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Tag: Theme Park

  • Six Flags Fight Leaves Teen In Coma

    A fight that occurred on Saturday night at Six Flags America during the first weekend of Halloween Fright Fest has left a 15-year-old boy in a medically induced coma.

    According to witnesses, the night was full of fights, but visitors started calling police at approximately 8:50 p.m. when a large brawl broke out amongst a group of teenage boys. Despite the other fights, authorities are continuing to call the altercation an “isolated incident.”

    “It was panic, mayhem, chaos,” Katrina Walker, a mother who dropped her son and two of his friends off at the Prince George’s County theme park, said. “Everyone was fearful . . . parents were very scared because we had no idea if our children were hurt or if they got in the middle of something.”

    According to Fox News, Six Flags denied the incident at first, and then changed their stance the next day. “Reports of mass fighting or serious injuries are completely inaccurate. The safety of our guests is of top priority,” the park said initially. “This park has a zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior. We will not allow any individuals or groups to disrupt the typical atmosphere of fun and enjoyment found here,” they later said in a statement on Sunday.

    A 15-year-old DuVal High School student was taken to the hospital and was supposed to undergo surgery on Monday to relieve the swelling from his brain from being hit in the head. However, the surgery was cancelled when the swelling stabilized. The boy is expected to recover.

    “His life is lying in the balance as a result of someone randomly hitting him,” Zina Pierre, a family friend, said. “He was hit blindly by the perpetrators and he was staggering, trying to get up, and some else came along to finish the deed.”

    Authorities are still investigating the incident and are trying to determine if the fights were planned ahead of time.

  • Legoland Closes After Threats To Muslim Family Day

    Legoland Closes After Threats To Muslim Family Day

    The Legoland park in Windsor, England shut its doors to visitors after receiving threats from far-right extremists.

    The park was scheduled to host a private event for the MRDF last weekend (Muslim Research and Development Foundation), and they have sold about 4,000 tickets for the event. When the information became public, threats started flooding the park’s Facebook page, voicemails, and email accounts. Legoland was forced to pull down their Facebook page, as there were plenty of abusive posts.

    The park decided to close the 150-acre park and the 150-room hotel for the weekend as a safety measure. In a public statement, the park said their apologies and offered a full refund for families who were affected by the incident. Some people have also received £10 vouchers.

    Families who were scheduled to visit the park were extremely disappointed about the cancellation. Legoland says that they understand the disappointment, but the safety of the visitors and employees must always come first. According to the MRDF, the event that they were supposed to hold in the park was open to all faiths, and the threats that came flooding on Facebook were an obvious attack on Muslims and Islamic people residing in the UK.

    The Thames Valley Police said that they are still investigating the connection of the threats with the event that was supposedly going to take place in the park. There are no further comments, as the investigation is ongoing.

    Last November, the Muslim group also held an event at Legoland’s sister park, the Chessington World of Adventures. The event pushed through without complains and threats, so the company is wondering what made it different this time around.

    The park’s cancellation last Sunday was the first time it happened since Legoland opened in 1996. It will reopen for the season on March 14.

    Take a tour of Legoland Windsor

    Image via YouTube

  • Disney World Raises Ticket Prices In 2014

    Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida has once again increased its admission price, bringing the cost to $99. The $4 price hike is the second in less than a year. The first price increase was made in June 2013 when the rate went up to $95 for a day pass – a $6 increase.

    Disney also says that the price hike will affect other Disney World parks including Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot. They are projecting a $4 increase, which will bring the single-day admission prices for the said parks up to $94.

    Customary price increases typically happens in the early weeks of June, just as the school year is about to end. According to analysts, this year’s February price increase is reported to be based on different reasons. One of them is the big success of Frozen, which was released November last year. Another reason is reservations from East Coast residents who have been making reservations to take a break from the snow.

