theme park Archives - Page 2 of 3

DISNEY’S Boardwalk Empire?

Posted on June 17, 2011 by sexyarmpit

What’s most likely the furthest thing from your mind when visiting Disney World: New Jersaaayyyy. The idea of taking a trip to Disney World is usually to get away from all the hustle and bustle. But, as many times as I’ve been to the happiest place on earth, I never realized that one of Disney’s deluxe resorts is inspired by early 20th century Atlantic City and Ocean City NJ. So much for a magical getaway from The Garden State!

It seems the mouse house capitlized on their own “Boardwalk Empire” nearly 15 years before HBO aired their period drama. Opened in 1996 and located near Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios, The Boardwalk Inn and its boardwalk have been compared to shore towns along the Northeastern coast of the U.S in the 20th century, but Disney specifically mentions Atlantic City in the description on their website.

The Boardwalk itself is an actual stretch of boardwalk on Crescent Lake built in the style of Coney Island and Atlantic City in their heyday. The Boardwalk features unique shops, restaurants, and the only microbrewery in Walt Disney World. Also, one of the restaurants is the ESPN Club, a modern sports bar. Got to give Disney points for accuracy. There’s a couple of things you’ll never have a problem finding in New Jersey: beer and sports bars.

Trip Advisor reviews for The Boardwalk resort are pretty high, but one complaint seems to come from people who stayed in rooms overlooking the actual boardwalk. Noise from Disney’s Boardwalk is common since occasionally there are bands playing. There’s also a boat that will transport you to the nearby parks and it blows a horn when it pulls in to the dock located on the boardwalk. If none of that bothers you then you might want to stay there on your next Disney adventure.

From the Disney World website:

“Disney’s BoardWalk Inn is a Disney Deluxe Resort that captures the charm, whimsy and elegance of 1940s Atlantic City. Sitting along a boardwalk packed with amusements, the Resort offers dynamic views of activity below and of the glittering waters of Crescent Lake.”

“Stroll along Disney’s BoardWalk during the day to explore the unusual shops and restaurants. When the sun cools down, the nightlife heats up with street performers, food vendors, midway games and lots of live entertainment.”

Green Lantern Coaster Review at Six Flags Great Adventure

Posted on May 25, 2011September 5, 2018 by sexyarmpit

Forgiving Great Adventure for killing The Great American Scream Machine won’t be easy. I figured that if The Green Lantern Coaster blew me away that I’d have an easy time forgetting about one of my favorite coasters of my youth, but no matter how insane the rides get I’ll always have a thing for The Great American Scream Machine. When I was a kid that was the coaster that got major hype, and rightfully so. As the ride started to decline in popularity I would go on it 6 or 7 times per visit. Good luck pulling that off on the new Green Lantern Coaster, even if you have a Flash Pass! Is the new Green Lantern coaster worth waiting on the long lines for? Slip on your power ring and continue reading to find out!

Roller Coaster enthusiasts know that The Green Lantern Coaster is not the first stand up coaster at Six Flags G.A. The standup coaster SHOCKWAVE made its way to Great Adventure in 1990. Back then it was a new gimmick in the coaster world and people were eating it up. The novelty didn’t last long. It was only a couple of years before it was removed from the park. The Green Lantern Coaster offers this gimmick to a new generation.

Now, situated to the right of Superman Ultimate Flight, there’s an enormous power lantern near the entrance. A schnazzy graphic of Green Lantern towers above the beginning of the line. Since this was a season pass only preview there were a lot of pissed off people hanging around this area. I thought this was the long line for the ride, but it was mostly people who didn’t have season passes and were walking away disgruntled. Our wait was less than a mere half hour. While on the line I was pleased to see that similar to Superman Ultimate Flight, there are large comic book panels posted around the ride queue familiarizing those on line with the Green Lantern mythos. It makes me happy anytime the DC Universe is properly represented in a theme park.

