Robert Niles
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Robert Niles

Wednesday afternoon news round-up

July 8, 2009, 3:52 PM ·

  • The family of Disney monorail driver Austin Wuennenberg held their memorial service for him today. More than 300 family, friends and co-workers gathered at the First United Methodist Church in Kissimmee, while hundreds more have paid tribute online by appending the hashtag #Austin to their Twitter posts.

  • The NTSB reported today that Austin attempted to put his monorail in reverse in avoid an collision when Monorail Pink speed down the track in reverse toward his train. It appeared that Austin did everything in his power to protect himself and his train, up until the moment of his death.

  • In happier news, Busch Gardens Williamsburg has released more details about this year's upcoming Christmastown celebration at the Virginia theme park. The event will feature a 45-foot lighted Christmas tree, a maze, special live holiday shows, as well as 11 of the park's rides.

  • If you're an early riser planning a trip to Legoland, the SeaLife Aquarium next door is hosting a daily breakfast at 9 am in the aquarium's Ocean Journey Cafe. There's a feeding demonstration (of the fish - we'll assume you're familiar with how to feed yourself) as well as a Q&A with an aquarist. Admission to the aquarium is not required to eat at the cafe, so it's a nice way to get a glimpse.

  • Finally, for those who want to keep this week's Michael Jackson tributes going, head to Universal Hollywood's CityWalk tomorrow at 7pm, where Universal will be screening "The Wiz" as well as the extended "Thriller" video, plus hosting a live dance retrospective.

    Update: And one more thing... Knott's Berry Farm has released the maze line-up for this year's Halloween Haunt.

    Replies (3)

    larryz
    Larry Zimmerman
    July 8, 2009 at 7:58 PM

    I always thought The Wiz received far too little critical acclaim when it originally debuted. I'm glad to see Universal using it in memory of one of its stars.

    JoshC.
    Joshua Counsil
    July 9, 2009 at 7:42 AM

    You're not making it any easier to NOT think about theme parks at work, Robert.

    I can't concentrate! I need my theme park fix!

    THCreative
    TH Creative
    July 9, 2009 at 8:38 AM

    WFTV reporting that some Disney Monorail managers were at Denny's when the accident occurred.

    Developing.

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