This year, Universal Orlando Resort will debut more adventure, excitement, laughter and awe-inspiring moments than ever before – making 2012 an extraordinary year to be here.
There will be something for everyone and every family. From a new Blue Man Group show and newly re-created experience inside one of Universal Orlando’s most popular attractions to a stunning parade, spectacular nighttime show and brand-new blockbuster attraction based on an incredibly popular film – Universal Orlando Resort is bringing guests more new entertainment across our entire destination in 2012 than during any other year in our history.
The new experiences will begin debuting in February. Guests will discover the exhilarating entertainment of a new Blue Man Group show; marvel at breathtaking new animation and effects in The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man; dance and celebrate with their favorite animated characters during Universal’s Superstar Parade and relive memorable moments from Universal Pictures most powerful and beloved films during the nighttime show Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular – 100 Years of Movie Memories. And coming this summer – families will laugh together as they are transformed into minions for an incredible adventure inside the new Despicable Me Minion Mayhem attraction.
Florida’s largest water playground coming to Wet ‘N Wild
A sandcastle stretching 60-feet into the sky is set to rise from Orlando’s International Drive this spring. The largest water playground in the Sunshine State will anchor a new family area at Wet ‘N Wild.
The yet-to-be-named complex will feature 17 colorful water slides, several elevated bridges, winding staircases and remote passageways that will lead to more than 100 soaker jets, waterfalls and water cannons.
The water park confirmed early details to News 13 on Wednesday, prior to the official announcement.
Six Flags to Host Conference Call for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Earnings
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation SIX announced today that it will release fourth quarter and full year 2011 financial results on February 15, 2012 and host an investor conference call beginning at 8:00 a.m. Central Time. The call can be accessed through the Six Flags Investor Relations website atsixflags.com/investors, or by dialing 1-888-282-0415 from the United States or+1-415-228-4945 from outside the United States using the conference ID “six flags”.
Cedar Fair Is Looking Fun-Forward
Cedar Fair’s recent investor presentation, aptly titled Fun Forward has given us our first really good look at where new CEO Matt Ouimet is planning on taking the company. Personally, I like what he had to say. There’s a lot that came up during the presentation, so let’s get started! Mr. Ouimet started by pointing out that no one has really found a way to digitally replicate a ride on a 420 foot roller coaster, a fair point indeed. A funny thought, but very telling about the industry – while there’s lots of other entertainment options around it’s hard to compare them to the physical thrill parks provide. It is pretty one of a kind.
They’re currently using a technique we saw last year to “test” out new concepts, then rolling them out across the parks. Dinosaurs Alive!, Fast Lane, and even to a degree WindSeeker are examples.
Both Franklin and Woodstock characters will be joining the parks next year. Makes sense, if you already pay the licensing fees, why not! California’s Great America, now that the park is being retained, will see some expansion soon due to that unexpected change.
Wild Eagle on track for March open
The folks at Dollywood are just days from seeing a big dream take flight as work continues at fever pitch on the unique Wild Eagle roller coaster.
Stone masons are putting up the facade at the ride building, engineers are testing the track and everything is on pace for the attraction’s March 24 introduction. That debut will make the $20 million investment the first wing rider coaster in America, a fact that helped land Dollywood the 2012 Coaster Con, a gathering of hundreds of thrill ride enthusiasts.
The construction site on the park’s highest hill is currently a blur of activity that runs along rough, rutted red mud tracks that have been cut into the ridge. Looming above is all is an undulating, looping blue metal track that seems to hang from the trees around it like a haphazard string of Christmas lights. The forest that has remained along Wild Eagle’s route, at some points as close as a few feet from the track, is all part of highly-detailed theming that is part of the entire ride experience, Dollywood spokesman Pete Owens says.
Dolly’s new park freshens our memories
Has Opryland risen from the ashes?
The news last week that Gaylord Entertainment Co. and Dollywood Co. are joining up to open a water and snow park near the site of the defunct theme park rippled through Tennessee like the chills you get from a roller-coaster ride.
Almost as quickly, there were those willing to throw cold water on the announcement.
