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The Fright is Right!
In just 40 years, the American haunted attraction industry has developed from a single church tour into a half-a-billion-dollar industry. Read on as Leonard Pickel traces the development of the sector, followed by first hand accounts of two attractions outside the US.
Hit the Headlines!
A good PR stunt is simple, effective and it needn't cost a fortune either. Here's what a handful of European attractions did recently to get themselves into the headlines. Hopefully it may give you some inspiration at your park or attraction.
Park in your pocket
Nowhere is the interactivity offered my mobile phones more suited than the world of outdoor entertainment. Here's a selection of mobile applications - or "apps" - to keep your guests on the go.
Retail - it's in the detail
With a few bucks at stake from every visitor, not to mention the added marketing value of branded goods, your park’s retail offering should play an important role in your pre-season planning. Here Park World quizzes a handful of operators and suppliers about their merchandise offering.
Undercover Down Under
In previous issues, Park World has focused on the indoor waterpark sector in North America, where new hotel and resort-based developments continue to appear. Other parts of the world, notably Northern Europe, have so far failed to embrace the concept with such enthusiasm. But could Australia, with weather surely more suited to outdoor attractions, become the next hotspot for undercover waterparks? Jeff Coy thinks so.
Freestyle Music Park - Steve Baker speaks
In February, FPI-MB Entertainment bought the former Hard Rock Park, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for $25 million (€18m). Built at a cost of $400 million (€285m), the park costs its original investors dear after it went bankrupt last September. But now, FBI-MB president Steve Baker and a team of leisure professionals think they can make a fresh start. Here Baker (pictured right) shares some of the challenges he faces at Freestyle Music Park.
Show Time!
Few other offerings keep guests entertained for longer or in such great numbers, which is why shows are essential to most amusement park operators. As more and more park owners begin to re-examine their expenditure on new attractions, is live entertainment now rising to the fore as a cost-effective way to keep guests happy?
Ride DVDs - hit or miss?
This time last year it looked like on-ride video was about to take off as the next big thing in secondary spend. New companies limbered up to make their mark on the amusement industry with technology that captured not only riders’ faces, but their screams and full facial movements too. A year on, has the technology become the hit we were promised? Owen Ralph investigates.
Licence to Thrill
What operators like Disney and Universal have known for a long time is that incorporating well-known brands and characters into theme park attractions creates the ultimate cross-marketing opportunity. Now numerous other licence owners are waking up to the potential parks have to create real life experiences that immerse guests deeper into the brands or intellectual property (‘IP’). From George of the Jungle to American Idol, Owen Ralph highlights some of IP about to thrill guests in the months to come, and what it can do for park operators.
Built It and They Will Come
The industry’s most accepted method of determining a new attraction’s effect on visitor numbers is to simply compare attendance with the season before it was introduced. But how reliable is this? Pieter Cornelis from the Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands believes it’s time for a scientific approach, and he’s got a formula to prove it.
Mission Admission
There was a time when tickets were simply a proof of purchase, used for getting into the park or onto your favourite ride or attraction. Now, coupled with a variety of software applications, admission systems have become the front line in intelligence for the savvy amusement park operator. Park World talks to a handful of suppliers to discover what today’s ticketing products can do for parks and their guests.
A night out with Bob Masterson
To say that Bob Masterson is the modern version of the adventurous Robert Ripley would be an understatement, writes Jim Seay of Premier Rides. Here he shares his recollections of a memorable night out with the Ripley Entertainment chief and outgoing IAAPA chairman.
Trust in the future
Adding new rides and features. Maintaining infrastructure. Delivering fresh experiences for guests. For owners and operators of attractions the world over, this “to do” list has one thing in common: It requires capital, lots of it. Curt Caffey offers one solution.
Food for thought
When planning a food and beverage outlet, most park managers leave it until the eleventh hour. Park World’s resident ‘food guy’ Mike Holtzman explains why you should give the operation the attention it deserves.
