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• Theme park wars bring big dollars to Orlando (video)
  • Tourists flock to Central Florida region for theme parks | read more

• San Diego Zoo's Australian Outback Exhibit is open
  • The San Diego Zoo opened its newest exhibit Friday, the three-acre Conrad Prebys Australian Outback. Plans to expand the zoo's koala area began in 2009, and the new $7.4 million Australian animal habitat ... | read more

• Silver Dollar City's KidsFest enters final season
  • Silver Dollar City announced this week this will be the final year for one of the park’s most successful and well-attended festivals, KidsFest. | read more

• Sunway to splash RM100m on expansion
  • SUNWAY Bhd is investing between RM50 million and RM100 million to expand Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia’s premier water theme park in Bandar Sunway, Selangor. | read more

• SeaWorld Opens Ice Palace for 230 Penguins With Blackstone M...
  • “It is the coolest attraction in the world,” President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Atchison said ... To Atchison, it’s also an example of how private-equity firms, often criticized for dismantling the companies they buy, can jumpstart a business like SeaWorld. | read more

• A sunnier forecast for theme parks
  • The theme park industry has seen more ups and down than a roller coaster since the recession, as the industry’s largest companies struggled under massive debt loads that threatened to close their gates for good. | read more

• UK: Ferrari museum designers are picked to design a new visi...
  • A team consisting of Shiro Studio Ltd, Mesh Partnership and Equals Consulting, of London, have been announced as winners of the prestigious Great Fen Visitor Centre competition. | read more

• Aquarium of the Pacific is "about at capacity right now at 1...
  • Long Beach Business Journal Q&A with Dr. Jerry Schubel -- LBBJ: If you had unlimited funds for Aquarium use, how would you allocate them? Schubel: The first thing I would do is complete the campus master plan, because that expands our capacity to accommodate more visitors. We are about at capacity right now at 1.5 million, unless we could increase the people that come in the shoulder seasons. There are good reasons most of them come in the summer, like school vacations. | read more

• Ripley's Believe It or Not in Hollywood gets family-friendly...
  • The Hollywood museum replaces many of its macabre exhibits to increase attendance, but a few chilling curiosities remain. | read more

• Playland: Westchester board chairman sues Astorino over take...
  • The chairman of the Westchester Board of Legislators is asking a court to void an agreement between the county and Sustainable Playland, a nonprofit chosen by the county executive to take over Playland Amusement Park in Rye, adding more uncertainty to the already confused process of reinventing the historic park. | read more

• Dubai's Worlds of Adventures to open in early 2014
  • IMG Group's Worlds of Adventure theme park in Dubai is set to open in early 2014, a senior executive with the developer has said. | read more

• Margaritaville Complex Opens at Atlantic City Resorts: $35 M...
  • Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City will have the grand opening Friday of a $70 million expansion project that includes a $35 million Margaritaville-themed restaurant, bar, and gambling complex. | read more

• Breakup Fee for Rythym & Hues Stalking-Horse Bidder Approved
  • A U.S. bankruptcy court judge approved a settlement Wednesday between Rhythm & Hues and JS Communications, ending at least one contentious legal issue stemming from the March sale of the Oscar-winning visual-effects studio. | read more

• Universal Studios to add restaurants, shops based on "The Si...
  • Borrowing a page from its Harry Potter playbook, Universal Orlando said Thursday that it will soon add a collection of themed shops and restaurants from the world of the long-running animated television show "The Simpsons." | read more

• New Alton Towers ride launch delay
  • TEETHING problems have continued with an £18 million new rollercoaster at a Staffordshire theme park | read more

• Compagnie des Alpes: Results H1 2012/2013
  • Translated: Half of winter for ski areas results 2012/2013 season up a good season leisure parks focused on product development and customer experience determined pursuit of the strategic shift in the difficult economic climate. | read more

