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Asian Attractions Expo
IAAPA has revealed details of the education sessions and pre-convention safety institute planned as part of its Asian Attractions Expo (AAE) next month in Seoul, South Korea.
Suspense heightens at Potts Park
ABC Engineering is preparing a new suspended family coaster for Potts Park in Germany, ready for a summer debut. Featuring six 3-seater glider vehicles, Turbo-Drachen (Turbo-Dragon) will feature 450-metres of track and a number of family-friendly specifications to suit Potts’ young clientele.
Nigoland's new wheel
A little bit of Bavaria is coming to the Champagne-Ardenne region of France. Nigoland in Dolancourt will soon unveil a new Ferris Wheel from the German manufacturer Gerstlauer and not only has the ride been built in the Bavarian town of Munsterhausen, it also features themed cars reminiscent of the area.
Park planned in Manila
The Japanese ride manufacturer Okamoto plans to build a park on a one-acre site next to the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden in the Philippines. A footbridge will be built to connect the new park to Paraiso ng Batang Maynila, which will also be modernised.
Half of the admission revenue from the new park will go to the city to help finance the Manila Zoo. As part of the deal, indigents will be given one day each week to enter the park for free and senior citizens will also be granted discounts.
Paultons has the Edge
Paultons Park in England has unveiled its new Disk ‘O’ Coaster from Zamperla. The ride, named Edge, was a big hit with guests visiting the park over Easter and is the first of its kind in the UK.
Mystery Park returns
Mystery Park is due to reopen this summer near Interlaken, Switzerland, three years after it went bankrupt. Launched by Swiss author Erich von Däniken, the theme park features a number of "unsolved puzzles" involving human civilisation and extra terrestrial activity, including Stonehenge and the pyramids.
Marcel Meier, the manager appointed by the new owners, told the Berner Zeitung newspaper he believes the current economic crisis could attract families looking to cut down on travel and visit attractions closer to home.
Around CHF100,000 (e65,693/$87,904) is to be invested to bring Mystery Park up to standard, by adding more family friendly activities such as a children’s playground. The entrance price will also be lowered. Reports suggest the reopening will be for one season only.
Laser Raiders at Legoland
Sally Corporation’s latest interactive dark ride, Laser Raiders opened recently at Legoland Windsor near London as part of the new Kingdom of the Pharoahs area. The 7,000 sq ft rides features 10 black-lit scenes including the popular Lego characters Johnny Thunder, Miss Pippin Reed and Dr Kilroy.
Dollywood offers zipline experience
Guests at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, can fly like an eagle over the 150-acre property as they experience the new SkyZip, the first multiple station zip-line experience at a US theme park.
Wake Nation
Wake Nation Cincinnati, a watersports’ complex dedicated to wakeboarding, wakeskating, water skiing and knee boarding, has opened in Fairfield, Ohio, just outside Cincinnati.
Congo River Expedition
A new family water ride opens this summer at Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas. The highly themed Congo River Expedition will take guests deep into the heart of the rainforest.
Bart Kinzel named at Carowinds
Bart Kinzel has been named the new vice-president and general manager of Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dino Park opens new outlet
West Media, the operator of the Dino Park chain in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (see profile here), has opened a fourth outlet in the city of Ostrava.
Kernels
According to an interview in the Dutch newspaper Financieele Dagblad, Efteling is looking at the possibility of setting up a second establishment abroad. Director Bart de Boer told the publication that any other attraction would match the original theme park in being family-focused with a fairytale theme: “That is what we are good at and where we have little competition,” de Boer said.
Guests at the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, England, were this Easter treated to guest appearances by costume character versions of Angelina Ballerina, Fifi, Flowertots, Spongebob Squarepants and Peppa Pig. The park’s newest permanent attraction, meanwhile, is a dancing fountain show. Set to music including classical, rock and pop, the jets of water reach as high as the Big One rollercoaster and after dark are illuminated for added effect. This season the park has dropped free entry is favour of a wristband-only pricing structure, with deals available from £15 for those booking online. “We had an extremely encouraging start to the year and enjoyed a good Easter weekend,” reports a Pleasure Beach spokesperson.
Cliff's Amusement Park in New Mexico is going cashless. The Albuquerque park has contracted with Core Cashless to implement the system. Pre-loaded Cliff's Fun Cards will be used in place of cash to purchase rides, games, food and retail in the park. According to owner Linda Hays, the park has added new bathrooms and a new ride, the Fire Ball from Larson Manufacturing.
Named after the mythological beast sometimes called Big Foot, Sasquatch will open in early May at The Great Escape, Queensbury, New York. A combo tower ride from S&S Worldwide, it combines a Turbo Drop and Space Shot and formerly operated at Six Flags New Orleans as the Sonic Slam and Bayou Blaster before the park was shuttered by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Sasquatch is the first new thrill ride at The Great Escape since 1999.
Del Grosso's adds three rides
DelGrosso's Amusement Park, Tipton, Pennsylvania, has purchased three rides for the 2009 season from Cypress Gardens, and expects to have them up and running for opening day in early May.
At what point in the future do you expect rides from emerging manufacturers in the East to be sold in the West?
