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Eye on the future
The first capsule was removed on June 25 as part of a £12 million upgrade to the London Eye, the UK’s number one paid-for visitor attraction. Since it opened in 2000, the world-famous observation wheel has welcomed over 33 million visitors, and Merlin now wants to “future proof” it and maintain its position on London’s Southbank for many years to come.
Asian Attractions Expo 2010
IAAPA has named the host city for Asian Attractions Expo in 2010. The event will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and revert to a July fixture.
ScareCON '09
As the haunted attractions industry gathers momentum in Europe, the second ScareCON trade show took place recently
in the UK.
MELAC - a trade associaition for the Middle East
Twenty-four companies have signed up as founder members of the Middle East Leisure & Attractions Council, or MELAC. The association was officially launched at DEAL back in April after two years of meetings and will be chaired by Majid Al Hokair of the Al Hokair Group in Saudi Arabia.
King Kong
Huss Park Attractions’ long-awaited King Kong ride finally opened at the start of the season at not one but two parks in Europe. First to sample the thrill of an encounter with the beast were guests at Bobbejaanland in Lichtaart, Belgium.
Blue Fire
It says something about the scope and quality of its existing attractions that Europa-Park hasn’t felt the need to add a looping rollercoaster until now. But finally, the German park near Freiburg has relented and installed a ride with a loop …and a launch. In the process the European-themed park has also added a new country for guests to explore. Owen Ralph visits Iceland.
When Health & Safety Agencies Collide
In the United States, amusement parks are often regulated by State or local agencies. Many of these agencies have the authority to mandate how an amusement attraction is maintained or operated.
Boardwalk Blues
New York's Coney Island opens for the season each year on Palm Sunday. This year that was April 5. I was there, as it is the symbolic kick-off for the start of the amusement park season in this part of the world. But this year was different. Although the sun was shining, the area had a patina of gloom.
Hard Rock park refreshes for 2009
Freestyle Music Park, the former Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has renamed and re-themed the rollercoaster formerly known as Led Zeppelin – The Ride. The B&M-built attraction (pictured) will now be known as The Time Machine.
MegaWhip
A new ride designer has set up shop in New York, and its first product is an exciting adaptation of an old classic. Based loosely on the original WF Mangels Whip of 1914, the MegaWhip from GordonRides features one very important difference. Unlike the original Whip, it is able to navigate both left and right curves in a single, extended layout.
Prowler lurks at Worlds of Fun
Deep in the woods of Worlds of Fun, Missouri, a dangerous predator lurks. The Prowler, a beast of a wooden coaster, is now thrilling guests at this Kansas City park.
Tokyo Disneyland announces new attractions
The Oriental Land Co has opened a new dark ride at Tokyo Disneyland, as well as announcing plans for a number of new attractions through until 2012 at both the Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea parks in Japan.
Steel Pier adds rides
The Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, has added two rides for the upcoming season. A Chance Sea Dragon (pictured) and Zamperla Balloon Race 8 were acquired from DelGrosso's in Pennsylvania.
Wet 'n' Wild Hawaii
Real estate investment trust CNL Lifestyle Properties has acquired the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park in Kapolei, on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The waterpark will continue to be operated by a subsidiary of Village Roadshow from Australia, its former owner, under a long-term lease deal.
Pilgrim's Plunge at Holiday World
When Holiday World opened for the 63rd season on May 2, all attention was on the record-breaking new ride, Pilgrims Plunge from Intamin. Competing with The Voyage rollercoaster as the tallest ride in the park, Pilgrims Plunge sets a new height record for water rides with its 131ft drop (the complete attraction towers 165ft-tall).
Launch coaster at Plopsaland
Anubis: The Ride is the name of the new rollercoaster at Plopsaland in De Panne, Belgium. The attraction is a Gerstlauer launch coaster and arguably one of the most extreme attractions in the family park to date.
Sealion showcase in North Wales
The owners of England’s West Midland Safari Park have opened a state-of-the art sea lion show and arena at their Seaquarium site in Rhyl, North Wales. Sea Lion Cove is situated on the resort’s promenade and represents a £1 million ($1.6m/E1.1m) investment for the ex-Sea Life Centre, purchased by WMSP in 2001.
Vision XS Conference
The Vision XS consultancy has chosen to adopt the recession as the theme for its 5th one-day conference, which takes place next month near Oxford, England. Natural Selection – Growing Stronger in a Recession will allow attractions operators to share experiences and formulate strategies to combat the downturn.
Count's Splash Castle opens at Sesame Place
Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, has opened the largest attraction in its 29-year history. From SCS Interactive, the Count’s Splash Castle is a multi-level interactive waterplay structure that provides exciting hands-on entertainment for the entire family.
