Jaunted

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Disneyland Shanghai Coming in 2015; Get Your 'Made In China' Mickey Ears Out!

Here's to unholy matrimony: Disney announced yesterday that China has allowed them to move forward with construction of a new park in Shanghai, its first new resort since 2005's Hong Kong Disneyland and its third in Asia. You thought the fight over EuroDisney was good? Wait till you see the Chinese version of "It's A Small World."

According to the New York Times, the park has been in the works since the 1990s when a mayor of Shanghai visited Disneyland in Anaheim and could take up to 6 years to build. At 1,700 acres, the planned park, in the city's Pudong district, will be slightly bigger than Original Flavor Disneyland but resemble the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World.

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Cypress Gardens is Closed Once Again

Troubled old Florida theme park Cypress Gardens has been shuttered once again, with the owners declaring that it's no longer financially viable to keep it open. They're seeking a buyer, but it remains to be seen whether and when it might reopen, and what it might look like if it does. As the AP reports, Cypress Gardens has been closed several times over the past decade as it struggled with sagging attendance and a fierce local rival whose name rhymes with Schmisney Schmorld.

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Tags: Theme Parks / Amusement Parks / Six Flags / Theme Park Travel / Roller Coasters / Recession Travel / Recession / → All Tags

Six Flags Doing Great, Declares Bankruptcy

As we discussed back in March, the Six Flags amusement park chain has been in dire financial straits for a while, straining under more than $2 billion in debt. Efforts to restructure that debt proved fruitless, so the company is now seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As the AP points out, operations at the company's 20 parks in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico won't be affected by the filing, but one has to wonder what kind of entity will emerge on the other side.

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Six Flags on the Brink of Bankruptcy: Downgrade to Five Flags Possible

It's not just banks and homeowners that are in trouble these days. Even giant theme park operators are struggling as people curtail their leisure spending in the face of job losses and economic contractions. The latest victim is the Six Flags company, which is suffering under a staggering debt load of $2 billion and an environment in which more and more vacationers are slashing their budgets and staying close to home. The company's shares fell to a mere 16 cents on Friday, reflecting fears that the company would have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Six Flags is currently trying to restructure its debt, and is hoping that a three-year turnaround plan is able to bear fruit this season, but that remains to be seen as the U.S. remains mired in a recession.

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Scarier Than Fear Factor: Universal Orlando Makes Cutbacks

Eat this plate of fried worms, or... fail to turn a profit for the year? Universal Studios in Orlando closed or cut hours to several attractions yesterday including "Fear Factor Live," a participatory adaptation of the once-popular gross-out reality show.

A mouthpiece for Orlando said the cuts would be based on audience attendance and would be rolled out beginning this weekend, but didn't offer any other names of doomed attractions. Since Universal Studios Hollywood closed its Fear Factor Live attraction last year, there is now no way you can do dangerous stunts like the people on TV. (Woe!)

We'd never even heard of Fear Factor Live before being informed of its closing (in fact, we are still halfway convinced we have been punked). But it doesn't surprise us that often overpriced, temptation-stuffed theme parks are already hurting: Disney reported profits were down in its last quarter of 2008, and Universal Orlando just gave away some 300,000 seven-day passes in a Super Bowl giveaway designed to get visitors in so they could start buying some $7 funnel cakes again. Sea World even announced it would stop giving away free beer, which makes us sad because we never knew there was free beer to be had in the first place.

For these classic spring-break destinations, it's sink or swim, and one sinker is last year's shiny new Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach: While its website claims it's only closed for "restructuring," it's unlikely a buyer for the bankrupt park will be found in time for the 2009 season. In other words, it's gone to Rock'n'Roll Heaven.

Related Stories:
· Universal Orlando Cuts Attractions [MSNBC]
· Insufficient Rocking by Myrtle Beach Visitors Causes New Theme Park to File for Bankruptcy [Jaunted]
· A Lesson In Bad Timing [LOLFed]

[Photo: bfurlong]

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Disney Plans Gigantic New Bowling Alley, Domination of Sports Tourism Market

Sometimes it seems like Disney will never stop growing, and there's really no part of the tourism market that it won't eventually dominate. Case in point: the company is planning a 100-lane bowling center in their recently-renamed ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, the latest salvo in an effort to expand further into the growing sports tourism market.

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