Virginia's Busch Gardens Williamsburg is to open Mach Tower, a new tower ride for the 2011 season. Guest will find the twenty-four story tall drop ride in the German Oktoberfest section. The ride will begin with a spiraling lift to a lofty 240 feet above the park. At the top, riders will be treated to one of the best views in the theme park industry as Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been rated the World's most beautiful theme park for 21 straight years by the National Amusement Park Historical Association. After a pause, the 30 riders will be sent plummeting at 60 mph back to the ground.

Mach Tower is part of a two year upgrade to the Oktoberfest section. The plans also include a new multiple-launch roller coaster that is scheduled to open in 2012. The coaster will be built on the former site of the Big Bad Wolf. Learn more about Mach Tower at Busch Gardens' website.

Thousands were treated to Busch Gardens Tampa's new roller coaster Cheetah Hunt this past weekend. The new roller coaster is a lengthy 4,400 feet long and it boasts not one, but three separate launches. Cheetah Hunt speeds along the park's African-themed back drop along the ground, above it, and also below it in a watery canyon. Like some of Busch Gardens Tampa's other attractions, the ride incorporates its namesake in cheetah viewing area called Cheetah Run. It's designed to give guests a close encounter with the cheetahs as they show off their legendary speed.

Some early reviews of Cheetah Hunt describe it as a fun family roller coaster that's a step between the park's smaller coasters like Scorpion and the park's signature thrillers like Montu and SheiKra. If that's an accurate depiction, then it's likely a wise addition for Busch Gardens Tampa as they're always competing with Orlando's many family-oriented theme parks. Central Florida's only going to get more competitive later this year when the new Legoland Florida opens. Cheetah Hunt was my most anticipated roller coaster opening in 2011 and these videos make me even more eager to get down to Florida. Learn more at CheetahHunt.com.

SeaWorld recently announced plans to build another Aquatica water park. More than just a traditional water park, SeaWorld San Antonio's new Aquatica Texas will include thrilling water slides, serene rivers, a large sandy beach area, and animal encounters.

Among the new water rides, Stingray Rapids sounds the most interesting. The 5 seat raft ride is described as the only one of its kind in the World. It will feature twists and turns with an underground grotto and where guests will see with tropical fish and stingrays. Another stand out may be Wahalla Wave a family raft ride with a zero-gravity wall providing riders a roller coaster-like sense of weightlessness. Aquatica Texas is scheduled to open in May 2012.

Last month Boomers in Dania Beach, Florida closed their wooden roller coaster known as the Dania Beach Hurricane. The ride could be seen from Interstate 95 just south of Ft. Lauderdale. It could also be seen from the Ft. Lauderdale airport as I found out a few years ago. I thought I was seeing a mirage when I landed there for a connecting flight as I wasn't aware of the coaster at the time.

While details around the ride's closing have been scarce, a Sun Sentinel article points to the high cost of maintaining a wooden roller coaster in a warm humid climate. The article stated:

"The high cost of maintenance and insurance, plus low ridership as the ride became rough," likely contributed to the Dania Beach coaster shutdown on April 26, Doppelt said. "I'd say they couldn't afford to redo it."

The company that owns the coaster has cited "business reasons" for the closure, but did not offer details.

When news first broke that the park had closed the Hurricane, enthusiasts hoped that another park would buy the ride. Now it appears that there's a good chance that the area landmark may soon be no more. According to Screamscape, the Dania Beach Hurricane may be scheduled for demolition as soon as June. Meanwhile, roller coaster enthusiasts at ThemeParkReview and CoasterBuzz have shared their love for the ride. If it is demolished, it sounds like it will be missed.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie and developer Triple Five announced plans for the new Meadowlands retail and entertainment complex. Formerly known as Xanadu, the renamed American Dream at Meadowlands will be a sprawling complex that will include an indoor amusement park, an indoor water park, an ice skating rink, an observation wheel and the only indoor ski slope in North America (pictured above). Triple Five's plans to complete the project also include improving the aesthetics of the exterior.

The developer has compared the project to similar multi-faceted complexes Mall of America and the West Edmonton Mall. Those massive malls are the first and second largest such facilities in the World and are also managed by Triple Five. American Dream hopes to not only attract tourists, but also locals with retail, restaurant, and nightlife establishments.