    Robert Niles, an industry observer from Theme Park Insider, says that the unusual timing of Disney’s price hike looks as if the park’s management is daring Universal to raise their park admission to more than $100. Universal will be opening another Harry Potter-themed attraction, Diagon Alley, in their Florida park this year.

    http://youtu.be/7AJ2cUjNYs0

    Moreover, several attractions will be opening its doors to the public this year. Among them are Sea Quest’s interactive aquarium, a new Madame Tussauds museum, and the Orlando Eye Ferris wheel. These attractions are sure to increase traffic in Orlando, eliminating a slump in attendance and increasing revenue for the park.

    Kim Prunty, Walt Disney World’s spokesperson, said in a statement that the price increase is reflected in the quality and experiences they offer visitors in the park. She also says that visitors get a variety of ticket options that will allow them to get additional savings.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Hunger Games Theme Park Could Be A Possibility

    The Hunger Games has certainly made its mark as one of the most popular young adult book series to be turned into films, and now it appears that the idea of at a Hunger Games theme park may be on the rise.

    With the anticipation of the new film rising, the notion of a theme park should help people get even more excited. The popular series is sure to have one of the most successful sequels, and fans everywhere are likely already getting ready for the upcoming film.

    The Hunger Games had an incredible amount of success, and the buzz around the sequel continues to grow, prompting the studio to want even more. Jon Feltheimer, the CEO of Lionsgate said in a statement to analysts on Friday, “We have been approached in two different territories about potential theme park opportunities, which gives you a sense of the cultural impact of this franchise.”

    The cast is currently working on the promotion of the new film, and Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth will all leave the set of the upcoming films to promote Catching Fire in Europe. Catching Fire is a big production, costing over $130 million to make, under the direction of Francis Lawrence. The films are based on the young adult series by Suzanne Collins.

    Feltheimer did not give too many details about the potential Hunger Games them park, but he did say that they are excited about the ideas, and will be actively pursuing them. A them park built around the dystopian settings and characters in the series would look to replicate the success that has been enjoyed by The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which is featured at Universal Studios Orlando, and of course centers around the world of Harry Potter.

    As E Online mentions, rather than focusing on the magic of Harry Potter, the Hunger Games theme park would likely give fans the opportunity to meet actors dressed as some of their favorite colorful characters, learn some archery like Katniss did, and possibly even learn how to help lead a rebellion against the tyrannical President Snow.

    Would you want to go to a Hunger Games theme park? What should it include? Discuss here.

    It could also be set up with the 12 different districts and let people tour the area, with the districts being set up the way they are in the books. Of course, these are all speculations, and what will come of the Hunger Games theme park is completely left up to the imaginations of the fans of the books for now. In the meantime, keep an eye out for Catching Fire on November 22.

    Image via Youtube

  • Florida Roller Coaster Leaves 12 People Stranded

    On Wednesday at around 7p.m. EST, 12 people were left stranded on a roller coaster for nearly 3 harrowing hours. The incident happened on The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (Florida’s tallest roller coaster) at Universal Studios in Florida. The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit has a total height of 167 feet, a length of 3,800 feet, and a top speed of 65 miles per hour.

    According to Tom Schroder, Universal Orlando spokesman, the coaster’s computer went into safety mode due to a glitch. The glitch caused the ride to come to an abrupt stop, leaving its passengers stuck. Several of the cars on the ride were stuck, but all the passengers were quickly rescued except for one car, which was left suspended in a vertical position at the top of the 17 story high coaster.

    “The safety system did exactly what it’s supposed to do,” Schroder said. “The reason the rescue took so long is because park officials wanted to take their time and do it safely…we spent a lot of that time talking to them and trying to make them as comfortable as we could.”

    When the Orlando Fire Department arrived on the scene, the disabled coaster car was moved to a horizontal position. As an added safety measure, each passenger was placed in a harness before being released from the coaster. At around 9:45 p.m., they were taken down to ground level in an elevator.

    Fortunately nobody was injured, though one woman on the ride was taken to the local hospital for “mental exhaustion”.

