Month: October 2019

Tron Construction Update!

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

Tron is rising very quickly at the Magic Kingdom and thanks to Midway Magic on Instagram I have some construction progress photos for you!

In this photo you can see that all of the track inside the showbuilding is complete and that the building is quickly rising around the track. In the foreground you can see tons of supports and launch track for the beginning of the ride.

There is a closer look at the launch track. Next up we should see Disney install the iconic swooping high banked outdoor turn and after that the track will most likely be complete. From there they just have to install the show elements and the showbuilding and the queue and then it will be ready for opening in 2021. Here is a look at what the final product will like below!

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Concept art of Tron

Are you excited for this attraction? Have you ridden the one in Shanghai? Let me know in the comments below!

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Suspended Train System To Connect All Theme Parks in Abu Dhabi

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

Next year a new type of transportation system will connect two of Abu Dhabi’s theme parks Warner Bros World and Ferrari World. The system will be expanded to include Sea World when it opens in 2022.

Concept art of the transit system

Guests will sit in four person pods and zip along from park to park and other destinations. The first phase will be opening next year and will take one minute to travel. Future phases will connect other theme parks, hotels, entertainment destinations, and eventually Abu Dhbai International Airport.

PRT. Personal rapid transit. Yas Island. Abu Dhabi. Warner Bros World. Ferrari World. Miral
Pod Vehicle

Other attractions coming to the Abu Dhabi area are Warner Bros World (opening next summer), Sea World (2022), and the Yas Bay arena, plaza and retail development. What do you guys think of this new innovative transport system? Would you like to see something like this come to the United States? Comment your thoughts down below!

Ferrari World Adding Family Coaster

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
Photo courtesy of RCDB

Photos from the website RCDB show that Ferrari World is in the process of adding another coaster. This time it is a family coaster which is a good thing because I believe all of the other coasters they have are for thrill seekers. Not much is known about this coaster such as a name or an opening date, but seeing that track is being installed it should not be long before this coaster is officially open to the public. What do you think of the new coaster and Ferrari World in general? Have you been? Let me know in the comments below!

Photo Courtesy of RCDB

S&S is Developing a New Coaster Prototype

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

S&S is developing a new type of coaster with the working name of Axis. This innovative new coaster is able to go inverted and sit down style all do to the seats rotating on its Axis. This is a launched coaster and each car has 4 seats. People are seated in rows two by two. Check out the link and tell me what you think of this ride in the comments below! More details will be revealed at IAAPA next month!

Mako Track Has Appeared At Sea World San Diego

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

Track has started to appear for Mako coming to Sea World San Diego early next year. Mako is apparently not the final name for the project as the coaster does not sit close to the shark encounter at all. It is expected that Sea World will give us a final name and official update at IAAPA next month. Meanwhile, lovely light blue flat straight and turn pieces have begun appear at the site.

Image from Behind The Thrills

Here is a closer look at one of the turn pieces.

Image from Behind The Thrills

So what do you think of the new track pieces? What do you think the name of this coaster should be? When do you think it will open? Comment your thoughts down below and give this page a follow to get constant updates on the construction of this coaster!

Sea World Abu Dhabi Construction Update

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

Somewhat new photos have been posted to ThemeParkX of construction progress on Abu Dhabi’s Sea World. Sea World Abu Dhabi will be open in 2022 and will be 166 acres and the first Sea World park outside of the United States as well as the first not to feature their signature Killer Whales.

Here are a couple photos from poster Tidal on the progress.

Plenty of Cranes with what looks like one huge or two smaller hotels rising in the background
A look at what’s happening closer to the ground of the project site
Aerial view of the site with Ferrari World in the foreground

It is amazing to see how close Sea World will be to Ferrari World and when the entire theme park district is fully built out this area will look absolutely amazing. What do you think of the progress of Sea World Abu Dhabi? Did you even know it was being built? Let me know in the comments below!

Six Flags Magic Mountain Unveils West Coast Racers Trains!

