Parks need to be wary of "too good to be true" pricing and delivery commitments. Manufacturers that have extensive knowledge of the regulatory environments, whether it be Europe's CEN standard or the United States' ASTM F24, and who have a continuing reputation for getting the job done are the suppliers to which operators should focus. Parks also need to realise the benefits of having appropriate time for not only the erection of the rides but especially for inputs such as foundation and electrical parameters. Keep in mind also that many jurisdictions now require either third party reviews and/or regulatory reviews. Such reviews take time.

Roy Vocking, Intamin:

Over the last few years, parks have got used to exploiting manufacturers in a in a weak position and ordering stuff late and expecting things early, and the complexities of the modern ride make that very difficult to do. And then manufactures get too anxious to sign the contract rather than leave it. What a lot of supplies do is calculate very thin margins and put in about 10 per cent for penalty clauses etc. Just recently a client walked away from us because we said we couldn’t do a ride, and that’s a very good example of us not wanting to tell lies and have them come back in 10 years time and say “you were right,” but then not buying anything from us for the 10 years in between.

Peter van Bilsen,Vekoma Rides Manufacturing:

Parks can help to get rides open in time by starting the planning in time, purchasing the rides in time and hiring professional and qualified people for the installation and project management. They should also make enough time for landscaping and theming after the ride is installed For smaller attractions the lead time is approximately 6 to 8 months and for larger attractions it is 12 to 15 months, although sometimes we have new rides in stock, which can reduce this lead time.

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