Tag: Theme Park Travel

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Disney's 'D23 Expo' Dishes the Dirt on New Rides, Attractions, and More

August 24, 2011 at 10:49 AM | by | Comments (0)

You might not be hardcore Disney enough to have attended this year’s D23 Expo, but we’re sure that you are probably interested about what it means for the theme parks. The ultimate disney fan event—their words, not ours—took place last weekend, and it produced some pretty decent news on the update front.

Down in Florida at Walt Disney World, upgrades are still on schedule for the Magic Kingdom. Over in Fantasyland, theme park officials are working on a new Beauty and the Beast section that will focus on meeting and greeting some of your favorite characters from the film. If you’ve outgrown character autographs—we understand—just make your way over to Ariel's Undersea Adventure, an attraction copying the blueprints from a similar ride out in California.

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Get Psyched for Game Nation, The World's First Video Game Theme Park

August 22, 2011 at 1:10 PM | by | Comments (0)

Theme park season might be winding down for the year, but that doesn’t mean that the behind-the-scenes work will be slowing down anytime soon. Game Nation officials have plenty of work ahead of them during this offseason, as the world’s first video game theme park works to get off the drawing board and into construction mode.

Developers are calling Game Nation the world’s first Experiential Video Game Theme Park and Resort. To us this means that things are way more than just an arcade, and that we can expect some serious rides, attractions, and experiences. They’ve got a basic idea of what they want to do, and they’ve even named the different areas of the soon-to-be park.

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Legoland Florida Puts the Pieces Together for an Opening Date of October 15

June 30, 2011 at 8:42 AM | by | Comments (0)

Get your little plastic pieces ready, as it's finally almost time to hit new world's newest Legoland just outside of Orlando. It's not just any old land dedicated to Legos either, as this place is going to be the biggest—as in 150 acres—Legoland in the world. As you might remember the place was kind of Cypress Gardens for many many years, but on October 15 it will be officially transformed into a shrine of all things Lego.

It's park number five around the world for the Lego empire, as there's already a park in California along with options in Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In total there's going to be around 50 new rides, shows, and attractions, so there will be more to see than just crazy-nuts Lego creations. Although, we're pretty sure there's going to plenty of those too.

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Three Last-Minute Travel Deals for Celebrating Memorial Day Weekend

May 24, 2011 at 1:53 PM | by | Comments (0)

Memorial Day weekend is only days away. If you aren't sure how to mark the start of summer, consider staying stateside. There are plenty of places where you can enjoy the patriotic three-day weekend whether you want to spend it cruising, vegging on the beach or hitting the rides at a theme park.

Check out three last-minute Memorial Day vacays in the U.S. of A.

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Last One on the Boeing 747's Waterslide is a Rotten Egg!

April 12, 2011 at 9:17 AM | by | Comments (0)

The summer vacation season is right around the corner, and that means a trip to the local water park is in order for many families around the country. However, this year we’re suggesting a little bit of a road trip to hit up one of the most unique water worlds, and best of all, it’s educational too!

Evergreen Wings and Waves Waterpark is attempting to live up to its promise as the country’s only aviation-themed water park when it opens up this summer. There’s ten different waterslides planned for the park, along with a wave pool that holds just shy of 100,000 gallons. It’s located right next to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon—not too far from Portland—so we’re totally jealous of any kids that are lucky enough to visit on a field trip.

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June 3 is the Most Important Day at Disneyland This Year

March 3, 2011 at 3:49 PM | by | Comments (0)

We’ve mentioned all the bulldozers at Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure on and off for quite some time, and it looks like Mickey is still busy in his construction worker outfit as the warmer weather approaches.

The two parks are already getting ready for the influx of locals and tourists, and this year visitors are going to have quite the summer. Projects to revamp the park across from Disneyland have been ongoing, but this summer another big milestone arrives. The front entrance of the park will be changing—so get ready to enter in some kind of weird maze way—but once you’re inside get ready for a whole new ride.

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Legoland Goes to the Dark Side with New Star Wars Miniland

Where: 1 Legoland Drive [map], Carlsbad, CA, United States, 92008
January 17, 2011 at 12:18 PM | by | Comments (0)

Star Wars fans, you'll want to pack your lightsabers and head to Legoland in Carlsbad, California. The theme park will open a new Star Wars Miniland area on its grounds on March 31.

