park Some Concerns
"Two months after the grand reopening of Cypress Gardens [FL], park officials are scrambling to address growing pains at the park. And that's a good thing, they say. 'We've been overwhelmed with guest demands,' said Alyson Gernert, public relations manager. 'We didn't have any idea we'd have the crowds we've had.' In the past few weeks, attendance at the park has averaged 7,000 to 8,000 visitors a day.
'That's double the 3,000 to 4,000 we anticipated,' said Gernert, who found herself operating rides recently. 'I've been doing everything from selling hot dogs and tickets to operating the wooden roller coaster.'" From The Lakeland Ledger.

Honda and Disneyland(R) Resort Form Strategic Alliance
"A new 10-year business alliance was announced today between American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and the Disneyland Resort that provides sponsorship of the theme park's new 50th Anniversary fireworks show and its annual Grad Nite celebrations. The parties are also in the process of finalizing an agreement to develop a new exhibit at Innoventions in Tomorrowland that may feature ASIMO, Honda's advanced humanoid robot. Additionally, Honda will be designated the 'official' product in each of the company's existing product categories -- automobiles, motorcycles and selected power equipment. The alliance also provides Honda with opportunities for use of company products and other advanced technologies at locations throughout the Resort, which entertains millions of people each year. Honda will continue exploring other partnership opportunities with The Walt Disney Company." Press Release on Yahoo!

New Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Water Park Will Be Free With Six Flags Great America Theme Park Admission!
"Guests at Six Flags Great America [IL] will double their fun for free in 2005. Park officials announced today that the new Six Flags Hurricane Harbor water park will be free with regular theme park admission. 'We are thrilled to offer this amazing value to our guests,' Ron Sevart, vice president and general manager for Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor said. 'The new Six Flags Hurricane Harbor water park is the largest addition in the history of Six Flags Great America. By combining these two world-class parks we are offering our guests nearly 120 acres of wet and dry thrill rides, shows, attractions and fun for the price of theme park admission.'" Press release on PR NewsWire.

State Tax Officials Close Water Theme Park
"Arkansas tax officials on Friday shut down the state's largest water theme park for failure to properly file and pay state and local sales and use taxes. Wild River Country's forced closing is the first such action against a business for failure to meet its tax obligations under Act 46 of 2003, said Tom Atchley, the Department of Finance and Administration's excise tax administrator... In the case of Wild River Country, located at the intersection of Interstate 40 and Interstate 430 in North Little Rock, Department of Finance Administration officials and local police posted a closure notice Friday morning on the front gate of the water park." From The Times Record. The park was closed for the season, anyway (Today's high in Little Rock: 34F).

Universal to open "Fear Factor" theme park attractions
"Apparently fear is not a factor when it comes to melding a TV reality show with a theme park attraction. An audience-participation show based on the NBC show 'Fear Factor' will open in May at the Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood and Orlando, Fla., the company said. The 'Fear Factor Live' show is an example of the kind of corporate 'synergy' resulting from NBC's purchase of Universal in 2003. The deal combined the television network with Universal's movie studio, cable channels and theme parks. 'We've always looked at 'Fear Factor' as kind of a theme park ride on television,' NBC Universal Television Group chief Jeff Zucker said. 'It made sense to extend that brand into the theme parks.'
The attraction will pit theme park guests against each other in a series of extreme stunts that will replicate the physical and culinary challenges seen on the TV series, the company said." AP Story from The Mercury News.

Judge: Historic amusement park can open in spring
"A historic amusement park may open this spring as long as it doesn't borrow money or lease property without court approval, a judge ruled. Crawford County Judge Anthony Vardaro's ruling is in response to a financial plan for Conneaut Lake Park [PA] that was drawn up by the park's court-appointed board of directors and chief executive officer. The plan was necessary in order to open the park this season." From CentreDaily.com.

