Roller Coaster

The first phase of the multi-stage unveiling of the Fantasyland makeover has moved into "soft opening" mode in advance of an official unveiling later this month at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Photos: Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom Three years in the making, the new Fantasyland at Orlando's Walt Disney World resort adds a Little Mermaid dark ride and a Seven Dwarfs roller coaster while updating the classic Dumbo ride and recreating the village from "Beauty and the Beast.

Dino Land theme park in China recently unveiled the $20-million Dinoconda , a thrilling fourth-dimension roller coaster with independently rotating seats. PHOTOS: Dinoconda 4-D coaster at China's Dino Land Located in Changzhou about two hours west of Shanghai, the Chinese park known as the "Jurassic Park of the East" features roller coasters, thrill rides and attractions themed to dinosaurs and mythical creatures. The mechanically complex coaster boasts wing-shaped vehicles with seats that rotate head over heels, both forward and backward.

Well, that didn't last long. Six Flags Magic Mountain will relinquish sole ownership of the coveted title of " Roller Coaster Capital of the World " later this year when the Valencia, Calif., amusement park removes one of its record-setting 18 coasters. Magic Mountain boasted of nabbing the coaster title when the Green Lantern: First Flight spinning coaster officially opened in July. The removal of Deja Vu will move Magic Mountain back into a statistical tie with Cedar Point in Ohio, which also has 17 coasters.

Phoenix Coyotes Coach Dave Tippett knows how electrifying the atmosphere at Staples Center can be when the Kings are successful in the playoffs. Before this season they hadn't won a first-round series since 2001, when Tippett was an assistant to Andy Murray and created a power play that was among the NHL's most potent. With the Coyotes and Kings soon to meet for the Western Conference title, Tippett will experience that atmosphere again, but from a different bench and perspective.

SeaWorld San Diego will add a manta ray-themed family roller coaster on May 26 that marks the U.S. debut of a highly anticipated prototype ride. PHOTOS: Manta roller coaster at SeaWorld San Diego Paired with a 100,000-gallon aquarium and outdoor ray pool, the Manta coaster will twist and turn over low terrain in the relatively unused back corner of the marine park near the Skyride and Flamingo Cove, SeaWorld officials said....

The Verbolten multi-launch roller coaster debuting in Spring 2012 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg will take riders on a high-speed drive along the German autobahn before detouring through the forbidden Black Forest. > Photos: Verbolten coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg The themed family coaster at the Virginia theme park will feature two launch zones and an indoor section of the ride with special effects. The 3-1/2-minute ride will travel along a 2,800-foot-long track twisting and turning through the woods.

Reporting from Knoebels in Elysburg, Pa.-- Over the last five summers, the most anticipated roller coaster hasn't been a towering, looping speed demon but rather a slow, squat and serpentine 1930s-era replica that disappeared from the amusement park landscape nearly four decades ago. Since the autumn of 2005, Flying Turns at Knoebels in tiny Elysburg, Pa., has been the all-consuming passion and obsession of theme park President Dick...

Quarterback coaster UCLA quarterbacks, and their coaches, have experienced ups and downs this season. A summary: UCLA started 3-0 -- including a 19-15 victory over Tennessee, after which starter Kevin Prince, who had suffered a broken jaw, sat in the training room listening to Coach Rick Neuheisel dissect his performance. Kevin Craft directed UCLA's Game 3 win over Kansas State but couldn't come up with the needed plays the next week against Stanford, a loss to the Cardinal starting a five-game slide by the Bruins.

A racing wooden roller coaster debuting this spring at a Chinese theme park will feature a first-of-its-kind element in which riders in dueling trains reach out toward each other and attempt to exchange high-fives. Dubbed the High Five by the American ride designers, the wooden coaster opening in April at Happy Valley Wuhan will be officially known as Dragon Wings. Riders traveling in parallel trains along banked tracks during the unique High Five element will tilt inward 90 degrees, allowing their upward raised hands to almost touch during the near-miss moment.

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.

Billed as the world's tallest water ride, the $26-million Divertical at  Italy's Mirabilandia theme park will combine a shoot-the-chutes flume and a roller coaster track with an offshore powerboat racing theme. PHOTOS: Divertical water coaster at Mirabilandia Debuting in mid- to late June, the Divertical water coaster will feature an innovative elevator lift system that carries the 10-person boats to the top of the 197-foot-tall ride. From there, riders will descend a 45-degree water flume at speeds topping 65 mph. After a tidal wave-like splash, the train will continue along a coaster track over air-time hills and hairpin turns before dropping into a second splashdown pool.

