ARLINGTON, Texas — Hurricane Harbor Arlington, the largest water park in North Texas, is thrilled to announce its largest investment in park history with the debut of Splash Island and a variety of new guest amenities set for 2025. This expansion introduces a vibrant coastal-themed area featuring colorful slides and a multi-level interactive play structure, perfect for young guests. Children will have more activities to enjoy than ever before, while families can appreciate the updated dining options, family cabanas, and refurbished restrooms, enhancing the overall park experience.
Key Features of the Expansion:
- Splash Island: This new 58,000 square foot area features a multi-level water play structure with over 110 water features, seven kid-friendly water slides, and various water gadgets. A 1,000 gallon Texas-sized tipping water bucket adds to the fun, soaking splash-seekers below.
- Kids Water Slide Area – Splash Island also includes seven additional water slides for smaller riders, including a mini-tornado water slide and a mini wave slide. The addition of Cowabunga, Jellyfish Twist (two slides), RipQurl, Shark Attack, Splashin’ Seal, and Stingray Racer brings the perfect number of drops and twists for little ones seeking a gentle thrill.
- A new Splash Pad featuring 24 water features.
- Enhanced Amenities: Guests can rent new family cabanas and oversized umbrellas for added shade and comfort. Junior guest-friendly furniture will also be available, and restrooms in the area will be refurbished.
- Enhanced Dining Options: The signature restaurant will be renovated to enhance the culinary experience for guests, along with other revitalized dining features.
“This historic expansion at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor represents a whole new experience for families next year,” said Richard Douaihy, Park President of Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor. “We are transforming the water park with exciting new family attractions and enhanced comfort and dining options, making it the premier destination for family waterpark fun in North Texas. Plus, with a Gold and Prestige season pass, guests can enjoy unlimited access to both Hurricane Harbor and Six Flags Over Texas, offering unparalleled value in family entertainment.”
ALTOONA, Iowa — Adventureland Resort continues its 50th celebration by offering a gift to its guests. The Home of Iowa’s Best Thrills is extending its summer season by adding three days to its calendar along with more hours each day this week. Adventureland will extend its daily operations through August 21, providing even more time to ride theme park favorites like the reimagined Underground, Monster, Flying Viking and more.
The Altoona theme park is also opening an hour earlier through August 18 and extending hours later into the night August 16 through 18 for its first-ever drone shows. This weekend, the park will host the largest 3D drone show to ever take flight in the state. Featuring iconic park images representing Adventureland, including one unique design voted on by guests. Parkgoers had the opportunity to choose between four unique drone designs including Monster, Underground, Tornado, Outlaw and Draken Falls. The winning design will be revealed at the first show on Friday, August 16.
“The drone show is unlike anything we’ve ever done before. It showcases the park’s forward-thinking spirit and is the perfect way to kick off our lineup of fall events,” Adventureland General Manager Mike Lusky said. “Our extended season offers families and thrill-seekers more fun-filled days of endless entertainment and unforgettable memories.”
Celebrating its 10th year, Adventureland’s beloved Oktoberfest event will feature live music, games, contests and wrestling along with Adventureland’s most popular rides. The following week, fear kicks into gear with Iowa’s largest Halloween event, Phantom Fall Fest. The haunts are back and scarier than ever with four scare zones, four terrifying haunted houses and a spooky new take on the reimagined Underground, the world’s only indoor wooden roller coaster.
Visitors can enjoy all that’s to come for the year when they purchase a 2025 Season Pass. The Home of Iowa’s Best Thrills is offering free admission for the rest of 2024 with the purchase of a 2025 Season Pass. In addition to the drone show and extra days, select passes will also include the fan-favorite 21-plus Oktoberfest event on September 14 and Phantom Fall Fest on select days September 21-October 27.
For a limited time, parkgoers can save up to $60 on 2025 Season Passes and get the rest of 2024 for free. Current Passholders can also save up to $70 if they renew now.
CHICAGO — Since its grand opening in March 2024, Flyover in Chicago by Pursuit at Navy Pier has mesmerized thousands with a breath-taking immersive experience, culminating in an aerial journey over the Windy City, highlighting its iconic landmarks. Flyover constructed this 61-seat theatre, installed a Brogent ride system and brought in other specialists to work on the audio-visual elements.
