Today, we will be taking a look at part of the history of Teacups attractions.Teacups are a type of amusement park ride, best known by their cup-shaped vehicles. The teacups spin around a surface, with many allowing guests to control the speed and direction of which they wish to spin. The teacups are attached to a floor, which also typically spins.  The teacup attraction first made the public rounds (no pun intended) with the debut of Mad Tea Party in Disneyland. The attraction opened alongside the park on July 17, 1955, and was made by Arrow Development. The attraction opened in the Fan ..read more

Our story starts before the blue alien sets foot on Earth. In the 90s, Stitch’s Great Escape was formerly occupied by an attraction called ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. This attraction was a joint project between Lucasfilm and Disney Imagineering, and opened in Tomorrowland. It was considered a “theater-in-the-round attraction in which guests encircled a stage. On this stage was a capsule pod, which contained an animatronic alien creature. During the duration of the attraction, the creature would escape the capsule and havoc would ensue. Guests became terrorized by sudden rumbles, myster ..read more

The world of Nick Universe in East Rutherford, New Jersey is home to record breaking attractions themed to some of the most iconic Nickelodeon characters. We briefly covered the park in a prior blog entitled: Legends of the Nick Universe, which you can explore here https://www.thethemeparkfiles.com/blog/legends-of-the-nick-universe Today, we are focusing on the attractions themed to the world of Nick Jr, in honor of Paw Patrol releasing its first theatrical film this week. These attractions are not as intense as others in the park, but they offer fun experiences for guests of all ages due to ..read more

Are you ready to take a splash? During our last blog we discussed some of the various types of water attractions at amusement and theme parks. But there are plenty more rides that use water, some to get you drenched, others to take you below the sea. So here’s 7 more attractions that are sure to make a wave on your park visits.  Log Jammer Opening: May 11, 1975 Manufacturer: Arrow Development Splash level: Moderate  When Log Jammer was installed at kennywood Park, Log Flume attractions were proving to be another successful endeavor for Arrow developments. The models provi ..read more

The Looney Tunes have had an extensive history with the world of six flags. In 1976, Six Flags Great America opened. At this time, it was known as Marriott's Great America. The park had acquired the license to use characters from the popular Looney Tune shorts. In 1984, Six Flags Corporation bought the park, and as an additional benefit of the deal, they acquired the rights to utilize Looney Tune characters in all of their parks across the country. This included Six Flags Great Adventure, which had opened in Jackson, New Jersey in 1974. At Great Adventure, The Looney Tunes most notably appeare ..read more

On October 1st, 2020, Dreamworks Water Park first opened at American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The water park itself was first announced back in 2011 when the mall’s owners, Triple Five Group, unveiled their proposal for an indoor mall to be built within the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The proposal included naming it the “American Dream” and the initial plans for an indoor amusement and water park to be included within the structure. In July 2012, Dreamworks Animation CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg stated that some of these attractions would be themed to a few of Dreamworks Animation ..read more

By Shelby Brokaw Originally staples of early amusement parks, Dark Rides and Fun Houses allowed many sparks to flex their creativity, producing some bizarre, and down right whacky effects and storylines. Sadly outside of the Universal and Disney parks, these attractions are sparse, with chains like Cedar Fair and SeaWorld only containing a handful. The State of Pennsylvania on the other hand, features many rare and unique Dark Rides and Fun Houses. So if you're planning a park trip to Pa., here's some can't miss haunts and scares!  Kennywood Park, Pittsburgh, Pa.: “The Old Mill ..read more

Written By: Zach Spodek Photos By: Charles OKunewick unless noted When it comes to parks based off of popular franchises, there’s a plethora to visit. There’s the incredibly popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal in Florida. There’s also Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World. Kennywood has Thomas Town and Cedar Fair Entertainment has Planet Snoopy: a Peanuts themed land found within their many parks. However, when traveling overseas, one may find themselves at Rainbow Magicland, an amusement park located in Valmontone, Italy. In this peculiar park, the rides are inspired ..read more

By Shelby Brokaw -In 1996 the Coney Mall section of Kings Island, an area home to bumper cars, The Racer and other classic attractions, would be invaded for the first time. Flight of Fear: Outer limits as it was known at the time, would serve as the first attraction in this region of the park, until it was joined by FireHawk, a Vekoma Flying Dutchman in 2008. With this addition, the area would be transformed into a mini land known as X-Base. Not considered its own land by the park, the area still carried its own theme as a secret military base. The area was light in theming, only containing ..read more

On October 25, 2019, The American Dream Mall opened their Nickelodeon Universe theme park to the public. The mall was located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and was the second Nickelodeon Universe in the country. The first was the location in the Mall of America that opened in March 2008. The American Dream’s Nickelodeon Universe is similar to that of the Mall of America location. Each has attractions for all ages themed to different Nickelodeon properties such as Spongebob Squarepants, Fairy Odd Parents, Rugrats, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more. These attractions range from roller coast ..read more