New Pinball Machine Pays Tribute To AC/DC
Music fans can now rock out to popular AC/DC tracks while enjoying a game of pinball. The legendary band is the latest pop-culture symbol to be covered by Stern Pinball Inc., which paid tribute to The Rolling Stones last year.
Stern announced the availability of its AC/DC pinball machine this month. The new pin game made its European debut in Dusseldorf, Germany, during last week’s IMA amusement and vending machine show, and is now on display in London at the European Amusement and Gaming International Expo.
The game features 12 full-length AC/DC hits, including “Back in Black,” “Highway to Hell” and “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
The Theme Park on Disney’s Doorstep
By mid-January workers, parents and students are seeking warmth to cure their winter blues. Florida is a natural destination for sun, relaxation and fun, and is famous as the home of Walt Disney (Stock Quote: DIS) World, which turned 40 last year with the distinction of being the world’s most visited theme park — nearly 17 million visitors in 2010, according to TEA/Aecom.
But for those who can’t afford to shell out hundreds of dollars for their family in just one day, or who don’t want deal with the crowds, there is a smaller and more affordable neighbor: Old Town, located about 15 minutes away in Kissimmee, Fla.
How does a small theme park compete when it has the world’s largest tourist attraction right next door?
Muslims Arrested At Rye Playland Melee To File Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit
Westchester County prosecutors have agreed to drop charges against 15 Muslims who were arrested at Rye Playland last summer after women visiting the park were told they could not go on certain ride while wearing their hijabs. The chaotic melee started after some Muslim women demanded a refund, and text messages were sent amongst some of the 3,000 Muslims visiting the amusement park with the Muslim American Society of New York. As growing numbers gathered near the park police station, local police rushed to the scene, and the situation quickly escalated, with a park ranger allegedly yelling, “I don’t give a f*ck about your culture.”
15 people, all Muslims, were arrested. Most were charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of governmental administration, but a handful were charged with second-degree assault. Yesterday, they accepted an offer to have the charges dismissed provided they aren’t arrested in the coming months. An attorney representing the group, Lamis Deek, says her clients would have won had the case gone to trial, but most of them live in NYC, and she tells the Associated Press, “It’s unfortunately more convenient to accept this offer, not have to enter a plea of guilty, move on with their lives and pursue this matter in a civil courtroom.”
Deek tells LoHud.com her clients plan to file federal civil rights lawsuits against Westchester County, claiming that the arrests were “abusive” and that the headgear ban violates the civil rights of the Muslim patrons. Rye Playland is located in a public park operated by the county, at a loss of $5 million a year. Rye Playand’s rules are stricter than other amusement parks’. Six Flags in New Jersey, for instance, permits hijabs on rides as long as they are securely wrapped around the head. On the other hand, Six Flags hasn’t had a fatal accident since the ’80s, and it may be that Rye Playland has tighter safety regulations because of a 2005 incident in which a 7-year-old boy who was killed on a boat ride at the park.
R.I.P. Joy Divison Mickey Mouse Shirt
Disney’s Mickey Mouse shirt inspired by Joy Division is no longer for sale. A representative from Disney says, “As soon as we became aware there could be an issue, we pulled it from our shelves and our online store to review the situation further.” Indeed, the link to the shirt on the Disney webstore is now blank.
As reported on Monday, the shirt blended the likeness of Mickey Mouse with the cover artwork from the band’s 1979 album Unknown Pleasures. So– how much are these things going to end up going for on eBay? Current top bid on this one is $202.50.
The shirt was for sale at Disneyland, Disney World, and online, but the surviving members of Joy Division were unaware of its existence.
Chase Launches Disney’s Premier Visa Card
To deliver the Disney promise of creating special memories that last a lifetime, Chase Card Services, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and The Walt Disney Company, through its subsidiary Disney Rewards LLC, announced today the launch of Disney’s Premier Visa Card from Chase. The new card offers customers ways to earn rewards twice as fast, the opportunity to now redeem toward airline travel in addition to most everything Disney, plus access to special Cardmember-only perks when visiting Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resorts.
With Disney’s Premier Visa Card, Cardmembers earn 2% in Disney Dream Reward Dollars on card purchases at restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations and most Disney locations at Walt Disney World Resort, the Disneyland Resort, Disney Cruise Line and Disney Store. Cardmembers earn 1% on all other purchases made with the card.