Kraftwerk Living Technologies (KLT), renowned for its expertise in flight ride attraction technology, designed and supplied an advanced audio-visual (AV) setup featuring projection, control, and audio further enhanced by the state-of-the-art IOSONO spatial audio system supplied and supported by ENCIRCLED.
ENCIRCLED has provided IOSONO systems not only for Flyover in Chicago but also for an upgraded system in Vancouver, Canada.
“ENCIRCLED takes pride in offering one of the most flexible immersive rendering solutions with excellent integration features. The company’s expertise was instrumental throughout various project stages, from working with KLT’s Audio System Designer Philipp Hartl, Immersive Sound Designer Tim Archer of Masters Digital and the Flyover team in planning the loudspeaker setup to helping KLT again on the final fine-tuning sound calibration, as well as developing the object-based content production workflow to be prepared for the newest immersive audio creation tools or the multitude of channel-based formats,” said Jan Langhammer, joint managing director at ENCIRCLED.
Eric Sambell, Global Director, Construction and Entertainment Technology, added, “We wanted a simple system that could be used across our attractions, one that could provide a breathtaking audio experience for our guests and a consistent workflow for our content and technical teams.”
The Flyover team enlisted the support of key vendors to launch their Chicago attraction. This includes TechMD’s Dave Revel as the project consultant, Kraftwerk Living Technologies as the AV system integrator, and Tim Archer from Masters Digital as the sound designer and mixer.
Curious about how immersive audio inside a flight ride attraction actually works?
At Flyover in Chicago, KLT’s meticulous multichannel loudspeaker design ensures riders receive a tailored soundscape and experience. The system features 34 JBL AM7215 loudspeakers positioned behind and to the sides of the 435 sqm perforated screen from Endurescreens plus 4 2×18” JBL ASB7128 subwoofers stacked on the floor, all driven by Crown DCiDA series Dante enabled amplifiers. In addition, there are integrated in-seat speakers powered by Innosonix multi-channel high-density amplifiers, and the advanced ENCIRCLED IOSONO spatial audio processor powered by IOSONO inside software, which manages calibration, content playback, and live input rendering.
“ENCIRCLED played a pivotal role by planning the loudspeaker layout, selecting appropriate speaker types, configuring the software on the spatial audio processor, and conducting acoustic calibration post initial speaker tuning by KLT,” said Kevin Murphy, Senior VP Sales and Business Development at Kraftwerk Living Technologies. “ENCIRCLED optimized loudspeaker directional aiming, assisted with the fine tuning of the system to meet the requirements of the ENCIRCLED processor and workflow tuning, and supported the content production process for future adaptation of content or new movies to IOSONO’s object-based format.”
The spatial audio system’s design allows precise localization of sound both horizontally and vertically, enhancing the visual content displayed on the giant screen. “Unlike traditional immersive audio formats, which often have limited possibilities in vertical panning of audio sources, the IOSONO rendering system’s unique multilayer approach utilizes multiple loudspeaker groups to achieve sound positioning across the screen,” said Murphy.
The middle layer’s high-resolution speakers enable accurate sound localization through Wave Field Synthesis, creating stable point source objects on the screen and ensuring consistent sound perception from all seats. A significant challenge was the playback of existing content, which ENCIRCLED overcame using IOSONO’s Spatial Audio Workstation. This tool treats multichannel content as a virtual speaker setup within the newly built dome, allowing precise matching of each channel’s position to the existing speakers used in other flight ride attractions. Newly produced content benefits from an object-based workflow, where individual sounds are stored with 3D position metadata, allowing the same content file to be rendered across different loudspeaker layouts, ensuring superior quality and easy content transfer.
“ENCIRCLED are extremely proud to be part of this project and grateful for the trust placed in us to support the design of the loudspeaker setup for the main show. With over 10 previous flight ride installations around the globe, we brought valuable knowledge to the table and contributed confidently to the acoustical design of this state-of-the-art flight ride attraction system,” added Max Röhrbein, joint managing director at ENCIRCLED.
