Parks America, based in Santa Monica, California, has decided not to buy Wild West World, Wichita, Kansas. Dale Van Voorhis, Parks America's president, has turned his attention to buying another theme park. With no other bidders appearing, the park's rides are now expected to be sold individually, effectively confirming the park's demise.

Director general Walibi's history is that of a park that ‘dares’ to open innovative new attractions: Tornado, our old Corkscrew coaster, Radja River, our rapids ride; Challenge of Tutankhamon, our interactive dark ride; and Aqualibi, which was one of Europe’s first covered waterparks. With that innovation comes the risk that you get caught up in technical delays, it goes with the territory.

We were due to open the ride on Easter Sunday this year, because the legend of the Flying Dutchman takes place on Easter Sunday, but of course in the end we never did…

Jim Seay, Premier Rides:

Just as the manufacturer has a responsibility to understand and appreciate both the schedule and scope of work that a park operator has, it should be the operator's responsibility to understand and appreciate the process through which a new ride is designed, fabricated and delivered by the manufacturer.

This is the most B&M coasters to open in a single year since 2000. Built with high precision and with the ease of maintenance that ride mechanics appreciate, B&M coasters are also a favourite with park visitors who find them to be both fastpaced and butter-smooth. But with the announced redirection by Six Flags away from high-thrill, high capacity coasters, it may be a while before as many as large and thrilling as these appear again. So savour the selection that follows.

GOLIATH Le Géant de fer

Le Géant de fer. That means the Steel Giant for those of you who “ne parlent pas Français.” Goliath is the newest, fastest and tallest rollercoaster ever in Canada, and, at a cost of nearly US$17 million, the represents single biggest investment in the history of La Ronde in Montreal.

Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, soars 200ft above the park and covers an 8.5-acre site. Travelling over 4,400ft and reaching speeds of 70mph, Goliath begins on a spot once occupied by the Great Gasp parachute drop and now serves as the park’s skyline icon, visible for miles around.

Beijing’s Happy Valley opened in July and is located in Chaoyang District of the Chinese capital, about six miles from downtown. It is a major attraction to locals and tourists, symbolising China's cultural variety. Covering an area of 247 acres, the first phase of the park occupies 133 acres.

The American Dream becomes the American Scream at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City as thrill seekers become grasped in the clutches of the huge new Patriot rollercoaster. Patriot is the longest and tallest full-circuit inverted coaster in the region, and the largest capital expenditure on a single attraction in Cedar Fair-owned park’s history.

Named after Africa's deadliest snake, Black Mamba, an inverted five-loop rollercoaster, is lurking in the heart of the new Deep in Africa section of Phantasialand in Brühl, Germany. Attention to detail is evident in this installation and authentic imported artefacts help bring the history and traditions of the continent to life.

Marking Six Flags Magic Mountain’s 35th anniversary in Valencia, California, Tatsu is the world’s tallest (170ft), fastest (62 mph) and longest (3,602ft) flying coaster. Inviting guests to “fly at the speed of fear,” it is the park’s record-setting 17th coaster.

'Thrills' and 'families' can go hand in hand. discovered Gary Kyriazi on a visit earlier this season to Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, Santa Claus, Indiana.

Bellewaerde – Belgium’s unique mix of animals, amusement rides and landscaping – has been entertaining Belgian, French and Flemish families for over half a century. This season the park has been taking guests into a new dimension – 4D – as it increases its range of allweather offerings and builds on its range of seasonal events.

This year’s Leisure Industry Week (LIW) was, boasted organiser Ithaca Business Media, the biggest for 10 years. Owen Ralph reports from the event at the NEC in Birmingham, England, held from September 26 to 28.

There’s a lot crammed into this issue, as I found out to my cost putting it together! But that’s ok, we like to spoil you around this time of year, ahead of the industry’s biggest annual get-together: IAAPA Attractions Expo, in Atlanta.

Vision XS, a UK-based attractions consultant headed by Tony Sefton, has been contracted to help developers of the Dubailand project in the Middle East with wide ranging consumer research and “people modelling.”

Universal Studios Hollywood has received a number of dramatic enhancements. New attractions include an ‘in-your-face’ demonstration of explosive road racing as seen in the blockbuster film The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.

A group of former Disney and Universal Studios executives, designers, architects and engineers have partnered with Thinkwell Design and Production to create a unique destination resort for Las Vegas.

To celebrate its centennial in 2007, Hersheypark, Hershey, Pennsylvania, will open a tribute to the legendary boardwalks of the Northeastern United States.

