What's New or Under Construction at Top Theme Parks

(Theme Park Insider) – Here is what is new for 2006 and beyond at popular theme and amusement parks – roller coasters and other rides both rumored and under construction.

• Cedar Point – Cedar Point has gone two years without a new roller coaster and won't get a new one in 2006, either. However, relief may be coming in 2007 in the form of a dueling B&M flyer. That’s the most logical rumor right now for the Sandusky, Ohio park, but between now and then, rumors evolve, and it’s really not wise to get your hopes up for a ride that won’t start construction until near the end of 2006. The park will be making some other changes for 2006, however. Whitewater Landing is sched-uled to close at the end of this season for “future expansion”, and Skyhawk, a $6 million S&S Screamin’ Swing is coming to Frontiertown.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be adding what is hoped to be the mar-quis attraction for the “Nahtazoo.” Expedition Everest: The Legend of the Forbidden Mountain (or, Matterhorn East as many are already calling it), is Disney’s largest mountain, and possible the largest undertaking for a single attraction in the company’s history. The Vekoma coaster is advertised to have forward and backward sections and a 50 MPH top speed (lightning fast for a Disney ride), and an encounter with the legendary Yeti.
• Disneyland – The newly renovated Space Mountain will get a makeover in the evenings, starting dur-ing Grad Nights in May. Rockit Mountain, as it is being called, will be similar to a spin on Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, with a new soundtrack and special lighting effects. Space Mountain purists cannot be thrilled with Disney tinkering with a ride that just finished its first major overhaul this summer. How-ever, it does seem that Disney is trying to revitalize its classic attractions for the average guest by adding new features, and Rockit Mountain could be a big hit. Pirates of the Caribbean is another classic Disney attraction that is rumored to be receiving some “freshening” up in 2006, including a Jack Sparrow animatronic figure and “ghost” pirates. All of the fan sites have been buzzing about the updates to Pirates, but Disney has not released any official information. Finding Nemo: Submarine Voyage is an exciting new attraction that unfortunately will not open until probably 2007 - so guests will be taunted by this giant hole in the ground throughout 2006.
• Legoland California – Pirate Shores is a new themed land at the Carlsbad, Calif. park, anchored by Splash Battle, an interactive aquatic shoot-'em-up, where riders cruise through pirate-infested waters, in boats armed with their own water cannons. The area will also feature Treasure Falls, a 12-foot-drop mini-flume ride that shows "what pirates do on their vacation," according to Legoland President and General Manager John Jakobsen. Two water play areas will round out the new land. Squabbies Deck is aimed at younger visitors, while Soak-N-Sail will provide 60 water elements for older kids.
• Paramount’s Kings Dominion – Paramount’s Kings Dominion has made the most noise of all of the Paramount Parks as they finally announced the addition of Italian Job Stunt Coaster for 2006. This new coaster, the park’s 13th, will be a clone of the Italian Job coasters at Paramount’s Kings Island and Canada’s Wonderland.
• Paramount’s Kings Island – Paramount’s Kings Island has continued to increase attendance de-spite effort from Cedar Fair to steal Ohio park goers through the acquisition of Geauga Lake and con-tinual improvement of Cedar Point. The Cincinnati park will continue to go after families with its 2006 addition of Nickelodeon Universe. Kings Island has already been recognized as having the best kids area, but they will be improving it in 2006 with 6 new attractions, including a new family roller coaster, Avatar.
• SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Diego – The SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Diego have both announced a new killer whale show for 2006. “Believe” will completely revamp the Shamu arenas with props and huge video monitors, and will bring what was becoming a tired and worn-out show into the 21st century. The Orlando park will also be adding three new attractions designed for kids near the Shamu Stadium. Busch is also in the process of increasing its presence in Orlando with its third park, a rumored “luxury” waterpark, which is scheduled to open in 2007. Sea World San An-tonio, which always seems to be a year or two behind the others will probably get an updated killer whale show near the end of the year, or maybe in 2007.
• Six Flags Great Adventure – The New Jersey park, which is already home to the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, will be adding El Toro. With a massive wooden structure and a record-breaking 76-degree first drop, El Toro will be amongst the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in the U.S. El Toro has been designed by Intamin, and has already begun construction on the site where Viper once stood. In fact, Viper’s old mission-style station will also serve as El Toro’s station. While accelerating to a top speed of 70 MPH may sound tantalizing, it may turn out to be too fast for a wooden roller coaster. As Beast, Hercules, and Son of Beast have shown, bigger is not always better, but hopefully El Toro will not follow the trends of the massive wooden coasters that have come be-fore. In addition to El Toro, Great Adventure will also be adding a new children’s area, and a re-vamped Mexican themed area. Six Flags is also likely to begin construction on a resort hotel near Kingda Ka, once the location is no longer needed as a staging area for pieces of El Toro.
• Six Flags Magic Mountain – Tatsu, B&M Flying Coaster, will hug the terrain around Samurai Sum-mit at speeds up to 62 mph. The ride, to debut in Spring 2006, will feature four inversions, a 124-foot pretzel loop, a 103-foot flat spin, 96-foot-tall zero-G roll and a 360-degree inline roll over. With the ter-rain, the park promises 263 feet in elevation change over the course of the ride. It’s good to see Six Flags trying to create a coaster with a unique layout and a theme that fits well with its surroundings. Tatsu is liable to be the biggest theme park addition west of the Mississippi in 2006.
• Six Flags Over Georgia – The first big announcement for 2006 was Six Flags Over Georgia’s Goli-ath. As its name would suggest, Goliath is BIG, and the B&M hypercoaster will tower over just about everything in the park, including a couple of drops right over the Georgia Scorcher. With a 170-foot first drop, 175-foot second drop, and multitude of airtime turns and helixes, Goliath is bound to be a big hit. One feature that is absent in this coaster is a mid-course break run (MCBR), which means trains will hurdle non-stop through the 4,480 feet of track.
• Universal's Islands of Adventure – The summer of 2006 will see the long-awaited opening of the Seuss Landing monorail, the "Sneetches"-themed Sylvester McMonkey McBean's Very Unusual Driv-ing Machines. This Mack Powered Coaster will become the park's longest track ride.
• Holiday World – This small independent park made the biggest splash at the end of the summer by announcing the addition of The Voyage and a new holiday themed land, Thanksgiving. The Voyage will be one of the largest wooden coasters in the world with a 6,442-foot track length and a number of pulse-pounding drops and underground tunnels. The coaster will also feature not one, but three 90-degree banked turns, a wooden roller coaster feature first introduced on Hades. The Voyage, Holiday World’s third wooden roller coaster, will almost certainly vault into top ten wooden coaster lists and continue the parks long tradition of building the best wooden roller coasters in the world. Thanksgiv-ing will also feature an interactive dark ride and a number of other attractions and gift shops.
• Hersheypark – Hersheypark has announced Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge, a dark ride shoot-'em-up arms riders with infrared guns with which they can take aim at the 158 targets throughout the ride.