AquaLoop now open at Wet'n'Wild Water World

Four New Full-Loop Slides

Not one, Not two… but FOUR new transparent slides will open at Wet’n’Wild this September.

The new ride ‘AquaLoop’ begins when the trap door is released and the rider plummets, accelerating into a massive vertical free fall drop and then up into a transparent looping slide! The slide is gut wrenching, heart-pounding and gravity-defying and takes riders to speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour!


Rider Requirements:

• Guests must be 120 cm tall to ride AquaLoop.
• Guests must be a minimum of 40 kgs and a maximum of 130 kgs to ride AquaLoop.
• Guests with recent surgury, illness, limb injuries, prosthetics, heart disorders, seizures or epilepsy, neck or back conditions are not permitted to ride.
• Due to the nature of this attraction, expectant mothers are not permitted to ride.
• No t-shirts, rash vests, loose clothing, eyewear, footwear, hats, large jewellery, watches, loose items or sharp objects.

Press Release Link | Image Link

Wet'n'Wild Sydney announced

Wet'n'Wild Sydney will be a water park to be located in Prospect, New South Wales, Australia. The park was announced on 11 September 2010. It will be the fourth Wet'n'Wild water park to be owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks who own a Wet'n'Wild water park on the Gold Coast, as well as two in the United States: Hawaii and Phoenix.

On Saturday, 11 September, 2010, Wet'n'Wild Sydney was announced. New South Wales Premier, Kristina Keneally, joined Village Roadshow Theme Parks' Chief Executive Officer, Tim Fisher, to announce the project. The proposal is for a 25-hectare (62-acre) water park in Prospect, New South Wales. Set to be one of the top ten water parks in the world, Wet'n'Wild Sydney will play host to a variety of attractions including:

• Boomerang Bay - a surf wave pool
• Two lazy river attractions:
  
  • First featuring a standard river in addition to a river rapids loop
  • Second described as an extreme river
• WhiteWater West dueling master blaster tube slides
• Shark Lagoon - teen activity pool
• WhiteWater West Whizzard six-lane mat ride
• Two spa locations:
  
  • A hot spa pool
  • Starfish spa pad
• WhiteWater West Family Boomerango
• WhiteWater West Family Python slide
• WhiteWater West Giant AquaPlay structure
• Platypus toddlers pool
• Two beach volleyball courts
• Pretzel - two WhiteWater West AquaLoops
• Six inner tube slides with WhiteWater West Super Bowl
• Single high speed body slide
• Family raft ride
• WhiteWater West Abyss Master Blaster

At a cost of AU$80 million, Wet'n'Wild Sydney is set to deliver numerous economic benefits. During the construction and operation of the water park, more than 300 jobs will be created. Due to the expectation that Wet'n'Wild Sydney will be host to almost a million visitors in the first eight month season, the Western Sydney economy will benefit. It is estimated that a contribution of over AU$500 million in turnover within the first ten years of operation as well as over AU$320 million added during construction and the first ten years of operation will be injected into the Western Sydney economy.

Press Release Link | Image Link | Information adapted from my contributions to Wikipedia.

Disney California Adventure Park Expansion Continues with Goofy’s Sky School and Cars Land

Exciting changes continue at Disney California Adventure park. In June, “World of Color” began making a nighttime splash at the park and Silly Symphony Swings began offering a musical ride in Paradise Pier.

As you might already know, Goofy’s Sky School will add even more fun to Paradise Pier in 2011. The attraction is inspired by the 1940 cartoon short, “Goofy’s Glider.” It’s a flying academy that follows Goofy’s attempts to teach a group of novice pilots how to fly.

While you might have heard about the attraction, I know there’s one thing I know you haven’t seen … and that’s Goofy dreaming about the new attraction that’s being created in his honor. Take a look at this video and let us know what you think in the comments.

In order for Mickey and Goofy to get ready for this transformation, Mulholland Madness will close October 12, and the last time guests can go for a spin on Disney’s version of Mulholland Drive is October 11. For those who want to get a final scream on Maliboomer, you better hurry. Guests will blast off for the final time September 6, as the attraction will be closed on September 7.

We’ve also shared news here on the Blog about the 12-acre Cars Land expansion due in 2012. You might be interested in knowing that the last day to experience Bountiful Valley Farms will be September 7 as it will close September 8 to help pave the way for Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree.

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Toy Story Playland Unveiled at Disneyland Paris

Today (August 17th) is a big day at Disneyland Paris, where we welcomed our latest addition to Walt Disney Studios Park – Toy Story Playland.

Thanks to the creative minds of Pixar Studios and our Disney Imagineers, Guests of all ages can now feel what it’s like to be shrunk to the size of a toy and to become literally part of the Toy Story universe in Andy’s backyard.