Award-winning 3D
Red Star Studio has won another award for Curse of Skull Rock. The 3D film picked up the Animation for Young Audiences award at the Red Stick International Animation Festival in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at the end of April.
Aqualand in the loop
The German indoor waterpark Aqualand in Cologne (Köln) has added a looping waterslide courtesy of AquaRena/Hartwigsen Freizeitanlage.
Desperados #25
Presented for the first time in 2006 at Bobbejaanland in Belgium, the Desperados interactive theatre game from Alterface recently celebrated its 25th installation with the announcement of a new outlet at Héliopolis near Cairo in Egypt.
Quassy's new coaster
Quassy Amusement Park, Middlebury, Connecticut, is to erect its first all-wood rollercoaster as part of a $5 million multi-year improvement plan at the lakeside park. In addition to the coaster, Quassy will add a 35ft drop tower and a “Bullet Bowl” water raft attraction as part of its Saturation Station water play area.
Lo-Q = no queue?
Mirabilandia in Ravenna, Italy, is employing a VQ2020 virtual queuing system from Lo-Q for the 2009 season. By renting a Q-bot hand held wireless device (as pictured), guests can reserve their place in line for a number of the park’s rides and attractions.
OmniTicket gets new owner
OmniTicket Network (OTN) has agreed to a “merger” with Best Union Company (BUC), an Italian ticketing and service provider listed on the Milan stock exchange. BUC will take 100% of OTN’s capital, but the OmniTicket name and operations will remain.
Kernels
Casino Pier, Seaside Heights, New Jersey, has replaced its Sellner Tilt-A-Whirl with a newer model formerly operated at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida. Casino Pier’s former Tilt needed to be refurbished, but the draconian New Jersey amusement ride regulations made replacement a more attractive option.
Italian kiddie ride manufacturer Automatic Toys Modena has taken over the GR Rondina range of trains and associated rides.
The Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) has announced the dates for its 10th annual Amusement Expo – still the country’s only trade show for parks and attractions. The 10th anniversary event will take place from March 18 to 20, 2010 – a month later than usual – at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. www.iaapi.org
What will be the biggest challenge to your business this season?
Anthony Catanoso, Steel Pier (Atlantic City), USA (pictured): The biggest challenge will be the economy and the effects it will leave on guests' discretionary spending. For us specifically, it will be how our business will fare among the struggling casino industry. We are primarily a family attraction in a town built for the gaming industry.
Götterflug
At Belantis in Leipzig, Germany, Götterflug (Flight of the Gods), allows intrepid guests to fly up to 22-metres high in one of 16 single-seater gondolas, each with rider-controlled wings.
Manta takes flight
The construction walls were pulled down around Central Florida's latest rollercoaster over the first weekend in May as the attraction went into soft opening phase ahead of an official launch over the Memorial Day weekend at the end of the month.
Vertigo
On May 1 Tivoli in Copenhagen officially launched its new interactive plane ride: Vertigo. The attraction is the second Flying Fury from the Italian manufacturer Technical Park and its name chosen from competition entries.
Insane
According to the park, its name sums up the new ride at Gröna Lund perfectly: Insane. Thrill-seekers have been lapping up the new attraction since it opened on April 25.
Götterflug
At Belantis in Leipzig, Germany, Götterflug (Flight of the Gods), allows intrepid guests to fly up to 22-metres high in one of 16 single-seater gondolas, each with rider-controlled wings.
Story Land
Story Land in Glen, New Hampshire, is what a theme park is supposed to be; themed. Fully themed. In this child size world, storybook characters come to life in a land of wonder and fun. Paul Ruben visits a park that has been delighting families for 55 years with a mix of wonderfully themed rides, shows and storybook characters.
Merlin's 2008 results
Merlin Entertainment has released its 2008 results, the first since it acquired the Tussauds Group and Gardaland in Italy, helping it put on an additional 7.6 million visits compared to 2007 (35.1 million in total). This in turn contributed to the world’s second largest attraction operator posting a 37% increase in revenue to £662.3 million ($1.05bn/E754m).
Classic carousel for sale
Looking for a classic wooden carousel? How about this majestic four-abreast ride, nearly a century old?
Coney Island crossroads
To most people, Coney Island is a famous New York City amusement park. In fact, it is a collection of several smaller parks and independent concessionaires. A century ago Coney Island had been the standard to which other traditional amusement parks of its era were compared and it was the veritable epicentre of new ride innovations. Today it is at a crossroads. Paul Ruben reports.