After the wait, we were ready to strap ourselves in. The engineer emphasizes that everyone needs to stand up straight and that they can’t sit down on the annoying crotch piece that protrudes from between your legs. This intruding part of the harness is shoved right up under your crotch! Right off the bat I wasn’t a big fan of it because it was uncomfortable. If you’re a guy and plan on riding this, I recommend opting for boxer briefs the day you plan on riding they’ll keep everything nice and secure. Aside from that minor gripe, the ride was pretty damn exciting.

The GL Coaster is innovative and utilizes the most up to date technology to make for an intense experience. As we made our slow ascent, there was audio from the GL characters pumped through the speakers. From there, it epitomizes the term thrill ride. It’s a full throttle and packed with stomach tickling excitement. The speed of the ride is really what left the biggest impression on me. You’ll be tearing through the air at 63 mph. Obviously stay away if you’re not a roller coaster person, but even if you are, this one is not for the amateurs.

Great Adventure History is a treasure trove of New Jersey theme park goodness. If you are fan of Six Flags G.A and have been going there since you were a kid, this site offers so much park history and ephemera that you might not be aware of. Block out some time on your schedule though because I wound up reading it for solid couple of hours.

New Green Lantern Roller Coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure!

Posted on May 19, 2011 by sexyarmpit

Season Pass holders have access to a special preview of the ride

from May 19th thru May 22nd

What’s better than The Dark Knight Coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure? Almost every ride in the park HA! After Six Flags debuted the last DC Comics Superhero inspired ride The Dark Knight Coaster in a vastly disappointing 2008 premiere, it seems that they are about to redeem themselves.

Presently, The World’s Finest heroes are both heavily represented at Great Adventure. Batman and Superman rides are among some of the best in the park (aside from the lame Dark Knight coaster) which leaves the other members of the Justice League green with envy. One DC hero in particular isn’t going to take it sitting down.

Opening May 25th, the new Green Lantern coaster will be a thrilling experience based on GL’s mystical power ring. The super smooth ride stands 154 feet tall and reaches speeds of 63 mph. It’s now among the tallest and fastest coasters in the world. According to the Six Flags press release the ride will be a towering “…15 stories high with over three quarters of a mile of twisting green steel, this new stand-up coaster will take you on a journey of epic proportions.”

I can’t think of a better movie tie-in than a brand new roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure. Green Lantern is finally getting the credit he deserves. People will be coming from all over the place to ride this one! It’s a 2 minute and 30 second adrenaline rush for most people. For me, it’ll be 2 minutes and 30 seconds pretending I’m flying around like Hal Jordan. Hopefully the standing up-upside down part won’t make people morph their green energy into puddles of vomit.

Six Flags Great Adventure
1 Six Flags Boulevard
Jackson, NJ

Is The Hollywood Horror Cafe a Gamble for Atlantic City?

Posted on April 28, 2011 by sexyarmpit

The Press of Atlantic City.com, Shock Til You Drop, and Dread Central have all previously reported that a horror themed restaurant and wax museum may be coming to Atlantic City!

I want to be elated about this news, but there’s something that really burns my ass about it. We have had a complete drought of any haunted/horror attractions in The Garden State for decades. For those of us who were lucky enough to experience them, we had the luxury of Castle Dracula in Wildwood, The Haunted Castle in Six Flags Great Adventure, and The Spookhouse in Keansburg – which is still there! But for some reason our theme parks and our boardwalks have ignored horror themed attractions for a long time most likely because it might scare the kids. That is such bullshit. Kids need to get the crap scared out of them once in a while, it’s good for them! Personally, even as a kid, being scared was my favorite feeling. I craved horror movies and I longed to go back to Disneyland just to go into the Haunted Mansion. Over the years you could imagine how my hunger for horror has increased since then.

It seems to me that, aside from bloggers, indie filmmakers, and a select handful of others, that the renewed love for the horror and Gothic genres is due to the fake vampire/werewolf craze that Twilight started. It makes me want to puke. The only way we can get wax museums full of monsters and haunted restaurants in New Jersey is if developers see dollar signs. If Twilight does happen to be one of the driving forces behind this new attraction, then I’m fine with it because I’ll take what I can get. I spent too many hours traveling to Manhattan to go to Jekyll and Hyde’s as a punk kid not to mention too much money on their damn food as well.