Once again these new attractions prove our capacity to reinvent ourselves and to create new experiences for all our guests. They should be thrilled by the great attention to detail that makes Toy Story Playland a truly larger than life experience.

Guests venturing through the over-sized landscaping of Andy’s yard discover three play areas, each featuring an exclusive attraction. With Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop, Guests are invited to join Andy’s Little Green Army Men in a simulated fall from the sky. Guests of all ages can climb aboard Slinky Dog on Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin as our four legged friend chases his tail. And in Andy’s most dare-deviling set up, RC Racer will give a feel for what it’s like to zoom along a Hot Wheels half-pipe track.

Introduced as part of our year-long Disney new generation festival, Toy Story Playland expands the park’s Toon Studio, where guests can already enjoy attractions inspired by Disney-Pixar blockbusters Finding Nemo and Cars.

All the Disneyland Paris Cast and myself are particularly proud of this development and hope that it will bring much magic to our guests for years to come.

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Disney's California Adventure announces ElecTRONica

As they say in the digital world of TRON, “Greetings, Programs!” Today, we’re sharing concept art that gives you a first look at the new party we’re calling ElecTRONica. I’m told it’s the greatest nighttime dance party to ever rock Disney California Adventure park.

Beginning October 8, the interactive, digital world of “TRON: Legacy” will light up Hollywood Pictures Backlot as we gear up for the film’s release on December 17. This will be a cool opportunity to peek inside the world of this movie, and it’s available only to visitors of Disney California Adventure park.

It’s an “electrifying” experience for the entire family, filled with music, lights and some of your favorite food and beverage, all set amidst the captivating world of “TRON: Legacy!” From a dazzling dance club under the stars to an authentic recreation of Flynn’s Arcade to some radical gaming, it’s like nowhere else on the grid! Each night, we’ll feature live entertainers, complete with lasers, glow accessories and the hottest music ever to rock the grid. ElecTRONica is “the” place to dance the night away in a fantastic world that only Disney can create. Highlights for the entire family will definitely be Flynn’s Video Arcade, face painting and the TRON: Evolution video game area.

ElecTRONica will transform Disney California Adventure park Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays this Fall. TRON fans and families can also enjoy the party seven days a week during Thanksgiving week and Christmas week.

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WindSeekers for Cedar Fair

WindSeekers will open at four Cedar Fair parks in 2011 including Canada's Wonderland, Cedar Point, Kings Island and Knott's Berry Farm.

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WindSeeker will be designed and manufactured by Mondial, a company based in the Netherlands that has been creating thrill rides for the amusement park industry since 1987. Mondial is known for their innovative and unique rides and maintains the highest standards in regards to quality and safety.

WindSeeker will feature 32, 2-person gondolas that will ascend to a height of 301 feet. Once it has reached the top of the tower, WindSeeker will spread it’s metal arms swinging riders for a 60 second flight at a 45 degree angle at a speed of 8 rotations per minute.

“Due to the long airtime, riders will experience a spectacular sense of weightlessness. This, combined with the fact that riders legs will be unrestrained, will create a sense of exhilaration which will enhance the feeling of free flight,” said Knott’s General Manager, Marty Keithley.

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Shrek 4D Adventure closes

Shrek 4D Adventure™ in the Roxy Theatre will be closed permanently from 29 August to make way for an exciting new 4D experience.

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Take a journey to the next dimension in the Roxy Theatre with Warner Bros. Movie World's brilliant DreamWorks® Shrek 4D Adventure™, the attraction that puts you in the action with hair-raising, eye-popping and butt-busting effects so real, your senses will be on ogretime! It's a full sensory OGRE-LOAD!

Donning specially-created "OgreVision" glasses, guests are transported into a state of the art 3D film that, along with surprising sensory elements, propels them into the ultimate 'Shrek 4D' experience.

The experience becomes even more immersive with the creation of uniquely designed 'Shrek®' seats, each equipped with seven different special effects that repeat numerous times in tandem with the 3D animation, including vertical drops and horizontal motions!

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Preliminary Findings on Battlestar Galactica Roller Coaster

Preliminary findings on Universal Studios Singapore's Battlestar Galactica (BSG) ride were presented to the Public Entertainments Licensing Unit (PELU) today, detailing investigative testing progress so far, as well as potential solutions to correct defects that were found on the ride during its daily safety-check run cycles on 25 March 2010.

On 18 March 2010, Universal Studios Singapore opened in a standard industry ‘soft-open status’, which means that the rides, shows and other operational aspects of the park are subject to being modified and improved as needed, in order to accommodate actual guest operating conditions and improve the overall experience of the park's visitors.