“We developed Disney’s Premier Visa Card with one simple objective in mind – to deliver what Disney’s customers told us was most important in a rewards credit card – earning rewards faster,” said Robert Belan, General Manager, Chase Card Services. “The ability to earn 2% on every day card purchases – specifically at restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores – was a key theme from our research and we’re pleased to offer that as a benefit on this new card.”
L.A. breaks tourism record with 27 million visitors in 2011
Thanks to a swell in international visitors, Los Angeles hosted a record number of visitors in 2011, prompting tourism officials to predict they will welcome even more out-of-town guests this year.
Los Angeles County broke the previous record of 25.9 million visitors in 2007 by welcoming 27 million in 2011, according to the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, known as LA Inc. The latest numbers are a 4.2% increase over 2010.
Mark Liberman, president of the bureau, attributed the increase to an improved U.S. economy and new attractions to draw visitors, such as the Cirque du Soleil show at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and the 14,000-square-foot Dinosaur Hall that opened in June at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park.
A look back at Jungle Habitat made the pages of this newspaper last week, and it made me think back about my own memories of that early-day theme park. And it will also be 40 years ago this spring that the animal park opened in West Milford.
I know that because I was there the first day it opened. For those of you unfamiliar with Jungle Habitat, it was opened by Warner Bros. in an attempt to move into the theme park business similar to Disney. It sprawled over 800 acres with 26 miles of roads within the park. The entrance was off Greenwood Lake Turnpike, near Marshall Hill Road. Composed mostly of a drive-though safari, it had a small amusement park about halfway through the route.
Now for reasons that escaped me at the time, my parents, who were known for impetuous acts, decided the morning Jungle Habitat opened that we should go. So we made a quick stop at the store for snacks and filled a cooler with ice and soda. Good move. We headed up Route 23 in our Chevy station wagon with 327 cubic inches of Detroit’s finest engineering under the hood. The car had no air conditioning, but that’s no big deal buzzing up a highway on a nice late spring day.
Large entertainment center to open near Dayton this spring
A $5 million indoor entertainment center under construction north of Dayton and expected to open this spring is being described as the largest in the nation.
Scene75 Entertainment Center, one exit south of the Interstate 70/75 interchange, will feature 124,000 square feet of indoor attractions, coupled with seasonal outdoor offerings.
The attractions include a full service-restaurant; two indoor bars with 70-inch HD TVs and live sports tickers; an outdoor patio with food and beverage service; an indoor electric go-kart track; a multi-level laser tag arena; an indoor bouncing inflatable arena; a redemption and video arcade; an interactive gaming theater with giant screens; two 4D theaters; four mini-bowling lanes; a 10-car bumper car system; three outdoor sand volleyball courts (with plans to expand to nine courts); two outdoor bocce courts; live fantasy sports leagues; a concession stand; eight private party rooms; and a banquet hall.
Legoland: Just add water (park)
A dried-up water park is just so wrong and sad. It has no splash, lacks panache.
Legoland Florida is in the process of turning Splash Island, the old Cypress Gardens water park, into a happy place again. But first, the wave pool, lazy river and assorted slides had to be drained to check their condition.
“The condition of the infrastructure has actually surprised us how good it is considering it’s been idle for two years,” says general manager Adrian Jones. The water park was in better shape than Cypress Gardens proper, Jones says.
Winter Savings: Now is the Time to Buy a Cranberry Water Park Membership
Although it’s only January, Cranberry Township is encouraging residents to think about taking a dip in the community pool.
Through Tuesday, the township’s parks and recreation department is offering its least-expensive membership rates to the Cranberry Community Water Park at North Boundary Park for the 2012 swim season.
If purchased this month, the individual rate for a person living in Cranberry is $70 for the season. For a Cranberry family of four, the rate is $210. Memberships purchased Feb. 1-April 30 will be $85 for a single Cranberry resident and $240 for a family of four.
Video games at a water park? Get your game on at Great Wolf Lodge
The kids in pyjamas are everywhere, sprinting and shouting through the lodge’s third- and fourth-floor hallways with plastic wands clasped in adrenalin-clenched hands. They’re aiming the wands at the buzzing, flashing portraits and the talking treasure chests and the computer screens that have been laid out around the place.
