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Alabama's
Owa theme park will feature a coaster similar to Coney Island's
Thunderbolt. (Zamperla)
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A new theme park coming to Alabama's Gulf Coast hopes to fill
a void left by Hurricane Katrina's destruction of Six Flags New
Orleans more than a decade ago.
The Owa theme park, about 45 minutes southeast of Mobile, is
set to open May 17. It will feature 20 rides as part of a $500-million
complex built by a local Native American tribe.
The 14-acre site will be the biggest amusement park in Alabama
and the only nearby option for serious thrill seekers in a four-state
area.
Operators hope residents in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi
and Alabama will view Owa as an alternative to bigger theme parks
in the region: Dixie Landin' in Baton Rouge, La.; Wild Adventures
in Valdosta, Ga.; and Six Flags Over Georgia outside Atlanta.
Owa is also positioning itself as a budget alternative to the
pricier Disney and Universal parks in Orlando, Fla..
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Zamperla's
Air Race will be among the thrill rides at Alabama's Owa theme
park. (Zamperla)
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Since the loss of Six Flags New Orleans in 2005, theme park
buffs in the region have been left with tiny beach-side amusement
and water parks along the Gulf of Mexico.
Italy-based Zamperla will provide all the rides for Owa park,
including three roller coasters.
The marque Rollin' Thunder coaster will be a clone of the Thunderbolt
at New York's Coney Island. The 125-foot-tall looping steel coaster
will feature a 110-foot vertical lift and four inversions, including
a dive loop, a corkscrew and a heart-line roll.
The other two coasters: A wild mouse ride with spinning cars
and an oval kiddie one with a mid-course helix.
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Alabama's
Owa theme park will include a Zamperla pendulum swing thrill
ride. (Zamperla)
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The collection of thrill rides includes:
- Disk'O half-pipe ride;
- Air Race airplane ride, which simulates an acrobatic air
show;
- Discovery pendulum swing, with outward-facing seats and a
rotating gondola;
- Enterprise-style ride attached to a tilting arm with swinging
gondola seats
- a 125-foot tall swing tower.
More family-oriented rides include:
- 40-foot-tall hot air balloon tower ride;
- Wave Swing carousel;
- Rockin' Tug half-pipe ride;
- Kiddie drop tower;
- Teacups;
- Autopia-style big-rig truck driving course; and
- 5 Dumbo-style spinning flat rides (Aerozoom, Magic Bikes,
Flying Tigers, Jump Around and Mini Jet).
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Alabama's
Owa theme park will feature an Enterprise-style thrill ride
built by Zamperla. (Zamperla)
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Zamperla is a company that creates most of the rides at parks
in Italy, Germany, Guatemala, Iraq and North Korea as well as at
Luna Park at New York's Coney Island. Unlike Luna Park, Zamperla
will not use Owa as a proving ground for new rides.
Owa will be located about 10 miles from the gulf in Foley. The
property was originally developed as the Blue Collar Country theme
park by the comedy team of Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy and Larry
the Cable Guy.
When the $200-million project fell through, the Poarch Band
of Creek Indians stepped in to take over the development. The 520-acre
complex will include a shopping center, hotels and a youth sports
complex. Future expansion also calls for a water park, condominiums
and an RV park.
Owa will be built around a 14-acre lake and themed to a small
Southern town with a downtown area and warehouse district. Owa means
"big water" in the tribal language.
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