Free Republic

China, finally, is ready to build a house for Mickey Mouse. Beijing has approved plans to build a Disney theme park in Shanghai, a major milestone in the more than decade-long effort by Walt Disney Co. to dramatically expand its reach into China. Disney and the Shanghai municipal government jointly submitted plans in January to build a $3.59-billion park to open as early as 2014. It would be the entertainment giant's fourth theme park outside the U.S., after Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong -- and the first in mainland China, the fastest-growing mass market in the world. The Chinese central...

CROC hunter Steve Irwin's dream of opening an Aussie zoo in Las Vegas is to be realised, three years after his death. Nevada officials say plans for an Australia-themed zoo in desert gaming mecca are back on the agenda. Representatives for the Irwins met Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman last week to discuss resurrecting their proposal for a US Australia Zoo featuring crocodile wrestling. "It looks like a great project with a crocodile-type enclosure where they would wrestle with the crocodiles and feed the crocodiles and have a real educational component to it and we're going to continue those discussions,"...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Anheuser-Busch InBev said Wednesday that it will sell its entertainment business, including theme parks like Sea World and Busch Gardens, to the Blackstone Group for as much as $2.7 billion.The final purchase price will involve a cash payment of $2.3 billion on closing and the right to participate in Blackstone's returns that is capped at $400 million.

An area TV station posted images of skeletons dressed to resemble dead celebrities, including pitchman Billy Mays, singer Michael Jackson, Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas and actress Farrah Fawcett. Football star Steve McNair is depicted as a skeleton on a couch wearing a Tennessee Titans jersey and a helmet with a hole in the top. Draped across the skeleton’s lap is a depiction of Sahel Kazemi, McNair’s 20-year-old mistress, who police said murdered the football star, shooting him twice in the body and twice in the head in July before committing suicide.

Note: Video included. Suspicious device found under WDW bus Updated: Friday, 18 Sep 2009, 12:19 AM EDT Published : Thursday, 17 Sep 2009, 5:34 PM EDT SNIPPET: "LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Investigators with the Orange County Sheriff's Office Hazardous Device Unit have determined that an object attached to a Walt Disney World bus is not explosive or hazardous. Once that determination was made, investigators removed the object from the bus for further examination. It is still unclear what the object is or why it was placed on the bus. Employees located the object attached to the...

I recently received an email from a listener looking for answers… James, I read the following Newsweek article http://www.newsweek.com/id/214989 and was wondering if you thought being a racist was a choice? I don’t see how. Why would someone choose a life of scorn and ridicule? How did you come to accept it? How did you come out? Any help would be appreciated…I’m scared. Anonymous

MIAMI — It sounds like a new book in the Harry Potter series, but "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" will be a high-tech ride and the marquee attraction at the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter," a new theme park area opening in spring 2010 at Universal Orlando Resort. The "Forbidden Journey" ride was named by author J.K. Rowling and described Tuesday by Universal officials in a Web cast revealing details of what the Potter park will look like. Guests will enter the "Wizarding World" through a station archway named for Hogsmeade, the magical village near Hogwarts. A plume of...

The son of imprisoned evangelist Kent Hovind says a judge's order to seize Creation Science Evangelism properties actually helps clear the path for a fresh start – free of legal trouble – if the Florida-based ministry can raise $170,000 in the next two weeks. Eric Hovind, who now leads Creation Science Evangelism, or CSE, told WND the federal government has given the ministry notice that the properties – which include the popular theme park Dinosaur Adventure Land – must be vacated by Sept. 15 if the forfeiture amount of $380,000 is not paid. The properties also include three homes. As...

This follows a "courtship" of 3,000 rides over ten years with the 80ft gondola ride called 1001 Nachts. Miss Wolfe, 33, from Pennsylvania, will change her surname to Weber after the manufacturer of the ride she travels 160 miles to visit 10 times per year, according to reports “I love him as much as women love their husbands and know we’ll be together forever,” she said. Miss Wolfe first fell for the ride when she was 13: “I was instantly attracted to him sexually and mentally. “I wasn’t freaked out, as it just felt so natural, but I didn’t tell...

