A new drop ride was announced at one of our favorite smaller parks, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Glenwood Springs, CO. 

We visited this park in 2014 and had an unbelievable time. Looks like it might be time to make another visit soon. Check out all of the details for the new ride below. 

​Some highlights from the announcement, you can see the entire article here:

• A peek at life, and death, in a late 19th century Colorado mine will be among the attractions for visitors to the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park starting this summer.
• The Caverns have been digging the final few feet of a 120-foot shaft in an area of the park below the main visitor center, restaurant and theater building that will become the new Haunted Mine Drop thrill ride.
• The ride will be similar to Disney’s Tower of Terror and other amusement park drop rides. The Mine Drop is different in that it will have a relevant historical theme and will actually be underground just like a real mine shaft, explained Caverns Adventure Park owner Steve Beckley.
• The ride is being designed and built by renowned thrill ride enthusiast Stan Checketts of Utah. Checketts also built the giant swing and zip line ride at the Caverns, as well as notable attractions like the Stratosphere Tower Big Shot in Las Vegas.
• The Haunted Mine Drop will welcome visitors as if they are coming to work at the mine for the first time, but the orientation is given by a couple of ghosts.
• Inside will be more ghoulish images, skeletons and such to round out the thrill.
• The park is working with St. Louis-based Creative Visions for the hologram imaging that will be featured with the mine ride. Company mastermind Mark McDonough has developed characters for theme parks, museums, zoos, aquariums, haunted attractions and amusement centers around the world. The company’s client list includes Universal Studios Theme Parks, SeaWorld, Knott’s Berry Farm, MGM Grand Adventure, Six Flags and David Copperfield.
• The new Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park ride is part of a larger investment of some $2.5 million into park improvements for the coming year that will include a new pathway loop connecting the Mine Drop ride to the lower cave tour area and back up to the top of the park.

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LEGO® NINJAGO® World Lets Kids ‘Become the Ninja’ in Exciting New Theme Park Land at LEGOLAND® Florida Resort 
 
Groundbreaking Interactive Ride Highlights Immersive Expansion Area at Multi-Day Vacation Destination #BuiltForKids 

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Kids can “become the ninja” in their very own LEGO® NINJAGO® [NIN-JAH-GO] adventure when they enter a magical, martial arts kingdom now open at LEGOLAND® Florida Resort. 

 LEGO NINJAGO World adds an immersive land filled with several hands-on, outdoor activities where kids can sharpen their ninja skills before the ultimate showdown on LEGO NINJAGO The Ride, a dazzling new attraction that blends 3D computer animation, “4D” special effects such as heat, fog and strobe lighting, and groundbreaking interactive technology never seen outside a LEGOLAND theme park. 

Inspired by the popular LEGO building sets and the “LEGO NINJAGO: Masters of Spinjitzu” TV show, LEGO NINJAGO World puts guests at the center of the action in lots of fun ways: 

 • LEGO NINJAGO The Ride – A state-of-the-art “dark ride” where guests score points using ninja hand moves to blast animated fireballs, lightning and more at waves of 3D villains. Children under 48 inches tall must ride with a responsible person 48 inches or taller who can ensure their safety.
• Zane’s Temple Build – A LEGO building experience where kids can contribute to a giant model of the mountaintop NINJAGO monastery with bins of loose LEGO bricks.
• Kai’s Spinners – Master the ancient art of Spinjitzu at these twirling, whirling, singlechild platforms; recommended for ages 5-12.
• Cole’s Rock Climb – A horizontal, right-to-left climbing wall to test kids’ strength and endurance; recommended for ages 2-12.
• Jay’s Lightning Drill – Practice precision and reflexes by pressing as many light-up targets as possible in 30-second sessions; recommended for ages 2-12. 

The lushly landscaped area also features large LEGO models of LEGO NINJAGO heroes, Kai, Jay, Cole, Zane, Lloyd, Nya [NEE-AH] and Master Wu, daily meet-and-greet opportunities with sibling ninja Kai and Nya, and Wu’s Warehouse, a themed retail shop filled with LEGO NINJAGO building sets, children’s apparel, costumes, books, souvenirs and more. 

KIDZ BOP, the No. 1 music brand for kids, recently joined with LEGOLAND Florida Resort to create an exclusive music video for the high-energy “LEGO NINJAGO: Masters of Spinjitzu”  theme song, “The Weekend Whip". 

