Travel: Theme park vacations await this summer
If there’s ever been a summer to visit a theme park – or two, or three – this is it.
High speed wooden roller coasters? Thrilling, sense-assaulting rides? Penguins?
Yes, yes and most definitely.
In Orlando, Fla., alone, four of the area’s big parks – Disney, Universal, Legoland and SeaWorld – have opened, or are about to open, new attractions. Cedar Point in Ohio unveiled a new roller coaster a few weeks ago and in Las Vegas, a $50 million water park debuted on Memorial Day weekend. In California, visitors to Disneyland can meet all of the Disney Princesses in one place. Elsewhere in the Golden State, several parks boast new roller coasters.
“Wherever you live, that park is likely to have something new,” said Jeremy Schoolfield, the senior editor of Funworld Magazine, the trade publication for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA). “There’s lots of innovations, what we call immersive experiences.”
There’s been an onslaught of new attractions in Orlando in recent months.
Back in December, Disney World opened a newly expanded Fantasyland, the largest project in the park’s 41-year history. There are two sections: Enchanted Forest, where visitors will find Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” and Ariel from “The Little Mermaid,” and Storybook Circus, which is inspired by the Disney film “Dumbo.”
A new ride called Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid and Enchanted Tales With Belle, a walk-through experience that features a magical mirror and costumed characters, will impress movie lovers. And the popular Dumbo attraction is now a little less crowded, because Disney built a second, identical ride.
The new spaces are built on what was once the site of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea experience, and the expansion doubles the size of the original Fantasyland.
George Kalogridis, president of the Walt Disney World Resort, said that if he were bringing his family to the park on a summer day, he would begin with the Enchanted Tales with Belle experience, then check out the new Doc McStuffins segment at Disney Junior-Live on Stage at Hollywood Studios.
Hollywood Studios is also the place to find costumed characters from the Disney-Pixar movie “Monsters University.”
Over at Universal Orlando, a 3-D theme park ride based on the Transformers toy and film brand will open June 20; a similar ride is already open at Universal’s parks in California and Singapore.
The park describes the ride as an interactive, “larger than life battle” between the Autobots and Decepticons. It uses flight simulator technology, along with wind, heat and smoke to make the riders feel immersed in the experience.
At SeaWorld Orlando, the Antarctica – Empire of the Penguin attraction opened on May 24.
With a ride, restaurants and the penguin habitat, it’s the largest expansion in the park’s history.
The ride takes visitors through a queue, themed around a fictional penguin named Puck. As visitors make their way through the queue and ride, the temperature keeps dropping – until visitors are in 30-degree temperatures.
The ride ends at the penguin habitat, where more than 250 birds live. Visitors can watch the birds frolic on shore or underwater.
Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., has two new offerings: the Madagascar Live show and three just-born rare Malayan tiger cubs.
Over at Legoland Florida, the park is expanding to include a new ride and interactive play area based on the company’s popular Legends of Chima product line.
The section, which is scheduled to open July 3, will include an interactive water ride called The Quest for Chi, a Lego-building challenge, a 4-D movie and a meet-and-greet with costumed characters.
Legoland also has a Carlsbad, Calif., outpost and in April opened a 250-room Legoland hotel there. Visitors are greeted by a fire-breathing dragon made of 400,000 Lego bricks.Not to be outdone by Florida, California’s theme parks also have new offerings – mostly in the form of thrill rides.
At Disneyland, the new Fantasy Faire offers all of the Disney Princesses in one place – the intricately detailed Royal Hall. Also at Disneyland, “Mickey and the Magical Map” is the new show at the Fantasyland Theater this summer.
Great America in Santa Clara will have the Gold Striker, a wooden coaster that soars to 108 feet at 54 mph, opening this summer. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s new Undertow roller coaster will replace the Hurricane coaster this month; it’s described a spinning roller coaster.
Non-coastal residents also have new offerings at regional parks.
Dollywood in Tennessee has opened RiverRush in the Splash Country part of the park.
