Volume 2, No. 5. March 8, 2002
Regarding
Larry
Out of Alfa SmartParks' long-rumored
sale of Jazzland Theme Park in New Orleans, Louisiana, last week came unexpected
but welcome news. Larry Cochran is back in the business.
Randal Drew, the president and CEO of Alfa SmartParks, Inc., a subsidiary of
Alfa Alfa Holdings, formed a new company called Entertainment Associates L.L.C.
with the express purpose of purchasing and operating the bankrupt suburban New
Orleans theme park. Drew serves as CEO and chairman of the new company which
also includes SmartParks' chief legal officer Gwen Hutcheson Griggs as senior
vice president, SmartParks' Chief Financial Officer Andrew Barkley as senior
vice president of finance and Nathan Goldman as executive vice president. Drew,
Griggs and Barkley will continue their roles with Alfa SmartParks.
Cochran, who spent 40 years with Six Flags, was brought out of retirement to
serve as Entertainment Associates' president, and he has set up office at the
park. "I played as much golf as I could play, and as much tennis," Cochran said
of the two years between his retirement as chairman of Six Flags, Inc. and his
new job. "When Randy offered this opportunity, I jumped at it because, number
one it's something we could do, and number two it gets me back in the business."
The Newton, Mississippi, native first got in the business while attending the
University of Texas in 1961, when he went to work in the graphics department
at Six Flags Over Texas. He worked his way up the park management ladder and
into corporate roles, earning the position of president and CEO in 1985. Two
years later he engineered a leveraged buyout of the chain, then comprising 12
theme and waterparks, and was appointed chairman of the company.
To hear Cochran discuss his new career is to hear his long-held enthusiasm bubbling
through his Southern drawl into inevitable action. Jazzland, which opened in
2000, is a challenging proposition, starting with its location over a swamp
that exponentially raises the cost of any capital improvement. The park also
developed a reputation for poor customer service in its first two years and
saw attendance drop by almost half from rookie to sophomore season. "Our biggest
goal right now is to get the park open and running as we know it should run,"
Cochran said of Jazzland's targeted April 13 opening day. "Everything I've stood
for the last 40 years I hope I can transfer to this park."
It's a challenge Cochran has grasped with relish. "I feel great. This has been
my life. I eat, sleep and breathe the theme park business. I bleed this business.
Buddy, you know how it is."
For complete coverage of the Jazzland sale, read the April issue of Amusement
Today.
Turner out
In
a bid to find other revenue streams beyond membership dues and trade show fees,
the World Waterpark Association announced that it would end its relationship
with Splash Magazine and begin publishing its own magazine next month. Splash
Magazine, which WWA founder Al Turner began as an off-shoot of the association,
will continue publishing under the helm of Marilyn Turner, Al's sister, who
has been the magazine's editor for more than 12 years.
"This was something Al started," Marilyn Turner said. Her brother launched the
American Waterslide Association in 1980, and three years later, "Because he
felt like the association should be run by its members he formed the World Waterpark
Association and split off as another company to provide the publications for
the waterpark industry." Those publications include the annual Buyer's Guide
and Developer's Guide, which Marilyn Turner said she would continue. "He expanded
from a small newsletter into a magazine that has continued to expand and grow,"
she said. She came aboard when Al asked her to write an article in 1987. "I
wrote a couple more, then I got a magazine that said, 'Marilyn Turner, Editor,'
and I called him and asked, 'Is there something I should know?'"
The WWA plans to initially title its publication World Waterpark Magazine, but
will change the name after conducting a contest among members, according to
a statement issued by the association. "This is a tremendous opportunity for
the association to improve member communication and provide increased coverage
of relevant industry issues like legislative affairs monitoring and educational
development while streamlining our operations and providing greater financial
stability for our association," WWA President Rick Root said in the statement.
Eco econ I
Putting a first-class resort in an
out-of-the-way, ecologically preserved portion of Brazil may attract sufficient
visitors, but once there they need entertainment. That is the hybrid philosophy
driving Wolf Vierich, chairman and owner of Vitala Group, to develop an upscale
ecological resort in a country still struggling through economic crisis.