At a cost of $3.7 billion, American Dream is projected to attract 55 million annual visits while creating up to 35,000 jobs and millions in tax revenue. American Dream is scheduled to open in late 2013 a few months before Super Bowl XLVIII at the nearby Meadowlands Stadium.

[Photo Credit - Flickr user LancerE]

Morey's Piers, located in Wildwood, New Jersey, is planning on building a $10 million wooden roller coaster. The yet-to-be-named attraction will be so large that it will span two of the park's piers. Two names that the park's owners are considering are 'Wildwoody' and 'Boardwalk Flyer'. The new wooden coaster is rumored to be designed by Great Coasters International (GCI). They are the designers behind such world-class rides as Thunderhead at Dollywood and Lightning Racer at Hersheypark. The new ride is scheduled to open in 2013.

Morey's Piers is my favorite seaside amusement park as they already boast a fun wooden coaster in Great White and two steel looping roller coasters in the Great Nor'Easter and the Sea Serpent. I'll definitely be planning a trip back to Wildwood to check out the park and the new ride. NJ.com has more about Morey's Piers new roller coaster.

[Photo credit - Flickr User wfyurasko]

Six Flags Over Texas is celebrating their 50th anniversary in a big way. The park spent $10 million remodeling their massive wooden roller coaster Texas Giant. The twenty-one year old coaster had gotten rough over the years. So, Six Flags brought in Rocky Mountain Construction for a first-ever transformation that involved replacing the ride's wooden track with steel track.

The new track not only allows for a smoother ride, but it also allowed the designers to incorporate some thrilling new elements. The New Texas Giant, boasts highly banked turns taken at more than 90 degrees and a taller and steeper first drop. I was lucky enough to make the trip to Texas for the ride's opening day last week. Anticipation certainly ran high as the wait was reported to have reached 4 hours. Thankfully, the riders that I spoke to were thoroughly satisfied when they returned to the station as they claimed that the wait was well worth it.

The experience begins as you board one of the three trains that are themed to look like 1961 Cadillac DeVilles. In true Texas fashion, the hood of the front car is complete with a custom-made cattle horn. After the relatively quiet climb to the top of the 15-story tall lift hill, you are treated to a smooth and exhilarating ride that's packed with numerous air time hills. Air time refers to moments when you are briefly lifted out of your seat. The lengthy ride finishes with the train racing through three tunnels that feature fog and special LED effects.

Guests were shocked at how smooth the Texas Giant had become and were excited that their rough ride was not only ride-able again, but actually the park's main attraction. I gave the New Texas Giant a rare 10 out of 10 and I placed it at 6th in my top ten list. I highly recommend this roller coaster and I hope that this is only the beginning of such transformations.

A glance at a map of the United States makes my theme park-addicted mind flag the states and cities with theme parks. To me, the states without theme parks look like big holes in the map. I figured I'd list the cities that I feel could use a major theme park. I'm going to preface this list by admitting that I have a completely outsider's view of these cities. I'm going mainly on the population, so feel free to inform me of any local issues or reasons why theme parks aren't there. And by theme park, I mean a 100-acre or more amusement park with roller coasters, thrill rides, and the typical attractions people associate with these parks.

A theme park developer once told me during an interview that the U.S. market is already pretty saturated and that it was unlikely that we would see new large theme parks. I'm no theme park businessman, but I find that a little hard to believe. Here are the cities that I feel need a theme park.

4 - Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville was recently the center of what looks to be at worst a hoax, and at best a well-meaning, but unlikely new project. Last month a developer unveiled plans for a $750 million theme park in nearby Spring Hill, TN. Since the announcement a number of questions have arisen around the developers background. There are about 1.2 million people in the Nashville metro area and around 600,000 in the city itself. There are two great smaller parks, Holiday World and Dollywood, that are about 3 hours away, but I'd still like to see Nashville with its own major theme park.

Theme Park Change is a new charity that encourages theme park fans to donate to a great cause. Donors can give in amounts similar to what they would spend at an amusement park. For example, you can make a $5 donation which in an amusement park is about the price of a funnel cake. There are eight levels of giving that represent items ranging from a soda all the way up to a season pass.

All proceeds go to Project Angel Food, a charity whose mission is to care for men, women, and children afflicted with life-threatening illnesses like cancer and HIV/AIDS. Every person who donates $10 or more will be entered in a drawing where they could win theme park tickets and other prizes.

You can give through April 30th and read more about this program at Theme Park Change's website. Also, here's a video about the charity featuring Neil Patrick Harris.