Kentucky Kingdom- Viral Video claims Roller Coaster Unsafe?

Kentucky Kingdom- "Lightning Run Unsafe" claims Viral Video.

Image from courier-journal.com

 Okay people, I know as a whole we love to freak out and look for problems where none exist. However, it's the internet and I would like to hope most of you do some research before just believing anything you see or read.

 Although, knowing today's society that's not often to case. So here I am to explain things.

 In simple English- Lightning Run IS Safe.

 High intensity roller coasters MUST have some give and take built into the design, they ALL move to some extent. They have to or the steel would warp and shatter under the forces of the ride. Remember, what we feel while riding is only a faction of the stresses which the supports and track are under. Every single roller coaster, from steel to wood, have some sway involved.

 Ever walk under a coaster? Remember feeling the vibrations of the ride on your feet? Most parks hide as much of the track as possible, so most people don't see the normal give/take process which these thrill rides employ. I've watched enough coasters in my life to tell you, they ALL do this at some point. It's not a design flaw, it's a careful design built into the ride.

 Don't believe me? Watch a looping coaster sometime, nearly all of them sway. Many helix elements sway as do cobra rolls and bunny hills. Wooden coasters have plenty of give/take involved as wood is more forgiving then steel with matters of sway. We don't suddenly believe these rides are unsafe because someone posts a video to Facebook and attempts to stir things up, now do we?

 Nope. So let's not start now.

Image from Kentucky.com

 John Mulcahy,the person in charge of communications and marketing at Kentucky Kingdom has even come out to say the ride is safe. It's passed all the tests from the state inspections as well as the design teams high standards. He explains it rather well in this statement- "There are so many twists, turns in this track that there are some points where it does release, and you see that movement," Mulcahy said. "We are aware that there is movement in the coaster track, and it is there by design.".

 So let's stop freaking out. Let's not damn a ride before it get's a chance to live. Let's give Kentucky Kingdom benefit of the doubt, it's no longer associated with Six Flags who caused the parks last accident through negligence.  This is a new park with a bright future, one that I want to see and that we all deserve to have.

 I've said to before, I'll say it again- Don't believe everything to you read without doing some simple research!



Need more proof? Read the full report from Wave3 News. 

Universal Studios Hollywood- Fast and Furious Ride for 2015

Universal Studios Hollywood Announces New "Fast and the Furious- Supercharged" attraction for 2015.


 Just today Universal Hollywood broke the news of their newest attraction- One themed off the hit franchise "Fast and the Furious".

 Information about the new ride is still under wraps but Universal stated it will be a thrill ride/movie hybrid attraction which will be placed in the studios 'back lot' area. The attraction will use some of the famous 'back lot' trams which will be encompassed by massive 400 foot long movie screens. Folks from Universal Creative has said they will make guests feel like their exceeding more then 100 MPH with some theme park magic.

 Also announced recently Universal Studios Hollywood will be extending their normal "Back Lot Tour" into evening hours, the tours currently end at sunset.

 This goes along with the new additions of "Despicable Me" and "Super Silly Fun Land" as well as a massive planned addition to the Simpsons area of the park. Universal has stated their finally catching up from years of semi-neglect from owners more interested in pulling cash out of the parks rather then re-investing in them. Comcast, the most recent owner, has other ideas which are really bringing life and new things back to their parks. 

2014 "Opening Day" Bucket List

 That's right, it's time for the big event!
 The one big post that we've all been looking forward to, the post that let's all of us plot our summer activity's together- The 2014 "Opening Day" Bucket List!

 Below you'll find a massive list of Amusement Parks and Theme Parks, along with a listing of their opening date and a link to their website. All the good news you've wanted in one convenient location! This year we've divided things up by state, just to make it a little bit easier to navigate versus previous posts- We hope it helps!

 I know I've missed several parks in this list, if there is something you'd like to see listed here- Leave a comment and I'll track them down!

(Keep Reading for the Listings)

Grand Texas Theme Park- Greased Lightnin' Not Returning

Image from Culture Map Houston

Grand Texas Theme Park- Greased Lightnin' Roller Coaster NOT Returning.


 The New Theme Park, Grand Texas is ready to begin construction but they've got some bad news for possible future guests.

 While people may be calling the park "The New Astroworld" it will be missing a key piece of the now extinct park. While Grand Texas had planned to rebuild the classic Schwarzkoph Shuttle Loop roller coaster, those plans have now been scrapped.

 Greased Lightnin' was sold when Astroworld closed and has changed hands at least twice. However, the once iconic ride has never been re-assembled at either park which owned it. We're unsure if the current owner refuses to sell the ride or if this is purely a money issue.. but Grand Texas has announced they won't be getting the once iconic thrill ride.