Vitala is concluding negotiations on a plan to develop Captain Nikolas Ecological
Island Resort at Isla da Croa. Isolated on a peninsula about an hour north of
the 800,000-people city of Maceio and currently accessible only by ferry, the
320,000-square-meter beach-front site currently has 39 chalets surrounded by
some 4,000 coconut and tropical fruit trees. Because of a coral reef three miles
(five kilometers) off shore, the warm Atlantic Ocean laps up to the beach in
gently rippling waves, Vierich said.
His plans call for acquiring additional land on the side and behind Captain
Nikolas' current holdings and building a hotel that would ultimately give the
resort up to 500 rooms. "We would provide everything in-house to keep the vacationer
for nine days on site without complaining," Vierich said: "from themed restaurant
to retail shops, a small waterpark, a botanical garden element and an entertainment
element where you can learn about Brazil's fauna and plantations." No motor
vehicles will be allowed on the property. "You walk, you bicycle, you climb,
you pull, you push," Vierich said. "Everything with noise and vibration is out."
Hence, no traditional amusement park, "no roller coaster," and the waterpark
would be "low key," stressing landscape.
Vierich put the total investment at US$320 million. Despite Brazil's ongoing
economic doldrums, and the recent economic collapses in neighboring Argentina
and Bolivia, Vierich feels eco-tourism is a promising growth market in the region.
"Brazil is now hotting up as a resort market," said Vierich, who has a long
history of resort and waterpark development there. "Money is flowing in, especially
Asian money." He also notes that a Canadian firm is building a resort near Maceio.
He cites several reasons for his bullish attitude. Though still high—the
prime rate was 18.75 percent last week—Brazil has the lowest lending rate
in the region. Combine that with the climate, the live-for-today cultural attitude
and an "abundance of beach and undeveloped areas unrivaled anywhere in the world,"
Vierich said, Brazil remains at the forefront of tourism-sector development
in South America. The central government also is pushing initiatives to spur
tourism investment.
Even so, Vierich does not expect his plans to speed through the Brazilian bureaucracy.
"We think by mid-2005 we will have made it," he said. His also will be an expensive
proposition, whether located in Brazil or not. "Ecology costs a lot of money,"
he said. "It is expensive to guard ecological enterprises." That, however, is
an expense many consumers seem more willing to take on themselves.
Eco econ II
One U.S. attraction that predates
the current eco-tourism boom by more than 50 years also is making plans to capture
the up-scale end of this growth market. Callaway in Pine Mountain, Georgia,
is testing the waters for a plan to turn the botanical gardens and nature preserve
into a five-star resort.
Last week Callaway announced the latest in a significant string of capital improvement
plans: a proposed $30 million hotel, private golf club and condominium club
homes. The 100 room luxury Southern Pine Lodge would include meeting rooms,
a restaurant, exercise and spa facilities, and outdoor entertainment areas.
This news comes on the heels of under-way upgrades to Callaway's existing hotels
and cabins, plus a $12.6 million, 54,000-square-foot (16,000 square-meter) executive-level
conference center with restaurant, gift shop and a new check-in center for the
cabins. Called The Southern Pine, it is scheduled to open in September.
Both projects are aimed at beefing up Callaway's appeal as a long-stay resort
destination, but the Southern Pine Lodge expressly targets a higher class of
traveler. "We see this opening us up to a new group of people who want to travel
in more luxurious accommodations," said George Fischer, president of Callaway.
Differentiating Callaway from the competition, however, is not just the gardens
themselves but the ecological foundation of the parent company. "Ours is not
going to be marble on the floors and mirrors on the walls," Fischer said. The
Southern Pine Lodge, would be a "green building" minimizing impact on the environment
in design, construction and operation.
Such a high ecological standard the Gardens itself set two years ago with its
Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center visitor's complex. That building, on
the shores of Mountain Creek Lake, has a bamboo floor and is naturally heated
and cooled by water circulated from the lake.