The integration of IOSONO spatial audio system from ENCIRCLED not only enhances the immersive experience but also sets a new standard for audio quality and versatility for flight ride attractions, providing visitors with a uniquely engaging and memorable experience.
Gold Medal Products Co., the leader in concession equipment and supplies, is thrilled to announce the launch of four fresh and innovative cotton candy bag designs. These bags, featuring enchanting and vibrant artwork, are designed to engage and delight customers of all ages.
The new collection includes:
- Baby Unicorn Dragon Cotton Candy Bag: This eye-catching bag features a pink baby unicorn dragon munching on a cloud of cotton candy. The bright and colorful design is perfect for children’s parties, carnivals, or other fun events.
- Troll Cotton Candy Bag: Featuring a whimsical blue troll holding rainbow-colored balloons and cotton candy, this bag’s playful and bright design will spark joy and imagination in kids and adults alike.
- American Eagle Cotton Candy Bag: Celebrating America, this bag showcases a majestic red, white, and blue eagle with an American flag backdrop. Ideal for patriotic celebrations such as Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day.
- Zombie Cotton Candy Bag: Perfect for Halloween, this spooky bag depicts a mob of creepy zombies. Dark and eerie, it adds a frightfully fun touch to any fall event.
Each bag measures 12” x 18” and is made from high-quality, 1-mil thick clear plastic, ensuring that the cotton candy inside remains fresh and appealing. The bags are packaged in cases of 1,000 and come with twist ties for easy sealing.
Adam Browning, president of Gold Medal stated, “Our goal is to offer fun and innovative products that enhance the experience for both vendors and consumers. Whether you’re hosting a child’s birthday party, a patriotic celebration, or a spooky Halloween event, our new cotton candy bags will add an extra touch of magic and excitement.”
The top 15 applicants competed yesterday, Aug. 7th, in a Brick Factor competition held at American Dream with LEGOLAND Discovery Center New Jersey. Their skills were put to the test with creative challenges and timed model builds in front of a panel of judges from LEGOLAND Resorts across the country.
After a day featuring builds that included interpretations of Atlas Statue at Rockefeller Center, galaxies and planets, knights, and contestants’ dreams, six finalists were selected to compete in the final Brick Factor at LEGOLAND New York on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
- Marquis Aquino – Central Valley, NY
- Louis Flatt – Warren, PA
- Leif Lindholm – Croton-on-Hudson, NY
- John “Jack” Mohan – Port Jervis, NY
- Asa Nelson – New Windsor, NY
- Benjamin Wilkins – Byron, NY
The public is invited to watch the final round at LEGOLAND New York on Aug. 14. Join us as we crown the new Model Builder for the Park! The event can be experienced by purchasing a same day visit to the Park.
LEGOLAND New York Resort is searching for its next Model Builder to join its team, giving LEGO enthusiasts the chance to secure the ultimate dream job. This hands-on role will ultimately be responsible for more than 15,000 LEGO models made from more than 30 million bricks, showcasing their creativity and imagination on a full-time basis.
Laramie Coffey, of Stillwater, Okla., has joined Eastern States Exposition’s Agriculture department as the organization’s Livestock Program Coordinator. Coffey is responsible for coordinating all competitive livestock events during The Big E and year-round shows; developing and maintaining strong working relationships with breed representatives, regional and national associations, and other agricultural fairs; as well as supporting livestock show facilitation, initiatives and educational programming.
Coffey obtained a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources from Oklahoma State University in May 2024. She graduated with a major in Agricultural Communications and minor in Agribusiness.
She has held livestock internship positions with several agricultural organizations, including Oklahoma Youth Expo, Cattlemen’s Congress and the New Mexico State Fair. In addition to those experiences, Coffey was a Youth Activities intern at the American Hereford Association, where she assisted the youth department in planning and executing summer activities for more than 800 junior members.
Prior to joining the Exposition’s fulltime staff, Coffey initially came on board as Livestock Program Assistant in a contractor role following her graduation. She most recently worked with the Oklahoma 4-H Foundation as a Communications Student Worker, preparing correspondence mailings, designing social media graphics tailored to the foundation, creating digital content, and assisting in creating and printing various marketing materials.