You will be able to see seven famous scenes from the Star Wars saga and one from the animated TV show Star Wars: The Clone Wars made entirely of the colorful plastic building blocks. Plus, you can come dressed in your Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia costume and pose for pics with life-size Lego replicas of Chewbacca, Darth Vader and R2-D2.

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Disney's California Adventure Loses Its Letters in Preparation for an Influx of New Fun Stuff

January 7, 2011 at 11:55 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you always wanted to take a tacky tourist photo—we have one, we’ll admit it—in front of the oversize letters that spell out “California” at Disney’s California Adventure it’s unfortunately too late. As part of the park’s major rehaul—they’re finally making it worth the price of admission—the letters are in the process of being sent backstage this week.

We’re a little sad as we always thought the letters were kind of fun, especially when the Disney folks dressed them up as candy canes for Christmas and as candy corns for Halloween.

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A New Sydney, Australia Water Park Will Be One of World's Largest

September 17, 2010 at 9:09 AM | by | Comments (0)

Sydney already has plenty of sun and sand, but apparently there’s a need for some fun in the water outside of the area’s famous beaches. As a result, Wet ‘N Wild is spending $80 million to bring slides, tubes, and wave pools to the citizens of New South Wales. This isn’t going to just be some minor attraction either, as they’re promising that this place is going to be one of the top 10 largest water parks in the world.

The park will be located on the western side of the city, and will sit on about 60 acres of land. Builders have signed a 50-year lease for the land, so they’re really committed on this thing being a hit. Let’s just hope that if they build it, they will come.

Unfortunately, things are still a ways off before we’ll be plopping ourselves in the lazy river. The new park probably won’t be ready until the summer of 2013-2014. The place will probably be a hit with the locals, but if we head down under, we’ll probably be skipping the water slides.

[Photo of another down under water park: Jon... In 3D]

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Disney to Add Private Safaris for its Animal Kingdom Park

July 21, 2010 at 1:46 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you’ve ever visited the zoo, and wished that you could get a little more up close and personal with the critters you’re in luck. Disney is planning to offer a more personalized experience at their Animal Kingdom theme park, so maybe this will stop crazy people from jumping into the animal enclosures.

The details are sketchy at this point, but the people behind the Mickey-magic are figuring out how to work in private safaris into the theme park. There will be guided hikes through some of the areas seen during the Kilimanjaro Safaris Expedition, and we’ll assume that involves staying a safe distance from the lions.

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Why Overweight Riders are Unwelcome on Roller Coasters at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Where: Universal Studios [map], Orlando, FL, United States
June 25, 2010 at 10:15 AM | by | Comment (1)


The Flight of the Hippogriff ride is okay for overweight riders

Airlines aren't the only ones having issues with the increasingly overweight percentage of the American public; theme parks are just as mired in the mucky area of how to treat those who simply don't fit. The most recent hubbub centers on the three rides at the newly opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and how random pre-screenings of larger riders are occurring, with some weighing over 250 being turned away from the rides.

Better roller coaster technology has made tracks not so rickety and dangerous, but it has also made tighter and faster maneuvers possible, which can be dangerous for those riders who have health conditions, and being obese is a recognized health condition. Screening overweight passengers and denying ride access to those who do not fit into the seats or appear to be at risk of trying the safety of the ride has been a norm at theme parks for years. And like it or not, this is a good thing. If you think the embarrassment of being turned away from a ride for being overweight is bad, then imagine if you were responsible for breaking the ride or—horror of horrors—falling out of it.

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Legoland Makes a Splash with Its First Water Park

Where: 1 Legoland Drive [map], Carlsbad, CA, United States, 92008
June 2, 2010 at 9:14 AM | by | Comments (0)

To kick off summer, Legoland did it up right, by opening the world's first Lego-themed water park. Legoland California is home to the new water playground, so you can cool off after tinkering with plastic pieces in the main park.

Since Legoland is a kiddie-centric destination, the 5.5-acre water park caters to the short set. While there are eight attractions in the park, the most distinctive element is a 45-foot-tall tower that looks constructed with building blocks. The park's four biggest slides originate from the tower.

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