Dive into the new Busch Gardens roller coaster
"Busch Gardens [Tampa, FL] promoters weren't kidding when they said the park's new 'dive coaster' will drop straight down its first 200-foot hill at 70 miles per hour. Work crews recently bolted together the half-mile long track for SheiKra, the park's unconventional roller coaster that is scheduled to open in late May." From Tampa Bay Times.

Worker struck by roller coaster
"A Fun Town Amusement Pier employee was injured yesterday after being hit by a roller coaster giving children a ride, police said. The 40-year-old Seaside Heights [NJ] man, whose name was not released by police, was injured at 1:59 p.m. near the Family Fun Coaster, police said. The man received lacerations to his head and leg, but was conscious, police said. He was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. Witness accounts vary from the police report. The police said the employee was hit by the roller coaster. The employee was a maintenance man picking up garbage, Fun Town Pier owner Bill Major said. The man placed the garbage can on the tracks of the ride, Major said. When the roller coaster's front car hit the can, the can was knocked forward into the man's head, he said." from the Ocean County Observer.

maXair is new concept in thrill rides
"Cedar Point has added a new thrill ride -- maXair -- for its 136th season which begins May 7. The ride is located just off the main midway near Kiddy Kingdom and the Space Spiral... Designed and manufactured by Huss of Bremen, Germany, maXair is a new concept in the amusement industry with only a handful of similar rides in operation around the world. Riders on maXair will sit in outward-facing suspended seats that form a giant circle of 50 passengers; their legs will dangle freely, and each seat will have an individual shoulder restraint and restraining belt. maXair will swing riders back and forth in a seemingly out-of-control pendulum motion while rotating clockwise. At the peak of the pendulum movement that reaches a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour, riders will be upside down 140 feet above the ground and will experience 'airtime' -- that coveted feeling of weightlessness that is popular for thrill-seekers on roller coasters. The dynamic return drop will generate a variety of sensations on riders depending on their specific position in the clockwise rotation, creating a different ride experience each time. Guests must be at least 52 inches toll to ride maXair." From The Port Clinton News Herald.

Classic Roller Coaster May Relocate to Haven
"The Starliner roller coaster could be moving south a bit. The old roller coaster, built in 1963 as part of the Miracle Strip Amusement in Panama City [FL], has been purchased by Adventure Parks Group, which owns Cypress Gardens Adventure Park and Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Ga. Miracle Strip closed Labor Day. Park officials have not decided which of the two parks the old wooden roller coaster will be moved to, said Sara Sumner, a spokeswoman for the parks." From The Lakeland Ledger.

Theme park closes new roller coaster after minor accident
"Spring-breakers will have to wait to experience the latest ride at Silver Dollar City. The Powder Keg roller coaster is shut down after a minor accident on Tuesday. Lisa Rau, a spokeswoman for the theme park northwest of Branson [MO], says an empty train bumped one with passengers that had just finished its trip. Four people went to a hospital as a precaution. Rau says they were evaluated and dismissed. The ride will re-open once the theme park figures out what caused the car to slip and gets the okay from the state. An investigator from the state fire marshal's office was at the park on Wednesday morning, as required by law, to examine the ride and talk to repairmen." From KYTV.

Great Adventure soars to new heights
"The Six Flags Great Adventure theme park and the accompanying Wild Safari are to open for the season Friday, but this year's new attraction -- possibly the biggest in the park's 31-year history -- is weeks away from coming on line. As expected, Kingda Ka, the world's tallest (456 feet) and fastest (128 mph) roller coaster, will not be ready for riders Friday... Six Flags, which operates the family amusement complex on Route 537, is 'aiming for late April (or) early May' to open Kingda Ka, said spokeswoman Kristin Siebeneicher." From the Asbury Park Press.

Six Flags Elitch Gardens Pushes Playtime to the EDGE With New Extreme Water Ride and Four Live Shows
"Guests can live life on the EDGE with the newest extreme water ride coming to Island Kingdom Water Park in Six Flags Elitch Gardens. Opening in May 2005, EDGE sends water adventurers blasting down more than four stories at a nearly vertical angle. The massive slide gives fearless fun-seekers the thrill of 'free falling' before they race up at breath-taking speeds to the edge of the other side. Then, riders plunge back and forth on more than a thousand gallons of swirling water before splashing into the relaxing Castaway Creek. 'We really have the edge on playtime with this new slide,' said Tara Tongco, park spokesperson. 'This exhilarating attraction and zero-gravity experience makes this downtown Denver oasis even wetter and wilder.' In addition, the park is adding four new shows featuring quality entertainment for the whole family -- a children's program, a Broadway-style musical revue, an outdoor street act and a country music bonanza. The live entertainment seeks to provide guests of all ages with continuous fun during their visit to Six Flags Elitch Gardens. EDGE is the first new water ride to open since the Island Kingdom Water Park was added to Six Flags Elitch Gardens in 1997." Press Release on Yahoo!