In a bit of random news, a federal judge ruled last week that Dinosaur Aventure Land, a creationism theme park in Pensacola, Florida, would be seized. The park's owners were convicted of tax fraud and the land the park inhabits and the two bank accounts associated with it will be expropriated to satisfy $430,400 owed to the federal government in taxes. The seizure of the property is the result of 17 years of the park's owner, Kent Hovind, fighting the federal government over $470,000 in employee taxes owed. Hovind claimed he was employed by God and his "ministers" -- I'm...

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- He looks like President Barack Obama, speaks like him, and even gestures like him, but he is not exactly the president of the United States. This president is an audio-animatronic Obama surrounded by the 42 other U.S. presidents at Walt Disney World's newly revamped Hall of Presidents in Orlando, Florida. Disney gathered a team of what it calls "Imagineers," each trained in various disciplines such as artistry, design and engineering, to update the attraction that has been around since 1971. It's hard to believe the figures are not real people and, according to Disney officials, that's...

LOS OLIVOS, California (AFP) – The plans for Michael Jackson's funeral remain uncertain, but that did not stop Desiree Crossley and her family from camping out for hours outside of his Neverland ranch. Reports that the King of Pop would be laid to rest at his sprawling fantasy estate prompted a near stampede here to the rolling hills of Santa Barbara wine country, with hundreds of media satellite trucks parking outside the gate. As newscasters broadcast live in multiple languages and traffic crews hurriedly erected no-parking signs, Crossley waited with a friend in foldable chairs, her two daughters sitting in...

Debt-ridden amusement park operator Six Flags, controlled by Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The New York-based chain of parks has been trying unsuccessfully this year to renegotiate terms with lenders on hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. Six Flags parks, including its Six Flags Great Escape and Indoor Water Park in Queensbury, will continue to operate as usual under reorganization. “The current management team inherited a $2.4 billion debt load that cannot be sustained, particularly in these challenging financial markets,” said Six Flags chief executive Mark Shapiro in a statement. “As a...

(ANAHEIM, Calif.) — Disney says it will no longer scan riders on Splash Mountain and three other rides for guests who feel the need to flash their breasts for souvenir photos.

<p>Some 1,200 people were laid off and 700 open positions will be left unfilled in the second phase of a reorganization begun in 2005 that was accelerated by the recession.</p> <p>The company did not say whether it would book a severance charge, or how much the cuts would save. "These decisions were not made lightly, but are essential to maintaining our leadership in family tourism and reflect today's economic realities," said Disney spokeswoman Tasia Filippatos in a statement.</p>

Remember the film “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” in which Pee Wee Herman visited a California roadside attraction that featured giant concrete dinosaurs? Well, that roadside attraction on Highway 10 near Cabazon, formerly known as “Claude Bell’s Dinosaurs,” has now been bought out by fanatics who’ve turned it into a creationist museum. Long time LGF reader “Ringo the Gringo” visited this place recently, and filed a must-see photo essay at Ringo’s Pictures: The Lion, The Lamb and The Velociraptor - Cabazon, March 2009.

Walt Disney World is playing cat and mouse games at Disney's BoardWalk. Iron Chef Cat Cora is teaming with Mickey to develop a Greek Mediterranean restaurant called Kouzzina by Cat Cora. The restaurant will be owned and operated by Disney. The new eatery will replace Spoodles, which was also Mediterranean and had delicious food but never seemed to be able to earn a reputation among Disney diners. As of now, there is no set closing date for Spoodles, but the new restaurant is scheduled to open in Fall 2009. Hmmm, I smell an Epcot International Food & Wine Festival tie-in!...

Haven’t heard anything weird about Michael Jackson for a few days? Think maybe he’s just quietly gone away? No such luck. Now legal documents have come to light – thanks to TMZ.com – that provide an excruciatingly-detailed breakdown (open file in a Flash Player) of all the odd, disturbing stuff that fill every nook and cranny at NeverLand. Let’s just say a recurring theme here is statues of boys. Young boys. Young boys in every possible pose. More statues of young boys than you ever imagined:....

