SeaWorld San Diego recently announced plans for a new roller coaster set to open in 2012. The new highly-themed attraction will be called Manta and it will incorporate a marine-life exhibit. The ride will start with a tunnel boasting huge high-tech projection screens. The screens will project larger than life images of rays aimed at enhancing the ride’s opening launch that will send the manta-themed trains rocketing down the track.
Unlike, the high-flying Manta at SeaWorld Orlando, San Diego’s Manta will be a launch coaster that will stay close to and below the ground. It will have a modest height of 30 feet, a longest drop of 54 feet (as it drops below the ground), and a relatively gentle top speed of 46 mph via a magnetic launch system.
Some roller coaster fans are dissapointed in the new coaster’s less than extreme stats. While this Manta coaster could be categorized as a family roller coaster, fans have to remember not every new attraction is going to thrill your pants off. Given that the park was limited by the area’s extremely low height restrictions and SeaWorld Park’s track record of highly themed and immersive roller coasters, Manta looks to be a solid addition. Below is an animated video of Manta without the ride’s theming and marine-life exhibit.
With theme parks around the country set to open soon, here’s my take on the most anticipated new roller coasters opening in the United States this year. I’ll start with my top pick.
Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa (Tampa, Florida) Busch Gardens Tampa’s Cheetah Hunt is by far my most anticipated new roller coaster. The multi-launch coaster looks to be an adventure that will rocket riders from 0 to 60 mph. Launch coasters are nothing new, but one with such a diverse layout is. At times the coaster will climb up 100 feet into a unique figure eight element, then dive down below the ground as it charges through a trench. Add to that a corkscrew and an airtime hill and you’ve got an action-packed journey with Busch Gardens Tampa’s Serengeti-themed area as the backdrop. The park has a history of well-themed, well-executed thrilling roller coasters and Cheetah Hunt looks to be no different.
Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas (Dallas, Texas)
Six Flags Over Texas is completing a potentially ground-breaking $10 million upgrade of the Texas Giant. The twenty year old wooden coaster has been re-tracked with steel rails in order to provide a smoother and more exciting ride. Thanks to the new rails, constructed by Rocky Mountain Construction, Six Flags claims the Texas Giant will achieve two World records for a wooden coaster. It will have the steepest drop at 79 degrees and the steepest banking at 95 degrees. I argue that the ‘Giant is now technically a steel coaster, but either way the redesigned Texas Giant could be an amazing ride that encourages similar transformations in the future.
Dare Devil Dive at Six Flags Over Georgia (Atlanta, Georgia)
Six Flags Over Georgia will be opening their 11th roller coaster in the ultra-steep Dare Devil Dive. The ride will boast a vertical lift hill followed by a beyond vertical 95 degree drop. Then, the rocket-themed cars will traverse a thrilling course with three loops, a zero gravity hill, and a tunnel. Dare Devil Dive follows the removal of the park’s Deja Vu roller coaster in 2007. This should be an excellent replacement as a similar roller coaster, Dollywood’s Mystery Mine, was well-received.
Green Lantern at Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, New Jersey)
Six Flags has a history of reusing themes and ride names at a number of their parks. So, it’s no surprise that there will be two Green Lantern roller coasters to tie in with the forthcoming film. Six Flags Great Adventures’ Green Lantern coaster is a stand-up coaster that was previously at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. One of the largest of its kind, it features five loops and a 144 foot first drop. The 14-year old coaster is getting a paint job and may also receive new trains and special effects. While it’s not a completely new roller coaster, it should still be one of the best to open this year. It’s easily one of my favorite stand-up coasters and I really enjoyed it when it was Chang at Kentucky Kingdom.
Green Lantern: First Flight at Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, California) Six Flags Magic Mountain is set for a big year. Not only will Magic Mountain reclaim the title of the theme park with the most roller coasters (surpassing Cedar Point) with 18, the park will be adding two new roller coasters. The most noteworthy of which is Green Lantern: First Flight. Similar to the park’s extremely intense X2, this new ride will be a 4th dimension roller coaster where riders are positioned in spinning seats on either side of the track rather than on top or below it. While First Flight will be a much smaller coaster than X2, it should still deliver an exciting and disorienting ride.
