In the Loop: Fast & Furious: Supercharged, Club 33 lawsuit and selfie stick ban
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Welcome to another edition of In the Loop, the L.A. Times' theme park newsletter. I’m Funland theme park blogger Brady MacDonald and this week we take a look at the new Fast & Furious: Supercharged attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood, a lawsuit involving Disneyland’s exclusive Club 33 and Disney’s ban on selfie sticks.
Thrill ride
Hugo Martin, who covers theme parks for The Times’ Business section, attended the grand opening of Fast & Furious: Supercharged at Universal Studios Hollywood, where "Fast and Furious" stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Jason Statham were on hand.
Meanwhile, I review the new attraction and find the drive-through movie to be full of high-energy fun and nonstop action -- often to the point of ridiculousness.
The Fast & Furious: Supercharged drive-through movie is expected to open June 25 at Universal Studios Hollywood.
(Universal)
Tax break
A little-known pact that for years has spared Walt Disney Co. from paying entertainment tax on its Anaheim amusement parks may be extended for three decades if the entertainment giant agrees to invest at least $1 billion in its resort properties in the coming years.
Selfie sticks
File this one under: Why did it take so long? Disney has banned selfie sticks from its theme parks in the United States. The parks have had to stop several rides when visitors deployed the extendable poles used for taking photos. Expect other major park operators to follow suit.
Club 33
In one of our most popular stories of the week, Hugo Martin writes that one of the original members of the ultra-exclusive Club 33 at Disneyland has sued the theme park, claiming that his annual membership was unfairly terminated. Disney, which usually takes a low profile in such cases, isn’t backing down, saying the 84-year-old Lake Forest man is a repeated rule breaker who has left the Mouse “no other choice.”
Guest relations guide Victoria Dale holds open the door to Club 33 for visitors on a special VIP tour of Disneyland in Anaheim. A former Club 33 member is suing Disneyland, claiming that his membership was unfairly revoked.
(Disney)
Coaster trip
I'm back from an East Coast theme park trip with reports from two Virginia parks: Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Kings Dominion.
At Busch Gardens, I review Tempesto and find the new vertical coaster packs a lot of punch for its relatively small size. And at Kings Dominion, I rank my top 10 coasters at the park. I’m sure you can guess what’s No. 1. (LINK TK)
Tempesto sits on an extremely compact footprint in the Festa Italia section of Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
(Busch Gardens)
Drug bust
A San Francisco-area corrections officials has been charged with leaving a fanny pack containing a gun and drugs behind in a hotel during a family vacation to Disneyland, prosecutors say.
Sad news
The Daily Mail reports that a woman injured in the Smiler coaster accident at Alton Towers had her leg amputated after seven unsuccessful surgeries to save the limb. The 20-year-old dancer is the second person to have a leg amputated after the June 2 accident at the United Kingdom theme park.
And finally
John Lee writes from Margate, England, about the restored retro rides of Dreamland that are sparking the revival of the coastal resort town. Dreamland recently reopened following a painful 2005 closure and prolonged dereliction that ripped the heart from a resort where there had been a seaside pleasure park since the late 1800s.
(Rob Stothard / Getty Images)
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