 In the video, The KIDZ BOP Kids are joined by Kai and Nya while demonstrating five signature ninja hand moves kids can use to defeat villains and capture a high score on LEGO NINJAGO The Ride: 

 • The Cobra: Hold your fingers like a snake’s head, then strike your arm forward.
• Chops of Fury: Hold both hands in front of you, palms facing, and do quick karate chops.
• The Fireball Flinger: Clench your hand into a fist, then thrust your arm forward while opening your fingers. • The Lightning Strike: Hold your arm at a slant and chop.
• The Shuriken [SHUR-IH-KEN] Shuffle: Hold both hands in front of you, palms down, with your arms bent so they touch your chest. Chop outwards repeatedly. 
 
The adventure continues Sept. 22, when Warner Bros. Pictures releases “The LEGO NINJAGO Movie,” a full-length motion picture from the same producers behind 2014’s smash hit “The LEGO Movie™” and featuring the voices of Jackie Chan, Michael Peña, Dave Franco, Abbi Jacobson and Olivia Munn. 
 
Announced in March 2016, LEGO NINJAGO World continues the largest period of growth and expansion in the five-year history of LEGOLAND Florida Resort. 

Since opening Oct. 15, 2011, the multi-day vacation destination has added LEGOLAND Water Park (May 2012), LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Model Display (November 2012), LEGO World of Chima™ (July 2013), DUPLO® Valley (May 2014), LEGOLAND Hotel (May 2015), Heartlake City (June 2015), “The LEGO Movie 4D A New Adventure” (January 2016), Creative Cove/Build-A-Boat (March 2016) and a life-size LEGO replica of the very first Ford Mustang model (October 2016).  
​
 Construction continues on LEGOLAND Beach Retreat, which will more than double the resort’s on-site accommodations when its whimsically themed bungalows open April 7, 2017. Reservations are available for stays through Nov. 30, 2017. To book, visit www.LEGOLAND.com/beachretreat or call (877) 350-5346 daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern. Nightly room rates start at $135 (plus tax and resort fee) and vary by season, date and availability. 
 
This year also will feature an unparalleled lineup of special events: 
 • The LEGO® Batman™ Movie Days – March 4-5 & 11-12; new this year!
• KIDZ BOP Weekend – April 28-30; new this year!  
• LEGO® Star Wars™ Days – May 6-7 & 13-14; two weekends this year!
• LEGOLAND Knight Lights – Select dates in July, including Tuesday, July 4
• Brick or Treat – Select dates in October
​• Christmas Bricktacular – Select dates in December • Kids’ New Year’s Eve – Sunday, Dec. 31 only 
 
All events are full-day experiences included with all forms of park admission and offer incredible entertainment and great value. No extra ticket required! 
 
Guests can enjoy more than 50 rides, shows and attractions inspired by the LEGO and DUPLO brands at the place where #AwesomeAwaits, including experiences based on “The LEGO Movie,” LEGO NINJAGO, LEGO NEXO KNIGHTS™, LEGO City, LEGO Technic and LEGO Friends. 
 
The best way to enjoy this incredible collection of entertainment #BuiltForKids is with the Awesome Annual Pass, which offers unlimited admission for a whole year to both LEGOLAND Florida theme park and LEGOLAND Water Park, along with many other great benefits. It’s a terrific value at just $99 plus tax for Florida residents. Annual passholders, as well as all guests of LEGOLAND Hotel and LEGOLAND Beach Retreat, enjoy early access to select attractions daily, including LEGO NINJAGO The Ride. 
 
For more information about visiting LEGOLAND Florida Resort, including savings on advance purchase of admission tickets, multi-tier annual passes, educational programs, services for guests with disabilities, VIP Experiences, Premium Upgrades, military discounts, on-site accommodations and much more, visit www.LEGOLAND.com/florida, or call (877) 350-5346. 

Today is the last day of IAAPA which is the Amusement Industry's yearly trade show in Orlando. To say that they cram a LOT of stuff into 4 days would be an extreme understatement. We had two days of Live Coverage (IAAPA Day One and IAAPA Day Two) which included a LOT of great announcements. 

​What we're going to do today is concentrate on some of the announcements that we thought were awesome and give out some "awards". Enjoy!! 

HOLY CRAP, IS THIS ENTIRE EVENT IN VR AWARD!?!? 

To say that 2016 was the year of VR at IAAPA would be putting it mildly. It was EVERYWHERE and in lots of different forms. 

While we think VR certainly has it's place we are traditionalists when it comes to Roller Coasters and thrill rides, so we kind of like them to be left alone. 

