Here’s a shot of Turbo, new this season at the Prater in Vienna, Austria. Operated by the Dostal family, this S&S Screamin’ Swing ride replaces The Bell by Funtime, which has since been moved to Hansa Park in northern Germany.

Perhaps the most eagerly-awaited Euro Attractions Show to date, the upcoming event in Munich promises to provide a memorable week for the amusement industry. Park World counts down.

Described as a mix between a bobsled run and a rollercoaster, this new attraction from the Swiss manufacturer ABC sends riders up and down a steel track at up to 40km/h, although higher speeds are possible.

The low capacity will alarm most larger operators, but Dutch ride manufacturer KMG’s new Inversion is nevertheless a compact yet thrilling looking attraction that makes clever use of the basic structure employed on the same firm’s earlier Freak Out.

Following the introduction last year of the Kolobok and Calipso (sic), Zamperla has added another ride to its budget range of attractions.

The world's tallest water ride – 135ft high – will headline the list of new additions next season at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, Santa Claus, Indiana.

UK-based supplier Innovative Leisure has secured the rights to distribute this new climbing attraction.

Located on Lake Shafer in Monticello, US park Indiana Beach has just introduced a jaw-dropping tower coaster. Steel Hawg is the first El Loco model from S&S Worldwide and, according to Paul Ruben, it’s one crazy ride.

Guests at Hersheypark have this summer been able to heat up their day with a ride on Fahrenheit, the Pennsylvania park's 11th rollercoaster. Designed and built by Intamin subsidiary IntaRide LLC, Fahrenheit is a “vertical-lift, inverted-loop coaster.” But, asks Paul Ruben, just how good is the new ride?

Atlantis, The Palm is ready to transport guests into a fantasy world inspired by the lost civilisation of the same name. Situated at the crest of The Palm Jumeirah, the smallest of the three palm-shaped islands off the coast of Dubai, this US$1.5 billion project is a joint venture between Kerzner International and Government-owned Istithmar. Park World previews the largest water-themed resort in the Middle East.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Mainland China’s most popular amusement park opened a brand new RMB 200 million (E19m/$29m) family area at the start of the year. Best described as a park within a park, the Magic Castle at Happy Valley in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, covers 40,00 square metres and features over 20 new attractions.

Vienna’s Prater has gone back to the future with the opening of Riesenradplatz (Giant Wheel Square), giving a starring role to the park’s iconic 1897 Ferris Wheel. Those that make the effort to peer inside one of the faux period buildings that surround this new entrance plaza will also find two exciting multimedia attractions. Owen Ralph reports.

Following the opening of the latest outlet on July 31, Merlin Entertainments can now boast a trio of Legoland Discovery Centres. Park World takes a peak at the new facilities in Germany and the USA.

Leisure Industry Week (LIW) takes place this September – just one week ahead of Euro Attractions Show in Munich – and organisers are promising a number of new features to interest operators of parks and attractions from across the UK.
 

The TiLE (Trends in Leisure and Entertainment) conference makes a comeback of sorts this month with a two-day event addressing how to create and market attractions in Poland and Central Europe. This, the second TiLEZone Poland event, takes place in the city of Lódz on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 23/24.

One of Ocean Park’s signature features is the spectacular cable car ride that links the Hong Kong facility’s lowland and headland areas. Yet this breathtaking journey alongside the South China Sea is not for everyone, and neither is it a quick way to commute from one part of the park to the other.

PARC Management has acquired Myrtle Waves Water Park and all five NASCAR SpeedParks in North America. The six properties were acquired from South Carolina based developer Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc.

International Theme Park Services (ITPS) of Cincanatti has been selected to manage a major new theme park project due to open by 2010 in Turkish capital of Istanbul.

Oklahoma’s only Suspended Family Coaster, the Steel Lasso, has opened at Frontier City, Oklahoma City.

The owners of the Grand Pier at Weston-Super-Mare on England’s South West coast have expressed their gratitude for the support offered following a recent fire.