Hasta la vista, Hello Kitty. Get lost, LOL cats. Tokyo’s hot new phenom are neko cafes (“neko” is Japanese for cat). At first appearance typical, cozy coffee houses, closer examination reveals live cats lounging on the furniture, in baskets, or on laps. Which, I guess, isn’t nearly as bizarre (or kinky) as Tokyo’s maid cafes. Actually, to a cat lover like me, it’s quite appealing.
CNN reports that about 100 neko cafés can now be found in Japan, with more popping up in South Korea and Taiwan. More than 50 of the cafes are in Tokyo proper, with almost 70 in the outlying suburbs. Neko no Mise, for example, is a popular neko cafe in the Machida suburb that just celebrated its fifth anniversary.
Right about now, you’re probably asking yourself, what kind of person chooses to hang out in a neko cafe? Banish the image of the stereotypical Crazy Cat Lady from your mind, because these places are a huge hit with young professionals–particularly couples (childless, perhaps?). Far from being frumpy, many neko cafe clientele are hipsters who like to take their dates out for an evening of coffee and cat-watching. Single patrons are welcome too, however, as evidenced by the proliferation of cat bloggers.
Apparently, the neko cafe craze is accountable for many a blog starring specific coffee house felines: some have their own mixi profiles, which, I’m sorry, is definitely halfway to crazytown. And I say this as one who has been frequently dubbed a CCL (yes, that is my cat wearing a sweater in the photo, and I was trying to cut my heating bill). But not everyone is on board with the concept of caffeine and kitties. A young woman named Yuko told CNN, “My sister wanted to go so badly, she took me to one. It was weird, I thought. People just hanging out there with the cats, but you’re not allowed to wake them up or pick them up, they were just watching the cats and smiling and stuff … it was a little scary.”
Amid smoke, fireworks and every magical trick in the book, Grammy award-winner Jennifer Hudson was on hand this morning at Port Canaveral in Florida to send off Disney Cruise Lines latest creation, the new Disney Dream.
It’s been 10 years since the Mouse launched a new ship and Mickey and the gang were in top form today as the latest seafaring creation from the legacy of Walt Disney was sworn into service. With singing, dancing, fireworks and a 16-foot champagne bottle “cracked” against the hull of the new Disney Magic via helicopter, a new era began in magical family cruising from Florida.
“For over a decade, Disney Cruise Line has been making vacation dreams come true for millions of families and we continue that tradition today with the launch of the Disney Dream,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger. “The mix of imagination and innovation found on the Disney Dream is unparalleled and elevates the family cruise experience to new heights.”
The Disney Dream will sail three, four and five-night itineraries to the Bahamas and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.
On board the new ship, up to 4000 guests will enjoy features ranging from the “splashtacular” AquaDuck, the very first water coaster at sea to virtual portholes in interior cabins showing what is going on outside the ship with some characters stopping by from time to time.
Back in February, Six Flags rejected its lease with its Louisville, Kentucky theme park Kentucky Kingdom. The park remained closed for all of 2010. Now, a redevelopment company has been actively posting plans to revitalize the troubled park on their new Kentucky Kingdom website and YouTube Channel.
Since I have been a roller coaster enthusiast, Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom has had the dubious distinction as the black sheep in the Six Flags chain. In the last decade, there were very few new rides. And, with the exception of one roller coaster which will now be Green Lantern at Great Adventure, there was no real draw for theme park travelers like myself. In addition, park operations and maintenance were subpar. Maintenance becomes glaringly important when horrifying accidents gain national attention. Anyone remember the girl whose feet were severed by the drop ride at the park?Ed Hart operated Kentucky Kingdom in its pre-Six Flags days of steady growth and has now once again taken the reins in its post-Six Flags era. He puts the blame for the park’s attendance and investment decline squarely on Six Flags. A new video charts the park’s attendance growth as new rides were opened in nearly every year of Kentucky Kingdom’s first 9 years. And then, it details the attendance decline as Six Flags removed rides and added very little.
With $50 million dollars of state-funded bonds going towards rehab and new rides, Hart plans to re-open Kentucky Kingdom in 2012. His plans were recently discussed during an interview with ParkThoughts. They include moving the park’s entrance, an expanded water park, and free parking. The most notable announcement for coaster fans was the mention of a new marquee Bolliger & Mabillard-designed roller coaster. Details of the new roller coaster are forthcoming.