Rescuers work to free trapped roller-coaster riders
"Emergency rescue personnel were trying to rescue 20 people stranded high on a roller coaster that malfunctioned on Friday afternoon at the Ratanga Junction entertainment complex outside Cape Town [South Africa]. Metro emergency officials said no injuries were reported. A rescue crane was sent back to base after it was discovered that it was too short to reach those trapped." From The Mail and Guardian Online.

GE to keep Universal -- for now
"General Electric Co. has locked itself into the volatile theme-park business for another year, promising not to sell its share of Universal Orlando at least until 2006, according to company documents. The industrial giant became a co-owner of the two-park resort last year when NBC -- a GE subsidiary -- merged with the entertainment unit of Vivendi Universal in a $14 billion deal. Under an old agreement between GE and Blackstone Group -- the New York private-equity firm that owns the other half of Universal Orlando -- either company could have bought out the other's share after Feb. 1, 2005. A new agreement, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will prevent both companies from selling their stakes to each other -- or to another company -- until after Jan. 1, 2006." From The Orlando Sentinel.

Theme Park considering Morgan: Company seeking 500 acre plat for $75 million theme park
"Representatives for a new kind of family-oriented, role-playing theme park are reportedly scouting Morgan County [GA] for a site on which to build a $75 million mythical world, the first of its kind in the United States. MythFaire Entertainment, Inc., hopes to capitalize on the popularity of the Renaissance Festival concept by creating 'the next entertainment paradigm,' according to company literature. The park, if constructed, would be comprised of up to 500 wooded acres, consisting of an outdoor amphitheater in the Chastain/Lakewood model, which hosts a series of concerts. The amphitheatre would also link five mythical 'worlds,' including Arthurian England, the Isle of Avalon day spa for women, the children�s village of Lyonesse, Ancient Rome and Mythic Asia. Proposed attractions in these worlds include replicas of the Great Wall of China and Stonehenge, and visitors will be able to 'experience' life in these five worlds, either by observing or participating in role-playing games." From The Morgan County Citizen.

Developer cedes Pavilion project
"The developer scrutinized over his finances and credentials withdrew Tuesday from the project to redevelop The Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park [SC]. Barry Landreth, president and chief executive of Webster Realty Investors, did not submit the financial statements, tax returns and other requested information by Tuesday morning's deadline." From The Sun News.

Girl hurt after being thrown from roller coaster
"Officials in Quebec City [Canada] are investigating an accident involving a roller coaster in an area shopping centre. A teenaged girl was seriously injured after being thrown from the ride Monday afternoon. She was thrown from her seat, slammed through a gyprock wall and fell 20 feet to the floor." From CBC News.

Court to Six Flags: Pay up
"A recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling could mean Six Flags Inc. will have to pay Geauga County more than $2.5 million in personal property taxes on rides at the Bainbridge Township park. At issue before the court was whether three rides at the park would be considered real or personal property for the purposes of taxation. The court found in a 4-3 decision released Dec. 22 that the Grizzly Run, Mind Eraser and Skyscraper rides were 'business fixtures' rather than real property, and therefore subject to sales and use taxes assessed by the state tax commissioner in the late 1990s. Oklahoma City-based Six Flags sold the park last year to Cedar Fair LP, whose parks include Cedar Point in Sandusky." From The News-Herald.

Phuket Fantasy shuts its doors
"Phuket Fantasy amusement park [Thailand] has been temporarily closed because of a sharp drop in the number of visitors following the tsunami disaster. Pin Kewkacha, chairman of Phuket Fantasy Plc, said his amusement park has suffered a loss of 150-200 million baht due to the lack of visitors. So he decided to close it from Jan 8-18. The park was usually visited by 3,000-6,000 tourists a day. The number has dropped to about 15 a day." From The Bangkok Post.

Amusement park's attendance takes a dip
"Poor summer weather, a lack of a big new attraction and a sluggish economy that hurt all of tourism contributed to a decline in attendance last year at Michigan's Adventure Amusement Park. Cedar Fair L.P. -- the Sandusky, Ohio-based owner of Michigan's Adventure -- reported Friday that the amusement park between Muskegon and Whitehall attracted more than 470,000 visitors, an attendance decline of 2 percent as compared to 2003." From The Muskegon Chronicle.

