Theme Park Attractions Get Wilder, Gentler

The theme-park attractions grow wilder. A rampaging alien is on the loose at Walt Disney World. Indiana Jones is leading the way on a high-tech adventure at Disneyland. Guests at Busch Gardens Williamsburg are dealing with the fiery wrath of Mount Vesuvius. And at several Six Flags parks, riders shriek as a roller coaster called the Viper swoops and swirls.

But what about the little ones? What about the children who don’t measure up to the “You must be this tall to ride” line? What about the ones who aren’t quite ready to be scared out of their skin?

For them, there is Barney.

Yes, Barney, that sweet, kind, gentle, lovable - detractors would say dorky - dinosaur is starring in his own show at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. In a season filled with new rides designed to evoke screams, public television’s purple pal is speaking softly.

The newly opened “A Day in the Park With Barney” features an enclosed, environmentally controlled, parklike setting, with brilliantly colored flowers and trees, indoor clouds and special effects. A song-and-dance celebration salutes the simple pleasures of childhood, and the “park” has an interactive play area. And worry not: Barney’s pal Baby Bop and her big brother BJ are there, too, along with a new character, the bumbling but good-hearted Mr. Peekaboo.

Barney, of course, isn’t the only new attraction for the kiddie set. In San Diego, at Sea World of California’s new tropical adventure land called Shamu’s Happy Harbor, children (and the rest of the family) have more than 20 interactive play and water attractions, with the centerpiece being a two-story ship named the Wahoo Two. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has joined Busch Gardens Williamsburg in presenting Land of the Dragons, where children will find an enchanting forest, magical, non-threatening dragons and rides and play materials.

Now that we’ve found plenty for the little ones to do, let’s move on to the thrill attractions. Probably the most high-tech of the new ones is The Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. With the swashbuckling Indy of movie fame showing the way, passengers ride a utility vehicle that stops, starts, stalls, bucks and jolts as giant snakes, poison darts and falling boulders threaten. Because of the intricate technology, passengers may never have the exact same ride twice.

At Disneyland’s big-brother park, Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Adventure has brought a new level of scariness to the Magic Kingdom. There are sensory effects galore as a giant alien escapes from a teleportation chamber while a room is plunged into darkness. You’ll hear breaking glass (and screaming patrons).

At some of the Six Flags parks across America, the Viper reigns. The Viper is a thrill-a-second roller coaster with different effects for different parks. The Six Flags Over Georgia Viper, for instance, is a steel coaster with a vertical loop and speeds of more than 55 mph. At Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill., it’s a wooden coaster with a 10-story drop in a setting resembling an abandoned factory. And at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., the setting is a ghost town, and the steel coaster features a 360-degree spin.

Other new Six Flags coasters: the Mayan Mindbender at AstroWorld in Houston, Texas’ only indoor roller coaster; and Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Over Mid-America in St. Louis, featuring five upside-down turns.

Six Flags Over Texas in Dallas has added The Right Stuff Mach 1 Adventure - a supersonic flight simulator designed to give riders the thrill of being a jet pilot “punching a hole” through the sound barrier. Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, Calif., is now home to Hurricane Harbor, a pirate-themed water park with slides, raft rides and pools. And Disney World has added Blizzard Beach, a water park that resembles a ski resort after a meltdown.

Meanwhile, at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia, guests are busy fleeing the terror of Pompeii. Escape from Pompeii takes riders on a boat tour through the ruins of ancient Italy. Then Mount Vesuvius erupts - and so do lots of special effects as the ride takes a smoldering downhill journey.