“I am thrilled to join the team at Eastern States Exposition as the Livestock Program Coordinator,” said Coffey. “With a background in livestock show management and valuable experience from previous internships, I am eager to apply my skills, deepen my knowledge of livestock shows in New England, and meet the dedicated exhibitors who make these events so special,” she added.
The Big E, produced by Eastern States Exposition, takes place Sept. 13-29 in West Springfield, Mass. The Big E is the seventh largest fair in North America and is recognized as the largest event on the East Coast by attendance numbers. Advance discount tickets are now available at TheBigE.com and select Rocky’s Ace Hardware locations. Visit the website for a full schedule of events and check out the fairtime excitement on social media.
Yordan Yordanov, a business student from Bulgaria, is spending his second summer working at Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City, N.J., through the J-1 exchange visitor program.
Yordan Yordanov is spending his second summer in a row in New Jersey. “It will remain my second home for life,” he said. “Even though I’ve been here … overall, six months.”
Yordanov is from Bulgaria and has always wanted to see what life is like in America. He is in the United States on a J-1 visa, which allows overseas residents to enter the country on a work-study visitor exchange. He is one of 25 overseas students working at Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City, New Jersey, this summer.
The boardwalk attraction employs 300 people during the summer tourist season. On any given year, Playland employs between 20-25 exchange visitors, according to Brian Hartley, vice president of the boardwalk attraction.
“We pretty much try to just keep it to that,” he said. “This way we can really make sure that they’re taken care of.”
Though COVID-19 is still a pandemic, according to the World Health Organization, Hartley hopes life does not return to the early days of the public health emergency.
“We had a lot of kids who were afraid, parents were afraid for the kids to get a job, especially here,” he recalled. “You’re collecting tickets from people, you’re kind of touching them, people are sitting in seats, and someone else is sitting in it. We were going around washing them between every ride.”
Playland also didn’t receive any overseas help in 2020.
Suspended early in the pandemic
The federal government under the Trump administration suspended J-1 visas as it tried to limit the spread of COVID-19, according to the American Immigration Council. Restrictions were eased the following year under the Biden administration. However, there was a backlog in American embassies overseas.
Hartley said things have slowly returned to pre-pandemic levels.
“In 2021, I think we only have four or five [students,]” he said. Then it was a slow start getting going in 2022. A lot of the embassies were still closed for a while. But everyone now is really back into the full swing of things.”
A State Department spokesperson said that substantial improvements were made last year in reducing wait times across all visa categories.
For the last couple of years, the Alliance for International Exchange reported that more than 4,900 overseas students came to the U.S. for a summer work-travel program.
Lisa Murray, director of the exchange program at the American Immigration Council, said she is also seeing a return to pre-pandemic activity in exchange programs.
“It’s taken us a few years to kind of get back up to our pre-COVID numbers. I would say that we are definitely there now.”
J-1 visa’s grand scheme is diplomacy
J-1 visas have been in existence since the 1960s when the Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange Act was instituted. The initiative allowed people into the United States to study and build experiences with host organizations.
“By doing these exchanges, you’re placing people in the U.S., they’re taking that experience, they’re returning home, and they’re sharing that experience,” said Murray. “That’s where … the diplomacy helps out.”
How the J-1 visa process works
According to the State Department, New Jersey was in the top 10 for summer work-travel destinations. But Murray said exchange visitors in resort areas get to share their culture with different people while experiencing different types of American culture.
She adds there are other opportunities available to exchange visitors.
“The other categories are interns and trainees, research scholars, teachers, and au pairs, with the summer work-travel,” Murray said.
A mutual exchange on the Jersey Shore
Hartley said exchange visitors fill an important gap in the summer tourist season — the last weeks of August. That’s when a lot of domestic students begin to head back to college, high school athletes begin preparing for fall sports and parents decide on one last trip for the family.
Most students he hires are primarily from Kosovo, Romania, and Bulgaria. That’s because of the timing with the summer tourism season and their academic year.
Brian Hartley, vice president of Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City, said exchange visitors help the boardwalk attraction get through a staffing gap toward the end of August. His company is hosting 30 exchange visitors this summer.
