June 2010 - Amusement Today

June 2010 AMUSEMENT TODAY 11
AMUSEMENT PARKS
www.AmusementToday.com
FEC’S ATTRACTIONS RESORTS ENTERTAINMENT SUPPLIERS
BRIEF
The Great Escape
opens season with
new entertainment
The Great Escape &
Splashwater Kingdom,
Lake George, N.Y., opened
for the 2010 season on May
8 with a host of renovations,
top-tier entertainment and
guest benefits. The Great
Escape's 2010 season highlights
include:
•Cinderella’s Castle –
Young princesses will experience
even more magic as
Cinderella’s castle has been
rebuilt from the ground up.
Created straight from the
fairytale, the new structure
and surrounding landscape
are the perfect backdrop to
the Pumpkin Coach and
Cinderella herself.
•Storytown Train - Featuring
a journey through the
early years of Storytown,
USA and The Great Escape.
Popular elements from the
nursery rhyme themed park
have been renovated and
given new homes along the
tracks.
Additionally, the 2010
season will offer nine new
shows including the exciting
live and local concert
series featuring the area's
best bands performing live
in the Storytown section of
the park. The popular Dive
Theater will also be home
to the new Arctic Olympic
Games dive show while two
new song and dance performances
will run daily in the
Alpine Fest Haus and Jolly
Tree Theater.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay introduces new Sesame Street children’s area
Busch Gardens Tampa
Bay is welcoming families this
season to an all-new, Sesame
Street-themed land featuring
Elmo, Big Bird and all their
friends. Sesame Street Safari
of Fun is filled with kid-size
rides, water fun, shows and
memorable adventures that
celebrate the spirit of Africa as
Sesame Street and Busch Gardens
unite to create the Florida
themer’s latest signature attraction.
“Only at Busch Gardens
can you meet versions of the
Sesame Street characters in
unique African-inspired costumes
and have experiences
with them you can’t find anywhere
else,” said Jim Dean,
Busch Gardens’ executive vice
president and general manager.
“With this new addition
to our park, Busch Gardens
really does have something
for everyone. We expect to see
many more families come to
enjoy all that our park has to
offer.”
Sesame Street Safari of
Fun provides rides to delight
kids and kids-at-heart. A major
highlight is the new junior roller
coaster designed for parents
and children to ride together.
The 24-foot tall Air Grover
(Zierer family steel coaster)
features 600 feet of track that
takes riders on a twisted tour
of the Sahara. Other attractions
include ‘Oscar’s Swamp
Stomp’ offering cool water
4See BUSCH, page 12
PHOTOS COURTESY BUSCH GARDENS
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s new Sesame Street Safari of Fun section includes, clockwise from top left: Air Grover, a
Zierer family coaster; Lights, Camera, Imagination! show; Dine with Elmo and Bert & Ernie’s Watering Hole.