The request for the 600 tickets came in late May from a man claiming to be from Choice for Choices, according to Great America spokesperson James Taylor.

Because many charities don’t have enough cash to pay up front for outing tickets, Taylor said, Great America followed a previous practice and sent the 600 tickets for Choice for Choices to a Chicago address.

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The coaster that was Elvis Presley’s favorite, is leaving Memphis and headed east to North Carolina.

Two Nashville collectors who bought the coaster back at the June auction of the park’s affects said that they sold the coaster on Friday to the tourism bureau from Roanoke Rapids.  The coaster is expected to be part of the new Carolina Crossroads project.

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On Tuesday a group of Bowling Green, KY business leaders met  hoping to end a battle over a small stretch of Beech Bend Road that leads into the park’s property.

The land dispute has been ongoing for more than three years and has already cost the city of Bowling Green millions of dollars in tourism revenue.

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ORLANDO, Fla. — A man was shot in the stomach early Friday morning in the parking garage of Universal Orlando.

A Universal spokesman said the people involved in the shooting had just left City Walk. The victim is in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

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An auction yesterday marked the end of the Santa’s Village amusement park in Dundee, IL. The park opened in 1959, but was forced to close after the owner wanted to retire and was unable to find a buyer.

The park’s 22 rides were auctioned off to various parks and carnivals, with the Typhoon roller coaster being the biggest piece. Typhoon, which cost $1.5 million when it was built in 1998, sold for $250,000 and will go to a carnival near Phoenix. Other items were more nostalgic, including ice skates, a 12-foot-tall Santa Claus, and even bolts.

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On Sunday October 22, five men were arrested and charged with forging hand stamps to allow people to enter the Six Flags Great Adventure theme park without paying.

Upon being alerted by the theme park’s security, five Jackson police officers responded and stopped a motor vehicle on the theme park’s premesis. Sgt. Brian Geoghegan, patrol officers Fred Meabe, Michael Grochowski, Trevor Crowley, and Colin Menafra responded to the call, Sgt. Thomas Hratko said.

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Saturday a child was ejected from the Mad Mouse coaster at the South Carolina State Fair.

The 12-year-old boy was thrown from the coaster around 5:30pm Saturday evening. The fair’s first aid took care of the boy and transported him to a local hospital.

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