But Hartley adds they’ve hired students who weren’t from Eastern Europe as well.
“This year, we have our first from Thailand,” he said. “We’ve had Jamaica, Ireland, Spain, France; we’ve … had a great mixture of kids from all over the place.”
Hartley adds it’s not all work for the overseas students that work for him.
“We’ll have a miniature golf tournament that we’re going to do with all the kids. We have a couple employee parties after the park closes,” he said, adding they encourage the students to travel during July, when there is enough staff available.
“They go down to Miami, DC, New York. … Philadelphia,” he said. “They’re here not only to work, but for the cultural experience as well.”
Yordanov, who is studying business back home in Bulgaria, hopes to take what he is learning along the Jersey Shore and use it to start his own clothing business after he graduates.
“I’m asking a lot of questions to the owner [and to] Brian about how they advertise the amusement park,” he said.
Yordanov also hopes to get some travel in as well. He visited Philadelphia last year, and though it was shortened by the weather, it was long enough for him to have a cheesesteak.
“I loved it,” he recalled. “They said Philadelphia has the best cheesesteaks.”
This year, he hopes to visit Philadelphia again. But Miami is at the top of his list of destinations, in addition to the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
Though Yordanov loves New Jersey, he admits, “If I fall in love with Miami, I will make it my second home.”
We’re close to the final days of summer but Kings Island is already looking ahead to next season. Today the amusement park announced that its Soak City water park will be adding RiverRacers, Ohio’s first and only dual-racing water coaster. Riders will board side-by-side rafts where they will be launched down a drop at speeds up to 30 mph then propelled uphill by water jets and sent through the rest of the course. For kids, the park is adding Splash River Junction, a play area with seven new water slides. Season passes are now on sale and include admission for the rest of this year and all of 2025.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Halloween is just around the corner and LEGOLAND Florida Resort is introducing a brand-new Monster Skytacular drone aerial show! Get ready to party with your favorite LEGO monsters this fall when Brick-or-Treat presents Monster Party returns on select Saturdays and Sundays from September 14 through October 27. Plus, don’t miss our special opening day on Friday, September 13th. This Halloween-themed bonus day gives you even more time to enjoy the festivities!
This kid-friendly event is the only time of year where guests can meet the Park’s exclusive LEGO monster characters, indulge in our exclusive limited-time food and beverage offerings, enjoy special immersive Halloween shows and go trick-or-treating to collect loads of candy. It’s the ultimate kids’ Halloween celebration, packed with awesome entertainment and attractions.
“We are thrilled to introduce a new level of innovation and entertainment to our guests with our Monster Skytacular drone show. This marks a historic first for any LEGOLAND Park,” said LEGOLAND Florida Resort President Franceen Gonzales. “As the new President of this awesome resort, it’s exhilarating to hit the ground running with such a remarkable event. We can’t wait for everyone to witness LEGO creativity combined with cutting-edge technology light up our skies this Halloween.”
NEW! Monster Skytacular Drone Show
End your Brick-or-Treat nights with the exhilarating and brand-new Monster Skytacular aerial show! Featuring dazzling drones, flashes of fireworks and bumping beats, the monster party is taking to the skies. For the first time in LEGOLAND Florida Resort’s history, 500 individual drones will soar high over Lake Eloise to end every event night with a great show. The state-of-the-art drones will feature intricate, synchronized patterns and combine the excitement of fireworks… Seamlessly blending LEGO and technology in a unique way.
Candy, Candy and MORE Candy
The Monster Party wouldn’t be complete without the chance to Brick-or-Treat throughout the streets of LEGOLAND Florida Resort. Wander through awesome themed sections of the Park to fill your bags with all the candy at its seven themed candy stations. Beware of the Curse of the Pharaoh as you
creep past the Creatures of the Kingdom all the way to Wicked Sweet Way. All candy stations open at 2 p.m. every event day with courtesy candy bags available for guests.
Eerily Awesome Entertainment & Attractions
Guests can get into the BOO-tastic Halloween spirit each event day with several special shows and attractions throughout the Park:
- Lord Vampyre is hosting the coolest, most exclusive dance party for Very Important Monsters and guests are invited to bring their monstrous moves to the V.I.M. Dance Party.