Callaway currently is soliciting reservations for both the lodge and club to
gauge interest: $1,000 refundable reservations for a club home, and $100 for
a club membership. "Once we hit the level we are looking for we will do construction
drawings and secure financing," Fischer said. He would not say how many reservations
the resort needed to move forward, but said the Gardens expects to take the
next step by May 1. "Interest has been very high," he said. "We've been pleased
with the response we've gotten, and we've taken a number of reservations" just
in the first week.
Fischer—himself with 14 years of experience managing five-star hotels—has
recruited Joe Henry from Gaylord's Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, as
the resort's new director of operations. "I've known Joe Henry 20 years, so
when we had this opening I went to him to ask for suggestions of people to pursue,
and he said he was interested," Fischer said. "He's very good at making things
happen."
While Callaway strengthens its resort appeal, Fischer believes the Gardens will
continue to draw strongly as a regional attraction. "I don't think it's going
to change people's perceptions of the Gardens, but I think it will change their
perception of the resort. Even if they choose a less expensive accommodation,
they will feel like they are part of an expensive resort."
Poll position
The high-powered pair when introduced
last summer was poised to accomplish the daunting mission of saving Earth: former
U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Bill Bradley and Aza (pronounced Ay-zah),
a digital critter and new mascot for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association
(AZA). The pair is the spearhead of a marketing campaign to advance public perception
of the association and generate interest and involvement in AZA's conservation
efforts. Proprietary Media, Inc., a New York marketing company "founded solely
to support the mission of AZA and its member institutions," formed the campaign,
created the critter and recruited Bradley.
The campaign, which stalled in the initial phase, is now turning to member zoos
and aquariums for help. With the official launch last June, presided over by
Bradley at the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, Aza set out to attract
children to his website, www.azasweb.com,
where they could complete Aza's Poll for the Planet expressing their concerns
about the environment and wildlife. Bradley would then write a series of white
papers based on the poll results to present government and corporate leaders
around the world. For valid data, Proprietary Media hoped to get one million
children logged on. So far, less than 10,000 have.
"Now the big push is to get kids that come through the gates of member institutions,"
said Janet Weiss, senior vice president of Proprietary Media and managing director
of AzaNET, the network of AZA institutions. AZA itself has formed a panel called
the Strategic Marketing Group to promote zoo and aquarium involvement in the
campaign. Currently, 50 zoo and aquarium web sites and 25 children's sites link
to azasweb.
Not only do AZA and Proprietary Media want more institutions to feature Aza
on their web sites, they hope institutions will start directly engaging children
visiting the zoos to log on to the web site. "It's preaching to the choir: These
are kids and families already coming to the institutions, so they're already
engaged in the mission," Weiss said. Meantime, Aza himself will start making
more appearances in other mediums, including a series of comic strips. Additionally,
he "will be appearing on site at zoos and aquariums in the coming year," Weiss
said, though she wouldn't give further details on the form Aza would take.
Aza certainly has the pedigree for popularity. Proprietary Media hired Kermit
Love, the creator of Big Bird and other Sesame Street characters, to lead the
design team. What started as a talking platypus (the ultimate mixed breed) evolved
into a non-talking singular species representative of all the world's wildlife.
Aza's chief personality trait is to serve as a channeler of nature.
When it came to choosing a celebrity spokesperson for the campaign, Bradley
was at the top of a short list of candidates. "We needed somebody who had the
credibility to talk to the leaders of the world," Weiss said. When Proprietary
Media approached him, Bradley proved more willing than they expected. A man
who spent countless childhood hours at the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri, he wanted
to do more than just lend his name to the project. He is currently working on
a series of educational programs related to the campaign while awaiting the
poll results. "He'll be getting involved again when we've got that big number
of kids taking the poll," Weiss said. "We want it to be a significant number
to get the attention of the world."
