Santa Claus is Coming to...Six Flags?
The bankrupt Six Flags park chain is probably hoping Santa brings sleighloads of customers in the coming year as well as a resolution to its lingering debt problems. If so, CEO Mark Shapiro and his lieutenants can ask the red-suited gent themselves. St. Nick will be visiting four Six Flags parks this holiday season as part of the chain's Holiday in the Park events. I just posted a

Diamond in the Smooth: Best Steel Coasters
With parks and manufacturers always conjuring and building new coasters (thank goodness!), best rides lists can't remain static. I just expanded and reshuffled my best steel coasters list. The top two remain the same, but a new thrill machine, Diamondback at King's Island, sneaks in at number three. The ride opened this season to rave reviews (including

It's a Big Deal After All
The battered economy has not slowed the turnstiles at Disneyland. That's partly because the resort has been offering enticing deals. And the deals keep coming. Case in point: The Resortketeers recently announced an early 2010 offer that tosses in two free hotel nights with a 3-night package. (The hitch is that vacationers have to purchase a 5-day Disneyland pass.) Learn more about this and other SoCal money-savers at my California Theme Park Discounts and Travel Deals page.

Mission: THRILLS at Epcot
The World's Fair-like Epcot at Walt Disney World is less about thrill rides and more about the wonders of science, technology, and the future (in Future World) along with a multi-culti peek into the international community (in World Showcase). But there are some thrills to be had at Epcot, including one of the most intense G-force rides in the industry.

I Have a Feeling We're Not in Orlando Anymore
An $800-million movie-themed park planned for Rome will be modeled after Universal Studios Hollywood, according to Variety. Construction on Cinecitta World, named after Italy's Cinecitta Studios, will begin next year, and the first phase is expected to open in 2011. A quote from the Variety article caught my attention: "...one ride will feature the huge slide that Marcello Mastroianni travels down as his sexual history flashes by in Fellini's 'City of Women'..." Scusi? Somehow, I don't see the Imagineers developing a similar attraction for