    This wasn’t the first malfunction for the coaster. On August 1st, the coaster came to another abrupt stop. A passenger on the ride sustained minor injuries which led the park to shut down the ride for two days .

    “We’re not going to reopen the ride until we know what happened, and we’re sure it won’t happen again,” said Tom Schroder.

    The ride reopened on Thursday.

     

    (photo via Twitter)

  • Black Sabbath Featured In A California Theme Park

    Black Sabbath was recently featured in an attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. Ozzy Osbourne, as he is known for his horrific and disturbing antics, has finally got himself featured in a Halloween themed exhibit at Universal Studios. The attraction is based on the band’s newly released album titled “13,” which was released in June. This marks the 19th album released by the band.

    Black Sabbath released their self-titled debut album in 1970 and gained a large amount of popularity in the 70’s and 80’s, becoming one of the historic bands of the genre, with hit songs such as “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.” Ozzy has always been known for his theatrical and shocking antics, and I think we all remember, or at least remember hearing about that time when he bit a bat on stage, right? While on a behind the scenes tour of the attraction, he spotted a bloody mannequin corpse and promptly decided to lean down and act like he was drinking the blood from the decapitated body with his tongue, according to San Jose Mercury News.

    This marks the first time for Osbourne and Sabbath’s songs to be turned into a maze. It comes at a time when organizers of Halloween attractions turned to new theatrical and technological innovations in the hopes of diminishing their competition. Ozzy is very excited about the exhibit and said “It adds another dimension to what we do, which is incredible because we’ve been doing it for 45 years.” The band also is preparing to release a live DVD of concert material that was recorded earlier this year in Melburne, Australia. The trailer for the film was just released and it will be titled Gathered In The Masses, due for a November release.

    This marks the first time since Halloween Horror Nights, the horror themed part of the park, has included video effects in a maze. In the exhibit, a room inspired by their song “Electric Funeral,” there are monitors made to look like windows, which broadcast explosive 3-D visuals in tandem with a wind machine.

    This year, Black Sabbath is also able to celebrate their first No. 1 album in America. While Ozzy has been on tour with Black Sabbath in South America, his son Jack also took the time to post a picture of his granddaughter, Pearl Osbourne, who was dressed up just like him for the Halloween season.

    Image via Youtube

  • Krusty Burger Is Now Open For Business At Universal Studios

    Krusty Burger never looked like an appetizing place to eat, but you can now see for yourself.

    Universal Studios Orlando opened the recently finished Fast Food Boulevard this past weekend. The section of the park contains faithful recreations of Krusty Burger, Moe’s Tavern, Cletus’ Chicken Shack, The Frying Dutchman, Luigi’s Pizza and Lard Lad from The Simpsons. There’s a lot to take in so here’s a video tour from the folks at Inside the Magic:

    The Fast Food Boulevard is only one part of a planned “Springfield expansion” to The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios. The area previously known as The World Expo will be converted into a life-size recreation of Springfield’s most famous locations.

    [h/t: Gizmodo]

  • Angry Birds Theme Park Opens In Finland

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    A couple months ago we reported that Rovio was teaming up with Finnish theme park Särkänniemi Adventure Park to create an Angry Birds Land inside of its current theme park. Well the time has come and the theme park is completed!

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    “The opening of Angry Birds Land in Särkänniemi is a really big deal for us”, said park boss Miikka Seppälä. “The theme and design of Angry Birds is internationally renowned, so we are delighted to welcome visitors from around the globe to experience the product for themselves. The area is definitely a must see destination for millions of Angry Birds players, but also a great experience for those who are not yet familiar with the game.”

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    Apparently there is also an area that is not yet done called the “Magic Place,” where guests can somehow upgrade their mobile Angry Birds games.

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    To see how this park is laid out and what the feel would be cool. It could be very Finlad-Centric and weird to Americans, but I don’t want to necessarily comment on a place i’ve neve been.

    It only costs 35 Euros for adults and 29 Euros for children over 4 years old, with discounts available for pre-ordered tickets.