- Don’t miss tryouts for the Zombie Cheer Crew in Fun Town where guests can show off their best dance moves at a high-energy pep rally featuring Zombie Cheerleader herself.
- Something ‘unbeLEAFable’ is happening in LEGO City! Packed with energetic singing and dancing, The UnbeLEAFable Halloween Night is a musical mystery featuring an appearance by Plant Monster.
- Every event evening, the 4D Theater transforms into the Mad Scientist Laboratory, an interactive experience where families can meet special LEGO characters including Square Foot and Wolf Guy.
- Step aboard the Disco Dragon Coaster in LEGO Kingdoms and get ready to jive with a groovy monster jam and party lights or take a ride on the Monster Party Carousel to really show off your costume around Fun Town.
- In addition, all your favorite LEGO Monsters can be found throughout the Park, including Monster Rocker, Spider Lady, Mummy, Zombie Pirate, Mad Scientist, Scarecrow, Witch and Shark Suit Guy!
This year marks an exciting chapter for Zamperla’s family- friendly attractions, with two highly anticipated rides debuting at major theme parks. These are two Family Coaster 155’s, each showcasing immersive theming and exceptional customer interaction, underscoring Zamperla’s dedication to creating unforgettable experiences for visitors of all ages.
“These two attractions exemplify Zamperla’s dedication to realizing our purpose of delivering smiles,” says Adam Sandy, Roller Coaster Sales and Marketing Director at Zamperla. “It has been a lot of fun for our team to work with the IP owners to design parks limited only by the size of imagination, allowing even the youngest riders to experience the thrill of their first coaster adventure.”
Snoopy’s Tenderpaw Twister Coaster, a Zamperla Family Coaster 155, is one of the several new additions to the newest Camp Snoopy™ at Knott’s Berry Farm.
The attraction, along with a Super Happy Swing and a Dino Convoy, has already captivated young visitors and their families, who have enjoyed the fun-filled sensations on board.
The coaster features engaging theming inspired by the beloved Peanuts characters, providing a charming adventure for kids of all ages and their families.”Experiencing first rides and first theme park moments as a family is what Knott’s is all about,” said Jon Storbeck, Vice President and General Manager at Knott’s Berry Farm. “Our newly reimagined Camp Snoopy will allow parents and kids to ride and play together and be truly immersed in a summer camp experience right alongside the entire Peanuts Gang.”
This project marks three decades of collaboration between Knott’s Berry Farm and Zamperla. One of the main focuses of this attraction is the theming using the Peanuts™ IP. It offers a new experience for park-goers, fitting the great storytelling found at Knott’s Berry Farm, showcasing the artistry and care of Zamperla’s artistic department.
“This has been one of the most challenging IPs for our team,” says Enrico Patechi, Creative Design Manager “Our artistic team works with great care, experience, and precision, which is crucial because working with intellectual properties is not easy. Adapting the IP to the strict rules of the mechanical ride and safety constraints is indeed demanding. We must achieve this without altering the IP, maintaining accurate proportions and design guidelines, and meeting both the client’s and the brand’s requirements.”
Another attraction where theming and IP work have been highly significant is Papa Wutz’ Achterbahn, another Zamperla Family Coaster 155 at the brand-new Peppa Pig Theme Park in Germany.
“Hasbro’s Peppa Pig and her loving family coming to Günzburg, Germany is our opportunity to bring joy, create connections, and make memories for families with young children throughout Europe,” said Scott O’Neil, Merlin CEO, at the opening.
The project includes Papa Wutz’ Achterbahn, one of Zamperla’s Family Coaster 155, crafted specifically for young children and their families, and a Zamperla Jumping Star. The Family Coaster 155, already loved by park-goers, invites guests to join Daddy Pig on a fun journey, providing just the right amount of excitement for little ones experiencing their first coaster with both a lift and launch. The Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster is not the only one created by Zamperla. The first one opened in 2022 at the Peppa Pig Theme Park in Florida, and another one is set to open before the end of the year at the Peppa Pig Theme Park in Dallas.
