Lots of theme park news this week. So let's get to the round-up!
First up, Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America has announced two new flat rides to open within the next year. The "Dora the Explorer"-themed Boots' Banana Swing will open this holiday season, while the "Avatar: The Last Airbender"-themed Fly with Appa aerial carousel will open in the spring of next year.
To make room for the new rides, Bubble Guppies Guppy Bubbler will be moving to a new section of the park.
In Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Hasbro will be opening a new Nerf Action-Xperience in fall 2024. Los Angeles-based Kingsmen Xperience is designing the family play center, which will feature blaster battle zones, sports challenges, an obstacle course, a food & beverage area, and a retail store.
"For over 50 years, Nerf has been committed to encouraging social active play, and we can’t think of a better way to bring this to life for our fans than opening this new Nerf Action Xperience location,” Matt Proulx, Vice President of Location Based Entertainment at Hasbro, said. "With this brand-new family entertainment center, we're proud to be executing on our promise of bringing unique, innovative experiences to our Nerf players in Pigeon Forge."
Moving to the Halloween beat, Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group's Los Angeles Haunted Hayride has announced three new side attractions for this fall's installation.
"We listened to your feedback, and are proud to announce that the Haunted Hayride is getting a significant refresh in 2023," Chris Stafford, CEO & Founding Partner of Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, said. "I'm really excited to announce that we have added all new wagons for the Hayride experience which feature seating for the first time. This is something our guests have been requesting each year, and we're thrilled to make it happen. We have a lot of new and exciting updates and we look forward to welcoming you all back to Midnight Falls."
This year's new attractions will include the Hellbilly Halloween maze, Zombie Splat - A GellyBall Experience (kinda like paintball, but less painful and with no permanent mess, they said), and upcharge Midnight Falls Axe Throwing. Los Angeles Haunted Hayride opens September 22 in Griffith Park.
Not Halloween, but also coming soon, Cedar Point will be welcoming back Happy Friar’s Fresh-Cut Fries Fest on September 9 and 10. The park will be serving four additional new fry flavors during the weekend: Fully Loaded Fries, Cuban Fries, Gyro Fries, and Philly Cheesesteak Fries.
Finally, here's a new attraction that you can ride now. Ocean Explorer has opened at Legoland New York.
The swing ride reaches up to 45 feet tall and a top speed of 28 miles per hour. For savings over $15 on one-day tickets, please visit our partner's Legoland New York tickets page.
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The Nerf centre looks like something that in hindsight should have happened years ago