It can get quite hot and muggy on Lantau Island, home to Hong Kong Disneyland. That’s why the Mickey’s WaterWorks parade, repeated for a second time this summer, is a prefect way for guests to cool down at the end of the day.

Before the first version of its new King Kong has even opened (the prototype at Bobbejaanland is still delayed), Huss Park Attractions has announced the sale of a second such ride.                        

Anheuser-Busch has agreed to be acquired by InBev for about US$52 billion (€35 billion). The deal will create the world's largest brewer and puts the iconic American beer maker in the hands of the Belgian-based company behind the Stella Artois and Beck's brands. It is still unclear, however, what will happen to the Busch Entertainment Corporation, the company’s theme park division, which owns and operates 10 properties in the United States.

Thinkwell Design & Production, the California-based producer of entertainment experiences, is celebrating its seventh year in business with the opening of an office in Dubai and a new project management division.

The world's oldest continually operating rollercoaster is back in action after some renewal work at the start of the year. Luna Park Melbourne's 1911 Scenic Railway has had each of its carriages painstakingly refurbished. Other areas of the rollercoaster were also fixed up or replaced.

George the Gorilla and Zookeeper have been making guest appearances this summer at Chessington World of Adventures near London.

Kings Island, near Cincinnati, Ohio, is building the biggest attraction in its 36-year history, a 5,282ft-long mega coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard. The ride, named Diamondback, will make its debut in April 2009.

Six Flags St Louis, Eureka, Missouri, has introduced the $7 million Evel Knievel wooden coaster. The ride was unveiled recently during a special ceremony attended by friends and family of the late daredevil motorcyclist, who died last year.

South Korea’s largest theme park, Samsung Everland in Yougin, has this season added an Intamin wooden coaster, Mondial Top Scan (pictured) and a host of new attractions at its Caribbean Bay waterpark.

In the June issue of Park World we carried a news item about the Dutch park Drievliet celebrating its 70th anniversary by theming a number of its attractions, yet we omitted to say who had done the design work.

Believed to be the world’s only train-themed FEC, EnterTRAINment Junction has opened in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio. The new, $10 million project includes the world’s largest (25,000 sq ft) indoor train display.

Steve Thorburn, principal of AV entertainment specialist Thorburn Associates, has been voted in as president elect of the TEA (Themed Entertainment Association).  

It would appear the owners of a new haunted attraction in London have scared not only their own guests but also the operators of an established venue close by.

Maze designer Adrian Fisher (piuctured) has set up a new company together with his wife Marie. Adrian Fisher Design Ltd will provide a “personal and attentive service” providing mazes of all kinds, hands-free action adventures, landscape design, public art and urban planning.

A combination of education and amusement park, Oltremare near Riccione in Italy this season added an interactive boat ride (pictured) by ABC Engineering in Switzerland.

Located not far from Milan’s Bergamo airport, Minitalia Leolandia reproduces in miniature the coasts of Sicily and Sardinia. This season the park celebrated a new phase in its development with the addition of 12 rides by Zamperla.

The Australian city of Brisbane is the latest place to install a giant Ferris Wheel as a sightseeing attraction. The Wheel of Brisbane is a 60-metre semi-permanent construction by Ronald Bussink Professional Rides located at South Bank Parklands. The wheel is operated by World Tourist Attractions (WTA), which also runs wheels in five British cities, including London, Great Yarmouth, Manchester, York and Belfast. WTA has a two-year lease on the site in Brisbane.

The Fabbri Group has landed a contract to build an 80-metre Ferris Wheel for an as yet unnamed client in the Far East. The ride is due for delivery in April 2009 and will feature Swiss-designed 8-passenger gondolas fully equipped with air conditioning. “We have been wanting to enter the giant wheel sector for some time so we are really pleased with this order,” says Fabbri sales manager Edward Cromheecke.

