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Viper: Hollywood’s Favorite Coaster

For about as long as Six Flags Magic Mountain has been in operation, nearby Hollywood has frequently mined the park for on-location filming of amusement park scenes for feature films, television, advertisements, and more. Classic sequences, like National Lampoon’s Vacation at “Walley World”, remain cultural iconography.

In 1990 the opening of Viper (and the advent of a professional camera rig that could be mounted to the nose of the train) catapulted Magic Mountain even further into Hollywood notoriety, with major productions now having utilized the enormous Arrow Looper countless times over the last 3 decades. Let’s take a look at some, shall we?

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SeaWorld Orlando “Project Penguin” Update

Good news SeaWorld Orlando fans, it looks like the wheels are once again in motion on Project Penguin, the parks new B&M launch/rumored “surf coaster“! The permits for this project have been sitting waiting for corrections since last April, only being kept alive by extensions every 3-4 months. Yesterday, however, the park finally filed the first set of corrections with the Orange County government.

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Hong Kong’s Ocean Park Dragon to be Among 7 Attractions to be Removed in Effort to Relaunch Park.

Hong Kong’s Ocean Park has received 5.4 billion Yuan from the Hong Kong government to revitalize the park and stabilize their income. The park is restructuring to a free admission model with upcharge attractions and experiences. The new project will provide several businesses access to the park and create a cultural experience zone that no longer reflects the usual theme park business model. This new business model is designed to compliment Disney’s struggling Hong Kong theme park . Unfortunately, this change comes with retirement of several beloved attractions and experiences including Dragon, the park’s Arrow looping coaster.

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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay – Mardi Gras!

We’ve had the privilege to be invited out to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay this weekend to check out the park’s brand new Mardi Gras event. We had a fabulous time checking out their food and drink offerings, which were all on point. A nice mix of entertainment and our usual dose of thrill rides made the day complete. Check out what Mardi Gras has to offer, and for the big coaster enthusiasts among us, we’ve got you covered with coaster shots as well.

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Scandinavia Series- Part 9: Legoland Billund, Denmark

With the theme park season drawing to a close in many countries and people forced to stay home again, we thought we’d bring you a brand new article series. Expect regular updates from myself as we explore one of the most beautiful, cultural and historical regions of Europe: Scandinavia!

We’ll be taking you from Norway across to Finland, through Sweden and then down to Denmark. We’ll be providing you with detailed insights and top tips into the theme parks each of these countries has to offer. We will also be diving into which rollercoasters and attractions you aren’t going to want to miss out on. So grab a cup of coffee, a slice of cake and enjoy!

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The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland – Plopsaland De Panne

Plopsaland revealed more details about their brand new Mack Xtreme Spinning coaster opening this summer. A surprising partnership with one of the world’s best known music festivals. That’s right, you’ll be able to experience some Tomorrowland in the heart of the theme park as theme for their brand new coaster.

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Ice Breaker Photo Update – Mid-January – SeaWorld Orlando

While Ice Breaker has yet to start testing, the infrastructure around the ride is coming together nicely. In today’s update we’ve got a couple of different shots of the infrastructure surrounding the ride, some track shots, and we happened to catch a pretty spectacular sunset as we left the park and thus we have a nice array of sunset pictures as well.

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Walygator Grand Est : Is This Project Too Ambitious?

During a trip in the east of France, we thought: “Why not go back to Walygator to see if it is as bad as it used to be.” So we did! We went back in July of 2020 to the infamous Walygator (now Walygator Grand-Est) mostly to get some rides on the B&M Monster Invert and to check if the park has gotten worse or better. Is Walygator a failed project that was too ambitious at the beginning? Let’s take a look and try to answer this question!

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Scandinavia Series- Part 8: Djurs Sommerland, Denmark

With the theme park season drawing to a close in many countries and people forced to stay home again, we thought we’d bring you a brand new article series. Expect regular updates from myself as we explore one of the most beautiful, cultural and historical regions of Europe: Scandinavia!

We’ll be taking you from Norway across to Finland, through Sweden and then down to Denmark. We’ll be providing you with detailed insights and top tips into the theme parks each of these countries has to offer. We will also be diving into which rollercoasters and attractions you aren’t going to want to miss out on. So grab a cup of coffee, a slice of cake and enjoy!

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Weakest Theme Park Areas

Since their creation amusement and theme parks have utilized landscaping and theming as an important part of the experience. The massive popularity of Disneyland standardized the idea of themed lands within a park. Most parks which opened in the resulting regional park boom incorporated this idea. Theme parks have the ability to transport guests to different times and worlds. A well-themed area can be an attraction in and of itself. But these areas often fall flat. The following are five of the weakest theme park areas. Also included are some ideas on how they might be refreshed. This is by no means an exhaustive list so please make your own suggestions, they may find their way to a part two!

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Jurassic World: VelociCoaster Update and Testing Footage – Early January, 2021

2021 has started and we’re excited for Universal Orlando Resort’s new Intamin coaster, the Jurassic World: VelociCoaster! Let’s take a look at the progress of the ride’s infrastructure, landscaping, entrance, etc. This update also includes more testing footage!

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Scandinavia Series- Part 7: Tivoli Friheden, Denmark

With the theme park season drawing to a close in many countries and people forced to stay home again, we thought we’d bring you a brand new article series. Expect regular updates from myself as we explore one of the most beautiful, cultural and historical regions of Europe: Scandinavia!

We’ll be taking you from Norway across to Finland, through Sweden and then down to Denmark. We’ll be providing you with detailed insights and top tips into the theme parks each of these countries has to offer. We will also be diving into which rollercoasters and attractions you aren’t going to want to miss out on. So grab a cup of coffee, a slice of cake and enjoy!

Continue reading “Scandinavia Series- Part 7: Tivoli Friheden, Denmark”