Rich Allen, S&S Worldwide (pictured): Although the Far East has already developed significant manufacturing capability for the mass production of goods, S&S has been fortunate to have maintained strong sales of our products in that region. We believe that this success has relied and will continue to depend on the creativity and originality of our design and engineering team. Even as equalisation of production costs leads to the eventual globalisation of manufacturing, imaginative products and designs will always be in demand.
BALPPA chief slams British Budget
Following the recent Budget review by the British Government, BALPPA chief executive Colin Dawson has expressed his disappointment in the chancellor’s refusal to make any concessions on VAT for members of the tourist industry. Such a move would, he argued, have stimulated a much needed boost to the economy.
Asia Tourism Resort & Attraction
Following an encouraging start last year, the Global Leaders Institute is getting ready to stage its second Asia Tourism Resort & Attraction conference this June in Shanghai.
Attraction Attendance 2008
The TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) and ERA (Economics Research Associates) have just released their eagerly-awaited Attraction Attendance report for 2008, and the figures reveal that destination theme parks were hit harder than regional parks as the recession took hold late last year.
Glow in the Park
Two additional Glow in the Park parades will open this season at Six Flags parks in the United States. Six Flags St Louis, Eureka, Missouri, and Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, Texas are the new additions, joining Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, New Jersey, Six Flags New England, Agawam, Massachusetts, and also Six Flags Mexico in Mexico City.
Cobra at Conny-Land
Conny-Land in Lipperswil, Switzerland, is gearing up for a big season with the arrival of two eagerly-awaited attractions. Both were originally due to open in 2008 but after a number of setbacks are back firmly on the calendar and ready for an imminent debut.
Fluch von Novgorod
“There are many roller coasters in the world but there is only one Fluch von Novgorod (Curse of Novgorod),” say the folks at Hansa in Germany. This new ride, which opened on April 9, combines a launch system with a vertical chain lift and beyond vertical drop for the very first time. Furthermore, around 50% of the experience takes place in the dark!
Sea Life arrives in London
April 7 saw the unveiling of Merlin Entertainments’ new-look London Aquarium, introducing the Sea Life brand into the British capital for the first time.
Hard Rock goes Freestyle
Freestyle Music Park is the new name for the former Hard Rock Park, which reopnes this May in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It represents new owner FPI MB Entertainment’s renewed vision and direction for the park in 2009 and beyond.
Blue Fire at Europa-Park
Europa-Park in Germany kicks off its new season on April 4 by unveiling its eagerly awaited Blue Fire Megacoaster. The new ride is the first launch coaster by Mack Rides, as well as the first looping coaster at Europa-Park, and forms part of the park’s latest European-themed area, devoted to Iceland.
Coney Island Advisory Panel formed
A virtual "who's who" of amusement industry leaders has been appointed by New York City to form the Coney Island Amusement Advisory Panel, which will help “structure and expedite the city’s plans for interim amusements at Coney Island in Summer 2010.”
Ride marathon concludes
Tim Smith and Kevin Burshten won a "Coast for the Cruise" ride challenge recently at Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota.
BALPPA reveals change in personnel
The British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions (BALPPA) has a new chairman in the shape of John Bollom, managing director of Ameco and owner of Mumbles Pier in South Wales. Meanwhile the association’s chief executive, Colin Dawson (pictured), has revealed he is to retire in over a year’s time.
Entertainment Rights
The owner of brands including Basil Brush, Postman Pat and George of the Jungle, Entertainment Rights boasts a portfolio of licensed properties perfectly suited to amusement park audiences. Recently acquired by Boomerang Media in the United States, the company now plans develop a varied range of branded attractions using its characters.
El Toro
Freizeitpark Plohn in Germany officially opened its first wooden coaster on April 10. Representing a €5 million investment, El Toro (The Bull) is a big deal for this little park in Lengenfeld, Saxony.
Santa's Village
We all know what Santa Claus does in December, but did you ever wonder where he goes in the off-season? Paul Ruben finds Santa and his elves in Jefferson, New Hampshire.
Philipp Van Stratum (P&P Productions)
Based in the Netherlands, P&P Projects has over 20 years’ experience in the design and production of a wide range of leisure projects. Two years ago the company started a new offshoot, P&P Project Development, so that it could get involved in projects at a much earlier stage and help clients assemble the full team needed to realise an attraction from scratch. The first project to benefit from this approach was the Odysseum, a new interactive science centre in Cologne (Köln), Germany, which opened last month. Park World talks to P&P’s Philipp van Stratum (pictured above) about this and the company’s many other recent projects
Dreaming Of Theming
When the original Disneyland opened in California back in 1955, it wrote the book on theming for amusement parks. America’s first regional theme park, Six Flags Over Texas, opened in 1961, and was themed to the six nations that have had sovereignty over some or all of Texas over the years. The theming was pervasive.
We came, we SAW...
Thorpe Park’s eagerly awaited new rollercoaster has opened, bringing a slice horror movie action to this popular park on the outskirts of London. SAW – The Ride is based around the film franchise of the same name and features a 100ft-high, beyond vertical first drop into a unique “head chopper” section featuring serrated rotary blades. The ride is manufactured by Gerstlauer using its EuroFighter design.