Six Flags
Soon after Mark Shapiro assumed the role of chief executive officer of Six Flags in December of 2005, he told Park World he planned to bring in rides and attractions that would appeal to all ages. “We’re going to get back to bread and butter, which is investing in the experience of Six Flags, the great service of Six Flags, a get-away in a clean, safe, friendly environment with a host of offerings, not just 200-foot drops.” It sounded like heresy.
Drayton shows the way
Drayton Manor in Tamworth, England, is putting a renewed emphasis on live entertainment. This season the park invested in a 1,200-seater big top theatre complete with a 30-metre stage - and watched attendances climb. Entertaining audiences inside this new space is London-based show producer Hammond Productions. Here Drayton Manor managing director Colin Bryan and Paul Hammond from Hammond Productions explain why live entertainment is so important to the park mix.
Coastal Erosion
American seaside amusement parks are in crisis. Their numbers have reached alarming proportions, as landowners whack up the rent and force operators to close in favour of new developments like luxury housing. Park World talks to several park operators on the eastern shore of the US to determine the causes and look for possible remedies. Like canaries in the coalmine, their stories are ominous warnings for many in the amusement industry. Paul Ruben reports.
Make the right first impression!
Every day as people drive to work, school, home or other destinations, they see hundreds of signs from the businesses they pass. Unfortunately, many of these signs turn customers away before they even make it to the location in question. Drue Townsend explains how parks and attractions operators can make their signs stand out above the crowd.
Turn it down ...just a little!
When local residents Steven and Susan Roper won a legal case against Alton Towers in 2005 following complaints about noise, the park’s owners were fined and asked to turn it down. However, a recent UK High Court decision to reject their appeal for a harsher penalty strikes a welcome balance between the rights of the public and the commercial needs of attractions operators. Peter Forshaw of law firm Weightmans analyses how and why the court reached its decision.
Web 2.0
While some of you might still wonder what the hell Web 2.0 is, others may think it is a passing fad, or that it belongs to a distant digital world, something for the kids to worry about. But of course, the kids are often your customers, so it shouldn’t be ignored. In fact, warns Limor Schafman, Web 2.0 is having an impact on real world locations like theme parks, FECs and museums and it’s developing all the time. Here she explains how to use the technology to your advantage.
Cariba Creek
Europe’s first waterpark hotel, Cariba Creek was unveiled June 2003 at Alton Towers as part of a carefully considered move to reposition the UK park as a short break destination. From the outset, it was envisaged as an exclusive benefit for hotel guests only, but since 2005 the attraction has been successfully welcoming both residents and non-residents. Two years on, waterpark manager Deborah Hulme explains why Cariba Creek was made available to all Alton Towers guests, and how it has prospered as a result.
Be Prepared!
When something goes wrong at your park, due to a slip and fall, ride malfunction or any other accident, you want to be sure that it is dealt with in the proper way, and justice is done. Yet should it ever reach court, the way an operator prepares to give testimony can often be crucial to the outcome of their case. Here US attorney and Park World columnist Heather M Eichenbaum Esq (pictured) offers some valuable advice. While the information is intended primarily for an American court of law, we feel sure many of Heather’s tips will prove useful to operators worldwide.
So long JR!
Responsible for the day-to-day running and continued maintenance of Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s 145 rides and attractions, Jim Rowland retired at the end of December following 34 years with the company. Considered by many to be the “heart and soul” of the park, the former travelling showman even enjoyed a spell as a TV star as part of one of the UK’s first ever ‘fly on the wall’ documentary series. Here ‘JR’ reflects on his 34 years with Britain’s favourite, free tourist attraction.
Free Soft Drinks
In 2000, Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, made a big leap of faith. It started a programme that it knew we could never end without really upsetting its guests. But was giving away free unlimited soft drinks too much for Holiday World to swallow? Here the park’s president and general manager Will Koch explains why it was one of the best decisions he ever made