MICHAEL Jackson's brother has been criticised for reportedly planning to build a slavery theme park in Nigeria. Marlon Jackson is said to be prepared to invest in a $5.3 billion theme park where tourists can visit a replica slave ship and walk the route of shackled slaves, before playing a round of golf or relaxing by a pool, reports The Guardian The former Jackson Five band member and the Badagry Historical Resort Development Project hope the park will attract African-American tourists keen to trace their roots back to Nigeria. But critics have labeled the theme park inappropriate and an insult...

DAVOS, Switzerland — Are you looking for a little excitement in your life? Imagine what fun it would be to live through a rebel attack . . . to navigate a minefield … to negotiate with corrupt officials and border guards in a desperate effort to survive. Thanks to a U.N.-sponsored exhibition, visitors to the World Economic Forum in Davos last week got just that opportunity -- at a theme park with a name right out of Disney: "Refugee Run." Visitors were given the opportunity to experience the harsh conditions that millions of refugees and internally displaced people face daily...

Without the cage you wouldn't stand a chance swimming with a massive saltwater crocodile. But for brave punters who still want to get cosy with a feisty croc, a new Australian tourist attraction is offering the chance for a close encounter in the safety of a clear acrylic box dubbed the 'cage of death'. Just 4cm of acrylic, a pair of goggles and a swimsuit, will separate thrill-seekers from the jaws of Choppa, a saltwater crocodile. Close encounter: A tourist dives into a cage partially immersed in a crocodile pen at Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin, Australia Getting cosy: Choppa the...

Welcome to the ~ Freeper Canteen ~ July 17, 1955 Disneyland Opens Disneyland, Walt Disney's metropolis of nostalgia, fantasy, and futurism, opens on July 17, 1955. The $17 million theme park was built on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim, California, and soon brought in staggering profits. Today, Disneyland hosts more than 14 million visitors a year, who spend close to $3 billion. Walt Disney, born in Chicago in 1901, worked as a commercial artist before setting up a small studio in Los Angeles to produce animated cartoons. In 1928, his short film Steamboat Willy, starring the...

"Batman the Ride" at Six Flags Over Georgia. It was the second Batman ride-related death at the Cobb County park. According to the police and a statement from the amusement park, the boy and a friend climbed over two 6-foot fences -- the park perimeter fence and a second one surrounding the ride -- to get to the roller coaster. Park officials said there were numerous signs warning would-be intruders of the danger. The victim was decapitated when the ride struck him, police said. The youth was not identified. "The areas where the individuals entered were clearly marked with signs...

A 17-year-old South Carolina boy on an church outing was killed Saturday when he was struck by the popular "Batman the Ride" at Six Flags Over Georgia. It was the second Batman ride-related death at the Cobb County park.

An L.A. Speculator Plans a Disney-Style Park in BaghdadWhat a blast By DAVID FERRELL Wednesday, June 4, 2008 - 6:19 pm Only five years after U.S. warplanes rained down “shock and awe” on Iraq, decimating towns and families, a few rich Californians have figured out how to counter the mortar attacks, suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism that continue to ravage the capital city, Baghdad. Build an amusement park. Not enough excitement in machine-gun fire and cars blowing up? Soon, thanks to some Los Angeles–area venture capitalists, Iraqis may have what every adrenaline junkie really craves — thrill rides....

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2008 – For the rest of this year, sitting in Shamu the killer whale’s “splash zone” or talking turkey with a big yellow bird are just two activities servicemembers and their families can enjoy for free at Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks. Through its “Here’s to the Heroes” program, which began in 2005, the brewing company is offering free tickets to its theme parks for servicemembers and up to three family members to thank them for all they do in service to the country. “It’s important to us for all the reasons you can probably predict,” said Fred...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wonder Woman, King Kong and Shrek are heading for the Persian Gulf as part of the rush to build what could become the world's largest theme park playground. But even as the ink dries on the billion-dollar deals in the United Arab Emirates, movie studios are grappling with ways to make their signature characters and amusement parks fly in the conservative Muslim region. Politically sensitive characters such as Captain America could be left at home. Prayer rooms will join the list of accommodations, and menus will likely feature falafel and humus alongside pizza and hot dogs....

