January 2000 News Archive

(01/11/00) High Winds Damage Son of Beast.
High winds severely damaged a section of the Son of Beast roller coaster (still under construction) this morning. Cincinnati reports that high winds damaged and splintered a 100-foot section of the coaster, however, PKI states that it should still open on its original opening date. The section of the track that was damaged, wasn't yet properly braced and was still under construction. More news to come.

(01/08/00) Americana Amusement Park Shuts Down.
After about 80 years of operation, the Americana Amusement Park will shut down for the 2000 season. What came as a major shock to coaster enthusiasts and fans everywhere, park manager John Ellis told the press Thursday that the low attendance generated at the park would not generate enough revenues, and instead of decreasing the park's quality to visitors, the owners decided to close. The park owners, Park River Corp., bought Americana in 1996, and have been looking for buyers ever since. Tickets that have been sold for the 2000 season will be refunded, and the year-round employees will be taken care of, says the owners.

More information on this story can be found here.

Hot News: Six Flags introduces 4 new parks.
Premier Parks has done it again, buying four new parks and converting them into Six Flags Theme Parks. The new parks will be Six Flags New England, Six Flags Ohio, Six Flags Holland, and Six Flags Mexico. Massachusetts's Riverside park will become Six Flags New England, receiving plenty of new rides including a Superman: Ride of Steel clone, a Vekoma boomerang, and a Zierer family coaster. Geauga Lake will become Six Flags Ohio with 15 new rides and new coasters including Batman: Knight Flight-a floorless supercoaster similar in layout in Medusa. Superman Ultimate Escape, coming to SFO too, will be a linear induction launched inverted shuttle coaster that shoots you forward up a vertical track, then back down, through the station and up another vertical spiral-like tower. Looks like a cross between an inverted (such as Batman: the Ride) and Superman: the Escape with a little twist. A brand-spankin' new Custom Coasters International-designed wooden roller coaster called The Villain. Six Flags Holland near Amsterdam, will have 3 new coasters, all from Vekoma. First up, a standard boomerang, and a new LSM launched coaster similar to Vekoma's Rock-n-Roller Coaster. A new 100-foot wooden roller coaster from Vekoma will also be included in the trio. Reino Aventura in Mexico will soon become Six Flags Mexico and be given a new Vekoma SLC called Batman: the Ride, and a new Custom Coasters International-designed woodie called "Medusa." From the rendering, it looks great! Much more information about this story available at ThrillRide!