 Rather Grand Texas has stated they will be building another roller coaster, which promises fans a trip down "Coaster Memeory Lane". The park is being very quiet about what the new plans may involve but they are currently promising disappointed fans that the new ride will be a "taller, faster and similar" ride.

 Could Grand Texas be looking at a New Shuttleloop Coaster? Perhaps another model from another park? Right now, no one seems to know. We'll bring you more information as it becomes available. 

Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcons Fury reaches 300 feet

 Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcons Fury Reaches 300 Feet

 Progress at Busch Gardens Tampa for their new Drop Tower attraction, Falcons Fury has reached a big milestone this week. 

 The tower finally topped over 300 feet tall, leaving just the last section to be completed, the tower cone. Which will top the ride off at a rather staggering 335 feet tall. This will allow riders to drop a staggering 315 while facing the ground.

 Yes, facing the group. The ride carriage or 'gondola' for Falcons Fury will rotate riders to 90 degrees, facing the ground before they proceed to drop you on what I can imagine will feel like your face!  This ride is the first time ever this feature has been used on a drop tower. With this new addition and new technology, I've heard some fans rumbling and wondering if Falcons Fury will face the same issues that Mach Tower at Busch Gardens Williamsburg has had issue with. 

 The ride is slated to open in Spring of 2014. No word yet on if the rides gondola has arrived at Busch Gardens Tampa. 

 Well, let's wait and see while hoping for the smoothest opening possible!  Personally I'm not a fan of drop tower style rides but with the unique (and likely scary as hell) view Falcon's Fury will give, I may have ride it.. once. 

Park Review- Busch Gardens Tampa

Park Review of Busch Gardens Tampa

Day: Friday
Date: September 27th, 2013
Weather: Partly Cloudy and Warm
Overall Rating: Excellent
Coaster Rating: Excellent
Opinion: Great Park!
Staff: Carrie, Kitsune and Jennifer


 Originally we planned to visit Busch Gardens Tampa on Saturday but we changed this to visit Howl-O-Scream for their media event. This turned out to be an excellent idea as the sky did look like rain, which kept the crowds nice and low but the humidity was rather annoying.

 Busch Gardens Tampa is located in Tampa Bay, Florida. This park is about an hour southwest of Orlando and about an hour north of Naples, which gives the park a great location in Central Florida. Far enough from the Orlando theme parks that it can easily stand on it's own as well as offering the best coasters in the state.  Originally owned by Anheuser-Busch it opened in 1959 was a beer tasting center and a bird garden. Over the years the park evolved into it's theme of "Africa" which differs from it's sister park in Virginia.  In 2011 the park changed hands and is now managed by The Blackstone Group, the jury is still out over if this was an improvement or hindrance. Busch Gardens also has a large African Animal collection which is visible in the park, they are accredited by the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums).

Read on for the Full Review! 

Carowinds will recieve a New Coaster with their Expansion

Recently we talked about the 3 year, $50 Million Dollar expansion that is going into Carowinds Park.

 Well it seems like the local news has also been talking about the planned expansion of the Cedar Fair park, to the point we now know that Carowinds will receive a roller coaster with some of this expansion money.  Screamscape reported that the park will also get nearly another million from the county of Mecklenburg in tax rebates for upgrading the park and bringing in new jobs.

 The really interesting part of this is that a closed session transcript showed up online from the Charlotte Observer, which reports that nearly $30 million will be spent on a 'New Roller Coaster that is 70 feet taller then Intimidator". This means Carowinds will receive not only a new roller coaster but one that is over 300 feet tall!   However, there is no timeline or year for when this new coaster could open. Just sometime in the next three years.

 Also in that same article is a list of what Cedar Fair plans to spend their investment one, aside from one jumbo-size roller coaster. $2.5 Million will go to a new 'water slide' of some form, $7 Million will go to building the rumored new 'food' complex and finally $4 Million will be spent between ticket booth and parking lot improvements.

Banshee Watch- Track is going up!

Image from Kings Island's Facebook Page

Just a quick update for all you folks out there following the Banshee News coming from Kings Island.

Kings Island has officially gotten the very first piece of track for their record breaking new coaster, Banshee, into place!

Now, I can't say for sure but this looks a lot like either station track or part of maintenance track to me. I simply must admit, I'm loving the color scheme for this ride! Either way, progress has begun on the build and we personally can't wait for this rides opening day to come! We sure hope that progress continues at this fast pace and that the ride is ready for April, because I promise you, we here at ISI will be there with bells on for it's opening day!

(Special Thanks to ISI's own Alex for spotting this today!)