Attorney Bela Lugosi Jr. is lending his legal help to the project while both he and Sara Karloff are assisting with procuring licensing agreements through their industry contacts. The Hollywood Horror Cafe is only one of the working names for the restaurant. The other possible names are The Gothic Grille and and Frank-N-Stein Bar and Grille.

Don’t hold your breath on this new horror themed attraction. Developers love to stir up the pot but never actually serve the brew. Luckily you have another option. Not far from Atlantic City you can visit Elaine’s Haunted House and Dinner Theater in Cape May NJ, especially during October!

The Spookhouse in Keansburg, NJ

Posted on October 2, 2010 by sexyarmpit

On a whim I recently took a ride to The Keansburg Amusement Park merely to go on a dark ride. After the extremely short ride was over, Miss Sexy Armpit wondered why I wanted to take the drive just for this ride. She also commented that it was “so old,” and for a girl who is usually scared of haunted houses, she thought this was remarkably unscary. She didn’t quite understand the history that this ride holds. This isn’t any old dark ride, this is THE SPOOKHOUSE, one of the first dark rides that ever existed, and even more incredibly…it still operates today!

Sure, it might seem like a hokey old ride to some young kids who are conditioned to see scarier stuff in video games, but The Spookhouse (originally called The Mystery Ride) is truly a landmark in New Jersey. The cars you ride in and other parts of the ride itself date back to the late 1920s! Since I live fairly close, haunted house aficionados, dark ride lovers, and fun house freaks consider me extremely lucky to have the opportunity to hop on this Preztel Ride at my leisure.

I can remember going to Keansburg every summer when I was a kid. My Dad always took me on the rides since he was a good sport. I don’t think he was ever particularly a fan of amusement park rides, (i.e the Tilt-a-Whirl) but he rode them with me anyway! If my mom went on rides she definitely would’ve lost her lunch!

Keansburg hasn’t changed one bit. Many of the same rides that I rode as a child are still there. As for the Spookhouse, yes, it’s been updated and blacklit, but it’s still the same classic ride. It’s truly a piece of American history. If you live in Jersey and have never been to Keansburg, it’s nothing like Six Flags or even Seaside, but it’s a lot of fun for children, it’s very reasonable, and it will bring back tons of memories from when you were a kid!

For the BEST coverage and information ANYWHERE on The Spookhouse, check out Laff In The Dark. They have a complete history of the ride as well as exclusive photos.

Also be sure to visit our friends at The Onezumiverse for more great pictures!

Keansburg Amusement Park: 107 years of Jersey charm

http://tribeca.vidavee.com/advance/vidavee/playerv3/vFlasher_debug.swf/p19=movie1285965039610&d=A02CFA2A2B0077B9DA80569B0678F7E2&

NJ T-Shirt Tuesday 15: Mickey Mouse Chillin’ in Jersey

Posted on August 26, 2009 by sexyarmpit

Unfortunately, this isn’t another practical joke, Mickey won’t actually be chillin’ in Jersey anytime soon. Even if he was, he’d need the proper attire. Here he’s looking more like he was auditioning to be an extra in a McDonaldland commercial. Mick would have looked more appropriate rocking a pair of stone washed jeans and a wife beater, but he got the sunglasses right though! If the folks at Disney animation weren’t so uptight about their squeaky clean image, maybe we’d get an animated short called Mickey’s Sopranos attached to the beginning of The Princess and the Frog? If I was Mickey, I think I’d pick Jiminy Cricket as my consigliere.

If we had it our way here in Jersey, we would’ve had a nice gigantic Disney Theme Park in place of Xanadu, the debacle that’s presently taking up space in the Meadowlands complex. Until then, we can fantasize about how cool it would be to see racks at the gift shops filled with these t-shirts at Disney World: New Jersey.

