Universal awakens mummy

The annual war of the roller coasters, in which dueling theme parks rev up new rides, is well underway.

The latest volley is from Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, which on Friday will open Revenge of the Mummy -- the Ride, which it has been testing for several weeks. The park’s cousin, Universal Studios Hollywood, will follow with its version on June 25.

Revenge, based on the “Mummy” movie series, blends an indoor roller coaster with a battery of robotics and other special effects.

Sixteen-passenger cars hurtle in the dark past an almost 7-foot-tall robotic mummy and his minions, and nearly crash into a wall crawling with scarabs, while 200 speakers blast away.

Universal spokeswoman Susan Lomax declined to say how much the ride cost, but said that $50 million, reported in Amusement Business magazine, was “in the ballpark.”

In another nearly annual ritual, park prices have gone up. Universal’s adult admission, with tax, is $58.31 in Orlando and $49.75 in Hollywood.

Rental car

prices may be

headed uphill

Rental car rates, which zoomed up and then down this spring, may be headed up.

Cendant Car Rental Group, which runs the Avis and Budget brands, said it would raise prices an average of $5 a day and $20 a week July 1; increases will vary by location.

Rates went up by about the same amount Feb. 15, when Cendant and other major companies raised prices. But they soon dropped back down, industry observers said.

If the increase sticks, it will “bring us to where we were last summer,” said Cendant spokeswoman Susan McGowan.

Obstacles in the road to

a rebound

Travel may rebound next year to levels it achieved in 2000, a record year, but it will have to clear roadblocks, according to two reports released by the Travel Industry Assn. of America.

Spending on travel in the U.S. will increase nearly 6% this year, to $585 billion, and 5% next year, the industry group said in its annual forecast, largely because of a better economy and increased consumer confidence. Prices are also expected to go up, about 2.2% this year, mainly because of higher hotel rates and gas prices.

On the heels of the forecast, the group released its latest traveler sentiment index, designed to measure vacationers’ interest in and ability to travel. The index, while still above 2003, dropped nearly 5%, mainly because of worries about affordability. The so-called affordability index fell more than 18% nationally to its lowest level since early 2001.

Alaska park

adds fees for

road lottery

Anchorage, Alaska

Denali National Park will begin charging people a $10 fee this summer to enter the lottery for a permit to drive on its 90-mile, mostly gravel road for four days at the end of the season, and another fee for those who win.

The 1,600 winners will each pay $35 more, plus a $10 entrance fee, to drive into the park in mid-September. About 18,000 people applied for lottery permits last year.

Associated Press

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-- Compiled by

Jane Engle