Wisconsin parks win best new rides award

Wisconsin parks winbest new rides award
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Two parks in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., won awards for the best new rides of 2005 from Amusement Today newspaper.
Hades at Mount Olympus Water & amp; Theme Park won best new ride of 2005, and Black Anaconda at Noah's Ark Waterpark won best new waterpark ride.
Mount Olympus also won as the best place to ride Go-Karts.
Hundreds of park connoisseurs vote in the annual "Golden Ticket Awards" competition sponsored by Amusement Today, an industry newspaper based in Texas.
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, continued to top the list of best amusement parks overall. Cedar Point also won for best souvenirs, best games area and for the top steel roller coaster -- Millennium Force.
Four Seasons Chicagois best U.S. hotel
NEW YORK -- The Four Seasons in Chicago took top honors as the best U.S. hotel in the annual survey of readers of Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, a subscription newsletter for upscale travelers.
It was the sixth time in the past decade that the hotel has taken the No. 1 spot. The Peninsula in Beverly Hills, Calif., came in second, followed by New York's St. Regis.
The Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, Calif., was voted No. 1 among U.S. resorts, and is the smallest hotel -- at 30 rooms -- to ever top the list. The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island, S.C., which opened just a year ago, came in at No. 15 on the resorts list. It is the first year-old resort to receive such a high ranking.
More than 85 percent of the 2,500 respondents to this year's survey listed their job title as president, CEO, owner or partner, and 90 percent had traveled outside the country in the past year.
To subscribe to the Hideaway Report or to get a sample copy, call (800) 235-9622.
A whole new meaningto 'sleeping with fishes'
MALIBU, Calif. -- Sleeping under the stars certainly has its appeal. But how about sleeping under the waves?
According to Robb Report magazine, a developer has proposed an underwater resort for the Bahamas.
If it were to be built, the Poseidon Undersea Resort would sit on the ocean floor, 60 feet beneath the surface. From sea level, guests would take an enclosed escalator to 20 undersea suites or pods attached to a central corridor. The proposal calls for depressurized rooms with thick acrylic windows providing views of sea life normally available only to scuba divers and submarine sailors.
Developer Bruce Jones, an Idaho businessman, would like to see the underwater resort built off Eleuthera.
Robb Report listed the Poseidon proposal in its October issue as part of a preview of forthcoming luxury lifestyle offerings. "We found the concept fascinating and it certainly is technologically viable, whether or not this company is able to do it," said Robb Report editor Larry Bean.
Jones certainly isn't the first one to come up with the concept of underwater accommodations. Jules' Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Fla., has two rooms available nightly.
For more information about Jones' proposal, go to www.poseidonresorts.com or call (208) 687-9057.
Associated Press