Proposed Orlando Thrill Park Reveals 14 Extreme Rides

by Joel Bullock on


While Orlando’s already known for its world-class theme parks, a developer thinks that there’s room for one more. The Baker Leisure Group has proposed a thrill-focused park that would be located in the Tangelo Park area near the Festival Bay Mall. It would be just a short drive from Universal Orlando Resort and its two theme parks. Central Florida is also home to Walt Disney World, SeaWorld Orlando, and my favorite park in the state, Busch Gardens Tampa. If that wasn’t enough, Legoland Florida will be opening in 2011 as well.

Like many, I’ve considered Central Florida’s theme park market saturated at this point. However, Orlando Thrill Park will offer something different. The park’s success will hinge on whether they can communicate its distinction as the home of the most intense and extreme thrill rides in Florida. If built, the park would easily attract roller coaster enthusiasts like myself. Of the fourteen rides that the park has proposed, eight of them are roller coasters. And of the eight, five or so are either prototypes or rare in the United States.Roller coaster enthusiasts are a tiny niche group in the overall theme park visiting public. So, the developers are hoping Orlando tourists will spend one day out of their week long vacations at the park. They’re also aiming for those local adrenaline junkies that are interested in extreme thrills. Currently, Busch Gardens Tampa and Universal’s Islands of Adventure are the only places that you’ll find somewhat intense thrill rides in Florida. It’s an area that’s heavy on theme and light on thrills. Orlando Thrill Park aims to fill that void.

The LA Times has created a photo gallery of Orlando Thrill Park’s 14 rides. The gallery includes similar rides that are currently in existence and prototype renderings.

[Via LA Times Funland Blog]%Poll-56381%

North Korean theme parks: communism meets amusement park fun

by Joel Bullock on


I would imagine that there are few Gadling readers that have ever wanted to visit North Korea. The communist country that recently took hostile actions towards its neighbor isn’t on any top vacation lists that I know of. And, I would imagine even fewer would want to visit North Korea for its amusement parks. But, if you’re a huge theme park fan like the globe trotting Stefan Zwanger, then a trip to the strange, isolationist country is right down your alley.

Wearing his signature red hat adorned with a tangle of roller coaster track, Zwanger, also known as the Theme Park Guy, ventured into North Korea. He described his trip as a “time machine journey many decades back.” His trip report includes dozens of great images from Pyongyang’s three parks including an image of a roller coaster with the red star of the Communist Party on it. Zwanger also encountered a Zamperla flying roller coaster at the newest park, Kaeson. Kaeson has the distinction of staying lit at night when much of the rest of the country goes dark.

Asia has some excellent theme parks, but I was surprised to see that North Korea actually has three currently in operation. I guess even an oppressive government like North Korea’s must be open to amusements of some kind. The other two parks were Mangyongdae and Taesongsan. Most of the rides at these older parks look pretty neglected and the parks themselves look deserted, bleak, and devoid of a lot of color.

As I analyze the country’s theme parks I don’t mean to belittle or overlook the plight of its people. Theme parks are obviously way down on the list of quality of life improvements needed by the North Korean people. As a long-time theme park blogger, this is just what I do. I make observations about theme parks. See Zwanger’s North Korean theme park trip report.

[Photo credits: Flickr user giladr and Theme Park Guy]

New Wooden Warrior roller coaster will provide family fun at Quassy Amusement Park

by Joel Bullock on

Along with Six Flags New England and Canobie Lake Park, another New England amusement park will be debuting a new roller coaster in 2011. Middleburry, Connecticut’s Quassy Amusement Park will be replacing their aging steel roller coaster, Mad Mouse, with a family wooden coaster dubbed Wooden Warrior. The new ride’s name was chosen via a name contest that the park held with local schools.

Wooden Warrior was designed by world-class designers The Gravity Group. They’re responsible for The Voyage at Holiday World; a coaster thought to be the best wooden coaster in the World. Unlike Gravity Group’s previous designs, Wooden Warrior will be one of the company’s first smaller, family-sized designs. The ride will feature a rather short 35′ tall lift hill that will produce a top speed of 35 mph. In comparison, The Voyage doubles those stats topping out at 67.5 mph with a 163′ tall lift hill.


As you can see from the video above, Wooden Warrior doesn’t aim to be a white knuckle thrill ride. Quassy’s owners needed a coaster that was fun for all ages and from the video, it looks to be just that. Roller coasters don’t require a lot of speed to produce those joyous little pops of airtime that make them so much fun. I’m a huge fan of The Gravity Group’s other work and it looks like they may have another winner here, albeit in a pint-sized form.

Like many of my favorite roller coasters, Wooden Warrior will traverse Quassy’s natural terrain. For example, the initial hill is 35′ tall, but will drop riders a total of 45′ as the track hugs the park’s topography. The new wooden coaster is a huge update for the small park as they’ll go from having a 44-year old run-of-the-mill ride to a sure crowd-pleaser that will provide a unique experience.

Canobie Lake Park adds new roller coaster: Untamed in 2011

by Joel Bullock on

Next year, New Englanders will be thrilled, or terrified, by an ultra-steep new roller coaster opening at New Hampshire’s Canobie Lake Park. In 2011, the historic park will be home to a modern thrill machine in Untamed. Untamed was designed by German roller coaster designers Gerstlauer. It will be one of the designer’s Euro-Fighter 320+ models that have currently only been built in Europe. For more information, you can view diagrams of the ride’s complete layout and also visit Gerstlauer’s website.

At only 1,184 feet long, Untamed will be a compact coaster, but guests will be treated to an onslaught of thrills. The ride will begin with a rare vertical lift to 72 feet. Then, the small 8-person cars will roll over the crest and plunge riders into a beyond vertical 97-degree drop. It will be one of the steepest roller coasters in the United States. After the drop, the cars will navigate three loops including a vertical loop, an immelmann, and a zero-g roll. While brief, Untamed will be quite an action-packed little coaster.

Here’s a POV video of Rage at Adventure Island. Like Untamed, Rage is a Euro-Fighter 320+. So, they should have identical layouts. This video was filmed with permission from the park.


I imagine that Untamed will be great for Canobie Lake Park and the region in terms of tourism. Modern thrill rides, even roller coasters this small, can provide a substantial amount of media attention for amusement parks. Canobie Lake is now officially on my radar as I’ve never ridden a Gerstlauer Eurofighter or really any roller coaster this steep.

[Photo credit: Flickr user Ian’s Shutter Habit]

Hezbollah theme park: an attraction designed with terror in mind

by Tom Johansmeyer on


Are you always searching for a roller coaster that will make your hair stand on end? Well, if you really want to scare yourself, skip the traditional amusement park rides and catch a flight out to Beirut. There’s a “theme park” in town that will open your eyes wide and keep you looking over your shoulder.

Hezbollah has gotten into the Disney business.

Identified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, Hezbollah’s new endeavor isn’t doing a thing to change that perception. Called “Landmark for the Resistance,” the theme park celebrates the group’s military efforts against Israel. Enter the park, and you can wander among implements of mayhem and destruction, from tanks to machine guns … and you can even get some photo ops of the kids with their fingers on the trigger!

Designed and built by Hezbollah, Landmark for the Resistance cost a mere $4 million, a pittance compared to what it would cost to get an attraction up here in the United States. So far, the park’s been a success, one of the few in a country that has had trouble attracting tourists because of … well … Hezbollah.

Buoyed by the strong response, especially the smiling children, I suspect, Hezbollah has already committed to expansion plans. Look for a cable car wandering around the guns ‘n’ ammo soon – and a hotel and a restaurant.