A Florida land developer has purchased Wild West World, Wichita, Kansas, for US$2.15 million. Although no rides and attractions will be operational until next season, the AHG Group does plan to hold concerts in time for Labor Day (September 1). Best known for its work developing American Indian casinos, AHG bought the park from the US Bankruptcy Court and is now looking for a professional theatre operator to reopen the soon-to-be-renamed Johnny Western Theatre, plus an amusement operator to take care of the rides. Carnival proprietor Jerry Murphy's Tulsa-based Spectacular Attractions is believed to be in the running for the latter. Former owner Thomas Etheredge famously closed Wild West World and filed for bankruptcy in July 2007, just 65 days after the park opened.

This summer Bobbejaanland in Belgium unveiled the world’s first indoor Splash Battle from 3DBA/Preston & Barbieri as part of its new Banana Bos (Banana Forest) area.

Madame Tussauds is known the world over for its accurate waxwork depictions of celebrities, political figures and sporting legends. An important but less obvious feature of each museum is the sets the figures are presented in. Philipp van Stratum of P&P Projects in the Netherlands, which recently finished working on the new Madame Tussauds Berlin, gives Park World a little insight.

While various companies plough on with “coaster DVD” products, a British firm is offering a new video system designed to capture more intimate experiences at parks and attractions.

Although the Pleasure Beach is by far the most popular attraction in Blackpool, a bypass means many motorists visiting the resort arrive at the other end of town. But now the Pleasure Beach is laying on a land train from all central corridor car parks.

Operators in both the UK and US are scrambling to remind potential guests why a visit to their local attractions makes sense in light of the current economic situation.

Catapulte, a 173ft-tall SkyCoaster, has opened at La Ronde Parc, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located near the back of the park, its unique location allows the ride to swing between 62 and 80 mph high above Lac aux Dauphins (Lake with Dolphins).

The Boardwalk at Hersheypark, Pennyslvania, will be expanded next season with the addition of The SEAquel, comprising two attractions from Whitewater West Industries, The Shore and Intercoastal Waterway.

Those in line to ride the Dark Knight coaster at two Six Flags parks in the States can step into the dark side with the Joker and his henchmen. Using Total Immersion technology, from the French firm of the same name, the queue lines have become part of the experience.

Your most-popular ride suddenly breaks down a week before the big holiday weekend. You’ve been on the phone with the manufacturer but cannot fix the problem without a new part. Unfortunately, you cannot locate the part you need locally and are forced to order from overseas. You are short on time, money, and stressed about whether you will get the ride operable again before the big weekend. Your tendency is to rush into a purchase, often by telephone, to ensure you can get your ride operating again quickly. Stop. Rushing into a purchase, without proper documentation, can leave you with the wrong part and cost you thousands.

I returned recently from Toronto where I visited Canada's Wonderland and I rode their new mega-coaster, Behemoth, pictured here. I love Toronto. Bustling, clean, everything works; it's like New York City run by the Swiss.

Tom Mehrman (pictured), Ocean Park, Hong Kong: Ocean Park is an experience for everyone. As a result, we use the media channels that are most relevant to the market we are attempting to serve. The media cited above reaches a very niche market, but this can be indispensable for us to promote certain seasonal events, such as our Halloween Bash. As Halloween is a predominantly teen and young adult market, we will go where they get their news and manage their information, which is not through the mass media. I envisage a time in the very near future when we will use the internet and relative channels (interactive website banners, blogs, video streaming, SMS etc) almost exclusively to reach these target markets. However, we will always rely on some above the line mass media to effectively reach out to the wide demographics of our potential audiences, until such a time as the decision makers for all generations are getting their news and information exclusively from below-the-line sources.

This summer’s IAAPA Asian Attractions Expo in Macau (July 16 to 18) was the biggest ever in terms of exhibitor numbers and floor space, but was the attendance there to match?
Owen Ralph reports.

After three years in Shanghai, the Avail Corporation took its attractions industry conference to Macau for the first time this summer, where it welcomed delegates at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on July 14 and 15.

Now in its fourth year, the one-day “Experience Conference” staged this summer by consultants Vision XS was another well-received event.

Just ahead of this year’s event in Macau (July 14 to 15), IAAPA announced that the 2009 edition of Asian Attractions Expo will be held in Seoul, South Korea – not Beijing as some expected.