Parks
debut new coasters, interactive attractions
NEW
YORK - A roller coaster where riders can pick a personal
soundtrack, a pirate ride with water gun fights, the tallest
water ride in the world, and a walkway that sparkles at night
with a million lights are some of the most exciting new attractions
at amusement parks this year.
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(AP
Photo/Al Behrman, file) |
Other
theme park news includes a ride based on the new "Terminator"
movie at Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles; the new
Diamondback coaster at Kings Island in Ohio, with speeds up
to 80 mph on a mile-long track; and the reopening of the failed
Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, S.C., as a more family oriented
attraction called Freestyle Music Park.
The
unique lighted walkway, Starlight Experience, debuts at Cedar
Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
in Santa Claus, Ind., is home to the massive water ride Pilgrims
Plunge, where a boat drops 131 feet at a 45-degree angle, creating
a wall of water 45 feet high.
The
coaster with customized music, the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
at Universal in Orlando, exemplifies a continuing theme park
trend of "interactive experiences that can change based
on guests' participation," said David Mandt, spokesman
for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
"These started with the shooting gallery type of experience
where guests could ride through an attraction, aim at a target
and score points."
This season's attractions "take that interactivity to the
next level where you can choose the outcome or features of the
ride that will make each experience different," he said.
Other examples: A new Six Flags attraction, Buccaneer Battle,
lets you have a dynamic water battle that's like being in a
video game come to life. Eight people on each boat are armed
with Super Soaker cannons. You hit other riders and targets,
some of which blast water back or squirt from the ground. Meanwhile,
park visitors randomly passing by shoot at the boats using land-based
guns, and riders can shoot back.
"You're
actually part of the ride," said Six Flags spokeswoman
Brooke Gabbert. "You're engaged the whole time." Kids
as small as 36 to 48 inches can ride with an adult, but all
ages enjoy it: "We had a grandpa on the ride and he was
having a blast."
Riders
do get wet, though, so the park has a new "people dryer,"
which blasts hot air for three minutes for $5 and fits up to
five people. "It takes the chill off," Gabbert said.
At Freestyle park in Myrtle Beach, "The Time Machine"
coaster has multiple soundtracks so you can hear a different
song each time you ride. "It's a reward for doing it more
than once," Mandt said.
At
SeaWorld Orlando, the new Manta roller coaster has a manta ray
theme. Guests who don't care to ride can tour a new aquarium
that's part of the attraction.
Big
new rides are what teenagers and other coaster fans look forward
to, but some parks are also adding play areas for younger kids.
"We continue to see new products added designed to appeal
to all ages," Mandt said.
Freestyle
is opening 11 attractions in a new themed area called Kids in
America, aimed at younger guests. Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg,
Va., is adding a new Sesame Street Forest of Fun with junior
rides.
Here is a list of these and some of the other new attractions
around the country this year, with details provided by IAAPA
and the parks:
NORTHEAST/MID-ATLANTIC:
Six Flags: Rethemed coasters in two parks, Medusa at Great Adventure
in Jackson, N.J., and Superman in Agawam, Mass., now called
Bizarro after the DC Comics villain, with custom-built
audio in each rider head rest, fog banks and fire bursts; and
http://www.sixflags.com/greatadventurehttp://www.sixflags.com/newEngland.
Six
Flags Great Escape, Lake George, N.Y.: New Sasquatch
drop tower, park's tallest ride at 19 stories tall; http://www.sixflags.com/greatEscape.
Hersheypark,
Hershey, Pa.: New to Boardwalk area, The Shore
wave pool, and Intercoastal Waterway lazy river; http://www.hersheypark.com.
Busch
Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, Va.: New Sesame Street
Forest of Fun, with four new rides including junior
coaster and log flume; http://www.buschgardens.com/BGW2.
Kings
Dominion, Doswell, Va.: New Americana, a 110-foot
Ferris wheel, and El Dorado, a swinging pendulum ride; http://www.kingsdominion.com.
SOUTH:
Freestyle Music Park, Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Revamped
version of Hard Rock Park, with more family attractions; http://www.freestylemusicpark.com.
Dollywood,
Pigeon Forge, Tenn.: New zipline ride and new shows: "Sha-Kon-O-Hey!
Land of Blue Smoke," part of Dollywood's celebration
of 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
and "Imagine," aerial-trapeze show headlining Dollywood's
annual Festival of Nations; http://www.dollywood.com.
Carowinds,
Charlotte, N.C.: New 125-feet-tall "Carolina Cobra"
steel coaster; http://www.carowinds.com.
SeaWorld
Orlando: New steel roller coaster Manta; http://www.seaworld.com/orlando.
Universal
Orlando: Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster
with customized soundtracks; http://www.universalorlando.com
Walt
Disney World: "The American Idol Experience" show
(since February) at Disney's Hollywood Studios (in Florida);http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/hollywood-studios.
MIDWEST:
Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio: Starlight Experience,
themed lighted walkway with over a million LED lights, music,
displays with colored lights themed to the changing seasons;
http://www.cedarpoint.com.
Kings Island, Kings Island, Ohio: Diamondback
steel coaster with open-air stadium-style seats, two helix twists,
mile-long track, speeds up to 80 mph, 215-foot plunge; http://www.visitkingsisland.com.
Holiday
World & Splashin' Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.: Pilgrims
Plunge, with riders' boat plunging 131 feet, creating
wall of water 45 feet high and 90 feet wide; http://www.holidayworld.com.
Six
Flags Great America, Gurnee, Ill.: Buccaneer Battle,
pirate-themed interactive water attraction; http://www.sixflags.com/greatamerica.
CALIFORNIA:
Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, Calif.: New Terminator
Salvation: The Ride wooden coaster with high-tech special
effects, five hills and six high-speed banked turns, themed
on new "Terminator Salvation" movie; http://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain.
Six
Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif.: Odin's Temple
of the Tiger, tiger exhibit and show; http://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom.
Disneyland,
Anaheim, Calif.: New fireworks show, "Magical"
with flying Dumbo puppet; new characters in "Fantasmic!"
show on Rivers of America, along with HD projection and 40-foot-tall
dragon; new floats and lighting for Electrical Parade; new street
show, "Celebrate! A Street Party,"
where guests can interact with characters; http://www.disneyland.com.
Universal
Studios Hollywood: New live show based on classic horror movie
"Creature from the Black Lagoon";
Simpsons Summer Celebration, and hi-definition, flat-screen
monitors on all Studio Tour trams; http://www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com.
Legoland,
Carlsbad, Calif.: New "Bob the Builder
In 4-D: Bob the Builder and the Roller Coaster" 4-D film;
http://www.legoland.com/california.