Christmas Tree Blaze at Disneyland Hotel
"A 35-foot Christmas tree caught fire early Wednesday in the lobby of the Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel, forcing the evacuation of more than 2,000 guests, officials said. No one was injured except for a guest who complained of a strained back and another with symptoms of stress, officials said.
The sprinkler system kept the 3 a.m. blaze in the artificial tree in check, and firefighters were able to quickly put it out, said Maria Sabol, a spokeswoman for the Anaheim Fire Department." From Breitbart.com

Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro Announces First Step in Six Flags Reorganization
"Mark Shapiro, President and CEO Six Flags, Inc, announced today two key appointments to lead a new division at Six Flags theme parks. Mark Quenzel has been named Executive Vice President of Park Strategy and Management and Chuck Hendrix Senior Vice President of Park Strategy and Management, reporting to Quenzel. As head of the Park Strategy and Management division, Quenzel will oversee all park operations, in-park revenue, ticket sales and safety for the 30 Six Flags theme parks." Press Release on Yahoo! News.

Theme park attendance up in '05
"Powered by strong investment in new rides, the 50th anniversary of Disneyland and hurricanes that spared the theme park capital of Orlando, attendance at North America's 50 most popular amusement parks rose 4.2 percent in 2005. An estimated 176 million visitors went to North America's most popular parks, according to an annual survey being released today by the trade publication Amusement Business and the research firm Economics Research Associates." From The Sun-Times.

Stratosphere casino plans to remove roller coaster
"The Stratosphere hotel-casino in Las Vegas is removing its High Roller thrill ride. The roller coaster rushes riders around the outside of the casino's eleven-hundred-foot tower. It opened along with Stratosphere almost ten years ago... A casino executive says the removal will free up space for a more exciting ride." From KVOA.

Sheriff sale set for February for Midwest Amusement Park
"Midwest Amusement Park has been ordered sold off to pay a delinquent debt to one of its creditors. A Shawano County Sheriff's Department sale of the property, at W5901 County Road BE in the Town of Wescott [WI], has been scheduled for Feb. 8 at 9 a.m. The public auction is scheduled to take place in the lobby of the Shawano County Courthouse, 311 N. Main St. However, the sale could still be stopped if Midwest can pay off the debt by Feb. 8." From The Shawano Leader.

Santa's daughter shares story
"Pat Koch knows a thing or two about Christmas. That's only to be expected when you live in a town called Santa Claus and you own a business called Holiday World... Koch visited Seymour [IN] Wednesday as the final guest speaker for 2005 in Leadership Jackson County's Distinguished Speaker Series." From The Tribune.

Alaska Airlines Vacations Offers 'Kids Fly Free to Disneyland(R) Resort' Packages During Resort's 50th Anniversary Celebration
"Alaska Airlines Vacations today launched its popular 'Kids Fly Free to Disneyland(R) Resort' program, offering savings on family travel to the resort during its 50th Anniversary Celebration. The annual 'Kids Fly Free to Disneyland(R) Resort' promotion offers free airfare for children ages 2 through 11 with the purchase of an Alaska Airlines Southern California Vacations package. The offer is valid to one of six Southern California airports, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Burbank, Ontario, Orange County and San Diego. The packages are on sale today through March 19, 2006, and apply to travel
Jan. 3 through June 28, 2006. When purchased on alaskaair.com, each passenger receives 1,500 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Bonus Miles." Press Release on PR Newswire.

Aesop's Village bows at Everland
"Theme park Samsung Everland in South Korea has opened a new zone called Aesop's Village. Themed around the stories of Aesop's fables, the 150,000 square foot interactive and edutainment area includes rides, shops, an exhibition regarding the history of Aesop's fables and the opportunity for children to meet the characters from the stories." From Amusement Business.

Six Flags names Snyder chairman, pursues sale
"Six Flags Inc. on Thursday said its board unanimously named dissident investor Daniel Snyder as nonexecutive chairman as the amusement park operator weighs restructuring or selling to an outside bidder. Snyder, who owns the Washington Redskins professional football team, recently won a shareholder vote ousting key Six Flags executives from its board, arguing he could improve on the company's lackluster performance in recent years. Those executives put the company up for sale in August in response to Snyder's bid for control. Final bids are expected before mid-December." From Reuters.