With last week's announcement of Busch's four-park deal in Dubai -- they'll be running a Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, and Aquatica water park -- it's worth revisiting what's been going on with all the developments we've covered in Dubai before. And there are plenty of new schemes in the offing as well. Someone somewhere really should maintain an obsessive blog about what's popping in Dubai real estate (hello Curbed?), but failing that, here's a roundup of some of the biggest, weirdest, and most expensive skyscrapers and manufactured metropoli in Dubai and environs. Not comprehensive by any means, because I...

Kennywood Park, the summertime mecca for generations of Pittsburghers in search of thrill rides, arcade games, old-fashioned family fun and gooey cheese fries, was sold yesterday to a Spanish company. Kennywood Entertainment, a West Mifflin-based enterprise since 1898, will be taken over by Parques Reunidos of Madrid, which plans to leave day-to-day operation of the park in local hands. The descendants of F.W. Henninger and A.S. McSwigan, who acquired the park from Pittsburgh Railway Co. in 1906, had been approached by amusement companies in the past about selling the local icon, but have refused. When Premiere Parks, an Oklahoma-based chain,...

BUENOS AIRES-- What would Jesus do? At a theme park in Buenos Aires, he rises to the heavens on the hour, every hour, as the rousing chords of Handel's Messiah blare out of speakers suspended from plaster palm trees. Welcome to Tierra Santa -- Spanish for the "Holy Land" -- where catechism meets adventure park. The park is promoted as the first religious theme park in the world, called "a voyage across time to get to know what ancient Jerusalem was like in the time of Jesus." Located between Argentina's bustling domestic airport and a water park, it offers a...

Plans to build new "China Town" with replica of Forbidden City in Anna, Texas. Anna is approx 40 miles north of Dallas and the development is planned just West of the intersection of US 75 and FM 455. (Interestingly near where the Trans-corridor is currently proposed to be) Machine Translation ...The world's largest real estate project 250,000 acres China City The new special economic zones -- the United States after the completion of the largest city in Texas, is a reconstruction of Shenzhen, China. Two real estate developers to invest in new bright spot. Chinese immigrants in the United...

POSTED: 5:15 pm EDT August 3, 2007 UPDATED: 9:59 pm EDT August 3, 2007 Walt Disney World is raising ticket prices for third time in two years, company officials announced Friday. An adult one-day, one-park pass will increase 6 percent, $67 to $71 beginning Sunday. Discount packages also will be affected, but the per-day cost could be less than $23 for adults who buy as large as a 10-day package. The change is due to an annual planning cycle of travel wholesalers, tour organizers and commercial publications, Disney officials told the Orlando Sentinel. "We strongly believe that Walt Disney World...

MAGGIE VALLEY (AP) — Dozens of visitors were rescued Monday from the chair lift at Ghost Town in the Sky after lightning struck the ride. Ten riders made it to the ground safely with the help of a rope ladder system, said David King, sales and marketing manager. Twenty-eight others had to wait until repairs were made. Rescue workers tossed ponchos, for protection from the rain, to those who were stuck. Wendy Whiteside of Knoxville, Tenn., said she and her family were about 10 chairs from the top when the ride stopped. The problem didn't dissuade her from possibly trying...

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. - Dolly Parton's Dollywood theme park will be adding a new $5 million raft ride equipped with water guns to soak targets, other riders and bystanders. Scheduled to open in 2008, the River Battle sends eight passengers on rafts down a 500-foot channel lined with more than 100 targets. The targets include large-scale talking animals such as beavers, skunks, otters and bears, some of which shoot water back at the riders. Riders can also aim at other passengers on their raft or park guests along the edge of the ride. The Great Smoky Mountains venue will also...

