Amusement Parks

During a honeymoon trip to Los Angeles, Chris Hansen and his new wife, Shoni, decided not to skimp on their visit to Universal Studios Hollywood. They booked a pricey tour for the theme park that included a buffet lunch, an escort to the front of the line of every ride and a behind-the-scene visit to the property and wardrobe departments on the studio's television and movie lot. The experience set the couple back $299 each, compared with the regular $80 admission price. But they didn't complain.

During a honeymoon trip to Los Angeles, Chris Hansen and his new wife, Shoni, decided not to skimp on their visit to Universal Studios Hollywood. They booked a pricey tour for the theme park that included a buffet lunch, an escort to the front of the line of every ride and a behind-the-scene visit to the property and wardrobe departments on the studio's television and movie lot. The experience set the couple back $299 each, compared with the regular $80 admission price. But they didn't complain.

Reporting from Idlewild Park in Ligonier, Pa. - As one of the oldest amusement parks in America, Idlewild Park in Ligonier, Pa., has always been geared toward youngsters under 12 years old. Photos : Top 10 kids' rides at Idlewild Park Idlewild is about firsts and lasts. For generations, kids have ridden their first merry go round, Ferris wheel and roller coaster at the idyllic park. At the same time, Idlewild is home to many last-of-their-kind rides, including a caterpillar, haunted swing, tilt house and Tumble Bug. A cross between a wooded national park and permanent carnival, Idlewild stays true to its origins by allowing visitors to bring their lunches in coolers and baskets.

SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court, protecting providers of risky recreational activities from lawsuits, decided Monday that bumper car riders may not sue amusement parks over injuries stemming from the inherent nature of the attraction. The 6-1 decision may be cited to curb liability for a wide variety of activities - such as jet skiing, ice skating and even participating in a fitness class, lawyers in the case said. "This is a victory for anyone who likes fun and risk activities," said Jeffrey M. Lenkov, an attorney for Great America, which won the case.

Disney this summer will truly become the happiest place on Earth for Starbucks devotees, who will no longer have to suffer caffeine withdrawal when they visit some of the mouse-eared amusement parks. In June, the first of six Starbucks cafes will open at Anaheim's Disney California Adventure in the park's Fiddle, Fifer & Practical Café on Buena Vista Street. In keeping with the café's 1920's Los Angeles vibe, Starbucks baristas will be clad in appropriate vintage attire.

SANDUSKY, Ohio - As an amusement parks blogger, I have visited most of the big theme parks in Southern California and central Florida, but my roller-coaster résumé was a little thin when it came to the parks in between. So last summer my wife, Nancy, our 11-year-old daughter, Hannah, and I climbed aboard more than 70 coasters in 10 days at theme parks in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We each had established a few rules for our journey across America's Coaster Belt. Hannah was willing to ride coasters reaching 65 mph, topping out at 200 feet and going upside down three times.

A Northern California legislator came here Tuesday to announce yet another legislative attempt to force state government oversight of California's 71 amusement parks. Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) said he will introduce legislation this week to address growing concerns about accountability at the parks, compounded by the death of a Disneyland patron in December.

Why are there more complaints than usual this year about the cost of visiting big amusement parks? It's "totally outrageous," writes one Whittier woman whose day at Disneyland for her family of five cost $311.50. "It's obvious," she comments, "that (they) are in a moneymaking business." Indeed they are. Corporations don't run parks as a public service. At the same time, consumers don't have to go. This is recreation, not necessity. But that's too simplistic.

Ogden Corp.--a conglomerate that converts trash to energy, is privatizing 33 Argentine airports and owns the Tinseltown dinner theater in Anaheim--said Friday it agreed to buy Castle Amusement Park in Riverside from Buena Park-based Hurlbut Amusements Inc. Terms of the deal for the privately held, 30-acre park weren't released. Castle's 30 attractions include four heavily landscaped miniature golf courses, go-carts, a log ride and a 101-year-old carousel.

The developers seeking to build an amusement park at the corner of Harvard Avenue and ichelson Drive will meet with residents over the next few weeks in an effort to work out differences over the controversial development. The meetings are designed to focus on crime, parking and other issues raised by opponents of the Palace Park development.