• Anaheim prepares for Disney's 24-hour party
  • Now that Disney is holding another 24-hour party, this time in both of its Anaheim parks, local officials are taking steps to manage the crowds and traffic that they didn't anticipate during last year's foray into ... | read more

• San Joaquin Valley leaders brainstorm ways to bring in touri...
  • Here's a message for tourists passing through Modesto or Merced on their way to Yosemite National Park: Stop and pick some cherries. Or visit a waterfowl refuge. Or walk in the footsteps of George Lucas. Speakers offered those ideas Wednesday at a conference in Turlock on how to increase tourism in the San Joaquin Valley. | read more

• Who wants to ride the Battersea Power Station Rollercoaster?
  • Architects proposed an exciting redesign for the abandoned power station | read more

• Air Force Museum unveils plans for major expansion
  • New building set to open in 2015 will house Air Force One planes, a Space Shuttle trainer and experimental aircraft. | read more

• Mili in Wuhan animation park pact
  • Mili Pictures, the Sino-New Zealand animation firm already working on big budget feature Dragon Nest: Rise of the Black Dragon, is to build a film park and eco city in Wuhan, China. | read more

• Las Vegas: Rio plans zipline ride between two towers
  • The VooDoo Skyline is the brainchild of New Venture Capital partners Joe Shortal and Jonathan Borchetta, and Stan Checketts, who has created more than 200 amusement rides. | read more

• SeaWorld sees 12% increase in revenue in 1Q
  • Reporting financial results for the first time as a publicly traded company, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. said Wednesday that it booked nearly $240 million in sales during the first three months of 2013, a 12 percent bump from a year ago that was fueled primarily by higher prices. | read more

• National Aquarium Hires First-Ever Chief Conservation Office...
  • National Aquarium announces Eric Schwaab as its first-ever Senior Vice President and Chief Conservation Officer (CCO). | read more

• Ocean Park: Invitation to Expressions of Interest for New Ko...
  • Ocean Park Corporation (the Corporation) invites Expressions of Interest for the ‘New Koala Attraction’ project at Ocean Park (the Project). The Corporation intends to appoint a Contractor to carry out works for the Project. | read more

• Atlantic City's Steel Pier to add 200-foot-tall spinning obs...
  • The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority on Tuesday approved a $4 million loan for the project. The new deck construction is expected to cost $2.4 million and the wheel will cost another $7 million to $11 million, Steel Pier owner Anthony Catanoso said. | read more

• Guggenheim museum proposed for Wales
  • There are proposals to bring a Guggenheim museum to Wales in a bid to replicate the success of the iconic art gallery in Bilbao in Spain. | read more

• SeaWorld to report first-quarter earnings as public company
  • SeaWorld is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings after the stock market closes this afternoon. | read more

• WhiteWater Reports Record Sales: Over $ 70 million in Q1 Ord...
  • WhiteWater West Industries is pleased to confirm a record volume of sales orders signed during its first quarter of 2013. | read more

• Muppets get permanent museum in NYC
  • The Muppets are getting a new home in a Queens museum with a permanent exhibit the city hopes will persuade more tourists to venture beyond Manhattan. ... The city is chipping in $2.75 million toward the $5 million cost for a project. | read more

• China Builds Museums, But Filling Them Is Another Story
  • China has been building museums with abandon, opening about 100 annually in recent years. Two of the biggest opened on the same day last fall on opposite banks of Shanghai's Huangpu River. But filling these museums — with both art and visitors — is proving more challenging. | read more

• Tokyo Skytree marks 1st anniversary
  • The operator initially projected 5.4 million people would visit the deck and 32 million the shopping complex, but given the popularity of the areas, it revised up the figures in October to 6.4 million and 44 million, respectively. | read more

• Mall of America gets state tax break for planned massive exp...
  • The $1.5 billion project would double the size of the Bloomington mega-mall, adding hotels, a waterpark, a performing arts center, office towers and hundreds of stores. | read more

• Morro Bay considers future of aquarium (video)
  • The city of Morro Bay is taking a hard look at the future of its aquarium. | read more

