Scott Jones, with his youngest son alongside, test drove the new set of wheels he helped purchase. Photo By Eric Minton
It’s a Family Coaster!
The Indianapolis Zoological Society in Indiana announces the arrival of Kombo, April 19, 2001 (24 feet high, 656 feet long, 21 mph). Delivered by Zierer.
A safari-themed family coaster opened a new era yesterday by becoming the first roller coaster installed in a traditional zoo. It also became Indianapolis’ first roller coaster.
"Really?" said Scott Jones, chairman and chief executive officer of Escient Technologies, inventor or voice mail and primary benefactor of Kombo. "I like to do firsts."
Kombo replaces the zoo’s elephant rides, both in revenue generation ($2 for two-circuit ride) and location. Fittingly, when theming and landscaping is completed later this spring, the coaster will pass over a representation of an elephant graveyard. The train itself looks like an authentic convoy of jeeps, with backpacks bearing the names of Benjamin, Andrew and Daniel, Scott Jones’ sons.
"We wanted to stick with the safari theme, otherwise it is a little jangling," said Jeffrey Bonner, the zoo’s president and CEO.Even the signage is bilingual in English and Swahili.
"Kombo" means " exciting twists and turns" in that native African language, and though a family-scale ride it delivers a good thrill quotient. "Especially the curve at the bottom of the (lift) hill you go really fast," said Andrew Jones.
Indianapolis is a city obviously looking for such thrills. After the vine cutting, which officially opened the coaster, and the first ride by invited dignitaries and their families, Kombo was opened to the public, who lined 200 deep in spring-like weather to be among the first riders.
"I wanted something that would make the zoo an entertainment destination," said Scott Jones, a coaster fan, who also funded The Enchanted Mill, the zoo's wet-dry play area, which opened last year. "You come to see animals and plants, and after walking around all day you can get a little adrenaline rush. And this gives you a little adrenaline rush in that back seat."
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Wrestler Mick Foley (front left) took on NITRO with his fearless kids. Photo by Eric Minton
It’s a roller coaster!
Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, announces the arrival of NITRO, April 6, 2001 (230 feet high, 5,394 feet long, 80 mph). Delivered by Bolliger & Mabillard.
If people camp out to be first in line anyway, Six Flags Great Adventure decided to make an event of it. The park invited coaster fans to camp in the picnic grove in order to earn the right to be the first to ride the park’s 12th coaster and third by B&M. The fans, 38 in all, showed up with their tents Wednesday evening and spent Thursday in various competitions to determine which row they would occupy on the Friday morning debut ride.
"I just came to have fun with my son," said Mark Karol of Fair Haven, New Jersey. Said his 7-year-old son, Kevin, of the experience, "it was cold," drawing out that last word as long as his breath allowed. But Kevin did enjoy riding NITRO, which he described as an "up-and-down" coaster.
That is as apt a description as any. Riding open-air seating with only lap bars as restraint, passengers drop 215 feet from the lift hill at a 66 degree-angle and 80 mph. Then it’s up a second 189-foot hill that crests in a hard-bank turn to the left. On the media day the following Wednesday, a cold, rainy outing, coaster enthusiasts gripped the lap bars on the second crest with as much fervor as the frightened members of the press did.
Among those caught in the ride’s thrill grip was World Wrestling Federation champion Mick Foley, AKA Mankind, AKA Cactus Jack. He officially opened the ride with a cartoonish detonator that set off sparklers and fireworks around the NITRO entrance, then led the press and enthusiasts onto the official first ride with his two children, Dewey, 9, and Noelle, 7.
"In descending order, I was the most afraid, then (Dewey), then her," Foley said, pointing to his daughter who barely met the 54-inch height restriction. "I’m the bravest," Noelle said proudly. Asked what part scared him most, Dewey replied, "Going up." The biggest scare for the 35-year-old Foley: "Going down."
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Pre-opening day riders nailed down the Technic of coaster riding in custom-made mouse cars. Photo by LEGOLAND.
It’s a wild mouse!
