Texas water park plans Kansas resort

Texas water parkplans Kansas resort
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Schlitterbahn WaterParks, which runs one of the best-known water parks in the country in New Braunfels, Texas, is planning a 300-acre, $300 million water resort in Kansas.
The park will be located in Wyandotte County, just across Interstate 435 from the thriving Village West development, which is also home to the Kansas Speedway.
The water park will be called Schlitterbahn Vacation Village, with some parts of the operation running year-round. It will include a riverwalk -- complete with a retractable roof -- a water park and a water resort area.
The developers hope to open the park in three years.
Leaf peeping tourswill be done by train
STAUNTON, Va. -- The Greater Shenandoah Valley Development Corp. will offer leaf-peeping train excursions between Staunton and Harrisonburg five Sundays in October.
The two-hour jaunts on the Shenandoah Valley Railroad will be offered on a trial basis.
The trains will run from the Augusta County Government Center in Verona, just north of Staunton, to Pleasant Valley, just south of Harrisonburg, and back. Riders will get to see farms, pass over the scenic Middle and North rivers and the valley's brilliant autumnal foliage, officials said.
The leaf display is one of the main reasons the rail line's operator, Eastern Shore Railroad Inc. of Cape Charles, chose October for the trial run, said Larry E. LeMond, the railroad's president.
Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $10 for children 5 to 15. For reservations, visit www.shenandoahvalleyrailroad.com or call (888) 578-7245, ext. 12.
Aladdin's new ownerhas plans to remodel
LAS VEGAS -- A new owner of the Aladdin hotel-casino plans to remodel the Las Vegas Strip property with a futuristic Planet Hollywood theme by the end of next year.
The property's Middle Eastern elements will be replaced with a sweeping modern design, said Robert Earl, chief executive of Planet Hollywood International and partner with resort owner OpBiz LLC.
"We're going to bring Hollywood to Vegas, and we're going to have a must-see attraction," said Earl, adding the redesign could cost up to $140 million.
The plan will reshape entrances from the Strip and the hotel's Desert Passage shopping center. Work is due to start next month and be completed by the end of 2006. The casino and hotel will remain open while work focuses first on the casino, registration area, shops and the addition of a race and sports book.
The $1.4 billion Aladdin opened in August 2000 and filed for Chapter 11 protection about a year later.
The best golf resort?Pinehurst, says mag
NEW YORK -- Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina was named the best golf resort in the country by Travel & amp; Leisure Golf magazine.
Next on the magazine's list was the Boulders Resort & amp; Golden Door Spa in Carefree, Ariz., followed by South Carolina's Kiawah Island Golf Resort; Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North in Arizona; Pebble Beach Resorts in Pebble Beach, Calif.; Sea Island Resorts, Sea Island, Ga.; Sawgrass Marriott Resort, Sawgrass, Fla.; The American Club, Kohler, Wis.; Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore.; and Kapalua Bay Hotel & amp; Ocean Villas, Maui, Hawaii.
The magazine named the Fairmont Banff Springs in Alberta as the best golf resort in Canada, while Casa de Campo in the La Romana region of the Dominican Republic was named the best golf resort in the Caribbean. In Mexico, the magazine put Cabo del Sol, in Los Cabos, at No. 1.
The complete list appears in the magazine's September/October issue.
Associated Press