• Lightwater Valley's Angry Birds activity park sparks tourism...
  • A new £1m Angry Birds attraction at Lightwater Valley, near Ripon, is hoped to boost tourist figures to the theme park and town. | read more

• Storybook Gardens aims to slay attendance woes
  • Similar to the fairy tales told inside the theme park’s boundaries, Storybook Gardens is facing a substantial antagonist in its 45th season. | read more

• Orlando theme parks get set to launch cool, new summer attra...
  • The number one tourist destination in the U.S. continues to draw tens of thousands of visitors to its many attractions, the most popular of which are theme parks. This year the big three - Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld Orlando - are prepared to entertain crowds with exciting new experiences ... | read more

• Polin Supply Waterslides and Giant Waterplay Structure for U...
  • The expansion of the Ukraine's Orbita Aquapark includes that region's largest water-play structure and its first pneumatic-propulsion slide. | read more

• Britain: Horror attraction combines dark ride with haunted m...
  • A unique new haunted attraction opening this summer at a small United Kingdom theme park will combine a walk-through horror maze featuring live actors with a dark ride journey inside an abandoned mine shaft. | read more

• Riverbanks Zoo Changes Food Options, Prepares for Renovation...
  • "Our goal is to get rid of the thought of zoo food, we want the food to be as much of the experience as the rest of the zoo" ... | read more

• Singapore's Marine Life Park Launches Up Close Marine Life E...
  • New Immersive Experiences includes Open Ocean Dive, Sea Trek Adventure & Shark Encounter | read more

• Oklahoma House panel approves $40M for Indian museum (updat...
  • A plan to divert $40 million in use taxes over three years to help complete construction of an American Indian Cultural Center and Museum along the banks of the Oklahoma River has cleared a House committee. | read more

• Museums Galleries Scotland launches as National Development ...
  • Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) formally launches as the National Development Body to support the museums and galleries sector in Scotland. | read more

• Paramount Park project on Swanscombe Peninsula could be scup...
  • A second river crossing at the Swanscombe Peninsula could scupper plans for a £2billion Paramount theme park and 28,000 jobs, a boss has warned today. | read more

• Entertainment Center coming to Northern Colorado
  • Summit Companies, led by Northern Colorado businessmen Dennis Schavietello, Gary Upperman and Nick Cashion, announced today the plans for The Summit, a 50,000 square foot entertainment and restaurant concept scheduled to open near The Ranch in the Eagle Crossing commercial development in mid-2014. | read more

• SJM’s Cotai project to merge with Angela Leong’s theme park
  • By co-developing a resort comprising SJM’s hotel-casino and a theme park Leong announced earlier, she hopes to create a family resort that can entertain both adults and children. | read more

• RiverQuarium is in danger of losing support from local gover...
  • Some Albany community leaders who support the Flint RiverQuarium are asking business leaders to donate money to support the attraction to make sure it stays open | read more

• Colorado Springs-area attractions investing in big improveme...
  • Colorado Springs area attractions and tourist destinations have invested, or plan to invest, almost $134 million in improvements this year. | read more

• Atlanta Council clears way for downtown Ferris wheel
  • Skyview Atlanta is coming to Atlanta | read more

• Universal Orlando raises ticket prices; first time above $90...
  • Universal Orlando raised ticket prices once again over the weekend, becoming the first of Orlando's big theme park operators to lift base prices above $90. | read more

• Kingdom of the Invisibles Attraction for Europa-Park in 2014
  • Europa-Park is constructing an indoor attraction based on Luc Besson’s smash hit movie trilogy Arthur and the Invisibles | read more

• SeaWorld Orlando: Antarctica construction walls down
  • Construction walls have been removed around the site of Antarctica -- Empire of the Penguin at SeaWorld Orlando. Theme-park guests could get a peek but not enter the area, SeaWorld's largest expansion in its history, on Sunday. | read more