Recently, eBay Seller VintageCandee1 featured this ’80s Disney T-Shirt with Mickey on the front leaning against the words “New Jersey.” At the bottom of the graphic, the fine print reads “The Walt Disney Company by Velva Sheen.”

Superman Ultimate Flight: Six Flags Great Adventure

Posted on August 17, 2009 by sexyarmpit

This video makes me laugh.

Don’t let any of your friends who consider themselves “hardcore coaster enthusiasts” knock this ride because it’s one of the best in the park! It’s the closest I’ll ever get to flying, unless I score some peyote.

New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments Vol.19: Superman Endorsed Palisade’s Park, NJ!

Posted on April 3, 2009 by sexyarmpit

Until a recent Youtube search, I had no idea that Superman was depicted in ads for NJ’s illustrious Palisades Park. Here’s the original Palisades Park jingle from the ’60s thanks to user Wireman525, who features it on his channel.

Superman is no stranger to amusement parks and he clearly looks happy inviting us to “be his guest” at Palisades Park. For many years Palisades Park actually did reign as one of “America’s Greatest Amusement Parks” like the ad states. Since it closed in 1971, parks that house pulse pounding thrill rides have rendered all other theme parks extinct like dinosaurs. If you’re like me and frequent the Six Flags brand of theme parks, then you’re familiar with the various roller coasters based on good ol’ Supes. Here’s the rundown courtesy of SupermanHomepage.com:

Superman: Ride of Steel (S.F New England & S.F Darien Lake, S.F America, S.F Spain)

Superman: Escape (S.F Magic Mountain, & WB. Movie World, Australia)

Superman: Ultimate Flight (SF Great Adventure NJ, S.F Over Georgia, S.F Great America) Superman: Krypton Coaster (SF Fiesta Texas)

Superman: Tower of Power (S.F Dallas/Ft. Worth & S.F St. Louis)

Superman: The Ultimate Escape (S.F Mexico)

By today’s standards, the Palisades jingle probably seems cheesy to many people, especially those who grew up hearing the inordinately obnoxious “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday” Monster Truck spots. Those commercials pretty much obliterated the chance of any other commercials/jingles grabbing our attention ever again (unless it’s the annoying “gimme back that filet-o-fish” song.) In case you couldn’t make them out, here’s the lyrics to the Palisades Park jingle courtesy of PalisadesPark.com:

Palisades has the rides, Palisades has the fun

Come On Over

Shows and dancing are free, so’s the parking, so gee

Come On Over

Palisades from coast to coast, where a dime buys the most

Palisades Amusement Park, Swings all day and after dark

Ride the coaster, Get cool, In the waves in the pool

You’ll have fun, so..

Come On Over

Surprisingly, this isn’t the only time a DCU character has talked about Palisades Park. Click here to read NJ’s Great Pop Culture Moments Vol.7, which features Jonathan Osterman’s (Dr. Manhattan) trip to the amusement park from the pages of Watchmen!

Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel from Maplewood, NJ

Posted on March 27, 2009 by sexyarmpit

You don’t need EZ-Pass to go on this ride, and probably not even a Fast-Pass. The handmade golden carrousel actually spent close to 40 years in New Jersey before becoming dedicated to Cinderella as part of the Magic Kingdom theme park in Florida’s Walt Disney World. **The above excerpt was scanned from The Walt Disney World Trivia Book Vol.1: Secrets, History, & Fun Facts Behind the Magic by Louis A. Mongello.

Six Flags Great Adventure Going Bankrupt?

Posted on March 12, 2009 by sexyarmpit

Here’s the story courtesy of NJ.com.

Even Great Adventure isn’t immune to the woes of the failing economy. Sad, but true.

The 2nd comment to that post is from “xynamax”: “WHERE’S THEIR BAILOUT?”

Haha! I loved that comment. We need distractions just as much as we need cars. Escaping reality is one of the best ways to cope with stress in our hectic lives. Enjoying a “great adventure,” is one of life’s little joys. Although waiting on those long lines is NOT. I don’t think I’ll be able to live without going on Nitro a couple of hundred more times in my life. Somebody save Six Flags!