CNL Income Properties Inc, a real estate investment trust located in Orlando, Florida, has acquired 11 family entertainment centres (FECs) from Trancas Capital, LLC, the second largest operator of local amusement parks in the US

The park already has a large galleon ship as an attraction, but this season it finally equipped the vessel with a superbly themed main mast that doubles as a tower ride.

It was picture-perfect weather, the beginning of a glorious day. Pilot Bob and I had chosen this day to fly to La Ronde Parc in Montreal because the weather was predicted to be excellent for a small plane flight, and because I wanted to photograph Goliath, the park’s new Bolliger & Mabillard coaster, in bright sun.

Since the founding by Werner Stengel of Stengel Engineering on March 28, 1965, the Munich-based company has designed and/or done the calculations for 500 rollercoasters. That’s a lot of coasters. The firm’s 500th coaster is Maverick, which will open next spring at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, manufactured by Intamin.

UK-based Innovative Leisure is now marketing the Rope A Phobia aerial assault course in Europe. This latest addition to the wide range of interactive family attractions from Innovative is a multi-activity attraction catering for active participants of 1.1 metres or more in height.

Visitors to Europa-Park in Southern Germany can now fly in closer to the park than ever before.

The Sea World Nara Resort on Australia’s Gold Coast is to shorten its name to simply Sea World Resort, following the buyout of its Japanese partner by Village Roadshow Ltd.

Mats Wedin, Liseberg, Sweden:

Mediocre. The start of the season was ok, June and July too, surprisingly so because I was fearing like a lot of park operators, that with the World Cup and football, it would affect us.

ABC Rides of Switzerland will next season deliver a highly themed version of its River Splash ride to an as yet unnamed park in Europe. It will represent the fourth delivery of such an attraction since production started last year and this latest installation will be the tallest and longest yet.

Märchenpark, Neusiedlersee, Austria, was so impressed with its crocodile-themed mini flume from ABC Rides that it also commissioned a railguided tractor ride from the same manufacturer.

Whitewater West is designing and supplying a new waterpark in Kedah, Malaysia, due to open later this month. The Carnival Water and Land of Excitement park, the only waterpark in Kedah, forms part of the Cinta Sayang Golf and Country Resort in Sungai Petani.

Vekoma Rides Manufacturing of Holland and Chance Morgan have established an alliance meaning the latter will handle US sales for Vekoma, initially from its Wichita, Kansas, office.

Zoo Marine on Portugal’s Algarve is one of an increasing number of animal parks choosing to add 3D or 4D to their entertainment mix. Spurred on by the conservation theme of nWave’s ever-popular SOS Planet (Panda Vision) film, the park contracted 3DBA of Belgium to deliver a full turnkey 304-seat 4D theatre package, comprised of everything including the building.

Since it opened in 2003, St Petersurg’s Divo Ostrov park has expanded at a steady pace and this season it has really reached for the sky with three new attractions from Funtime of Austria. The latest of these is the world’s first Triple Slingshot, which has been such a hit that since the lines full of anxious riders have stretched throughout the park to ride it.

Robots R Us has sold a static Robogeddon robot combat game into Kuwait and is now hoping for many more orders from the Middle East following the appointment of a local representative.

Established by EnTCo’s parent company Entertainment Technology Corporation (ETC) and launching in January 2007, the National Aerospace Training & Research (NASTAR) Center will be a unique facility outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the aerospace community – and thrill seekers.

The total combined attendance at Tokyo Disneyland Park and Tokyo DisneySea Park, Urayasu, Japan, during the first half of the fiscal year April to September amounted to 12,044,000 persons. That represents 3.3 per cent more than the attendance figure for the same period last year.

Simulation and motion theatre specialist Simworx, from England, is preparing to launch a fully transportable 4D effects theatre. The 120-seat, trailer-mounted attraction will be delivered next spring to an existing Simworx customer, who will run it alongside his Morphis simulators at air shows and events across Europe.

In 1997, when Camelback Ski Area, Tannersville, Pennsylvania, decided to create a waterpark as a summertime attraction, it researched how an integrated software package could bring efficiencies to the new business.

Mark Kane, formerly general manager of Six Flags New England, is the new general manager of Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. He replaces the departed Ron Severt, who had over 30 years experience in the theme park industry, including 19 years with Six Flags.

Gary Goddard Entertainment (GGE) has announced details of two major new projects, including Crossroads of the World in Indonesia and a mega resort in Macau.

