Theme Parks

Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Is the third of the Disney theme parks built at Walt Disney World Resort Florida, opened in 1989 originally as Disney’s MGM studios and later renamed in January 2008 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios following a long running legal case with MGM. The park is 135 acres in size and is layed out in several lands or themed areas around a central core which in this case is a huge sorcerers hat (belonging to Mickey).The park features some major ‘dont miss’ attractions like... Read Full Story

Great America was a somewhat different experience compared to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk that was talked about last week. Specifically, the number of rides is much larger and a little bit more crowded. Parking is $10. The basic ticket pricing is $49.95. The pricing is discounted in the following scenarios – a) for “ages 3-61 AND 48"and under, ages 62+”, the pricing is $29.95. Ie, if you are aged 3-61, but you come in at 4’ or less, you quality for the lower price, and... Read Full Story

Steel Dragon 2000 is a longest roller coaster located at Nagashime Spa Land Amusement Park in Mie Prefecture, Japan. Built by Morgan Manufacturing, this gigacoaster opened, appropriately, in 2000 - "The Year of the Dragon". It set a record for longest track length with 8133 feet, 2 inches (2479 m), which it currently holds. The building of Steel Dragon 2000 required far more steel than other coasters for earthquake protection. This put the cost of the coaster at over $50,000,000. On, August... Read Full Story

TOIL & TROUBLE: Cruella De Vil the villain who coveted coats in Disney's "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," and The Wicked Queen (right) the jealous temptress from Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," conjure some frightful fun in front of The Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Just in time for Halloween 2007, the classic Walt Disney World attraction has been refurbished with new show scenes, enhanced sound and new visual effects. Some fun facts about... Read Full Story

For Luke’s big 0-5 birthday weekend marathon celebration, we managed to fit in both Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Six Flags Marine World Discovery Kingdom. There were many moments where I wanted to crawl out of my real self, go to my Internet self, and write some quickies. [Hmmm, maybe next time I’ll try live blogging!] I’ll just do a couple of items, a la Herb Caen and his Three Dot Lounge: … It doesn’t matter how many things you do for your kids. They will always want more. [Oh, I’m... Read Full Story

Celebration City is the place to go in Branson if you are a fan of thrilling amusement park rides, roller coasters, go karts, shopping, arcade gaming, and spending a beautiful day in the outdoors. Celebration City is relatively new to Branson, and is built by the owners of Silver Dollar City. Celebration City has over 30 rides in all, including the brand new multi million dollar expansion ride called the "Roaring Falls" that is sure to be a hit. Starting at 9:30 P.M. each night is a... Read Full Story

Maybe it's too early to look forward to what's new in 2007 for the U.K.s major theme parks, but here we go anyway Alton Towers Not much happening in terms of new rides. A makeover for Towers Street, more focus on the gardens, but nothing new for the serious ride fan in 2007. However in 2008 we are promised something "Major and Exciting"... Thorpe Park Old favourite Flying Fish will be making a comeback. The family coaster was removed to make way for Stealth. The logical place to put it... Read Full Story