Theme Park Outsider « A connoisseur's view of theme parks

Harry Potter and the forbidden journey details

Apr 9th

I ran across a story with more details on the new robocoaster being installed in the Harry Potter section of Islands of Adventure. It really does look interesting, although I’ll wait for the crowds to settle before trying to visit this park.

Here is a previous article showing a similar ride at EPCOT.

Intimidator 305 now open

Apr 8th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

Intimidator 305 has opened at Kings Dominion theme park in Virginia. For those who have forgotten, this version of Intimidator as a 300 foot drop and tops out a little over 90 MPH.

Here’s the view from the front seat. It’s a fast, twisty coaster from the looks of it.

More details on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Apr 7th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

Ellen Degeneres was granted an exclusive look at the new Harry Potter Theme Park.

I’m really looking forward to this park, but I’ll wait for the crowds to go away before venturing out there.

Star Wars weekends 2010 guest list

Mar 19th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

Disney has announced the guest list for the upcoming Star Wars weekends. Star Wars weekends run from May 21st through June 13, with to me the best weekend being the last weekend.

Busch Gardens Donates Fish

Mar 14th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

Busch Gardens Tampa is cleaning out one of their lakes and giving the fish to a non-profit organization that teaches people in developing countries about how to raise fish in a sustainable fashion.

Give a day, get a day ends

Mar 13th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

Disney has given away the 1 million tickets they had committed for this program, so it has officially ended. The thing that surprises me more than anything about this is how quickly they gave them out. It was supposed to last all year and we’re only three months into the year and it’s over. I guess now they’ll have to come up with new ads for the rest of the year.

Light cycle monorails

Mar 13th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

As a promotion for the upcoming Tron movie, Disney is making a couple of the monorails on the EPCOT line look like lightcycles. I guess I’m a nerd enough to think it’s cool, even though I never really liked the first Tron movie all that much.

SeaWorld fights to keep video private

Mar 11th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

SeaWorld is fighting what will probably be a losing battle to keep the video of the whale grabbing the trainer private. Unfortunately, once it was given to the police, it became a public document and as such is subject to the freedom of information act and will inevitably end up on the internet for everyone to see.

Busch Gardens arrests employee

Mar 10th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

You can tell it’s slow newsday, but I’m amazed that this worker managed to steal 25,000 from them by voiding transactions and pocketing the cash. You’d think their systems would notice that a ticket was sold and used to enter the park, but the money wasn’t ever deposited.

Topiary construction

Mar 8th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

Ever wonder what goes into putting those topiaries up in Epcot? Wonder no more, here’s a time lapse video of them being set up overnight.

Intimidator 305 shaping up nicely

Mar 2nd

Posted by labman in Theme Park

The coast critic has posted a short article about Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion. I’m really looking forward to this one since it’s essentially Millenium Force without having to drive all the way to Ohio. That, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg is near that too, so I can hit multiple parks in one relatively short trip. The most interesting photo to me was the shot of it next to rebel yell. It makes that coaster look like a childs’ toy by comparison.

Intimidator now running with riders

Feb 28th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

Carowinds connection has posted a photo of Intimidator running with people riding it. This is a good sign that the testing with water dummies went well.

Also… Carowinds.com was updated this week with an all new design. I haven’t really browsed it much, but it looks cleaner than the old one and the rides seem organized better.

Believe show returns to SeaWorld Orlando

Feb 27th

Posted by labman in Theme Park

Seaworld Orlando had their first Believe show since Trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by the orca Tilikum. None of the people were allowed into the water with the whales as SeaWorld is still reviewing their policies and procedures related to the handling of the whales. The females all had their hair pulled up into buns, which is to be expected since Dawn was grabbed by her hair and pulled under the water.

The attitude of the crowd was respectful with most people thinking it is a good thing that they get back to the shows. PETA, of course, had a small protest at the park entrance, but only about a dozen people showed for that.