A pair of otherworldly photos from Superstorm Sandy will be forever etched in my memory of the historic hurricane. The first photo showed up in much of the mainstream media coverage and became a symbol of the storm: A seemingly intact roller coaster poking out of the Atlantic Ocean off the Jersey Shore like the skeleton of a sea serpent. The second image ricocheted around the Internet via social media sites and became a symbol of vulnerability and resilience following the storm: An undamaged carousel inside an eerily lit enclosure completely surrounded by water that looked like a glowing jewelry box floating off the New York City coast.

Even the most diligent parent can lose a kid now and then - mostly now. A new product may help take some of the angst and desperation out of such an event. SafetyTats are temporary tattoos that read “If Lost, Please Call” and list a parent or guardian's cell number. They were invented by a mom named Michele Welsh, who as a precaution would write her cell number on her children's arms in crowded public venues, like theme parks.  She explained to her three active boys to stay with Mommy and Daddy, but they were told that if they did get separated, they could show the numbers to an adult.

The Angry Birds, the Bad Piggies, the eggs - you know the game-on drill. But what if you use your hands and feet instead of a smartphone app to move to the next level? That's the idea behind Angry Birds activity parks planned at three hotels in Finland - and they're not your typical amusement parks. "There will be different kinds of activities for children as well as for grown-ups," Iiro Rossi of Holiday Club Resorts wrote in an email. "There will be climbing, sliding, crawling, parkour, jumping, scoring, driving, playing, you name it. One thing missing are traditional rides usually seen in amusement parks.

DAVIS — The California Supreme Court grappled Wednesday with whether to hold amusement parks liable for injuries that occur during a ride's normal operation. Meeting for oral argument, the state high court considered a lawsuit filed by a woman who broke her wrist while riding a bumper car at the Great America amusement park in Northern California. She claimed the park had operated the ride negligently and should compensate her for the injury. Cedar Fair L.P., the company that owns the park, countered that riders assume responsibility for themselves when they knowingly hop on an attraction with inherent risks.

MASON, Ohio -- With 14 roller coasters, Kings Island ranks just behind North America's coaster capitals: California's Six Flags Magic Mountain (17), Ontario's Canada's Wonderland (16) and Ohio's Cedar Point (15). Photos: Top 10 Kings Island roller coasters Kings Island, just outside Cincinnati, traces its history to Ohio's Coney Island park, which dates to 1867 as one of the oldest amusement parks in the United States. Many of Coney Island's rides -- including Scrambler, Dodgem and Monster -- were relocated to Kings Island when the 364-acre theme park opened in 1972.

You can make reservations for an exclusive restaurant. And come this Halloween season you'll be able to make reservations for an exclusive scare. Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park — the theme park that 40 years ago introduced visitors to the now hugely popular Halloween mazes teeming with ghouls and monsters — will offer a premium maze for small groups apart from the crowds. Access to the exclusive maze, starting Sept. 21, will come with an extra charge. It will cost $60 for a group of up to six people, on top of admission to the park, which runs from $36 to $60 per person.

Six Flags Magic Mountain reopened Thursday to its biggest crowd of the year, park executives said, a day after Daniel Vega, a 15-year-old Fontana boy, was shot to death in the parking lot. Two others shot in the incident, the victim's 14-year-old cousin and a 37-year-old female bystander, were in good condition at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, officials said. Meanwhile, sheriff's detectives questioned the many witnesses to the 8:40 p.m.

The parents of a Fontana woman who died last year after riding a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia sued the amusement park's corporate owners Wednesday, accusing them of knowingly operating a dangerously violent ride. A wrongful-death lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court contends that the violent nature of the Goliath roller coaster caused the June 2001 death of Pearl Santos, 28.

Steve Wicke is "just big into space. " The Westminster man took four months off his warehouse job last year to visit every NASA site in the United States. On Saturday, he joined an estimated 20,000 people who swarmed the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's leafy campus for its annual open house weekend. Buses and SUVs clogged Oak Grove Drive near the La Cañada Flintridge boundary with Pasadena and filled JPL parking lots to disgorge passengers of all ages, who descended on the exhibits and activities as if they were new amusement park rides.

SANDUSKY, Ohio - As an amusement parks blogger, I have visited most of the big theme parks in Southern California and central Florida, but my roller-coaster résumé was a little thin when it came to the parks in between. So last summer my wife, Nancy, our 11-year-old daughter, Hannah, and I climbed aboard more than 70 coasters in 10 days at theme parks in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We each had established a few rules for our journey across America's Coaster Belt. Hannah was willing to ride coasters reaching 65 mph, topping out at 200 feet and going upside down three times.