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Steven Spielberg Keeps His Two Percent Of Universal Studios Ticket Sales

October 30, 2009 at 9:02 AM | by kjb | 0 Comments

We were pretty eager to see if Steven Spielberg and Mickey Mouse would actually come together to create some kind of super theme park. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen, and we’ll just have to settle for separate parks with separate rides. At the end of the summer it seemed that Spielberg might be getting out of his lucrative theme park consulting contract, but instead, he’s just extending it.

He agreed to delay a buyout option in his consulting contact with NBC Universal, which means he’ll be getting a fat paycheck until 2017. He’ll probably get to throw his two cents in when it comes to designing new attractions in Singapore and Dubai, so we might need to put those new parks on our theme park wish list. Maybe he’ll even tell Harry Potter how to do things the Spielberg way down in Florida. We kind of figured that his deal was too good to drop, especially because Disney probably wouldn’t have wanted to share that much cash with anyone.

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Copenhagen's Little Mermaid And Hans Christian Andersen Get Shipped To China

Where: Shanghai, China
October 20, 2009 at 10:31 AM | by kjb | 0 Comments

Last year there were rumors kicking around about a Disney park being built in Shanghai. At this time, there’s still no solid plans to get Mickey and friends a passport, but there are some other fictional characters looking to call China home in 2010. The stories of Hans Christian Andersen are set to come alive in a theme park that would open just in time for the 2010 Word Expo. The park will begin to welcome guests on May 11—the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Denmark.

The park certainly won’t be the biggest and best theme park, but 20 acres will be dedicated to characters from stories like the Little Mermaid and the Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s important to remember that there’s no fresh crab sidekick in Andersen’s story of a girl under the sea, so if you’re looking for Ariel, you’ll just have to wait until Disney builds their park. The ride and attraction details are lacking at this point, so we don’t know if the Ugly Duckling will be making an appearance in roller coaster form.

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2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide: Canada's Halloween Haunt

Where: Vaughan, ON, Canada
October 15, 2009 at 9:33 AM | by kjb | 0 Comments

Our neighbors to the north love to celebrate Halloween as well, even if their spooky day is after Thanksgiving. For those in and around the Toronto area, the best place to get some thrills is at Canada’s Wonderland. Cedar Fair owns the place, the same theme park experts responsible for HalloWeekends at Cedar Point. It might not be as crazy spooky as things in Ohio, but they definitely get the job done.

Halloween Haunt at Canada’s Wonderland dares visitors to explore their way through the park while attempting to avoid possessed woodland creatures and vampires. All the major rides will be running, but it’s up to you to make your way to the coasters without being frightened out of the park.

Mazes are the big thing here, and there’s plenty of returning favorites as well as some new ones. The park seems especially excited about Club Blood. Visitors are led to believe that it is just a nightclub to celebrate the season, but unfortunately vampires run it. Just try to avoid being invited back into the VIP lounge; that’s where the vampires do their thing.

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2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide: Mickey's Not So Scary Party

Where: World Drive [map], Lake Buena Vista, FL, United States
October 13, 2009 at 9:38 AM | by kjb | 1 Comment

You know Disney has some deep pockets when it comes to their theme parks, so visitors looking to celebrate Halloween have nothing to worry about if they make Walt Disney World their spooky holiday headquarters. For many years the Magic Kingdom has been shutting things down early and welcoming families to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

It’s a Halloween bash that encourages both parents and their kids to dress up; however, some of the adults get a little carried away and that’s always slightly frightened us. As you take in all the seasonal decorations be sure to stop and fill your bags with candy. There’s plenty of trick or treat spots throughout the park and they are usually pretty generous. The best part of the party is that the crowds are manageable. Disney only sells a certain amount of tickets to the shindig, so it’s a great chance to ride Space Mountain like five times in a row without waiting.

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2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide: Six Flags Fright Fest

Where: 1 Six Flags Blvd [map], Jackson, NJ, United States
October 9, 2009 at 9:28 AM | by kjb | 0 Comments

The best place to celebrate the spooky season in the New York City region has to be a trip to Six Flags Great Adventure in neighboring New Jersey. It’s a few hours from the city, but most theme parks are already boarding things up for the winter, so it’s your best chance for once last spin, dip, and drop on a roller coaster. Most of the Six Flags across the country offer a little entertainment, but the offerings at Great Adventure are some of the best around.

Celebrating its eighteenth year of freaking people out, Six Flags Fright Fest is well underway. This year’s events are sponsored by Snickers, so hopefully there will be some treats as well as some tricks for park visitors. There’s new shows, creepy decorations, and plenty of pumpkins and spiders to get you in the mood for Halloween.

The park is transformed into thrills by day and chills by night, so no matter what time you’re attending, you’ll get chills down your spine. Things during the day are a little tamer especially adventures like the Trick-or-Treat Trail. Here you’ll fill up your pillowcase as you get some free candy from the Looney Tunes characters. Hey Bugs Bunny, we’ll take the big size bars if you have any—thanks. Once nighttime arrives prepare Professor Zombini's Freak Show. Here you’ll be able to criticize and judge sideshow freaks as they perform their antics, let’s just hope they don’t escape.