Thawinpawzin
The big risk planning an event around
the weather is that the weather sometimes does not plan itself accordingly to
your event. Thus was the fate that befell the Toledo Zoological Gardens in Ohio,
which rolled out its second annual Frozentoesen winter festival this year during
the region's second consecutive warmer-than-normal winter.
In this case, however, the uncooperating weather proved an even greater boon
for the zoo. Intended to drive visits in January and February, Frozentoesen
has "been even more successful this year because it's been so warm people
have been coming out here anyway," said Toledo Zoo Executive Dirictor Bill Dennler.
Attendance in January, assisted by the opening of a new wolf exhibit, outstripped
last winter's numbers. For February, the zoo surpassed its monthly budget projections
in the first week, Dennler said. "It's not that we're getting record crowds,
but the fact we're getting any is something. We definitely have spread the attendance
out into the winter."
Frozentoesen promotions included half-price admission every day, Hollywood children's
films, special weekend brunches and wine tastings. The festival's big kick-off
celebration featured a professional ice carving competition, and that day boded
the kind of winter the zoo was in for.
Typically, Toledo gets up to two feet of snow over the winter and temperatures
lodging below zero. This year, official snowfall totaled 4 inches (10 centimeters),
though Dennler believes only an inch fell at his zoo, and none of it stayed
on the ground. Not only did the thermometer seldom dip below freezing, it often
topped 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 Celsius). Such warm weather, Dennler said,
"never used to be a worry in Toledo; never a possibility. We consider ourselves
pretty lucky."
But the champion ice sculptors were not so pleased. Their competition was marred
by rising temperatures, which started off around 30 degrees Fahrenheit (-1 Celsius)
on Friday and reached around 55 (13 Celsius) on Sunday, the day of the judging.
Sculptures' scores depended on when they were judged, Dennler said. "The judges
judge only by what they're looking at. If an arm falls off a statue as you're
looking at it, you have to judge it by that standard. We had a lot of arms falling
off that day."
But with upwards of 20,000 guests walking through the gate that weekend, Toledo
judged the enterprise a success.
Return visits
Down,
and now out
UPDATED March
9, 2002:
As Cedar Fair was announcing the removal of its two VertiGo thrill rides
this week, manufacturer S&S Power released the findings of a third-party
investigator.
One of the ride's three towers at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, which opened VertiGo as an upcharge attraction last August (THE LOOP, August 24, 2001), collapsed in January (THE LOOP, January 25, 2002). A statement released by S&S said independent engineering experts determined the accident was caused by "vortex shedding" that occurred while the towers were standing without the support of the attached passenger cart and cables. Cedar Point had removed the passenger triangle and their cables during VertiGo's winterization—part of the park's extensive preventive maintenance program—and without these to link and stabelize the three towers, independently they could sway beyond their engineered limits during sustained winds.
Ultrasound inspections of the rides at Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, which continued operations during the winter, showed no evedence of vortex shedding, the statement said. "In conjunction with the independent engineering firms, S&S has developed methods that eliminate the circumstances that can create a vortex-shedding phenomenon," the statement said.
Nevertheless, Cedar Fair decided Wednesday to remove the remnants of the ride at Cedar Point and the still standing VertiGo at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. "As extra-charge attractions, we believe the unfavorable perceptions resulting from the incident will negatively impact the popularity of the rides," Cedar Fair President and CEO Richard Kinzel said in a statement. "With the opening of Cedar Point less than two months away and Knott's Berry Farm nearing its peak season, we feel the best decision is to remove the rides from our parks." Cedar Fair also was conducting a third-party investigation of the incident, and those findings have not yet been released.
Still,
Kinzel's statement included an endorsement of S&S, citing the "excellent relationship"
between the amusement chain and the manufacturer. "We welcome the opportunity
to work with them on future projects," Kinzel said.
Thrill Shot at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, also
remains closed while test results are analyzed. Six Flags officials said Thursday
they have not made a decision on that ride's future.