LEGOLAND California in Carlsbad announces the arrival of the LEGO TECHNIC Coaster, April 7, 2001 (42-foot drop, 1,340 feet long). Delivered by Mack.
Say one thing about LEGO building blocks: it is a great indoor toy when it rains. And it rained hard the day LEGOLAND officially unveiled its new ride based on the company’s line of build-your-own machines and race cars. "I’ve never seen it rain so hard in Southern California," said Kina Paegert, the park’s senior communications specialist and a long-time resident of San Diego.
However, Paegert and her colleagues had planned the perfect press event for such a day: local media outlets were invited to build their own TECHNIC cars that they would race in competition at the park. Two weeks before the event, LEGOLAND sent the media teams a bucket of bricks with no instructions. "They had to build what they thought a coaster car would look like that they then would use in a race," Paegert said. The stunt was intended to highlight the custom-made coaster cars built by LEGOLAND and Mack designers.
The competition resulted in two winners: fastest car and most creative design, with winners awarded a $500 check to a children’s charity of their choice. The San Diego Business Journal won for speed, and, in what surely could be considered an unfair advantage, the team from Aviara Oaks Television—fifth graders from Aviara Oaks Elementary School—won for design.
Then it was out into the deluge to carry out the ribbon cutting by park GM Mark Germyn and the first ride by TECHNIC television commercial star Adam Hicks. Some 400 other LEGO fans followed him. "I was amazed at their dedication," Paegert said of the rain-pelted riders.
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Kelly got in character while stepping into the Walk of Fame. Photo by Universal Studios.
It’s twin animal shows!
Universal Studios announces the arrival of "Animal Planet Live!" at both Universal Studios Hollywood, California, and Universal Studios Orlando, Florida, April 6 and 7, respectively, 2001 (4 trainers, 5 ducks, 1 cervil, 1 fox, 1 crane, 1 capuchin monkey, 6 pigs, 1 raccoon, 6 dogs, 1 parrot, 1 European buzzard or hawk, 1 green winged macaw, 1 skunk, 1 orangutan, 1 baby chimpanzee, 1 python snake and 50 to 60 pigeons).
To kick off the soft opening March 20 of the new live show based on Animal Planet TV network programs, Universal Studios Hollywood staged a press preview featuring the unveiling of the world’s first Animal Actors Walk of Fame. Getting star installations were Babe the pig, Mr. Jinx the cat (from the movie Meet the Parents), Beethoven the dog and his canine colleague Kelly, who played Max in How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Also in attendance were stars of some of the TV programs sampled in the new stage show: Matt Gallant of The Planet’s Funniest Animals, Drs. Robert Taylor and Kevin Fitzgerald of Emergency Vets, and the titular star of The Jeff Corwin Experience.
The Orlando park celebrated its show’s April 7 official debut by hosting about 60 children dressed as their favorite animals. The winning child, impersonating a lion, won Animal Planet merchandise, a savings bond, and an annual pass to the park.
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A balloon opened Blast Zone with a splash. Photo by Universal Studios.
It’s a kiddie area!
Universal Studios Hollywood in California announces the arrival of Nickelodeon Blast Zone, April 5, 2001 (30,000 square feet, 25,000 soft foam balls, nearly 50 interactive elements). Delivered by SCS Interactive and Nassal Company.
It was the most suitable christening Universal Studios officials could have thought of for their new themed interactive play area. A giant water balloon, 12 feet in diameter and capable of holding 6,700 gallons of water (but actually containing much less) was raised 40 feet up by a crane and dropped on the new attraction.
Time to get wet. About 100 Los Angeles-area school kids, covered in park ponchos, rushed into the Nickelodeon Splash! area featuring towers with water blasters and an orange Nickelodeon icon rocket ship that goes through a launch sequence concluding with water spewing out of its engines. Kids could also run the gauntlet of water elements, manipulated by other guests, in a maze. In the center stands a 15-foot volcano that occasionally erupts in a 40-foot geyser. Adjoining the wet play area is the "Wild Thornberry’s Adventure Temple," an extensively themed Foam Factory-type activity center.