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

It’s a Six Flags day today because now they have released a brand new look at the West Coast Racers trains coming hopefully soon to the construction site itself (Right now they are in the Magic Mountain parking lot). I must say they look very impressive and just like the original concept art which is fantastic. Great job by West Coast Customs for their work on the trains and in the land itself with the graffiti murals they have been painting all over.

As for West Coast Racers, the track is all done and the station box should be finishing up shortly as it looks almost fully framed. Once that is done these lovely new trains will be hoisted on the track for a slow pull through of the entire course to make sure the sizing is correct among other potential safety requirements and issues. After that full testing can begin and it is law by CalOSHA that every vehicle on every new ride at any park in California must go around its course at least 1,000 times before it can be cleared to open. So expect testing to be going over for a few weeks before hopefully on opening date by Christmas time is what I am guessing.

What do you guys think of the new trains? When do you think this ride will finally open? Do you like the comfort collars being used on these trains or would you rather it be a different type of restraint? Let me know in the comments below!

Six Flags Earnings Dissappoint

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

Merely weeks after Six Flags tried to buy Cedar Fair, Six Flags had their earnings call this afternoon to see how the company performed these past three months. Apparently it was not good and they were definitely trying to buy Cedar Fair for a reason as they lost a lot of money in the last quarter.

There were some positives though such as revenue being up $1 million over the previous quarter. From there it was all down hill. There was a 3% decline in attendance across the chain as well as 1% drop in guest spending and a 26% drop in corporate sponsorship’s. Lastly, net income dropped 2% or $5 million.

In my opinion this makes the decline from Cedar Fair huge as clearly Six Flags was looking for more attendance by growing the amount of parks they own. They also most likely were looking for leadership from Cedar Fair to change the way Six Flags runs its parks.

What do you think about this rough quarter for Six flags? Do you think buying Cedar Fair would have helped? Do you think Six Flags will look at these results and try to spend more on enhancing the guest experience besides new coasters and rides? Comment your thoughts down below!

Construction Update of Primordial Lagoon Park In Utah

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
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Photo of Cannibal at Lagoon

So part of my goal on this blog is to document updates from theme parks that may not be all that big or well known except to local populations of coaster enthusiasts in an effort to be unique and give these smaller parks some more exposure. So today I am going to give you all a construction update from the Primordial coaster coming to Lagoon in Utah in 2020.

Lagoon is a theme park in Farmington, Utah which is about 18 miles to the north of Salt Lake City. It is relatively little known but the coaster pictured above (Cannibal) made the park famous. Cannibal is the steepest coaster in the country and an elevator transports the coaster cars to the beginning of the track.

Check out Lagoon’s website for all of the fun coasters and attractions at the park. Lagoon is keeping their latest coaster project pretty under wraps even though it is under construction, but someone on Youtube made a video of what they think the coaster can look like based on permits filed with the city.

As you can see in the video this coaster is expected to incorporate interactive shooter dark ride elements combined with coaster segments much like Escape From Gringotts at Universal Studios Florida. Below are a couple of construction photos of the progress.

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The interactive elevator is rising (Photo courtesy of Screamscape)
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Track pieces are now being installed (Photo courtesy of Screamscape)

I think this is going to be a very cool and interesting coaster and might even get me to go visit this park next year when it opens. What do you guys think of this coaster? Have you ever heard of or been to Lagoon before? Comment your thoughts down below!

Icebreaker Track Appears on Site at Sea World Orlando

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
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Icebreaker Concept Art

Pieces for the new Icebreaker coaster have arrived on site at Sea World Orlando. Lots of curved orange pieces arrived today on flatbed trucks in preparation for installation soon in Orlando adding to their already impressive coaster roster.

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If anyone needs a reminder of the impressive features of this coaster, they are all available here in this article.

Are you excited to ride this coaster next year? Are you happy that Sea World is leaning away from animals and towards more themed lands and coasters as a way to change its image? Let me know in the comments below!