Lake Compounce Under New Ownership

Parques Reunidos, based out of Madrid, Spain, has acquired Lake Compounce Amusement Park in Bristol, CT from Kennywood Entertainment. Kennywood purchased the park in 1996 during a time of financial and legal trouble for Lake Compounce. Over the last ten years, Kennywood has invested millions throughout the park. The addition of new water slides, a world class wooden roller coaster, and creating a family friendly environment has transformed Lake Compounce into an extremely successful park in the 21st century. Parques Reunidos also acquired four other parks that were under the ownership of Kennywood Entertainment. A press release from Kennywood emphasized that little will change for both employees and customers at the park. Lake Compounce opened in 1846 and has gone through many different owners since then.

New Ride to Make a Splash at Dollywood

Following up on the successful new "Mystery Mine" roller coaster, Dollywood will open a new water ride for the 2008 season. "River Battle" will be a themed raft ride in which the passengers will be able to interact with the ride by shooting at over 100 targets. These targets will display a variety of special effects, creating a unique experience for every passenger. Passengers will also be able to take aim at other ride-goers and observers. Dollywood hopes to have the $5 million project finished by next Spring.

Coaster Season In Full Swing!

Memorial Day is just around the corner, which means amusement park season has finally arrived! A lot of additions have been made to parks across the country. Here is my list of the top 3 most anticipated roller coasters of 2007.

3. Maverick- Cedar Point
Originally this coaster was supposed to showcase a "Heartline Roll" however, a troubvle ridden installation forced the park to replace it with a fairly generic ""S-Curve." But don't let that put you off, the coaster is still shaping out to be a great ride.

2. Renegade- Valley Fair
Expectations are high, but as always, Great Coasters International should deliver with this wooden coaster. Although it isn't the fastest wooden coaster, it's variety of turns, twists, and drops should excite coaster enthusiasts everywhere.

1. Griffin- Busch Gardens Europe
Busch Gardens Europe already had 4 of the counties top coasters, but I'm sure enthusiasts won't mind the addition of the world's first "Floorless Diving Coaster." The coaster will drop 90 degrees at 71 MPH. Expect Busch Gardens' world-class theming to add to the experience when the ride opens later this month.

Hard Rock Park Making Progress

Work on the Hard Rock Theme Park (located in Myrtle Beach, SC) is moving along at a rapid pace. Rumors of a Hard Rock amusement park had been circulating around the Internet for years before the official announcement was made in March of 2006. The park will have heavy Rock and Roll theming, similar to that of a Hard Rock Cafe. There will be six distinct areas of the park including, British Invasion, Lost in the 70's, and more. The park should feature roller coasters, dark rides, shows, and more. The park is set to open in 2008, however if you cannot wait, the park is giving tours through the end of 2007.

Take a Journey To Atlantis, This May

This May, SeaWorld San Antonio will unveil their newest ride, "Journey to Atlantis." The ride is a hybrid of a water ride an a roller coaster. Passengers will ride in boats that spin along a track that reaches heights of 100 feet. The ride will consist of several drops, including a final plunge into a lake. This 3 1/2 minute ride is the first of it's kind in America. The ride will also feature geysers and other water elements that interact with the passengers. This is SeaWorld San Antonio's sixth major ride.

Progress Being Made On Knott's Berry Farm's New Coaster

Sierra Sidewinder appears to be on pace for a Spring Opening at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. Sierra Sidewinder will be a spinning coaster produced by Mack Rides. This coaster will be the first spinning coaster that Mack is producing in outside of Europe. The coaster should spin through over 1400 feet of track while reaching speeds of up to 37 miles per hour. In a press release, the parks GM, Marty Keithley, announced that the ride "will give kids as well as adults a ride like they have never experienced before." This will be Knott's Berry Farm's eighth coaster. The parks last expansion occurred in 2004, when the inverted coaster, Silver Bullet, was opened.

Magical World Appearing at Islands of Adventure?

Islands of Adventure, located right next door to Universal Florida, is one of the most well known and acclaimed theme parks in America. However, since it's birth in 1999, there have been no major updates to the park. However, over the last few weeks, an old rumor started to gain popularity again. The rumor (which has been confirmed by several sources in the theme park industry) claims that a highly themed "Harry Potter" island will replace one of the existing islands in the park. Islands of Adventure is already known for it's incredibly well themed "islands" as well as their thrilling roller coasters, water rides, and dark rides. Although this expansion has yet to be confirmed by Universal, expect to hear much more about it over the next few years.