My own kid, Cormac, has a shiny black polyester MagiQuest cape flowing behind his running, shouting, four-year-old frame. He’s totally captivated by the game’s magic, even if he doesn’t quite understand the rules.
MagiQuest is an interactive, high-tech treasure hunt – it’s a little like The Amazing Race, but for kids and tweens – that the Great Wolf Lodge water park, in Niagara Falls, Ont., introduced this month. MagiQuest has 17 levels, more or less, most of which challenge players to follow clues and riddles through the lodge as they discover 110-odd objects and “random acts of magic,” as the theme park’s general manager has called them. You’re supposed to “collect” each object, via a bit of computer wizardry with your (infrared-tipped, radio frequency identification-enabled) MagiQuest wand.
Gosack ‘surprised’ at county vote on water park
On Tuesday night, by vote of 7-6, the Sebastian County Quorum Court decided against moving forward on the Ben Geren Aquatics Facility. City Administrator Ray Gosack told The City Wire on Wednesday (Jan. 25) that a rejection by the county does not mean the project is doomed.
Confirming that ballots were already printed and that it would go to the voters in March regardless of what the quorum court decides, Gosack said the best thing voters can do is to vote for approval.
“If the people of Fort Smith want this to happen, then they should vote for it in March. The city and county could come to an agreement five months later, and we’d be in a position to move forward,” Gosack said.
State Fair board fires back at fiscal critics
Colorado State Fair leaders on Wednesday fired back at their critics about a recent audit that showed the event lost money again.
“You’re ordering us, by law, to have a State Fair. It doesn’t say the State Fair should pay for itself. If you want a program in government, you have to pay for it,” Fair Commissioner Ed Cordes said.
“The whole notion that you have to be profitable, which was stated (at the Jan. 17 audit committee meeting), was a false premise,” he added.
Study: 2011 State fair adds $13.8M to W.Va. economy, Greenbrier Co. benefits most
The State Fair of West Virginia is an economic engine as well as a festival celebrating agricuture.
A recent study says the 2011 edition of the fair added $13.8 million to the state’s economy.
The fair’s home county, Greenbrier, received the largest benefit. Greenbrier County’s economy received an economic boost of almost $10 million from the fair.
2.1 million guests visit Shedd in 2011
More than 2.1 million guests visited Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium in 2011.
Museum officials on Thursday said last year’s attendance figures are the best on record in the last decade. That makes Shedd Chicago’s most-attended cultural attraction for the fifth year in a row.
Shedd Aquarium CEO Ted Beattie says 2011 was a good year at Shedd because of its new special exhibit, Jellies, and the continuation of extended-hours programing, including the summer concert series Jazzin’ at the Shedd.”
Oakland Budget Cuts Impacts Jobs, Zoo
Oakland unveiled painful budget cuts this week that preserves police services at the cost of popular children’s attractions.
Mayor Jean Quan announced that more than $28 million would be cut from the city’s budget. The majority of the cuts will come from Oakland’s $388 million general fund.
Oakland had sent lay off notices to about 2,500 employees last week but under the new proposal will see 105 jobs eliminated.
Shedd Aquarium has best year in a decade
More than 2.1 million guests visited the Shedd Aquarium last year — the best attendance record in the last decade.
The Shedd was Chicago’s most attended cultural attraction for the fifth year in a row, museum officials say.
Shedd Aquarium CEO Ted Beattie says 2011 was a good year because of the Shedd’s new special exhibit, Jellies, and the continuation of extended hours, including the summer concert series Jazzin’ at the Shedd.”
In 1996, when the Maritime Center changed its name to the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, they tapped TFI Envision to develop their new branding. Since then, the Maritime Aquarium has continued to tap TFI Envision to develop promotional materials, annual reports and special event materials.
On Saturday, February 18th, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk will unveil its “FINtastic RefurbFISHment,” a $4 million makeover with 21 dynamic new exhibits – including 27 new species of animals – and an improved visitor experience. The changes will be noticeable immediately, with the Aquarium’s large main hall re-envisioned with an interactive introduction to Long Island Sound and an orientation to exploring the Aquarium. This space, renamed Newman’s Own Hall, still features the harbor seals (in a “refurbFISHed” exhibit) but also now a 36-by12-foot map of Long Island Sound – an image about the size of a school bus – with interactive quizzes about the Sound’s marine animals and habitats.