HK theme park plans revamp to compete with Disneyland
"Ocean Park, Hong Kong's home-grown theme park, has announced a HK$5.55bn (Euro 530m) makeover to go 'world-class' as it seeks to 'co-exist' with the soon-to-open Disneyland. The proposed revamp will see one of Hong Kong's most popular tourist attractions rebuilt by 2010 with a stronger maritime theme and double the number of attractions. 'With Disneyland coming, a top theme park name in the world, we thought we had better become very good,' said Allan Zeman, Ocean Park's chairman. The park's new attractions will include an ice palace to house penguins, polar bears and walruses. Visitors will also be able to swim with dolphins, get married in a shark tank and dine in an underwater restaurant.
Ocean Park has been one of Hong Kong's most popular attractions since it opened in 1977." From The Financial Times.

Mickey Mouse lets cat out of the bag
"Western Sydney [Australia] could house a new outpost of the Disney empire, with an amusement park and resort modelled on those overseas. Disney said it was looking at international sites for a theme park, including 30 hectares at Prospect, near Blacktown. 'We are evaluating different markets around the world as part of our growth strategy,' a spokeswoman for the US company said. If Disney develops the Prospect site, it will be its first in the southern hemisphere. However, the spokeswoman said that no decision had been made about the site, which the State Government released for development as a zoo, water park or amusement park last Monday.
It was unlikely anything would be considered before September, when Disney opened an amusement park in Hong Kong, she said." From The Sydney Morning Herald.

Drivers Forget It's a Theme Park, Not a Racetrack
"Disneyland's admission prices seem to increase almost monthly but Rob MacGregor points out that the theme park has made one reduction -- in the speed limit in parking areas. The odd 14 mph limit, mentioned in this space the other day, used to be 15 mph. 'The parking lot tram folks would remind guests (of the speed limit), and would say, 'Fifteen, f-i-f-t-e-e-n, one-five,' ' MacGregor recalled. 'They'd explain that they were being so precise because guests would occasionally break the speed limit big time and then tell security that they had heard a tram driver say that the speed limit was 50 mph." from The Los Angeles Times.

Theme-park plan pushed as a boost for tourism
"An investment group is seeking the Legislature's help to reclaim Grand Canyon tourism from Nevada with a $3 billion venture including a 1,000-acre theme park in Williams. The project also would attempt to stimulate the West Valley's economy with a 60-acre amusement park featuring roller coasters and an indoor water park next to Cricket Pavilion in west Phoenix. Legislation is expected to be introduced next week to create a special taxing district that would help finance the plan. Those who use the parks would pay an extra 9 percent sales tax on their purchases, but Arizonans who never visited the district would pay no additional taxes. Proponents say the venture could bring the state $75 million to $150 million in new state tax revenues annually by tapping into the millions of tourists who crisscross the state to visit the Grand Canyon. Rep. John Nelson, R-Phoenix, is sponsoring the 'theme park' district bill, House Bill 2365. It will be heard in the Senate Finance Committee next Thursday." From The Arizona Republic.

Lujan to Speak on Behalf of Six Flags
"Six Flags Magic Mountain has hired Connie Lujan as its new spokeswoman with the goal of bringing more exposure to the Valencia theme park. 'I am a thrill seeker and I love to have fun and I wanted to become part of a great team,' Lujan said Thursday. 'I [am] very excited to have this job and (to) help bring exposure to Six Flags California.' Lujan replaces Betsy Villalobos, who left the theme park in October. Lujan, who began in her new position March 9, will work under Magic Mountain public relations manager Sue Carpenter. Lujan will be responsible for all public relations and publicity projects at both Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor." From The Signal.

Boy breaks finger, severs thumb on Disneyland's Storybook ride
"A 4-year-old boy broke a finger and severed the tip of his thumb while on the Storybook Land Canal Boats ride at Disneyland [CA], forcing the ride to close for nearly two days while state authorities investigated the accident. The accident occurred Wednesday when the child's fingers were pinched between the boat and the dock while passengers were unloading, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The boy was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released." From The Mercury News. Registration required.

Personal data on over 120,000 Tokyo Disney resort customers leaked
"The operator of the Tokyo Disney resort amusement parks said Wednesday that personal data on about 121,600 customers who bought one-year admission passes in 2002 has been leaked. About 300 of the customers have received fraudulent phone calls or direct mails since last December, and two of them have been swindled out of money, Oriental Land Co said." From Japan Today.

Disney opens new water park roller coaster
"Month's before Florida's humid summer weather begins -- and hordes of tourist families are expected to vacation here -- Walt Disney World Resort unveiled a new addition to its Typhoon Lagoon water park... The new ride, actually three separate systems each about 400-feet long., is part of an expansion of the water park called Hideaway Bay. Disney has labeled the ride Crush 'n' Gusher. It is themed as a fruit processing plant and the slides depict a fruit-washing system gone amuck in a fruit processing plant destroyed by a flood. Developed by NBGS International Inc. -- a New Braunfels, Texas, company that manufactures water park equipment -- the ride system is known in the industry as a Master Blaster uphill water coaster." From The Orlando Business Journal.