The water balloon christening had yet another ironic touch: for a change, the water dropping from the sky was welcome. Massive rains throughout the spring hampered construction, but despite the lost time Universal’s crews scampered to get the Zone open on time. Now the structure can get as deluged as it pleases.
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It’s a roller coaster!
Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, announces the arrival of Wildfire, April 4, 2001 (155 feet high, 3,073 feet long, 66 mph). Delivered by Bolliger & Mabillard.
Though the new coaster opened to the public with Silver Dollar City’s season, the first official ride was taken on March 13 when the park combined a local tourism conference attended by Missouri Governor Bob Holden with a press preview of Wildfire. "We invited Gov. Holden to be the first rider, and we planned for him to ride it once," said Martha Hoy Bohner, a park publicist. "But he wanted to ride it again and again, so we let him." Three times, in all.
The media was invited back for exclusive ride time on Wildfire in the hour before the park opened Friday, April 6, in conjunction with the first day of Silver Dollar City’s annual World-Fest. Bohner said 180 members of the press, including their families, attended that re-introduction of the $14 million coaster, the largest ride ever built in the four-decade-old park.
For a virtual ride on Wildfire, visit the park’s web site www.silverdollarcity.com.
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The Peanuts characters proved the heavyweights in Japan’s newest theme park. Photo by Universal Studio
It’s a theme park!
USJ Co., Ltd. announces the arrival of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, March 31, 2001 (54 hectares, 18 attractions, 21 eateries, and 23 retail outlets). Delivered by Adirondack Scenic, Advanced Animations, Advanced Entertainment Technology, Anitech Systems, Attraction Services, Bigger Than Life, Birket Engineering, BRC Imagination Arts, Cinnabar, Edwards Technologies, Entech Creative Industries, IMAX Corporation, Intamin, ITEC Productions, Iwerks Entertainment, Lexington Scenery & Props, Magicraft, Mee Industries, MTS Systems, Nassal Company, Oceaneering Entertainment Systems, Scenario Design, Scenery West, Show Technologies, and Technifex.
A drizzling, cold rain couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the first- day, near-capacity crowd that poured through the gates and ran to Jurassic Park—The Ride and Back To The Future—The Ride. Those two staples at Universal parks in both Hollywood and Orlando proved the biggest draw for a Japanese audience that generally loves anything having to do with American cinema.
However, an attraction exclusive to this Asian version of the Universal Studios theme park brand tapped into another local favorite: Snoopy’s Sound Stage Adventure. Not only did the interactive playground featuring various Peanuts characters, including waterslides, a maze, and a Snoopy-themed family coaster, get a workout, the adjoining Snoopy Studios Store did big business. "The store was packed," said Jennifer Liu, director of public relations for Universal Studios Recreation Group. "People were going in and buying merchandise all day long."
Also new to Japan’s Studios are Animation Celebration, featuring live actors interacting with a "holovision" Woody Woodpecker, and Universal Studios Motion Picture Magic, a cinematic retrospective of Universal Studios movie history featuring Steven Spielberg. Imported attractions from existing Universal parks include Jaws, E.T. Adventure, Backdraft, Terminator 2: 3D, and the stunt shows.
The public opening was preceded by two days of hosting some 800 members of the media, the majority from the Osaka region and "tons of press taking the bullet train from Tokyo," Liu said. Crews from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, France and the United States also covered the opening. Arnold Schwarzenegger literally dropped in (via helicopter) on the opening eve party, and was on hand at 7 a.m. the next morning to help Akira Sakata, president of USJ Co., snap a giant clapboard to officially set the park in "action!"
The
LOOP
Volume
1, No. 6. April 20, 2001
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In this issue:
The industry springs forward in England, and belugas get over their shyness at Shedd.
A new magazine is slotted into the market, Kings Island doubles its pleasures, and a student wins a grant to, get this, ride coasters.
We say hello to a coaster at the Indianapolis Zoo, a coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure, a coaster at Silver Dollar City, a wild mouse at LEGOLAND, and Universal’s new play zone, animal show and theme park.