Millions of migrants have crossed illegally from Mexico into the United States. Their experience could hardly be more real. But now at a controversial theme park in Mexico, tourists can pretend to be an illegal migrant. Torch, check. Heavy boots, check. Willingness to hide under bushes, check. Ability to see in the dark, an advantage. Preparation for what, you might think? A hike across Dartmoor? Try a night out in a theme park. But when I say theme park, do not think Alton Towers or Disneyland. Think, instead, illegal migrants. Because now you can pretend to be an illegal migrant...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co. on Thursday said it took "appropriate action" against employees at its Paris theme park who were caught simulating sex while dressed as Disney characters in a digital video that has received wide attention on the Internet. Disney would not say whether it had dismissed any of the costumed employees featured in the grainy video, which appears to have been shot with a hidden camera at a backstage dressing room at Disneyland Resort Paris. "The behaviour shown on the video is unacceptable and inexcusable," Disney said in a statement. "The video was taken...

(AP) FORT BELVOIR, Va. The Army is considering a proposal to allow a private developer to build a military theme park that would include “4D” rides and bars including a “1st Division Lounge.” Military officials said a massive entertainment and hotel complex built next to a national Army museum could draw more than 1 million people a year. But authorities in Fairfax County are objecting because of already traffic-clogged roads surrounding the proposed site.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest theme park has called off the country's first "National Muslim Fun Day" because of lack of interest, the park said Wednesday. Alton Towers in central England was to open on September 17 for Muslims -- with halal food, a strict dress code and prayer areas. Music, gambling and alcohol were to be banned for the day and theme park rides such as "Ripsaw," "Corkscrew" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" all segregated by sex. But the park said the event's organizers, Islamic Leisure, who rented the park for the day and were marketing the event,...

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest theme park has called off the country's first "National Muslim Fun Day" because of lack of interest, the park said Wednesday. Alton Towers in central England was to open on September 17 for Muslims -- with halal food, a strict dress code and prayer areas. Music, gambling and alcohol were to be banned for the day and theme park rides such as "Ripsaw," "Corkscrew" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" all segregated by sex. But the park said the event's organizers, Islamic Leisure, who rented the park for the day and were marketing the event,...

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest theme park has called off the country's first "National Muslim Fun Day" because of lack of interest, the park said Wednesday. Alton Towers in central England was to open on September 17 for Muslims -- with halal food, a strict dress code and prayer areas. Music, gambling and alcohol were to be banned for the day and theme park rides such as "Ripsaw," "Corkscrew" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" all segregated by sex. But the park said the event's organizers, Islamic Leisure, who rented the park for the day and were marketing the event,...

A MUSLIMS-only day at Britain’s biggest theme park has been axed after a huge bookings flop. Organisers Islamic Leisure had hoped to attract 28,000 people to the event at Alton Towers, Staffs, on September 17 — but less than 1,000 tickets were sold. The fun day — exclusively revealed by The Sun — caused a race row after plans to ban mixed-sex rides, smoking, alcohol and gambling. Non-Muslims were angered by the plans. An Alton Towers spokesman said last night: “At least the park will be open to the general public.”

A malfunction on an amusement park ride Sunday sent at least 20 people to hospitals, most with minor chest and neck injuries, a sheriff's office dispatcher said. The accident happened on the Son of Beast roller coaster at Paramount's Kings Island just northeast of Cincinnati. WCPO-TV reported that witnesses saw the roller coaster come to an abrupt stop. Riders complained of discomfort after the coaster completed a circuit and pulled back into the boarding area, said Maureen Kaiser, a spokeswoman for the park. The park's emergency staff tended to the riders and notified authorities, Kaiser said. Park officials shut down...