Six Flags Sells 7 Parks

Several months ago, Six Flags stated that they intended to sell several of their amusement parks in order to decrease debt. PARC 7F has decided to purchase Six Flags Darien Lake, Elitch Gardens, Frontier City and the White Water Bay water park, Enchanted Village, Splash Town (located in Houston, TX), and Waterworld USA (located in Concord, CA). The seven parks will be sold for a total $312 million. Six Flags also dismissed the speculation that they are planning to sell one of their flagship parks, Magic Mountain.

Tony Hawk Spins Into Six Flags Fiesta Texas

'Tony Hawk's Big Spin' was recently announced as the newest addition to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for the 2007 season. Big Spin will be a spinning coaster that holds passengers in 4 seat cars. The coaster will be themed as a skateboarding ride. It will have skateboarding elements throughout the ride. The coaster, designed by Gerstlauer, will be just over 1,300 feet long as it travels up to 52 feet from the ground. Fiesta Texas also plans to renovate it's boardwalk this winter with new plank for the boardwalk as well as a new fast food area.

Highly Themed Mystery Mine Drops into Dollywood

Next spring, Dollywood ( a park named after Dolly Parton, herself) will unleash a state of the art, highly themed coaster, Mystery Mine. Mystery Mine is a one-of-kind attraction that incorporates visual and audio effects with thrilling coaster elements such as a 95 degree drop, a first in the U.S. The coaster will reach speeds close to 50 mph and contain two inversions. The coaster will cost Dollywood $17.5 million, making it the largest off season expansion in Dollywood's history.

New Coaster Coming to Valley Fair

Next season, vistors of Valley Fair (located in Shakopee, Minnesota) will be in for a treat. The park recently announced that a new western themed wooden coaster, Renegade, will be opening in the spring. Renegade is being designed and built by Great Coaster International. The coaster will feature an original first drop that will twist the rides from right to left. The coaster will also feature several terrain-hugging turns and a fly-by over the ride's queue line. The coaster should max out at 52 mph and feature over 3,100 feet of track.

New Dive Coaster Opening At Busch Gardens Europe

Busch Gardens Europe has started construction on their fifth coaster, Griffon. Griffon, opening in Spring of 2007, will be the world's largest Dive Coaster. Dive coasters are coasters that start with a standard lift hill followed by a brief pause at the top of the hill, only to be followed by a 90 degree drop and an arsenal of other elements. Griffon will feature over 3,100 feet of track and will boast speeds reaching 71 mph. The unique trains on the coasters will be made up of three rows with ten seats per row. Busch Gardens Europe is known for their beautiful landscaping, detailed European theming, and world renowned coasters.

Cedar Point announces 17th Coaster for 2007

Cedar Point (located in Sandusky, OH) has announced their newest coaster opening next spring, "Maverick." Maverick will feature a 95 degree first drop! The ride will be over 4,400 feet long, including 2 launches, three inversions, and reaching speeds of up to 70 mph. Maverick will be Cedar Point's 17th coaster, which ties with Six Flags Magic Mountain for most coasters in a single park.

Six Flags Darien Lake Shortens Season

Six Flags announced that Darien Lake (located near Buffalo, NY) will not be opened this October. This announcement comes just a week after Darien Lake announced that the Batman Thrill Spectacular stunt show was shut down for the rest of the season. Darien Lake is one of several parks that Six Flags stated "could be up for sale." Some of the parks highlights include Superman: Ride of Steel (an Intamin hyper coaster) along with a water park and a large amphitheater that hosts concerts and events throughout the summer.

Sweet anniversary for Hershey Park

Next year Hershey Park, located in Hershey, PA, will be celebrating it's 100th anniversary with a completly new area of the park. The new area of the park is titled "The Boardwalk." The Boardwalk will be made up of waterslides, a wavepool, a childrens area, new games, new food stands, new shows, and much more. The area will be filled with truckloads of sand shipped to the park to create a more authentic beachfront location. Stay tuned, because Hershey Park should be releasing more details over the next few months.