And, we say good-bye to Al Turner.
By Eric Minton
Photographs and memories
When Al Turner arrived in Boise, Idaho, one Saturday to visit Roaring Springs Water Park last year, "It was raining, miserable weather," remembers the park’s General Manager Lee Hovis. "And the forecast for Sunday was for clouds and bad weather all day." But Sunday morning, Turner, the president and chief executive officer of the World Waterpark Association, headed to the park to take pictures anyway. "Miraculously, the weather changed. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky," Hovis said.
Good thing: Al would have waited until the sun came out, however long that took. "He’d go out of his way, time-wise and mileage-wise, to get a good picture," said Wally James of Con-Serv Associates in Atlanta.
Optimism and dedication were just two of the personality traits that Turner used to build the WWA into a global industry force, a mission he doggedly pursued up to the day of his death from amyloidosis April 5.
"The reason a lot of us are successful in the waterpark industry is because of Al," said Greg Mastriona, executive director of Hyland Hills waterpark near Denver, Colorado. "He was able to bring a lot of elements into the association, small parks, large parks, privately owned parks and publicly owned parks, and he pulled all that knowledge together to make us all better."
Owners of a Kansas City, Missouri, insurance agency, Turner and his University of Oklahoma fraternity brother Dave Bruschi formed the American Waterslide Association in 1980 to provide operators in the Midwest affordable insurance. Soon he was tirelessly leading an organization dedicated to promoting the whole waterpark sector while improving operations and standards within the industry.
"He would always go out of his way to go wherever we would invite him," said Suzanne Melas, marketing director of Waterworld Waterpark in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, and a board member of the European Waterpark Association. "We met in Australia, we met in Dubai, we met in Cyprus, we met in Austria, and we met in San Antonio. Everywhere he went or wherever he made his presentation, he talked about this extended waterpark family."
"He would fly to the smallest little town for a little waterpark that might have a couple slides here and there, and maybe a kiddie activity pool, and then fly off to Wet ‘n’ Wild in Orlando and talk to them," said Hovis. "He was completely unbiased."
But he was not without strong opinions. "One thing I valued about Al: if I was wrong, he’d tell me so, and if I wasn’t wrong he stood by me all the way," James said. Despite a disposition that appeared as if nothing ever bothered him, Turner never backed down from threats to the industry or WWA. When water quality became a media lightning rod three years ago, the WWA quickly moved out front in the public discussion, a brave and necessary stance for an association that wants to wear the leadership mantle.
"He would push the board and push me as safety committee chair to get to the bottom of the problem if that needed to be done, or gather information and data if that needed to be done," James said. "Every challenge to the industry he felt needed to be answered, and if it couldn’t be answered, it was a problem that needed to be solved."
Leader, promoter, photographer, wine connoisseur: Al Turner will be long remembered for these qualities, and one other above all else. "He just wanted to make friends wherever he went and do everything for the industry," Melas said. "He was a great friend."
"He was a great friend," Mastriona said. "When he said he’d do something, he would do it."
"He was definitely a good friend," Hovis said.
Said James: "He is the father of the industry."
For the official announcement from WWA and information on the memorial service this weekend, please see the Bulletin Board.
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A harbinger of good times
The first returns are in on attendance figures for Northern Hemisphere parks heading into the 2001 season, and they bode well.
Bode well, nothing; they should make you ecstatic.
They are the Easter weekend gates (from Good Friday through Easter Monday) in Great Britain, where attendance among all parks was generally up over that of Easter weekend 2000. Pleasureland Southport had a 4 percent increase in visitors over last year’s Easter weekend and reported the best Easter Monday in the park’s 89-year-history. Drayton Manor Family Theme Park near Birmingham saw a 6 percent increase, and Crealy Adventure Park in Devon reported a 26 percent jump. These figures come from Helen O’Neill of O’Neill PR, who also said Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Alton Towers reported good gates.
There were no mitigating factors accounting for the jump. The weather was slightly better this year than last, but it was still cloudy, windy and chilly with a rainy Saturday in some parts of the country. This year’s Easter also came one week earlier than 2000’s.