EXCLUSIVE Muslim-only Alton Towers Thrilling ... but only Muslims will be invited     By GUY PATRICK and ANDY RUSSELL BRITAIN’S biggest fun park has sparked a race row — with a MUSLIMS-ONLY day. Up to 28,000 are expected at Alton Towers on September 17 when there will be no music, booze or gambling.Instead there will be prayer areas, Muslim stalls and all food served will be HALAL.Organisers Islamic Leisure have billed it the First National Muslim Fun Day and tickets can only be bought through their website.Non-Muslims phoning the Staffordshire park have been refused tickets.One, George Hughes, 19, who...

Six Flags Inc. said Thursday that it might sell its Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor amusement parks in Valencia and raised the possibility that they could be dismantled for real estate development. Facing mounting losses and declining attendance, Six Flags wants to reduce its $2.1 billion in debt by selling parks in Buffalo, N.Y.; Denver; Seattle; Houston; and Concord, Calif., in addition to Magic Mountain. Mark Shapiro, a former ESPN executive who is now Six Flags' chief executive, said in a conference call with investors Thursday that Magic Mountain was considered a candidate for sale partly because of its often...

STOCKTON, California (AP) -- A 6-year-old boy plunged 90 feet to his death from the top of a Ferris wheel while his mother watched from below at the San Joaquin County Fair, authorities said. Ruben Castillo was riding alone in his gondola, which was near the top of the 100-foot Giant Wheel when he fell Sunday afternoon, authorities said.He was pronounced dead at a hospital. California Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials, who are investigating the incident, were told that the boy tried to climb out of his seat, said spokesman Dean Fryer. It was not immediately clear why he...

At Six Flags, the Don'ts of Dos Employees Say Their Ethnic Hairstyles Are Challenged as 'Extreme,' and They've Complained to ACLU By Avis Thomas-Lester Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, June 17, 2006; B01 It's right there, under "Extreme Hairstyles," in the 2006 seasonal handbook for Six Flags America employees: no dreadlocks, tails, partially shaved heads "or any hairstyle that detracts or takes away from Six Flags theming." Braids "must be in neat, even rows and without beads or other ornaments," the amusement park handbook advises.

A £7m sex theme park, which has no rides, is to open in London's West End later this year. Visitors to Amora - The Academy of Sex and Relationships at the Trocadero in Piccadilly, will pass through seven zones including Pleasure and Orgasm. The 10,500sq-ft exhibit is designed to "separate fact from myth and educate everyone into being better lovers". You have to be aged 18 and over to get in and tickets will cost £15 for the attraction which opens on 7 September. Organisers expect to attract more than 600,000 visitors within the first year. The theme park will...

THE world's first "theme park" dedicated to sex and relationships is set to open in London's bustling West End later this year, its promoters said today. Amora: The Academy of Sex and Relationships, featuring "high-tech and interactive exhibits together with new media displays", expects up to 600,000 visitors within its first year in the Trocadero Centre at Piccadilly Circus. "Titillation is not the goal," the promoters – who include sexologist and self-help book author Sarah Brewer – said in a statement, refuting comparisons with museums of erotica in Amsterdam, Barcelona and Paris. "Our vision is to build a Kinsey-type institute...

Tourists and thrillseekers in Iran could have a new attraction in downtown Tehran: the former United States Embassy being converted into a "Great Satan Park." A gruesome image of the Statue of Liberty on the outside of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran A top Iranian commander is calling for the creation of such a theme park at the one-time location U.S. facility, which has seen a troubled history dating back to the Carter administration of the 1970s. "We would be able to nicely show off the American crimes to citizens strolling in the park," General Mir-Faisal Bagherzadeh told...

TALLAHASSEE - The Holy Land Experience, an Orlando-based religious theme park with mock crucifixions and ''Goliath'' hamburgers, might not have to render its property taxes unto Caesar. By a 28-10 vote, the state Senate on Thursday sent Gov. Jeb Bush a bill designed to settle a tax dispute between the 15-acre theme park and Orange County Property Appraiser Bill Donegan. The heart of the dispute: Park backers say it's a church. Donegan says the $30-a-ticket park is a money-maker, a sort of religious Disney. He says it owes more than $1 million in back taxes since it opened in 2001....