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A Second Dollywood Theme Park May Be on the Way to Nashville

January 26, 2012 at 1:06 PM | by | Comments (0)

It’s time for Dollywood part deux, as Dolly Parton is ready to get to work—maybe even 9 to 5—on her second theme park. This time she’s got her sights on the greater Nashville area, and if all goes as planned the tourists and travelers will be filling up the parking lots starting in 2014.

The new place doesn’t sound to be another exact version of the original theme park, as this new establishment is going to only cost $50 million to build. Officials are billing it as some sort of water and snow park, and it’ll be located across from the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Apparently it’s just the first piece in a number of new entertainment offerings coming to the area as the city looks to get families and other visitors to stick around and spend a little cash.

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Despite the Concordia Sinking, Cruising Keeps On Keeping On

January 19, 2012 at 9:39 AM | by | Comments (0)

We realize the world is a little hesitant about taking a cruise anytime soon, but if you trust Mickey Mouse to, then there's a new ship for you. The Disney Cruise Line is finishing up the final touches on its newest vessel—the Disney Fantasy—and after seeing some of the pictures, we’re kind of ready to strap on the mouse ears and head to the Caribbean.

The latest addition to the fleet isn’t quite ready for passengers and parties just yet, as things are still getting finalized over at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany. However, Disney is pretty proud of their latest piece of floating entertainment, so they’re showing off sneak peek photos following the ship’s float out.

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Wrapping up Winter Break with The Wizarding World?

January 2, 2012 at 4:22 PM | by | Comments (0)

Not only have we entered 2012 this week, but it's also the last few days of winter break for schoolchildren. If we're talking about college-age kids, then they've got a little longer. Regardless, this is the last dash time for family vacations at the theme parks in Orlando, FL...specifically at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We've been a few times now since it opened 1.5 years ago, and each time we return with photo galleries and tips aplenty. If you're about to jet down to hit the park or are contemplating a last-minute mini-vacay, here's everything you need to know:

· Changes to ticket prices & ride seating
· Our complete, first-hand survival guide to the Potter park
· Photos from November 2011
· Photos of the all the FOOD
· Inside the Forbidden Journey castle & ride
· The souvenirs! Oh man, the souvenirs.
· Photos & video of the Hippogriff and Dragons roller coasters
· Even more photos (from the night before opening)

[Photo: Jaunted]

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The Next Stop for Angry Birds: Their Own Theme Parks in Finland

Where: Finland
December 21, 2011 at 8:40 AM | by | Comment (1)

Those ubiquitous Angry Birds are at again, and this time they’re on the move in their homeland of Finland. Making the jump from mobile app to stuffed animal and even apparel was easy, but now they’re entering the real world with their very own theme park—kind of.

Rovio—they make the game—along with Lappset have an agreement to build two new parks focused on those birds, the pigs, and their world in two Finnish cities. To us, the spots sound more like fancy playgrounds than true theme parks, but developers do promise to integrate both the virtual and physical worlds into something new and fun.

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Legoland to Build Itself a New Water Park for Summer 2012

December 6, 2011 at 8:44 AM | by | Comments (0)

Legoland in Florida still has its new theme park smell, but it’s already time to upgrade. The Lego bricks aren’t looking forward to the hot and humid summers, so they’re adding a brand new water park. Officials had mentioned this during the park’s October debut, but now we know that’s it’s all on scheduled and ready to arrive in time for the 2012 summer season.

Obviously there will plenty of spots to splish and splash for the kiddos, and as with the rest of the park it’s going to be tailored to the likes of loves of little ones. Some of the attractions planned for the new waterpark include a Lego Wave Pool, along with something they’re calling Twin Chasers—where you and a buddy twist and turn through intertwined tube tracks.

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BREAKING: Universal Studios Hollywood to Get Its Very Own Wizarding World of Harry Potter

December 1, 2011 at 3:32 PM | by | Comments (0)

Not gonna lie—our June 2010 visit to the opening of Universal Studios Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter is definitely a highlight of our travels from the last few years. To some that might sound perfectly stupid since we're adults and can just as easily jet off to Phuket as to Orlando, but to those who've been and also found themselves similarly taken in, the sentiment is shared.

That's why today's news that Universal Studios Hollywood will get a Wizarding World of its own in 2014 or 2015 is so thrilling. That means, if all goes according to plan, that in a span of five years the United States will have become home to two Harry Potterlands selling chocolate frogs, running roller coasters and otherwise thumbing their nose at the UK, which doesn't even have one to call its own.