Furthermore, last year the season didn’t start under the cloud of foot-and-mouth disease. This year's Easter weekend figures indicate that the British public has put aside their travel trepidation. In fact, the livestock disaster may have provided a bit of a boost to attendance at Crealy, where national television coverage of Devon’s troubles inevitably showed the park’s family coaster in operation.
Considering what that country’s economy has been up against lately, England’s good amusement season start should serve as a bellwether for parks everywhere. So, everybody, let’s get on the bandwagon and have a good year.
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Shedd’s belugas emerged into new roles as performers. Photo by Shedd Aquarium
Shedding inhibitions
Next week the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, will open a new dolphin and whale show celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Oceanarium’s opening. For the first time in years, the show will feature Shedd’s resident beluga whales, which had yet to be trained to do certain behaviors on command before an audience. With no suitable off-public tank available, the aquarium’s trainers faced the prospect of tutoring the whales after hours.
Or, better yet, do the tutoring in public and call it a feature presentation.
"All About Training" began January 2 and focused on training techniques employed at the Shedd Aquarium. A portion of the show was turned over to actual training of the belugas in preparation for their new show opening April 27.
"It was the best of both worlds," said Ken Ramirez, the aquarium’s director of training and husbandry. "We do real training in front of the audience and talk about training and why it is done. It is beneficial for the beluga whales to get used to the public watching them in that space. The public wasn’t new, and the space wasn’t new, but putting them together was new, and in a more structured format with the narrator talking and music playing in the background. Those were elements we wanted to get them used to."
The three months of public rehearsals paid off for the stars. Early in the year they would appear for just two to three minutes (and sometimes wouldn’t come out at all), but now they are perfecting their 10-minute act for the new 25-minute show.
It also proved beneficial for the show’s producers, who could gauge audience reaction to determine what behaviors to include in the new show’s script and what to forego. Though dolphin presentations are usually "showier" than "All About Training" proved to be, most of the audience, many of whom hold season passes, enjoyed watching the "behind-the-scenes" lessons in positive training techniques, Ramirez said. "A lot of kids came out saying, ‘What if I do that with my dog?’"
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Filling a slot
Randy Fromm conducts training for slot machine technicians, and as demand for his services increased he decided to share his expertise via a column in a casino trade magazine, much as he does for the arcade industry via his articles for Play Meter. "I started looking for a magazine to write for and do advertising trade-outs with, and I couldn’t find anybody who wanted my stuff," Fromm said.
So, he decided to start his own publication, Slot Tech Magazine, which debuted this month. The monthly magazine costs $10 per issue, but its specialized subject matter covering repair of various slot and touch-screen gaming machines makes it a valuable tool, especially for Native American-owned casinos "out in the middle of nowhere with no (training) resources," Fromm said.
He has initially offered the narrow-niched magazine only to about 1,500 casinos in the United States, but he will also circulate the publication globally. For information, contact magazine@slot-techs.com.
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Double dare
It’s an old radio station promotional stand-by married to a nirvana moment among coaster riders. This summer guests at Paramount’s Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio, will be able to partake of "Two-for-Tuesdays" featuring double circuits on selected rides.
The privilege is among benefits available to patrons bearing a Gold Pass, a new promotion aimed at pushing season ticket sales. Anybody who purchases a season pass before May 20 ($79.99 for individuals, $279.99 for families) will get a Gold Pass. Guests who purchased their season tickets at the end of last year can also upgrade to a Gold Pass by making up the price difference. After May 20, the cost of season passes rises $10 and Gold Passes will no longer be issued.
The Gold Pass gives bearers access to 800 reserved parking spaces near the front gate, VIP viewing at the top of the replica Eiffel Tower during fireworks shows and early entry to the waterpark. Holders also will be privy to special promotions, like bring-a-friend-for-free days and admission to a selected themed area at 9 a.m., one hour before gates open to the rest of the public. Currently the park is opening its Action Zone to Gold Pass holders an hour early, allowing exclusive ride times on coasters Son of Beast, Top Gun and Face Off, and the tower ride Drop Zone. Next weekend starts a string of weekends when the park will open Hanna-Barbera Land and Nickelodeon Central to Gold Pass holders at 9 a.m.
