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Arthur's Theme Parks Blog May 2009 Archive

By Arthur Levine, About.com Guide to Theme Parks since 2002

He'll Be There--in Africa

Friday May 29, 2009
Those Jackson guys sure love theme parks. In addition to other curious events at his manse, Michael Jackson operated his (now defunct) Neverland Ranch park. Now comes word that brother ... Read More

New Quoaster at Quassy- See the Video

Thursday May 28, 2009
The small, traditional Quassy Amusement Park in Connecticut announced that it will be building a wood coaster to debut in either 2010 or 2011. The mild "family" coaster will climb ... Read More

Bizarro's Super-Duper Themeing is Mostly Superfluous

Tuesday May 26, 2009
Six Flags New England "re-skinned" its Superman: Ride of Steel coaster with a Bizarro theme and reopened the ride over the weekend. Turning to the Superman comic book canon that ... Read More

Kong is Coming Back--and He's Fired Up

Monday May 25, 2009
You didn't expect a fire to keep the mighty King Kong out of action, did you? The big ape, who was a longtime highlight of the Studio Tram Tour at ... Read More

Coaster Riders in the Skynet

Friday May 22, 2009
At least one film critic is going to compare Terminator Salvation, which opens today, to a roller coaster ride. In this case, however, the tired movie analogy is apt. Terminator: ... Read More

Now It's Time to Say Goodbye

Thursday May 21, 2009
You may not know the name Wayne Allwine. But you certainly are familiar with his work. For the past 32 years, he provided the voice of Mickey Mouse. According to ... Read More

Sex and the (Forbidden) City

Tuesday May 19, 2009
From the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction department comes word that an adults-only sex theme park under construction in, of all places, China was ordered to cease and desist by the government in Chongqing. ... Read More

Freestyle Music Park Set to Open in Style

Monday May 18, 2009
Hey hey, my my, rock and roll can never die. Myrtle Beach's Hard Rock Park may have declared bankruptcy, but, thankfully, it did not fade away. New owners will unveil ... Read More

Desert Duel: World's First Racing Water Coasters

Friday May 15, 2009
Arizona's popular Waterworld Safari water park has new owners and a new name: Wet 'n' Wild Phoenix. And folks who want to beat the desert heat will find an intriguing ... Read More

Coney Island Assembles Industry's Big Wheels

Thursday May 14, 2009
The Cyclone's riders are still screaming. The Wonder Wheel is still spinning. And folks are still jammed onto the sidewalk awaiting their hot dogs and fries from Nathan’s Famous. But ... Read More

Coaster Chiropractic

Tuesday May 12, 2009
Yesterday, I wrote about the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina seaside park, Family Kingdom. Today, I stumbled upon a great video of the The Hurricane, the wood coaster that used to ... Read More

My (Family) Kingdom for a (Carousel) Horse

Monday May 11, 2009
With Freestyle Music Park reopening later this month at what used to be Hard Rock Park, Myrtle Beach is receiving renewed attention from park fans. But Family Kingdom, a traditional ... Read More

Stars Didn't Align For Trek Attraction

Friday May 8, 2009
The Star Trek reboot that opens in theaters today is getting out-of-this-world reviews. Too bad the Las Vegas Star Trek attractions, which closed last year, couldn't beam over to their ... Read More

On the Prowl at Worlds of Fun- New Coaster Video and Photos

Thursday May 7, 2009
The Kansas City, Missouri park, Worlds of Fun, just upped the fun quotient with the opening of Prowler, its new wooden coaster. The terrain coaster, which is built into a ... Read More

The Great Wet Way

Tuesday May 5, 2009
Do you fancy yourself a thespian? Want to appear in a commercial? The chain of CoCo Key Water Resorts is running a contest and offering a top prize of a ... Read More

Acid Flashback: Nights in White Satin Ride Video

Monday May 4, 2009
The weird and wonderful Nights in White Satin- The Trip attraction was one of the highlights of Hard Rock Park. The Myrtle Beach park closed and declared bankruptcy before finishing ... Read More

Manta Coaster Set to Take Wing Early- See the Video

Friday May 1, 2009
SeaWorld Orlando's Manta, the new flying coaster that will soar high above the marine life park, is ready for takeoff--a few weeks early. Scheduled to debut in late May, the ... Read More
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