 MASON, Ohio – The new Mystic Timbers roller coaster at Kings Island took its first test run Monday. Park officials, engineers, technicians and construction workers stood by and watched as the 24-passenger train made its way through 3,265 feet of track. Themed to an abandoned lumber company, Mystic Timbers will traverse 16 airtime hills through wooded terrain and over water at speeds up to 53 mph with a mystery for riders: What’s in the shed? Mystic Timbers makes its debut when Kings Island opens for its 45th anniversary season April 15. Related Updates:  Today we're back with another update from a park we haven't had an update from in far too long. Lots of changes going on at Knott's Berry Farm with the addition of the new Flat Ride Sol Spin and the new BBQ restaurant near the Sky Cabin. In addition, some offseason refurbishments are going on with some of the more popular rides in the park. Written by Gregg Condon We'll start off with the Timber Mountain Log Ride which just came back from a refurbishment and looks great.   Love the views from the ride, there's not a better log ride anywhere.  They've got the entire area closed off by the new BBQ restaurant   Mostly just foundation work at this point   Let's put the "Montezooma's Revenge is getting removed" rumors to bed right now. It's not going anywhere and recently got a nice new paint job.  In addition to the new paint job, the ride was running amazing.    Maybe the station is next to be painted?  Right next to Jaguar, work continues on the new Sol Spin flat ride.   You can see the foundation for the loading area and the space chunked out for the actual ride mechanism.  In other refurbishment news, Bigfoot Rapids is closed and looks to be getting a lot of work done.    Remember, if you ever want to make your own rapids, all you need is some metal tubes. =)  Even the dryers are getting refurbed.  Some work going on near Wilderness Lodge as well.  Fun Bun coming soon  Oh look, more offseason refurbishments.   It's great to see so much care being given to the parks attractions.  It was the last weekend for Knott's For The Cure, the merchandise for this year was great.  Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update. We'll be back at the park next week for a preview tasting event for the Boysenberry Festival and of course for the Boysenberry Festival in April. Moo ...  Related Updates:  Today we have an amazing offseason look at California's Great America where some major changes have been made in just a couple of short months since Winterfest. But more than that, some new developments related to the parks master plan have made this park really one of the parks to look towards for the next decade as becoming one of the top parks in the country. Let's take a look. Written by Andrew Cunningham If you had asked me ten years ago about the future of California’s Great America, I would have told you to book a trip while you still can. I, like many others, was convinced that this park would eventually be a distant memory, most likely replaced by a tech campus or condos. But here we are, 2017, and Great America has laid the groundwork to become a rising star in the Cedar Fair chain. After the impressive debuts of Winterfest and Mass Effect: New Earth in 2016, the park was granted approval of a new master plan that, among other things, makes it easier for them to add new attractions and raises their height ceiling to 250 feet.  We were fortunate enough to tag along with ACE Norcal on a preseason tour of the park. This year is all about Patriot, so lets take a look around!  It seems like so long ago that we were saying farewell (or perhaps, good riddance) to Vortex and California’s Great America. This B&M coaster sits in the middle of the park, and despite it’s fun, snappy little layout, the coaster was both an eyesore and and pain to ride.  One of the best things about Patriot is that its bright colors bring life to the surrounding midways. Since the ride is placed in a central area of the park, it interacts with several different midways. Instead of clunky standup trains rattling along faded track, guests throughout the park will see the flashy new floorless trains whipping around the bright blue twists and turns.  Great America is intent on improving the guest experience beyond the Patriot conversion. The entire Celebration Plaza area, where Patriot’s entrance is located, is getting a facelift for the summer. There is still a lot of construction activity going on, but it’s all looking amazing!  One of the coolest new additions to the area will be the live entertainment. Unique characters, or “citizens’, will roam the midway and interact with guests around Patriot. This is similar to Ghost Town Alive at Knotts Berry Farm.   Overall, there is still some work to be done around the park before opening day, but things are really looking great!   Thank you to California’s Great America for a wonderful tour! We are very excited for the park to open for the season, and even more excited to see new changes evolve over the next several years!  Related Updates: |
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