Tuesday 30 June 2015

Theme Park Nut News Update - 30th June 2015

It's the last update for the first half of 2015! And, it's been a pretty quiet week.

Partially because it's the middle of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere, there hasn't been a log of big news this week. So let's start at home in Queensland, where winter school holidays have just started. Which is the perfect time for a kid's attaction to open.

And that's just what Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, has done, opening ABC Kids World last Saturday. This expansion/re-theme of Wiggles World, combines ABC Kids staples of The Wiggles, Play School, Banana's in Pyjamas, and  Giggle and Hoot. While the space isn't huge, this is a great little addition to Dreamworld, and will be great for the pre-school set. We'll be testing it out with our toddler in a few weeks time, so stay tuned for a review of ABC Kids World.

But if you can't wait, here's an ad:



There has also been a little bit of news this week from Disney, but most of it revolver around Selfie Sticks. Firstly on Wednesday last week, there was a report that California Screamin' at Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort, had to be stopped mid run after a rider pulled out a Selfie Stick. The Sticks have been banned from being taken on rides as loose articles at Disney Parks for some time, but they have continued to be a menace in the parks according to staff. Not surprisingly, this incident was followed by the announcement that as of today all Disney parks world wide would prohibit the carrying of Selfie Sticks. The Sticks can be checked at the front gate, and picked up on exit. Personally, I'm for this. I can't see anything good coming from having these sticks in the park, and while Disney is traditionally lenient on carrying objects into parks, I think they have made a wise choice to block Selfie Sticks.

We also saw in the news today that Disney is going to close the Animation Pavilion in Disney's Hollywood Studios, as part of the re-making of this park. For me this is a bit sad, because it really marks the removal of the last "Studios" part of studios. However that isn't unexpected, since we already know that this park is going to rebranded with a new name in the near future. I hope they plan on putting the Animation Academy into another part of Walt Disney World, because I think that is a very cool and unique attraction.

But its not all closures and restrictions for WDW this week, with Captain EO returning to Epcot. Who knows how long it will stay this time, but I'm sure some fans will be glad to see it's return.

News.com.au this week ran a story by photojournalist Seph Lawless, touring the closed down Six Flags New Orleans 10 years after Hurricane Katrina closed the park. The photos of this are pretty epic, and definitely beautiful in it's own creepy way. Very interesting to see! You can see why the site has been used for filming of the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Jurassic World in the last couple of years.

The saddest theme park news of the week is that another of the riders in the horrible Smiler crash at Alton Towers 3 weeks ago, has had to have a leg amputated. Vicky Balch was one of 5 injured riders, who had gone through 7 operations in the last week to attempt to save her right leg, but this was sadly in vain.

For more Theme Park coverage, follow me on Twitter @themeparknut. Until next week, Cheers!

2 comments:

  1. oh my gosh I would love love love to go to the abandoned six flags - how amazing are the photos :) Here's to an awesome second half of the year!!

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  2. I thought that Six Flags was up your alley Fee!! The photos are pretty amazing for sure!

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