By adding a new generation of entertainment to retail malls, developers are successfully making malls ‘destinations’ once again. But in a way, everything old is new again as retail centres have always, throughout history, been the ‘gathering place’ for the community.

Leading Chinese ride manufacturer Golden Horse Amusement Equipment has this season returned a profit at a former state-owned amusement park in its native Guangdong province. Golden Horse took over the facility over at the tail end of 2004.

Advice for Design is a new guidance document by the UK’s Amusement Devices Inspection Procedures Scheme (ADIPS). Published in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive, this new publication offers technical guidance for manufacturers and designers of amusement rides and attractions.

Cypress Gardens Adventure Park, Winter Haven, Florida, has filed for bankruptcy protection. According to park owner Kent Buescher, about $17 million in unpaid claims from $25 million in hurricane damage just prior to the reopening in 2004 forced the Chapter 11 petition. The park remains open.

Last summer, Tussauds Studios ordered two Motion Floors including Motion Control System from Bosch Rexroth the Netherlands, to be delivered to Alton Towers in the UK.

GGE and partnership award winning visual effects studio Digital Dimension have provided the overall entertainment design services for the $280,000,000 first fully animated underwater adventure piece at the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world.

Monkwood Technologies, based in England, has launched a new mobile phone communication system for amusement parks. CellQ, which was trialed this summer at Walibi Belgium, helps users avoid physical queues on attractions, while giving parks a new way to communicate with guests.

Valleyfair, Shakopee, Minnesota, will introduce Renegade, a new wooden coaster in 2007. Designed by Great Coasters International, the $6.5 million ride will combine the best features of out and back and twister coasters.

Maurer Söhne will unveil plans at this month’s IAAPA Attractions Expo in Atlanta for a launched version of its Sky Loop rollercoaster. Riders will travel skywards at a constant acceleration of about 1G in X-Car vehicles via the use of an LSM (linear synchronous motor) drive.

Guests at Dinosaur Park in Changzhou, China, are now being thrilled by a new beast: A Giant Discovery ride supplied by Zamperla in cooperation with Soriani Srl.

Bill Davis, a theme park veteran with more than 33 years’ experience, is to succeed Bob Gault as president and CEO of Florida’s Universal Orlando Resort.

Following the success of a similar ride by an Austrian supplier, Zamperla is nearing completion of a new tower-based flying chairs ride called the Vertical Swing.

What was before simply an inflatables area is now a full children’s playground called Funnyland. This new addition to the park covers an area of 5,000 square metres and has been designed as a miniature theme park to complement the main Aqualandia offering.

As it continues to build more and more products for customers in Asia, Vekoma Rides Manufacturing’s associated company Huisman has established a major new production facility in China. Customers as far apart as India and Australia are expected to benefit from the massive new factory in Zhangzhou City, Xiamen, which will help cut costs and, significantly, delivery times for new rides in this part of the world.

Well known already its range of bungee trampolines, Maxi Fun of Switzerland is now offering a reverse bungee attraction. The High Jump is 15-metres high and, once the release mechanism is activated, propels participants, or ‘jumpers,’ up to 18 metres high – reaching five stories in less than 1 second.

The next-generation ProBatter Professional PX2 is a professional baseball video pitching simulator. This, a refinement of the basic ProBatter design, takes advantage of recent advancements in computer and video technology.

Still waiting for an official name, this new race game by GS Engineering of Spalding, England, is compact and fun. Players – or riders – take part by galloping on a ‘mount’ between their legs to make their corresponding horse move on the small racetrack in front of them.

Playworld Systems, of Pennsylvania, is offering a range of climbing boulders to parks and recreation areas. Designed to look and feel like real rock, the boulders incorporate sculpted hand and foot-holds that challenge young climbers, without ever going more than 10ft above the ground.All of the boulders are lightweight.

Mats Wedin arrived at Swedish amusement institution Liseberg in 1988 following a 16-year career in the motor industry, serving as director of marketing for Volvo before his departure. Now 55 years of age, Mats is president of the Liseberg Group, overseeing four companies in the park, restaurant and hotel businesses. He has been an active member of IAAPA, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, during much of his time at the Gothenburg city park, and three times been a member of its board. Since 1994 he has been president of the Swedish Park Association, and between 2000 and 2003 he was also president of the Europarks executive committee. Mats has also served as a board member at ÅRE, Sweden’s largest ski resort, MTV Television Production and Gothenburg Tourist Board. Later this month, at the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Atlanta, he will be ushered in as chairman of the association’s board. Here Mats talks to Park World editor Owen Ralph ahead of his year at the top of IAAPA