In the Loop: Buckle up for our theme park news
Welcome to our first edition of In the Loop, the L.A. Times theme park newsletter. I’m Funland theme park blogger Brady MacDonald, and I’ll be rounding up The Times theme park coverage as well as compiling the best industry news and trends from around the Web.
A really big show
I take a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes tour of the new Fast & Furious: Supercharged 3D motion-based simulator that opens this summer at Universal Studios Hollywood and walk away suitably impressed with the massive show building that stretches the length of nearly three football fields.
Projected onto the world’s longest 3-D screen, the new high-definition film will be accompanied by multiple special effects, including water, mist, fire, smoke and wind.
At one point in Fast & Furious: Supercharged, Dom falls from a helicopter on one side of the tram and lands on the hood of a perfectly-timed speeding car on the other side.
(Universal)
China expansion
My colleague Hugo Martin, who covers the travel industry for the Business section, talks to Southern California theme park design and construction firms working on projects in China, where an astonishing 59 parks are in the pipeline.
The biggest challenges? Understanding the local folklore and cultural superstitions that can radically alter plans. The lessons learned? Avoid the unlucky number 4 at all costs. Work the lucky number 8 into as many design schemes as possible. And whatever you do, don’t forget about feng shui.
(Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Under the sea
Knott’s Berry Farm creative director Lara Hanneman offers me a sneak peek at the new Voyage to the Iron Reef interactive dark ride teeming with aqua-mechanical creatures determined to destroy the Buena Park theme park.
The steampunk-inspired attraction occupies a location once home to two beloved dark rides: Knott's Bear-y Tales and Kingdom of the Dinosaurs.
(Knott's)
Fun house on wheels
Wired looks at Hersheypark's new Laff Trakk "fun house on wheels" spinning coaster, complete with distortion mirrors, glow-in-the-dark murals and maniacal laughing clowns.
"In a traditional fun house, you couldn't anticipate what was going to happen next,” says Matt Hockenbrock, the ride's mechanical engineer. “Laff Trakk aims to capture that experience.”
A ghost reappears
As part of Disneyland’s 60th anniversary celebration, Walt Disney Imagineering is adding special effects to three classic attractions: Matterhorn Bobsleds, Haunted Mansion and Peter Pan's Flight.
Hardcore fans have been waiting more than four decades for the return of the Hatbox Ghost, an audio-animatronic figure that disappeared shortly after the ride opened in 1969.
The Hatbox Ghost will return to the Haunted Mansion as part of an upgrade to the classic dark ride by Walt Disney Imagineering.
(Disney)
Safety violations
Our San Diego reporter Tony Perry reports that SeaWorld has been issued four citations by state inspectors who accuse the park of failing to train employees how to "safely interact with killer whales."
The dispute between SeaWorld and the state agency comes amid a continued controversy about the theme park's treatment of orcas, an issue spurred by the documentary "Blackfish."
During a 2014 performance at Shamu Stadium, trainers direct orcas at SeaWorld San Diego.
(SeaWorld)
Casting a spell
Meg James, who covers the business of television and advertising, reports that the Universal theme park unit has become the fastest-growing segment of the Comcast-controlled NBCUniversal media company — thanks to a certain boy wizard.
Theme park revenue at Universal parks in the U.S. rose from $400 million in 2011 to $1.3 billion in 2015 on the strength of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
(Universal)
Spending rises
Domestic theme parks help drive the Walt Disney Co. to a 10% increase in net income for the fiscal second quarter, according to Daniel Miller, who covers the film business for The Times' Company Town team.
Disney's parks and resorts unit posted a 24% gain in operating income thanks in part to increased visitor spending.
MORE
32 best new theme park additions of 2015
Disneyland 2055: What the future may hold for the original Disney park
21 creepiest abandoned amusement parks
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