Season Preview
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Season Preview 2011
Part 1 North America After a tricky few years, with minimal new attractions and as many parks closing as opening, a steadily improving economy means the 2011 season promises to be one of the best in years for park-goers in North America. There are new parks, new rides, and plenty of thrills. Paul Ruben reveals what's planned
Legoland Florida
NEW PARKS Perhaps the most anticipated new opening of 2011, Legoland Florida debuts in October on the former site of Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, following a multi-million dollar transformation by Merlin Entertainments. This, the fifth Legoland worldwide and the second North America, will be a 150-acre interactive theme park dedicated to families with children between the ages of 2 and 12. It will feature more than 50 rides, shows and attractions.
Legoland Florida
But before that, visitors to the Grapevine Mills Mall in Texas will be able to get a bite-sized Lego experience at the new Legoland Discovery Center, which opens on March 30. Here key attractions will include a 4D cinema, a dark ride by 3DBA, ETF, Alterface and P&P Projects plus a Zamperla interactive bike ride. In July, a Sea Life aquarium will open at the same venue as part of Merlin’s ongoing US expansion. Phase two of Luna Park at Coney Island, New York, will open this spring with two new coasters and raft of other high-octane rides from Zamperla, complementing the family-focused selection installed last year. The park’s Scream Zone will include, for example, the Soaring Eagle (Volare) prone-riding coaster, Steeplechase launch coaster, as well as a 300ft Slingshot from Funtime.
There’s a new park for families to enjoy in Illinois. AZoosment Park at Santa's Village opens in spring 2011 on the site of Santa’s Village in East Dundee, which closed its gates after a 47-year-run in 2006. The new, smaller park, which operated for a few weeks in 2010, includes some of the original Santa's Village rides, plus animal exhibits and other attractions, including classic rides that once operated at another defunct Chicago- area park, Kiddieland.
Scream Zone at Coney Island
NEW COASTERS New coasters abound across the US, including at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California, which aims to reclaim its crown as “coaster capital of the world” with the opening of Green Lantern and two refurbished rides. The first vertical track spinning coaster of its kind in North America, Green Lantern is a ZacSpin ride by Intamin, which also supplied the park’s popular Superman The Escape. The latter will reopen as Superman: Escape from Krypton featuring the same L-shaped track and 100-mph-in-seven-seconds launch, combined with new reversing vehicles. A Vekoma junior coaster that formerly operated as Road Runner Express at the defunct Six Flags New Orleans will open as well, taking Magic Mountain’s coaster count to 18. At Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Florida, Cheetah Hunt will be an LSM launch coaster from Intamin subsidiary IntaRide. The ride will launch passengers from 0 to 60mph in a matter of seconds – not once, but three times – and is one of several new additions to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment properties across the country (see panel, page 31). Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, New Jersey, will introduce its own Green Lantern ride, a stand-up coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard that formerly operated as Chang at the now defunct Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. A Maurer Söhne Wild Mouse is being repatriated from the same park to Six Flags New England, Agawam, Massachusetts, where it will become the park’s 10th coaster. Residing in the DC Super Hero Adventures section of the park, it will carry the rather clumsy name of The Gotham City Gauntlet Escape from Arkham Asylum, or Gauntlet for short.
26 MARCH 2011
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