Rare Lobster Comes to Newport Aquarium
The Save the Bay aquarium welcomed a new member this week: a rare calico lobster.
The lobster boasts bright orange and yellow spots on its exoskeleten.
Calico lobsters are extremely uncommon, about one in 30 million, Adam Kovarsky, of Save the Bay, said.
Vancouver Aquarium vs. Science World: Which is best for kids?
Regular readers of Curious Dad will know we’re big fans of the Vancouver Aquarium in our house. We started taking the Older Boy there when he was just over one and have had memberships for our whole family, grandparents included, for two years running.
So it’s a bit uncomfortable to admit that, for the last couple of months, we’ve been cheating on it, with Science World.
We’ve let our aquarium memberships lapse and taken up (similarly priced) passes to the geekier and dryer Telus World of Science instead.
Newport Aquarium Penguin Poops On Ky. Senate Floor
A penguin named Paula had some business to bring to the Kentucky Senate floor on Tuesday. The African blackfooted penguin from the Newport Aquarium had been brought in by Senate President Pro Tem Katie Stine of Southgate.
The Republican senator was presenting her resolution to honor the aquarium for its work to protect sea life and penguins when Senate President David Williams asked “Are we talking about the penguin that just defecated on the floor?”
After she finished her business, an aquarium worker put Paula on the upper part of Williams’ desk while Stine finished presenting her resolution amid jokes about “business on the floor.” “Well, let’s see if Miss Kentucky can top that!” Williams joked, referring to the pageant winner’s upcoming appearance.
29-year-old bald eagle dies at Ohio zoo
A female bald eagle that contributed to the recovery of the iconic species has died at an Ohio zoo.
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said Wednesday that 29-year-old Barbara died Monday after being found unresponsive with an irregular heartbeat. Tests showed an enlarged heart.
The bird was hatched in the wild in 1982 and came to the Columbus zoo in 1988 following reports she had attacked a Boy Scout on California’s Catalina Island.
Space Florida seeks OK for KSC projects
Space Florida today will seek approval to spend more than $10 million to renovate a former shuttle hangar at Kennedy Space Center, modernize a Cape Canaveral launch pad and update the state’s space master plan.
During a meeting in Tallahassee, board members also will consider a proposal that would give the agency title to a $100 million facility being built to house the retired shuttle orbiter Atlantis at the KSC Visitor Complex, a financing arrangement that helps the complex’s operator.
If approved, $5 million would start work to ready Kennedy’s Orbiter Processing Facility-3 and Processing Control Center for commercial use by The Boeing Co., which plans to assemble commercial crew capsules there.
Discovery Place KIDS-Rockingham receives $100,000 from Unimin
Unimin Corporation announced a $100,000 gift to the Discovery Place KIDS-Rockingham comprehensive capital campaign Tuesday on behalf of the employees at its Marston location.
The donation, which will support the Bernoulli Blower exhibit in the museum’s I CAN Wonder Why science theme area, will be presented at a formal check ceremony in Rockingham with officials from both organizations in attendance. Currently in development, Discovery Place KIDS-Rockingham will offer creative learning-through-play experiences for children and their caregivers that build essential skills by encouraging curiosity, discovery and fun. It will be the second Discovery Place KIDS museum, following last year’s successful launch of Discovery Place KIDS-Huntersville.
The Discovery Science Place names new Executive Director
Making his way to Tyler from noted institutions like The Health Museum in Houston, The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and attractions like Disneyland and Universal Studios in California, Phil Lindsey joined Discovery Science Place as chief executive officer. Introduced to the community by Henry Bell, president of the DSP Board of Directors, Lindsey brings a wholly unique mix of talent, background and education and is an experienced designer, film maker and geek – qualities perfectly suited to the science museum field.
“What really drives me is the ability to help lead and create visitor experiences that are fun, fulfilling, engaging and relevant as well as being commercially viable and self sustaining,” explained Lindsey. “I love taking risks and I love entrepreneurial thinking – that is the only way for the field to advance in these fast moving times.”
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