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Luna Park 2.0
New York City’s (NYC) mayor, Michael Bloomberg, and Central Amusement International (CAI) have unveiled plans for a new amusement park featuring Zamperla rides on three City-owned parcels of land (identified below) at Coney Island.
Soarin' Success
Disney’s Soarin’ Over California large screen motion simulator has inspired no fewer than three established ride manufacturers (that we know of) to offer similar attractions.
The Global Theme Park Industry
Praised as an essential reference source by, among others, Bob Rogers, and sold out before the end of IAAPA in Las Vegas, this 448-work by Spanish academic Salvador Anton Clavé is a useful and thorough account of the amusement park industry.
S&S approaches 2010 with confidence
Fresh from receiving an IAAPA award for its Free Fly Coaster, S&S Worldwide has exciting plans for 2010. Park World has a quick chat with vice-president of sales and marketing Kevin Rohwer (pictured).
Plopsa - character driven fun in the Benelux
Plopsa is the theme park division of Studio 100, the largest provider of family entertainment in the Benelux. As the company prepares to open its first Plopsa-branded outlet in the Netherlands, Owen Ralph catches up with Plopsaland general manager Steve Van den Kerkhof.
Inspiring the Employees of Tomorrow
Each year at IAAPA Attractions Expo, the association features some wonderful young folks called “ambassadors.”
Snowed In
Suffering from a bad case of WPD, I'm looking out my office window at about two feet of snow on the ground. It may be wishful thinking, but it reminds me of last summer when I was looking out from my hotel balcony.
Never-ending Rainbow
New Zealand’s largest amusement park, Rainbow’s End, has been granted an extended lease through until 2034 following five-years of talks with Manukau City Council. In exchange the park, located near Auckland, must surrender 4,000 square metres of land and move its Power Surge ride.
SkyJump Las Vegas
The Stratosphere Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is preparing to add its next big thrill.
Changzhou Dino Coaster
Zamperla’s new junior coaster will be one of several new attractions opening in 2010 at Changzhou Dinosaur Park in China, and it features a unique twist: a choice of regular or sit-astride themed ride vehicles.
Gillian's Funland expands
Opened last summer, Gillian's Funland at Sea Isle City in New Jersey will expand this season with the addition of five new rides.
Miracle Strip 2.0
Many of the old rides from Miracle Strip amusement park in Panama City Beach, Florida, are due to by employed by another park in the same resort.
Omaka Rocka at Aquatica
ProSlide’s new two-man Topsy-Turvy tubing ride opens this spring at Aquatica in Orlando, where it will appear with the name Omaka Rocka.
Wailua Kapua at Lost Island
Construction at Lost Island in Waterloo, Iowa, is right on schedule for the waterpark’s new waterslide coaster, which will open In time for the venue’s 10th anniversary in June.
Gaia: The Living World
Seoul Grand Park is to enter a new phase by combining its amusement park, zoo and botanical garden into a single destination showcasing Korean heritage. The move is predicted to revitalise the attraction in the South Korean capital according to Thinkwell, the Californian company that will design it.
Chester Zoo's Natural Vision
The UK’s most popular zoo has completed a planning application for the first phase of expansion programme designed to transform it into one of the world’s top five zoos.
Wild Asia at Chessington
An ancient and mythical Asian kingdom will be unveiled next month …near London. Wild Asia is the name of a new area at Chessington World of Adventures set to replace Beano Land when it opens on March 27.
Clostermann reveals dark ride work for 2010
Clostermann Design is currently working on a handful of new dark ride and walk through attraction experiences in Europe.
Disneyland helps guests with visual impairment
Guests with visual disabilities at Disneyland Resort, California, can now become more fully immersed into the resort’s attractions and storytelling through a new audio description service.
Vitala in Vietnam
The Vitala Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Thanh Nien Joint Stock Corporation to finance eight separate projects in Vietnam. The first will be the US$110 million Cam Ranh Eco Resort.
Sesame Street Safari
In keeping with the rest of the park, the new Sesame Street-themed area of Busch Gardens in Florida will celebrate the spirit of Africa.
What is your top earning game?
Jack Boylin, Camden Park, USA (pictured): Our top revenue producing game is balloon darts. Customers have really responded to our theming. The game was already strong but in 2008 but we gave it a pirate theme and that increased revenue further. I think the real reason for its continued popularity is that it is a skill game that is accessible to all levels, there is almost always a winner but if you have some skill you can get a large prize pretty quickly.
Legoland Florida
Merlin Entertainments is to transform the former Cypress Gardens park in Winter Haven, Florida, into Legoland Florida – the biggest Lego theme park to date.
Europarks gone ...but mission lives on
Europarks, the lobbying group established to represent the amusement park industry within the European parliament, is no more. Its activities and priorities will now be continued through the offices of IAAPA Europe in Brussels.
Mt Olympus Water & Theme Park
It all started with a hot dog stand. But how did a family of Greek immigrants build up a successful theme park, waterpark and hotel business in Wisconsin Dells? Gary Kyriazi reveals the Laskaris’ fascinating story.
Holiday in the Park
The Great Escape, Lake George, New York, is the first northern Six Flags park to host a winter event. Six Flags parks in warmer climates have offered similar celebrations for years, but Holiday in the Park gives the Great Escape a 145-day season, its longest on record. Here park president Don McCoy explains how they did it.
