Theme Park Outsider

A section on one of the wooden coasters at Cedar Point caught fire recently. The fire department quickly put out the small blaze on the Mean Streak roller coaster, which was being worked on. They think the cause of the blaze was related to the work being done on the coaster, and the section that caught fire was what was scheduled to be replaced, so no long term damage will be an issue.

Hopefully this will make it smoother, because this ride does indeed have a mean streak to it.

Ever wonder what Cedar Point would look like from a blimp? No, well, you can find out anyway.

Seaworld has added barriers to provide a wall between trainers and their killer whales.  These are considered temporary, but I fear they may not ever put the trainers back in the water with the whales, which will be a shame.   I understand there are risks involved, but the same could be said for most any animal trainer who deals with large animals.

Theme Park Insider is reporting that the Rip Ride Rockit coaster in Universal Studios Florida is down for maintenance.

The manufacturer released a service bulletin earlier in the month, but a Universal spokesman said this closure is for unrelated reasons.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced a triple threat on their blog today.  A drop tower, Water Slide, and a Roller Coaster.

Excepts from their blog entry by John Reilly describing the new features.

• As you enter Oktoberfest next spring, you’ll see the massive spire known as Mach Tower™. The tallest ride in the park, Mach Tower will take you 246 feet above Oktoberfest. After rotating at the top of the tower and getting a few seconds to take in the view, riders drop at breath-taking speed. State-of-the-art special effects including enhanced audio and other surprises will elevate Mach Tower to new heights in ride design and engineering.
  
• At Water Country USA, guests are in for the slide of their lives at our epic new drop slide, Vanish Point™. The crest of this 75-foot tower challenges guests with two wave paths. They can step into a skybox and take a plunge when the floor drops out beneath their feet, or you can brave a 300-foot speed slide that drops you straight down as soon as you enter. Either way, it’s pure liquid adrenaline.
• For more than a year, coaster fans have been speculating as to what would replace The Big Bad Wolf. I’m excited to tell you that we are planning for a new, state-of-the-art multi-launch roller coaster that will propel riders at high-speeds through twists, turns and even more surprises. That’s all I can tell you now, except that it will feature many “firsts” when it debuts in the spring of 2012.

Busch Gardens Tampa Guide has published photos of the track for Cheetaka in a staging area close to Busch Gardens.  It’s a lovely shade of green.  The fact that it’s starting to show up is a good sign because the world can always use another roller coaster.

First, a little background regarding these tips.  My wife has a knee injury from a car accident 20 years ago.  During normally everyday walking, this doesn’t hold her back.  Put her in a theme park where you can walk all day long, then throw in the idea of it being a multi-day vacation leads us to rent her an electric scooter when we visit the park.  They’re not inexpensive, but they are worth every penny.  Otherwise, the first day would end painfully and every day thereafter would be excruciating.  With this in mind, I’ve compiled some tips for those who are faced with similar circumstances.

• Plan ahead.  Visit the theme park’s website long before you leave home. If your handicap may prevent you from riding rides, look in the rides section to see what is permitted.  (An example of this would be a cast.  Most rides prohibit casts because the extra weight on a limb could injure you.)
• Plan ahead.  Not to be redundant, but what bad side is there to planning ahead.
• Avoid park hopper tickets.  Again, this is Disney specific and only applies when you are renting their scooters (Or as Disney calls them, ECVs).  Each park has a limited number of scooters, and they are frequently all rented out by the first hour the park is open.  Since you can’t leave the park in a scooter, you have to take a leap of faith that the park you are going to might have one available.  If they don’t have one, then you are stuck walking, which may not be possible depending on your handicap.   (You only have to pay for a scooter once per day.  Once you’ve done that, if you do go to another disney park, just show them your receipt and they’ll give you a scooter for free, assuming they have one left.)  This leads to the next tip.
• Show up before the park opens.  If you plan on getting a scooter, you’d better be there when they open or they may be out of them before you get one.  At Disney parks, they are first come, first Serve.  Busch Gardens and SeaWorld reserve them on their websites, so if you are going to one of those parks, you can guarantee you have one by booking it before you leave home.
• Watch for the handicapped signs.  Park maps and other signage around the parks will point out availability of handicapped accessible restrooms and other features for you.
• If you’re hearing impaired, some movies / exhibits have devices to assist you in hearing the show.  Disney is especially good about this.
• Pick your days ahead of time. Knowing when you will be there affects everything you do.  Look at the park schedules for each day and map out what day you will be in each park, then use this schedule to make reservations where you want to eat.
• Check their websites for information.  Disney World has a link on their homepage specifically for the disabled and what you can expect them to do to accommodate your disability.  Other theme parks have similar information on their web sites.
• Make reservations.  In Disney Parks especially, dining at the upscale restaurants should be reserved well in advance to get a spot.  (As an example, eating in the castle at the magic kingdom.  The restaurant is limited in size due to it’s location, yet tens of thousands of people come through the park every day.  If you haven’t made reservations, you aren’t likely to get a table.)

The theme park rangers at the orlando sentinel have posted some old publicity photos from space mountain in the Magic Kingdom.

I loved looking at some of these concept drawings, and thought I’d link to them for others who may also enjoy them.

Universal has modified the Harry potter ride so it can accommodate larger guests.

I haven’t seen an explanation as to how much of a difference this makes and whether the ride experience is different for these guests, but it’s still good that they are accommodating more guests.  Universal already does this via modified seating for their Incredible Hulk Coaster and Dragon’s Challenge coasters, so adding this to the Forbidden Journey ride seems to be a natural fit.  Unfortunately, Rip Ride Rockit was down the last 4 times I went to Universal, so I haven’t had a chance to try it to see whether I would fit.  (Since I weigh enough that I generally have to go with modified seating to ride.)