Arthur's Theme Parks Blog

The on-again, off-again news continues for Astroland, and this time park owner Carol Albert says it's off--for good. According to the Associated Press, Albert was unable to secure a two-year lease extension from Thor Equities, the developer that owns the property on which the nearly 50-year-old park sits. She says that this Sunday, September 7, the park will permanently close. Similar news emanated form Coney Island last year, but an eleventh-hour deal was worked out to keep the park open for the 2008 season. It wouldn't surprise me if a similar deal eventually emerges this year. No matter what, the Cyclone roller coaster, which is located in Astroland, will reopen since it is a National Historic Landmark that is protected in perpetuity. Read more...

Wacky theme park ideas come and go all the time. Most never make it out of the conceptual stage and generally get derailed due to lack of funding, skeptical local governments, or because they are just too darn wacky to be realistic. The latest questionable plan comes from a Massachusetts-based group that is proposing to build Pangaea Theme Park in the central part of the state. According to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the park, named for the single land mass that existed on earth before the continents broke apart, would include a dinosaur land, an historical interpretation of the original 13 colonies, a Viking ship, an aquarium, heated water slides, and a house of holograms. Pegged at a woefully under-funded $160 million, this hodgepodge of attractions is somehow supposed to attract 8 million visitors a year. Consider that Disney's California Adventure welcomed 5.7 million visitors in 2007 according to industry estimates. And Disney is spending a reported $1.2 billion over the next few years to add a few attractions to the existing park. As wacky theme park ideas go, the Pangaea Theme Park smells fishier than a half-eaten piece of Boston schrod that's been rotting in a Quincy Market dumpster.

• Massachusetts Theme Parks
• Las Vegas Wet- Another wacky park development.

Here's something scary: Fright Fest, Six Flags' annual Halloween event, kicks off in 25 days--and to date, the chain hasn't released hardly any details. Ooooooh! It's enough to give a theme park journalist a bad case of the shivers. I mean, come on. Park fans are clamoring for info, and I don't want to be scrambling to post updates as the event is about to begin. Besides, wouldn't you think Six Flags would want to get the word out about their fall extravaganza? The company has announced that it won't be challenging Fright Fest guests to munch on live cockroaches as it did during last year's Wheel of Fright contest. However, Six Flags St. Louis has announced that it will be bringing the Wheel of Fright back this season-minus the cockroaches. That probably means all of the parks will be offering a modified Wheel of Fright as well. As soon as Six Flags comes clean about its 2008 Fright Fest plans, I'll revise my listings. Until then, my 2008 Six Flags Fright Fest Guide includes this year's dates and as much info as I've been able to uncover.

• Six Flags Fright Fest Photos Photo Gallery
• 2008 Florida Scaredy-Parks Guide

Photo: Kilvania has stalked Fright Fest at Six Flags Great America, near Chicago in past years. Six Flags. Used with permission.

The company that opened New England's first major indoor water park resort last year, CoCo Key at the Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers, Massachusetts (north of Boston), has a couple more in the pipeline. Folks in Connecticut will be able to make a splash year round when CoCo Key Water Park at Holiday Inn Waterbury (west of Hartford) turns on its spigots in October. And the CoCo Key Water Park at Best Western Royal Plaza will be sliding into Fitchburg, Massachusetts (in the central part of the state) this December. The chain's strategy is to buy slightly distressed hotels, remodel them, and add indoor water parks to their amenities. Unlike other properties, such as the gargantuan Kalahari water parks in Sandusky, Ohio and Wisconsin Dells, CoCo Key keeps its water parks around a relatively moderate 50,000 square feet. While they lack uphill water coasters, bowl rides, and other signature attractions found at larger competitors, the CoCo Key parks, which are all essentially similar, feature a decent complement of attractions, including a lazy river, body slides, and tube slides. The chain is also opening a CoCo Key Water Resort at the Mt. Laurel Marriott in New Jersey (near Philadelphia) this November.

• Find More CoCo Key Indoor Water Park Resorts
• CoCo Key Water Indoor Water Parks Photo Gallery

Photo: The CoCo Key Indoor Water Parks feature a lazy river. ©Arthur Levine, 2007. Licensed to About.com.

After flirting with the details for a few weeks, the horror mavens at Universal Orlando came clean about their Halloween event today. The theme will be (scary) urban legends, myths, and folklore, and the icon will be the mirror-obsessed urban legend, Bloody Mary. Read my exclusive interview with Michael Roddy, the creative director for Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights. He provides fascinating insight into the legend of Bloody Mary as well as the art of scaring the snot out of people.

• Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights Overview
• Halloween Horror Nights 2007 Photo Gallery- See images from last year's "Carnival of Carnage."
• More Florida Halloween Theme Park Events

Photo: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the bloodiest one of all? Bloody Mary comes to Universal Florida's Halloween Horror Nights. Universal Orlando 2008. Used with permission.

For 2009, Indiana's Holiday World will debut the world's tallest water ride, Pilgrims Plunge. The shoot-the-chutes attraction will take 10-passenger boats up a 135-foot hill using an elevator lift and drop them 131 feet at a 45-degree angle. The boats will reach a top speed of 50 mph and will create a cascade of water 90 feet wide and 45 feet tall. Pilgrims Plunge will shatter the previous record-holder, Perilous Plunge at California's Knott's Berry Farm, a shoot-the-chutes ride that features a 115-foot drop. Pilgrims Plunge will be accessible via both Holiday World's Thanksgiving land and its Splashin' Safari water park.

• Holiday World Overview
• The Voyage- Overview of the wooden coaster at Holiday World

California's theme parks will be switching to off-season mode after this weekend, but in late September, most of them will be gearing up for Halloween with special events. The spooky fun ranges from wild at the granddaddy of theme park Halloween events, Knott's Scary Farm Haunt, to mild at Disneyland's family-friendly HalloweenTime. Want to know where to go to get totally grossed out as well as where to go so that you won't inflict permanent psychological damage on your toddler? Check out my 2008 California Scaredy-Parks Guide.

• Knott's Scary Farm Haunt Photo Gallery
• 2008 Florida Scaredy-Parks Guide

Photo: Wanted: Dead or, er, dead at Knott's Scary Farm. Knotts Berry Farm. Used with permission.

The theme park development boom in the United Arab Emirates continues to boggle the mind. According to reports emanating from the Middle East, there are over 30 properties set to open over the next few years, including such high-profile parks as Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, SeaWorld, Marvel Entertainment, Six Flags, and Dreamworks. The latest news is that Dubai's existing Wonderland park will get a $167-million makeover. How much money will it take to build all of these parks? That's where the news gets as murky as crude oil. In an earlier blog, I wrote about the ludicrously overblown number of $3 trillion that's been reported as in play for the UAE's parks bonanza. I figured that a few zeros might have been lost in translation to U.S. currency. Recently, AME Info has posted a somewhat more believable--but still stratospheric--figure of $62 billion being invested in the country's parks. Then, Taipei News countered with that pesky $3 trillion number again. That report claims that park spending by guests will reach over $200 million by 2011. I'm no economist, but annual revenue of $200 million doesn't sound like much of a return on $3 trillion.

• Middle East Theme Parks News
• Find Theme Parks Beyond the U.S.

One of the benefits of being a journalist covering the park industry is that I get to attend media events for attraction openings and other special occasions. Typically, I'm the one toting around a reporter's notebook and asking the questions. But, at the recent debut of Disneyland's Toy Story Mania, Disneyland podcast producer Michael Geoghegan turned the microphone on me and asked me what it's like covering Disneyland for About.com. Read more...

I know. I know. Everyone is focused on back-to-school, back-to-work, no-more-talking, no-more-fun. But, there are still a few days left before Labor Day, so you could squeeze in one more visit to a a park while it remains open daily. After that, seasonal parks will still be open weekends. And after that, many seasonal parks will reopen for weekends in late September through early November for Halloween events. With that in mind, Six Flags recently offered a sweet late-season deal it is calling the "Big Six Pass." For a little more than the regular one-day gate price, and in many cases for the same price as regular admission, Six Flags is offering a six-visit ticket. The ticket is good for events such as concerts as well as for admission to the chain's Halloween event, Fright Fest. For example, a Big Six Pass at Six Flags over Georgia is $39.99, the same price as a one-day general admission ticket. At Six Flags Over Texas, the price is $46.99, which is the same price as a one-day ticket. You can purchase Big Six Passes online direct from Six Flags. Keep in mind that in response to the sour economy and gas-price panic, Six Flags had already reduced its general admission prices this season, in some cases significantly. The chain is crediting its aggressive pricing, in part, for contributing to an increase in both attendance and revenue at its parks for the third quarter through mid-August. The company is still wallowing in debt, but the solid gains inspired a mini-rally for its long-suffering stock.

• Six Flags Ride Guide 2008- Find out what's new at Six Flags this season.
• Evel Knievel- Info about the new wooden coaster at Six Flags St. Louis.
• Find Six Flags Parks