In Ohio at Cedar Point, thrill-seekers will be treated to a new, $30 million roller coaster. Called The GateKeeper, the 4,164-foot track soars over the park’s entrance and winds through the park. It’s the longest winged coaster in the world, industry analysts say – which means that riders sit on either side of the track, with nothing above their heads or below their feet.
This photo provided by Cedar Point shows an empty train cresting the 170-foot tall lift hill during a test run on Cedar Point?s new GateKeeper roller coaster Thursday, April 4, 2013, at the amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The coaster will turn riders upside down six times on seats that extend sideways from the track, with nothing above or below them. (AP Photo/Cedar Point)
This photo provided by Cedar Point shows an empty train during a test run above a new main entrance area on Cedar Point?s new GateKeeper roller coaster Thursday, April 4, 2013, at the amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The coaster will turn riders upside down six times and soar above a new main entrance on seats that extend sideways from the track, with nothing above or below them. (AP Photo/Cedar Point)
Orlando, Fla. (May 24, 2013) — Guests to SeaWorld’s Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin(TM) will be among a large colony of penguins including kings, rockhoppers, gentoos and Adelies. Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin(TM) is a first-of-its-kind, family adventure ride, combining innovative, trackless ride technology and up-close encounters with a huge colony of penguins and opens at SeaWorld Orlando on May 24, 2013. (PRNewsFoto/SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment) THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED BY PRNewsfoto and is for EDITORIAL USE ONLY**
This May 9, 2013 photo released by Cedar Point shows riders testing the new, $30 million winged rollercoaster called GateKeeper at Cedar Point park in Sandusky, Ohio. GateKeeper is designed to mimic flight. It’s two-minutes, 40-seconds of flips, drops and spirals. Two of the park’s old rides, Disaster Transport and the Space Spiral, were taken down to make way for GateKeeper. The park opens for the season on Saturday. (AP Photo/Cedar Point)
In this image released by Disney, the Moore family, Nick, back left, Stacie, background right, Adrian,11, and Hannah, 9, from Seminary, Miss., as they pose in front of Cinderella Castle before sunrise May 24, 2013 in the Magic Kingdom park in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The Moores were among the first park guests that entered the Magic Kingdom for the “Disney Parks All-Nighter,” an event where the Walt Disney World theme park will stay open for 24 straight hours. (AP Photo/Disney, Kellie Warren)
Cedar Point’s historic Hotel Breakers is just one of the luxurious accommodations available to guests who choose to extend their vacation by staying overnight. Cedar Point’s new Easy Pay plan now allows guests to pay for their resort stay in installments, offering greater flexibility and convenience. (PRNewsFoto/Cedar Point amusement park/resort) THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED BY PRNewsfoto and is for EDITORIAL USE ONLY**
This May 9, 2013 photo released by Cedar Point shows riders testing the new, $30 million winged rollercoaster called GateKeeper at Cedar Point park in Sandusky, Ohio. GateKeeper is designed to mimic flight. It’s two-minutes, 40-seconds of flips, drops and spirals. Two of the park’s old rides, Disaster Transport and the Space Spiral, were taken down to make way for GateKeeper. The park opens for the season on Saturday. (AP Photo/Cedar Point)
Universal Orlando Resort’s highly-anticipated mega-attraction, TRANSFORMERS: The Ride – 3D, will officially open on June 20, 2013 at Universal Studios Florida. Already a “must-see” at Universal Studios Singapore and Universal Studios Hollywood, the groundbreaking ride was created under license from Hasbro, Inc. and is based on its iconic TRANSFORMERS brand. The attraction will place guests in the middle of an intergalactic battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons.(C) 2013 Universal Orlando Resort. All rights reserved.(C) 2013 Hasbro. (C) 2013 DW Studios L.L.C. and Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro. (PRNewsFoto/Universal Orlando Resort) THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED BY PRNewsfoto and is for EDITORIAL USE ONLY**