Six Flags seeks OK for 3 rides
"Six Flags New England [MA] hopes to add three new rides before the amusement park reopens this spring. But before the rides can be built, the amusement park must receive permission from the city, including permission to erect a 146-foot-high ride called the Slingshot." From The Republican.

Fun park to fight noise ban order
"People living near Alton Towers in Staffordshire [UK] are being asked to support the theme park in its fight to overturn a noise ban. The owners of Alton Towers were served with a noise abatement notice and fined £5,000 in November 2004 after a court upheld complaints from a local couple. " From BBC News.

Adventureland Theme Park [Alabama] Vandalized
"Adventureland vandals may get caught sooner than they think. Late last week vandals broke into Adventureland Theme Park and slashed go-kart tires and sunk bumper boats. The Dothan Police Department has already been contacted and a surveillance video that may contain the suspects is being reviewed." From WTVY.

Kingda Ka roller coaster in Jackson almost finished
"From the Route 526 vantage point a mile north of [Six Flags Great Adventure] in Upper Freehold, it takes these tall rides, 130 feet (Stuntman's Freefall) to 246 feet (Parachutes Jumptower), to clear the horizon. Now, another ride under construction, the Kingda Ka roller coaster, towers over the rest.
When Kingda Ka opens this spring (no specific date scheduled), it not only will be the world's tallest coaster at 456 feet, but also the world's fastest, reaching a speed of 128 mph -- meaning riders will cover the 3,118 feet of track in about 50 seconds." From The Asbury Park Press.

Busch Gardens Parts Ways With Competitors On Prices
"Busch Gardens [Tampa, FL] raised daily ticket prices $2 Monday, undercutting its competitors' price hikes and possibly making itself a more competitive draw for tourists. The Tampa theme park also announced a new one-day Florida resident ticket that must be purchased online and is $4 cheaper than the 2004 one-day gate price." From The Tampa Tribune.

Theme park defends ads on Dundee buses
"Scotland's only theme park has defended advertisements emblazoned on the sides of Travel Dundee buses that entice people to enjoy the thrills and spills of its unfortunately named ride, The Tsunami, writes Bryan Kay. M&D's, located at Strathclyde Country Park in Motherwell, today refused to accept that ads for the roller coaster ride are distasteful in view of the disaster. A concerned commuter on one of Travel Dundee's buses called the Evening Telegraph to voice his disgust and called for the ads to be withdrawn." From The Evening Telegraph.

Dutch Wonderland expands "Lagoon"
"Dutch Wonderland Family Amusement Park [PA] will be expanding Duke's Lagoon water-play area for 2005 by adding a 2,600 square foot multi-level structure and an additional 3,400 square foot lounge area." From The Ephrata Review.

Disneyland Resort Offers Southern California Residents Admission to Two Parks for the Price of One With '2Fer Ticket' at Vons/Pavilions
"Now that the busy holiday season is over, Disneyland Resort is offering local residents a value-packed 'Southern California 2Fer Ticket' that features admission to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure on two different days -- all for the price of one park! The special ticket, which goes on sale Tuesday, January 4 at Vons and Pavilions stores, is valid January 4 through April 28, 2005 and enables Southern Californians to enjoy all the fun, entertainment, shows and attractions that the two parks showcase." PR NewsWire press release on Yahoo!

Judge considers plan to get amusement park on right financial track
"A historic but financially troubled amusement park could open this spring without borrowing money and begin paying off more than $2 million in debt if a judge approves a new financial plan, officials said. Conneaut Lake Park's court-appointed board of directors and its chief executive officer late this week presented a plan outlining the 114-year-old park's financial future to Crawford County [PA] Judge Anthony Vardaro. It outlined how officials could open the park without a loan, pay down debt and secure a matching state grant, said board president Abe Finton." AP story on CentreDaily.com.