Start this Legoland roller coaster, I want to get on
"It wowed them at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions show last year, and it is scheduled to make its North American debut at Legoland California March 25. The RoboCoaster, an 'extreme' ride that involves being whipped around by a 2.5-ton, 15-foot robotic arm, lets riders program movements to suit their whims... The Legoland California ride is called Knights' Tournament." From SFGate.com.

Insanity Ride Opens Atop The Stratosphere
"Have you ever had the urge to dangle a thousand feet above the [Las Vegas, NV] strip? Well today you will get your chance when the Stratosphere's newest ride -- 'Insanity' -- opens... Imagine flying out over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower -- sounds insane right? Well it is. It's called Insanity and we took this new thrill ride for a spin." From KVBC.

Carowinds to curb smoking in park
"Paramount's Carowinds will open next weekend with an attraction of a different sort. The amusement park is implementing smoke-free zones." From WCNC.com. Link requires registration.

Six Flags posts wider losses even as revenue rises
"Six Flags Inc. closed out 2004 with better-than-expected sales, but it wasn't enough for the amusement park operator to stave off a wider quarterly loss, the company said Wednesday after the closing bell. Six Flags said that it lost $109.5 million, or $1.24 a share, vs. its year-ago loss of $79.5 million, or 92 cents a share. Revenue came in at $109.1 million, up 11 percent with attendance rising 6.9 percent. Revenue per capita rose 3.9 percent in the seasonally slow quarter. The average estimate among analysts polled by Thomson First Call had been for the company to lose 69 cents a share on revenue of $96 million." From MarketWatch.

Plans for family theme park in White Plains [NY] dropped
"Plans have been scrapped for a $30 million downtown family theme park where kids would have played surgeons, police and pizza makers using props in Hollywood-style settings. 'We don't have a deal with Kids City,' said Bonnie Silverman, president of Silverman Realty, owner of the retail property on Mamaroneck Avenue opposite City Center, the site sought for the project when it was proposed by a Mexican company a year ago. 'We will do cosmetic renovations, but maintain the building as one story.' In March 2004, Kids City, which opened its first complex in Mexico City in 1999, proposed building a 70,000-square-foot theme park on Mamaroneck Avenue. After a presentation to the White Plains Common Council by Ruben Cors, head of Kids City, there was no more public discussion of it." From The Journal News.

Zoo Train Derails, Injures 2 People
"The mini-train at the Central Florida Zoo near Sanford derailed Saturday at around 4 p.m., injuring two adult passengers... The cause of the derailment was unknown as of Saturday night." From WESH.com.

One step back, two forward for [Wichita, KS] amusement parks
"Entertainment entrepreneur Thomas Etheredge said he is struggling to find financing for his Wild West World theme park... Etheredge has pushed back the ground breaking for Wild West World from May 1 to 'sometime' this year... Broker Gary Oborny said that an out-of-state amusement park owner has made 'a great offer' for Joyland... And Tom Smith, manager of All-Star Sports, at 1010 N. Webb Road, said they have some of the construction completed for their park." From The Wichita Eagle.

Park owners balk: Say new rules will jeopardize business
"[Mass.] Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Gatzunis stood by his proposed tougher regulations for amusement rides last week - that include a state inspection every time a ride moves to a new location - as amusement park owners argued the state's new aggressive norms could threaten their livelihood. Ride owners expressed their concerns during a six-hour meeting with the state's Amusement Advisory Board last Thursday. The board listened to recommendations for the new emergency regulations for carnival rides that will go into effect in mid-March. The Department of Public Safety will hold a last hearing to define emergency rules with ride owners on March 9 in Wellesley." From The Shrewsbury Chronicle.

Gainesville firm buys Asian entertainment company
"GloTech Industries Inc., based in Gainesville [FL], announced the acquisition of Intra-Asia Entertainment Corp., which operates the eighth largest amusement park in Asia. Weifang Fuhua Amusement Park, in China's eastern Shandong Province in the city of Weifang, is Intra-Asia's first developed property." From The Business Journal of Jacksonville.

Amusement park gets new timeline
"The owner and developer of a proposed amusement park in Park City [KS] is adjusting his timeline for getting the project completed. Thomas Etheridge told the Park City Chamber of Commerce that he is still arranging the financing and finalizing design for Wild West World, and that will delay groundbreaking on the development to be located on the southeast corner of 77th Street North and Interstate 135 until sometime later this year... Originally, the goal was to break ground May 1." From The Wichita Business Journal.

H2-Ow! Woman wins 750G suit vs. park
"Six Flags Great Adventure [NJ] has agreed to pay $750,000 to a Brooklyn woman injured on a ride at its Hurricane Harbor water park, the woman's attorney said yesterday. Betty Golembeski, 45, sued after suffering neck and knee injuries on the 621-foot Big Bambu slide at the Jackson, N.J., park on Aug. 9, 2001, lawyer Jeffrey Block said." From The New York Daily News.