Top Thrill 2, HHN Houses Revealed, Disney World, and more+

Top Thrill Dragster Reborn With New Ride Announcement

Cedar Fair on Tuesday announced new details about Top Thrill 2(yes, they actually renamed Top Thrill Dragster to that). These new details basically confirmed what many people had predicted, a huge vertical spike.

This announcement is a little funny thought as Zamperla accidentally posted their press release on the ride on Sunday. They quickly deleted it but not before a ton of people took screenshots of it and it was backed up on the way back machine for all to see. I’m sure someone was scolded at Zamperla for this and that Cedar Fair was very disappointed the news broke early.

To view the announcement video, click here

Here’s what we know about the ride:

• It’s now a Triple Launch Coaster

• First launch is 74 mph, then on the way back it launches you at 101 mph backwards up the spike, and the final launch is at 120 mph.

• The vertical spike is 420 feet tall (that’s so high 😋)

• New state of the art Lightning Trains will be used with an opening layout that should help increase riders per hour

• There will be a switch track to also help increase riders per hour

Universal Orlando Unveils HHN Houses

Universal Orlando has unveiled a ton of their houses for this years’ HHN. Here are the houses that they unveiled

1. Stranger Things

2. The Exorcist: Believer

3. The Last of Us

4. Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count

5. Universal Monsters Unmasked

6. Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins

7. Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate

8. Yeti Campground Kills

9. Darkest Deal

10. Bloodmoon Dark Offerings

There will also be 5 scarezones throughout the park including Dr Oddfellow’s Collection Horror, Dark Zodiac, Jungle of Doom Expedition Horror, Vamp 69 Summer of Blood, and finally Shipyard 32 Horrors Unhinged.

HHN is a very busy event, so if you do visit the Orlando or Hollywood locations, we suggest getting their express pass for the evening or even booking a RIP tour. These two options will more than likely allow you to see all the houses/scarezones/and shows all in one night. Otherwise you will more than likely need at least 2 nights at the event to do everything!

Disney World Moves Forward With Hat Box Ghost At Magic Kingdom

Disney has announced more details about the Hat Box ghost appearing at The Haunted Mansion inside of Magic Kingdom. He will appear later this year and will be seen at the Endless Hallway scene towards the beginning of the ride.

The ride will be closed for refurbishment from August 7th to August 9th, so it can be speculated that when the ride re-opens for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, that the Hat Box ghost might be up and running!

Disney World Announces “Smellephants on Parade’

This is not actually a parade like the name says but instead castmembers will hand out guests a map and sticker sheet that will allow you to scratch and sniff certain smells around Storybook Circus.

The inspiration for this new adventure comes from the Pink Elephants Parade sequence seen in the popular Dumbo movie.

I think this is a great way to get guests into the Storybook Circus portion of the Magic Kingdom, as that area usually isn’t packed. It’s also a free thing to do from the sounds of it which is always a plus!

From The Editor

I decided to delay the newsletter a day for some Cedar Point and Holiday World news that was breaking on Tuesday. Also, I caught a cold so wasn’t feeling the best to write this on Monday night.

This newsletter easily took me 4 hours to research and write! There was just so much news to cover!

Don’t forget that the first person that refers 500 people to this newsletter gets a rollercoaster wheel! So far there isn’t much competition so you still have a chance!

If you want to support us on Patreon, it would be much appreciated and we’ll send you some stickers/magnets no matter what level you donate at! This still remains an expensive hobby of mine, but I one day actually want to have this be my full time job!

Six Flags Fiesta Texas Continues Teasing Us With Insane Clues

I give Jeffrey credit that he isn’t just ‘handing’ this next ride to us. He’s making us work for it with some of the most outlandish clues I’ve ever seen for a rollercoaster reveal. If you want to see more of them, head on over to his X(formerly twitter) account here.

Last week we asked which Universal park was the best. Two of which I guess havn’t been traveled to by anyone in this newsletter (Beijing, Osaka). Hollywood and Singapore tied for votes while Orlando easily took the lead with 60% of the votes as the best Universal park.

Dollywood Announces Paid Fast Pass Like System

Dollywood recently announced a new fast-pass like system called the TimeSaver Line Management Pass. A 1 day normal TimeSaver pass will cost $60 and get you expedited entry 5 total times to any of the 13 participating locations. This can include shows and attractions. This can give you 1 entry to Dragonflier and 1 entry on Lightning Rod. Big Bear Mountain is not included

The TimeSaver Premium pass which costs $80, gets you unlimited entries to the 13 attractions included. You get unlimited entries to Dragon Flier and 1 entry to Lightning Rod. Big Bear Mountain is not included

The TimeSaver Premium gets you Unlimited Entries to the 13 attractions, as well as unlimited on DragonFlier and Lightning Rod. You also get 1 entry to Big Bear Mountain.

Circus Circus Gets $30 Million Overhaul - New Spongebob Ride

In a piece of news that didn’t get much attention, Circus Circus is getting some much needed renovation. The budget for this renovation is $30 million. Some of this has already been used on an arcade area dubbed the ‘Garage’ which has seen bowling, mini golf, and a VR game added. It has also recently added Ax throwing (not sure if this is a good one).

A new Spongebob Squarepants ride is being built that will take up a few of those millions. It has been touted as the only one of its kind on the West Coast.

But apparently one of the biggest things that this renovation budget has gone to is the elevator system. Im not sure that this will help the park improve but maybe its just an expense that had to be done due to the previous elevators falling out of compliance.

Boney Island is Back This Year!

Why is this significant? This was a home haunt that eventually caused tons of backup in the neighborhood because so many people wanted to see their house. They did such a fantastic job that I believe some police had to be called to help deal with traffic control. They eventually were told they could not do a home haunt anymore without some very steep fee to be paid to the police(from what I recall).

They eventually upgraded to a new physical location near the old LA zoo and it was spectacular. For one reason or another they couldn’t secure that same venue and then eventually Covid happened and they took a break.

It seems like they finally have enough time and/or budget to bring back their amazing haunt selection. See our video of their 2018 event here.

At A Glance:

• New Boomerang Model Opens in China

• Six Flags Over Texas Confirms that Mr. Freeze will have 1 car permanently backward

• Hersheypark announces expansion of it’s Halloween event

This Weeks Comic

Those pin traders are just expanding their empire!

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