That being said, some of the VR that we saw at IAAPA this week especially in the interactive video game type simulators was really cool. 

Biggest news that totally blew up our Twitter (in a good way) Award

The awesome people at Sally Corp have done it again and unveiled their concept for a Five Nights at Freddy's Dark Ride. While not a whole lot of details are readily available right now and no park has announced it, with all of the excitement around this one we're sure it's only a matter of time. 

Remember, IAAPA has a lot of concepts from companies that make rides, and there are deals going on throughout the entire convention with parks buying what the companies are selling. 

Hopefully we'll hear something about this one going to a park soon. ​

Most awesome coaster concept

This is an easy one, and it's this model from MACK Rides. First off, MACK rides are already awesome, but this concept appears to be perfect for some smaller parks looking to make a big impact. We can already think of 10-12 parks that this type of ride would be PERFECT for and would essentially put them on the map for the coaster community. 

Again, no park has announced that they are building this, but there are rumors flying around already. Stay Tuned!! 

Most amazing resurrection of technology the Mouse never uses anymore Award

There was some disagreement on the awesomeness of this concept among the members of Team Park Journey. Some of us thought it was just a rehash of technology used in Carousel of Progress. Others thought, well, if Disney isn't gonna use it then why shouldn't somebody else. 

Overall, we think the motion theater from Dynamic Attractions is one of the winners of this years show, the possibilities are endless from large and small parks and things in between like aquariums, observatory's and more. We can't wait to see this put into action. 

Tech we are SURE is gonna end up in a plethora of Haunts in 2017 Award

We became familiar with Technifex last week through their press release, we found it very intriguing and made sure to put them on our list for IAAPA. And we sure weren't disappointed. 

In addition, the people there are amazing and it looks like sometime in the VERY near future we'll be heading to their shop in Valencia to get a closer look at what they do. So stay tuned for that!! 

The "Stepping it up in a BIG way" Award

This was another easy one, and it goes to Triotech. They started off working exclusively with a couple of Cedar Fair parks with, frankly, some mixed results. We were VERY impressed with the Ninjago Ride at Legoland this year though. They definitely addressed some of the issues such as capacity and graphics. 

This year they announced so many new concepts it was hard to keep track. But we loved their demo's of the The Flyer (coming to San Francisco next year) and Werewolves. 

But later on Day One they announced a new Walking Dead walk-through attraction coming to Las Vegas next year but also a Ghostbusters 5D attraction coming next year to Heide Park in Germany. 

They are working with the production companies for these two attractions so they are definitely making a name for themselves and stepping it up. 

What we want the new Wild Rivers in Irvine to look like Award

We've never made any illusions about our extreme love for WhiteWater West. Great slides, great people and check out these models. They are simply amazing. 

So we totally volunteer as tribute for the new waterpark they are supposedly building in Irvine because we want to ride all of this. 

We can't wait to ride whatever you're building now, so will you just announce it already Award
​
RMC has taken the coaster world by storm. Sure, they had a couple of hiccups this year, but every time we ride Twisted Colossus it just keeps getting better and better. 

So of course we had to spend some time checking out RMC, and their amazing track designs. Oddly enough, nothing really announced for 2017 ... yet. But we're sure that's gonna change and change quick. 

Best looking trains Award

This isn't just going to one park, but really to an entire chain of parks, who is working with three different manufacturers to make their trains (how awesome is that). 

SeaWorld Parks totally stole the show with their trains for InvadR at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Wave Breaker at SeaWorld San Antonio and Ocean Explorer at SeaWorld San Diego. 

These are easily among our three most anticipated rides for 2017 and we can't wait to check them out. 

Most Badass IAAPA Coverage Team Award

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention our own Renée. Without whom, well, we wouldn't have had any coverage this year. One of these years we'll totally work it out to get other members of Team Park Journey out there but we can't argue with the results. 

So thanks once again for the amazing coverage, and thanks to all of you who enjoyed it. We are still getting a LOT more info from exhibitors so we'll be posting those up in the next week or two on our Industry News page. 

#IAAPAOut 

Be sure to take our poll below. Some of the choices here were featured in our Day One and Day Two IAAPA Coverage. 

​Related Updates: 

• SFMM Justice League Update #1
• Experiencing HHN Hollywood in a Wheelchair
• Disneyland Resort Update: Avengers Half Marathon, Star Wars Land, Guardians Tower
• Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Tampa begins on November 25
• Knott's Merry Farm Returns on November 19

​If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

If you have any comments, please share them below