Volume 3, No. 7. April 11, 2003
New
Arrivals
It’s
dueling kiddie attractions!
Alton Towers in Alton, England, announces the arrival of four family attractions,
April 5, 2003. Measurements: one interactive dark ride, one Foam Factory structure,
one 3-D theater, one stage show. Delivered by LeMaitre, SCS Interactive, Tussaud’s
Studios.
Looking to re-balance its ride mix to provide more for the preschool set, Alton
Towers opened its 2003 season with much hands-on (or eyes-on) entertainment.
The park’s 1992 haunted house has been remodeled as the interactive dark
ride Duel—The Haunted House Strikes Back on which guests
ride church pews through a variety of scenes with “hundreds” of laser
targets. However, this interactive dark ride, developed in-house, shoots back.
“It’s a bit more zombies rather than haunted,” said the park’s
Public Relations Manager Liz Greenwood of the new tame-enough-for-families theme.
And while some of the zombies have the ability to fire back at the attackers,
“We’re not expecting many casualties,” Greenwood said.
An SCS Interactive Foam Factory structure is taking on the theme of its sponsor,
Ribeena, whose corporate color of purple makes a perfect scheme for the Ribeena
Berry Bish Bash. Another partnership has given the park a new live show,
the Tweenies, one of England’s most popular pre-playschool television
shows, while the park’s domed theater installed 3-D capability in order
to air the new film Adventures in 3-D.
With a major hotel and waterpark resort expansion due to open in early summer,
the park’s marketing department kept a low profile for the new rides as
opening day approached. The increase in the number of family attractions did
draw some national newspaper coverage and local television tie-ins, and a local
radio station broadcast live from the park Saturday morning. Despite the low-frequency
buzz of the new products, the park got a boost from the best source of marketing
in England: balmy, sunny weather, a rarity for the first week of April. Alton
Towers counted 13,000 guests through the turnstiles on opening day, media representative
Rachael Lockitt said.
The new attractions drew steady traffic throughout the day, Lockitt said, and
a pattern emerged among players at the Ribeena Berry Bish Bash: the preschool
set had nothing on the post-school set. “Children were collecting the foam
balls and taking them to their fathers, who were the ones competing with each
other,” Lockitt said.
THE LOOP is written and produced by Eric Minton, Minton Enterprises, LLC. To see more examples of Eric Minton's work and Minton Enterprises services, visit www.ericminton.com.
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