As standard procedure, all rides at Universal Studios Singapore undergo mandatory daily safety checks during the period when the park is closed to the public. On 25 March 2010, during its morning test cycle, BSG experienced a component failure of a ride seat post support that resulted in the detachment of a seat assembly. No one was on the ride and no one was injured. The ride was immediately shut down for investigative inspection and testing. The closing of the ride was also immediately reported to PELU.

BSG has been closed to the public since 25 March 2010 and has undergone extensive inspection, testing and review by its manufacturer, Vekoma Rides – one of the world’s oldest and largest roller coaster manufacturers – as well as external third-party ride experts, Resorts World Sentosa engineers and Universal Parks & Resorts theme park ride experts.

After months of cycling the ride with load-test and strain measurement equipment, Vekoma Rides has concluded that higher than anticipated stress and vibration levels caused fatigue cracks to develop in a welded component on the ride’s seat-post support. Vekoma Rides and Universal Studios Singapore have agreed that a new machined seat-post component will replace the original welded component (eliminating the weld entirely) and that additional strength-reinforcement parts will also be added.

BSG consists of two individual roller coasters running on parallel 'cross-twisted' tracks with the 'Human' coaster designed as a seated ride car and the 'Cylon' coaster, a suspended ride car. While the fault was found only on the 'Human' coaster, extensive inspection and testing of the 'Cylon' coaster indicated that additional machined and strength-reinforcement parts will also be added for maximum safety. It is not uncommon for theme parks to conduct some re-engineering on new rides to address mechanical issues that may not have been completely anticipated by the original computer-generated designs for the ride.

The re-opening of BSG will be a lengthy process that will begin only after a final engineering solution has been manufactured and installed. Such a solution will have to be validated by an extensive ride cycle testing and inspection, which commences in September, followed by a re-certification by the appropriate local agencies. Only then will Universal Studios Singapore be able to reopen BSG for the enjoyment of guests.
Employee and guest safety is our top priority and will not be compromised. At this time, any dates as to when BSG will reopen would be purely speculative.

Universal Studios Singapore is dedicated, along with the Vekoma Rides project team and the team of RWS, Universal Parks & Resorts and external experts assisting the Vekoma Rides project team, to seeing BSG through to a successful conclusion that has guest and employee safety as its highest priority.

Universal Studios Singapore regrets the inconvenience to its guests that the lengthy BSG closure has caused and seeks their continued patience and understanding as this situation is resolved.

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Wet’n’Wild Announces Three New Attractions for September

In September 2010 Wet’n’Wild Water World will open three exciting new attractions.

AquaLoop!
Not one, Not two… but FOUR new transparent slides will open in time for the school holidays. Fall through the trap door and plummet into a massive vertical free fall and then up into a transparent looping slide! Gut wrenching, heart-pounding and gravity-defying, don’t miss AquaLoop.

Carve up the endless waves!*
Ride the endless waves at Wet’n’Wild as you rush down the man-made torrent of water on a specially designed surfboard. See how long you can survive the deluge!

Fly through the air!*
Speed across 200 metres of extreme Zip Line high above Wet’n’Wild from the top of White Water Mountain to Wave Pool.

* These attractions are pay as you play.

Press Release Link | Image Link

Dreamworld's Tower Relaunch to Ignite All New Sense of Terror

After almost 14 years of thrills and more than eight million panicked passengers, one of Australia’s most iconic scream machines, Dreamworld’s Tower of Terror, will shut its doors on August 18, 2010 re-launching four weeks later with a terrifying twist. If you thought the traditional Tower of Terror filled you with fear then get ready for the flip side of the ride and the mother of all modifications. In time for the September school holidays, 2010, the all new Tower of Terror II - face gravity, face first, will reopen: reloaded and …. reversed.

Unlike the original, adrenalin junkies will be harnessed into the deepest depths of the Tower’s lair, facing nothing but a dark void. An eerie silence lasts for just milliseconds before the car blasts backwards rocketing guests out of a 206m tunnel at rapid speed. Hitting up to 161 km/h in seven seconds flat, riders soar 100m into the atmosphere dangling for several seconds of stomach-churning weightlessness at its peak before plummeting back to earth…only this time it’s face first. Hold on tight and brace for collision because the ultra narrow tunnel appears impossibly small for re-entry.

Dreamworld CEO Noel Dempsey says, “The Tower of Terror has been a rite of passage for almost every Australian teenager and the re-launched ride will build on that terror factor. It incorporates three major fears: high speeds, falling from great heights and dark confined spaces. Instead of facing the sky, all you see is the ground, first disappearing fast and then rapidly approaching as you plummet towards the tunnel,” Mr Dempsey continued.

The last chance for guests to ride the original Tower of Terror will be Wednesday 18 August and the re-launched ride opens this September school holidays.

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