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2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide: HalloWeekends

October 8, 2009 at 10:34 AM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

If you're so over the usual haunted houses and Scream masks jumping out at you, you'd still better brace yourself for Cedar Point's haunted toy factory, "Cornstalker" scare maze which only opens after dark, and much more. Cedar Point's HalloWeekends veers away from the family-friendly fun in favor of the macabre and truly frightening.

The haunting has already begun at this amusement park, located on a peninsula in Lake Erie nearest to Sandusky, Ohio. During the summer season, the steep drops from some of the world's highest and fastest roller coasters, surrounded by sparkling water of the lake, is perhaps the scariest thing. But on September 18 through November 1, the park transforms every nook and cranny into a pants-wetting scream zone with 4 haunted houses, 5 scare zones, and 9 live shows.

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2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide: Busch Gardens Williamsburg Howl-O-Scream

Where: 1 Busch Gardens Blvd [map], Williamsburg, VA, United States, 23185
October 7, 2009 at 9:31 AM | by kjb | 0 Comments

For those in our nation’s capital looking to celebrate Halloween without Obama and Palin masks, there’s always the option of taking a ride down I-95 to Williamsburg, Virginia. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been doing the scary theme park for over ten years now, and this year’s Howl-O-Scream looks to do more damage than even their roller coasters.

Like some of the parks we’ve featured before, Busch Gardens transforms the park into a scary land featuring costumed characters lurking behind every corner. There’s six different haunted houses to terrify and torture, especially when a few of them are more maze than haunted house. Good luck if you’re trying to get out. If you’d rather have a chance to escape, you can always run through one of the park’s nine scare zones.

If you need to take a breather there’s plenty of scary shows to entertain you. Sit back and relax, or try to, and take in the scene. There’s one for your little pumpkin as well—starring Elmo—but we won’t tell anyone if you need to watch that one instead.

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2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide: Knott's Scary Farm

Where: 8039 Beach Blvd [map], Buena Park, CA, United States, 90620
October 6, 2009 at 4:28 PM | by juliana | 0 Comments

It's hard to believe that California could be home to anything labeled "The Oldest" but at Knott's Berry Farm in Anaheim, the theme park's Scary Farm is the world's first haunted theme park attraction in the U.S., having opened in 1973.

Drawing mostly from gory horror movies and crafted by professional "scare-masters", the park fashions itself into a giant haunted house with mazes, scary zones, frightening attractions--like the Slaughterhouse, The Asylum and The Doll Factory--and showing off short horror films.

Additionally, the park sets up "specially employed" monsters throughout the place who sole job is to scare the living bejesus out of you. Fun, right?

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2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide: Halloween Horror Nights

Where: 6000 Universal Boulevard [map], Orlando, Fl, United States, 32819
October 6, 2009 at 9:28 AM | by markj | 0 Comments

At this year’s event you will be trapped by “SAW’s” maniacal serial killer Jigsaw, come face-to-fangs with “The Wolfman” and be chased by the twisted “Chucky” doll.    

And that’s just the beginning: All eight haunted houses, six scarezones and two live shows are inspired by blockbuster horror films. Until now, you’ve only been able to watch the action in horror films like “SAW,” “The Wolfman,” and “Chucky.” But at Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, these films and more have been transformed into live experiences that put you in the middle of your worst cinematic nightmares.   

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October Brings HalloWeekends To Cedar Point Theme Park

October 1, 2009 at 9:08 AM | by kjb | 0 Comments

Welcome to October—it started today if you weren’t paying attention—and that means it’s time to really focus on the spookiest season of them all. Theme parks have been doing their best to get ready for Halloween, and one of those coaster kingdoms is Cedar Point. The coaster capital of the world has installed some orange light bulbs, added some pumpkins, and transformed the park into a scary adventure. HalloWeekends is yours to enjoy through November 1, and if you missed their rides during the summer, this is your last chance until 2010.

This is the 13th year that HalloWeekends have taken over the park, and it looks like they’ve really upped the scare quotient for this year. There’s two new haunted houses including Happy Jack’s Toy Factory. It sounds too creepy to us, we prefer when our toys don’t come alive. Along with the usual rides there will be plenty of scare zones between the different attractions in the park. Just pay attention and you’ll be safe, otherwise you may never make it to the park’s giga-coaster, Millennium Force.

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Cypress Gardens is Closed Once Again

September 26, 2009 at 2:31 PM | by Victor Ozols | 0 Comments

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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Cedar Point Wins Best Amusement Park Award

September 23, 2009 at 8:39 AM | by Jennifer Kester | 1 Comment

Thrill-seekers, get ready to have your stomach turned inside out. The 2009 Golden Ticket Award winners were recently named by Amusement Today newspaper, with the powerhouse Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, snagging the "Best Amusement Park in the World" title for the 12th consecutive year.

As the best amusement park ever, Cedar Point of course has to have the sickest rides. Three placed in the top-ten "Best Steel Roller Coaster" category, with the 310-foot-tall Millennium Force at No. 2, the 20-year-old Magnum XL-200 at No. 9 and the 42-story-tall Top Thrill Dragster at No. 10. But Cedar Point's awards aren't the only thing that lend it coaster cred. Built in 1870, it's the second-oldest amusement park in North America—behind only Lake Compounce in Bristol, Conn. Plus, it has more rides and roller coasters than any park in the world, with 75 rides, including 17 coasters.

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