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Creepy, Abandoned Six Flags New Orleans Will Rise Again!

November 30, 2011 at 9:43 AM | by | Comments (0)

To us it seems like just yesterday we were first talking about the status of the creepy ghost town that is Six Flags New Orleans, but it was actually like two years ago. Since then there really hasn’t been too much going on, and all the tentative plans to revitalize, revamp, and return the park to its former glory have come and gone. Things are looking up again, as the city is now looking at eight different options to bring back another part of the city following Hurricane Katrina.

City officials were presented with the new options and bids for redevelopment earlier this month, and now they’re getting ready to think them all over. Of course there are a couple new theme park options—including a green theme park to be called "Crescent City Amusement Park."

It’s hot in NOLA, so a couple of the other options also include water parks, and one of them even proposed a Hollywood-style backlot for movie production.

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Mickey Mouse Drives a Ferrari (and Some Lamborghinis, Too)

November 22, 2011 at 9:36 AM | by | Comments (0)

For those looking for something a little more intense and riveting than Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, there’s a new option at Walt Disney World to fulfill the need for speed.

The "Exotic Driving Experience" is set to debut at the Walt Disney World Speedway in January 2012, and it looks to connect tourists with the machines of their dreams. Leave the minivan back at home, because it’s all about exotic super cars here. In total there are six different automobiles from which to choose, including options from Audi, Porsche, and a few different beasts from Ferrari and Lamborghini.

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SeaWorld Plans to Get Chilly in 2013 with Interactive Penguin Attraction

November 17, 2011 at 12:51 PM | by | Comments (0)

SeaWorld Orlando is located right in the middle of a theme park battleground, and they’re not going to just sit back and let Universal Studios and Walt Disney World have all the fun. They’ve already built new coasters and other attractions, but another round of upgrades and improvements might just keep Shamu ahead of Harry Potter and Mickey Mouse.

For one of the park’s largest expansion ever the place is going back to its roots, and they’re doing even more stuff with the animals. SeaWorld is planning to add a new penguin exhibit, but it’s going to be a little bit different than visiting the zoo. Arriving towards the beginning of 2013—Antarctica — Empire of the Penguin—will bring a whole new array of shops and restaurants to the park along with plenty of penguins.

Of course the centerpiece will be a brand new attraction, but one of the many highlights is the plan to introduce some frigid temperatures to park visitors—like Antarctica cold. They’re still finalizing what exactly the new ride will feature, but they’re promising “closer-then-ever animal connections” with “state-of-the-art interactive ride technologies.”

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Celebrate the Harry Potter Films One More Time at Universal Orlando's Wizarding World

November 11, 2011 at 12:24 PM | by | Comments (0)

As the final Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 makes its way to the DVD today, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando is hosting “A Celebration of the Harry Potter Films” this weekend.

Special vacation packages (which were sold out an hour after going on sale this summer) will give fans a chance to attend Q&A sessions and autograph signing events with Harry Potter cast members, including everyone's favorite ginger Rupert Grint. There will also be red carpet arrivals, galas and screenings of all eight movies at the AMC Universal Cineplex 20 at Universal CityWalk.

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Cedar Fair Pumps Loads of Cash into Their Theme Parks for 2012

November 10, 2011 at 8:31 AM | by | Comments (0)

Whether you like it or not, the winter is pretty much upon us, but that doesn’t mean that theme parks aren’t hard at work. Cedar Fair—owners of parks like CedarPoint and Canada’s Wonderland—are already hard at work in preparation for wowing visitors when the warmer weather of 2012 rolls around.

Ticket sales must have been strong in 2011—or they had a good hand at the casino—because the company is looking to invest around $90 million back into their parks. Thankfully they’re not just adding new signs and trash cans either, as it’s all about coasters, attractions, and other thrill rides.

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Paramount Park Murcia Might Be the World's Next Great Theme Park

Where: Murcia, Spain
November 4, 2011 at 8:16 AM | by | Comments (0)

Theme park junkies might need to cross the Atlantic to get their next fix in the future, as the newly announced Paramount Park in Spain might just be the next big thing. The corporate wallets are open wide, as organizers and officials are thinking about spending around $1.5 billion to get the new place up and running just outside Murcia along the country’s coast.

There’s a lot of stuff still on the drawing board, as bulldozers and backhoes probably won’t start rolling around until 2012 at the earliest. However, if all goes well it could be welcoming tourists from around the globe in 2015, as it looks to compete with Disneyland Paris as the amusement park hotspot in Europe.

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