Six Flags Magic Mountain will reclaim sole ownership of the Roller Coaster Capital of the World title with the announcement that arch-rival Cedar Point will remove one of its 17 coasters before the start of the summer season. PHOTOS: Cedar Point vs. Magic Mountain Citing declining ridership and increased maintenance costs, Ohio's Cedar Point said it will remove and demolish the 1979 Wildcat coaster to make room for the upcoming $6-million Luminosity nighttime spectacular, which is set to debut on June 8. PHOTOS: Luminosity nighttime spectacular at Cedar Point "Cedar Point remains committed to being the roller coaster capital of the world," the park said in a statement.

The once-famed Steel Pier on the long-faded Atlantic City Boardwalk will invest more than $100 million on new amusement rides and entertainment venues after scrapping plans to revive its centerpiece diving horse act amid an outcry by animal rights activists. PHOTOS: New rides at Steel Pier in Atlantic City Located across from Donald Trump's Taj Mahal casino on the New Jersey shore, the 1,000-foot-long amusement pier will add 11 rides, an arcade, nightclub, museum and ballroom during a four-year expansion project.

MOVIES Watch the terrifying, inspiring and deeply weird roller coaster ride that is underground rocker Bobby Liebling's life. As the founder and lead singer of the almost-made-it 1970s metal band Pentagram, Liebling blew every shot at fame he got with drugs and outrageous behavior. The filmmakers who made "Rock School," pick up with Liebling in his later years and follow his attempt at a comeback in a new documentary called "Last Days Here. " Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A. 10:30 p.m. Fri. $12. (323)

Real Madrid plans to open a $1 billion soccer-centric theme park on a United Arab Emirates man-made island in January 2015 that celebrates the history, triumphs and hubris of the richest football club in the world. PHOTOS: Real Madrid Resort Island in the Middle East The 100-acre Real Madrid Resort Island  will feature a roller coaster that extends out over the water, a SeaWorld-style dolphin show and a hologram soccer movie inside a climate-controlled theme park.

The $26-million OzIris roller coaster at Parc Asterix will dive underwater in front of a sorcerer's temple as part of the French theme park's new Egyptian-themed land. PHOTOS: OzIris inverted coaster at Parc Asterix Debuting April 7, the Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster's elaborate Egyptian themes include an obelisk monument, pictogram carvings and sphinx statues that maintain the characteristic humor of Asterix, a popular French comic book and the theme park's titular character.

What I've dubbed the " most anticipated new roller coaster of the summer " has arrived at Six Flags Magic Mountain --and I'm already salivating. Magic Mountain took delivery this week of the rocking and spinning Green Lantern coaster trains, which join portions of the emerald green track already on site at the Valencia amusement park. (Watch the concept video of the Green Lantern .) Ground clearance is currently under way for the first-of-its-kind ride in the U.S., with vertical construction expected to begin in March in advance of a scheduled Memorial Day weekend unveiling.

California's Great America has announced plans to remove the third coaster in less than a decade – a period in which no new coasters were added to the amusement park in Santa Clara, Calif. Invertigo , an inverted shuttle coaster that made its debut in 1998, will be removed to make room for a new attraction planned for 2012, officials said. In 2002, the Greased Lightning looping shuttle coaster was removed from Great America and relocated to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo in Northern Caifornia.

The first phase of the multi-stage unveiling of the Fantasyland makeover has moved into "soft opening" mode in advance of an official unveiling later this month at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Photos: Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom Three years in the making, the new Fantasyland at Orlando's Walt Disney World resort adds a Little Mermaid dark ride and a Seven Dwarfs roller coaster while updating the classic Dumbo ride and recreating the village from "Beauty and the Beast.

A racing wooden roller coaster debuting this spring at a Chinese theme park will feature a first-of-its-kind element in which riders in dueling trains reach out toward each other and attempt to exchange high-fives. Dubbed the High Five by the American ride designers, the wooden coaster opening in April at Happy Valley Wuhan will be officially known as Dragon Wings. Riders traveling in parallel trains along banked tracks during the unique High Five element will tilt inward 90 degrees, allowing their upward raised hands to almost touch during the near-miss moment.