The most intriguing element of the Gold Pass Program is the double-ride Tuesdays privilege. On Son of Beast, The Beast, Face Off and Drop Zone as well as on family rides Rugrats Runaway Reptar, Beastie, and Boulder Bumpers, Gold Pass holders can show the ride attendant their pass and stay in their seats for a second ride. Front and back rows on the coasters will be excluded from the program.
"We are always looking for new and unique approaches to guest services," said Jeffrey Siebert, marketing communications area manager. "We sat down with the ride operations staff to discus what we could do, and they came up with the double ride idea. They thought it would be fun for their staff, something different for the ride operators."
For guests it will give them a chance to experience something usually limited to enthusiasts during exclusive ride times. Park officials do not anticipate any operational problems or contrary guest relations issues. "We’re just excited to get the program going," Siebert said. That will be May 29, the first Tuesday of operation after the park’s weekend-only spring schedule.
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Coasting to an education
After Brooke Basinger graduates next month with an engineering degree from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, she will start a one-year Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. Her scholarship: riding roller coasters around the world.
The $22,000 fellowship will fund Basinger’s study of coaster design as she pays particular attention to international concepts in thrill-delivery technology and cultural variations. Departing in August, she will spend the remainder of the amusement park season visiting parks in Europe, "hang out" in the off season at such manufacturers as Bolliger & Mabillard, Vekoma and Intamin, then finish her year of study traveling through the Far East and South America.
"I’m not really a coaster fanatic, but I’ve been interested in coasters since I was little," said Basinger, a frequent visitor to Six Flags Magic Mountain and other California parks. She spent her childhood growing up near Elitch Gardens in Denver. "As I’ve gotten further in my engineering education, I’ve learned more and more what a cool engineering feat they are. Their whole purpose is to scare the crap out of people, which is a unique engineering goal."
OK, but how does one get a fellowship to ride coasters? Basinger said she learned of the Watson Fellowship program "that basically funds just cool projects, usually very humanities-based," and decided to come up with a course of study within her engineering discipline. After a week of brainstorming, she hit upon combining her interest in coasters with the fellowship’s requirement that the project involve study abroad. Hers is one of 60 Watson Fellowship grants this year: more than 1,000 students applied to the program.
While she won over the grantors, she had trouble selling some of the coaster manufacturers on her aims. "They needed to be convinced that I don’t need to be baby sat, that I’m not looking for a job, that I am an engineer and I’m not looking for handouts," she said.
Meanwhile, she’s become the talk of fellow students and envy of coaster enthusiasts. "Watson provides a stipend if you’re married so you can take your spouse with you," said the unmarried Basinger. "I’ve had about three marriage proposals."
©2001, Minton Enterprises LLC
All rights reserved
Eric’s Turn
Photo by Jeff Jouett, Six Flags Marine World
Goo-goo-goo-joob
Whenever Jeff Jouett feels weighed down by the stresses of his job as public relations manager at Six Flags Marine World, he takes a moment to visit his friends: the Vallejo, California, park’s walruses.
That is Uq-Uq (with tusks) and Siku above with my own personal elixir, wife Sarah Smith. On our vacation to Northern California late last summer, Jeff introduced us to his two buddies, whose exuberant personalities prove again and again that the pleasures of this business far outweigh the toils.
So, as you dive into opening your properties for the 2001 season, some of you with new attractions and shows, if the pressures begin to get to you, gather up the smiles on your patrons’ faces and carry them in your heart. Or, get chummy with your nearest walrus.
And we are always here to keep you connected to your colleagues, be they your fellow bipeds or pinnipeds, throughout the season. Check in frequently on our Bulletin Board, drop us a line (eric@gettheloop.com), or give us a call: in North America it’s toll-free, 1-888-902-LOOP; outside North America call 1-937-296-9796.
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