Stan Checketts, S&S founder and CEO, called Cedar Fair's decision "a shame," saying that based on the engineering reviews and pre-incident performance reports, the ride "is the safest amusement ride in the industry today. We have several new sites opening this season and are pleased that park guests who love the ride will still be able to enjoy the experience."
Ball
of fire
Allyson Bowen was hosting a dinner party Saturday
night when a roller coaster enthusiast, Mark Thompson, called her. He had heard
on a police scanner that firefighters were responding to a blaze at Whalom Park,
the shuttered amusement park in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, that the Bowen family
had long operated and is trying to save from sale to a developer and possible
destruction (THE LOOP
October 5, 2001; November
16, 2001; and January
11, 2002). By the time Bowen reached the park, its 1933-built Ballroom
was fully engulfed.
"It was definitely one of the most historic structures on the property," Bowen
said. "I would say the (1905) Skating Rink and the Ballroom, although they hadn't
been used recently, in their heyday were the anchors of the amusement park's
golden age."
Authorities suspect arson, noting vandalism to other structures in the park.
"There was a spate of vandalism just before the fire, but it wasn't systematic
vandalism," said Bowen, who frequently visits the grounds. She also noted that
Whalom has a history of fires, including two cases of arson in the past 25 years.
Though the ballroom was destroyed, no other structures were harmed, including
the wood Flyer Comet Roller Coaster standing just 25 feet from the burning
building. Firefighters from several surrounding communities responded to the
blaze, soaking down the coaster and other neighboring structures to keep the
fire contained. "The firefighters did such a great job," Bowen said. "I really
thank them for protecting Whalom."
That continues to be her mission. Although the Whalom Park Amusement Co., in
which the Bowens are minority shareholders, has signed a purchase-and-sale agreement
for the park, Bowen believes the sale could yet fall through for various reasons.
"That would give us a chance to step in," she said, prompting her current "Buy
a Whale for Whalom Park" campaign. Rather than deterring her, the fire has stiffened
her resolve, she said. "We need people to get on board before this happens to
the rest of the park, literally or figuratively."
Darkness
reigns
At first glance it may seem like yet another awards list, another series of
bestowed honors, another Top 10. But the "Top Dark Rides" announced by DAFE,
the Darkride and Funhouse Enthusiasts, last week were really just a publicity
outgrowth of a more serious issue for the first-year organization (THE
LOOP, June 29, 2001): answering the question, "What is a dark ride?"
The list of favorite rides, topped by the Haunted House at Knoebels Amusement
Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, emerged from a four-page survey DAFE distributed
among 150 of its 200 members. "A lot of it was to get information on how well
we did in our first year," said Rick Davis, DAFE director and co-founder. "One
of the questions was whether people agreed with our definition of 'Dark Ride'
and all the classifications we listed." The club's web site, www.dafe.org,
has the full definition and list of classifications.
Among the 50 completed surveys, Davis said "not one" disapproved of the definition
or classes. "Which really surprised us," he said. "From dealing with people
in the past there were some people who were really vocal on what they thought
a dark ride was." The surveys expressed overall approval of the club's operations
and plans to run events at festivals, fairs, carnivals and stand-alone permanent
locations in addition to amusement parks. In a gauge of the membership's allegiance,
Davis said the survey asked whether enthusiasts would be willing to attend events
at small parks that had dark rides but no thrill rides. "Overwhelmingly they
said, 'Yeah.'"
The survey also asked respondents to list their favorite rides, a compilation
that became a study in contrasts. That Knoebels topped the list doesn't surprise,
for its oft-honored, homemade haunt ride has been garnering international kudos
since it opened in 1973. The margin of its victory was surprising. "Knoebels
had more votes than the next three combined," Davis said. Those three were The
Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Orlando, the Indiana
Jones Adventure in Disneyland, California, and the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.
Two more Disney attractions, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at MGM Studios in
Orlando and the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, California, were fifth
and sixth. Rounding out the top ten were the Goldrusher and the Old Mill at
Kennywood near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Haunted House at Funland in Rehoboth,
Delaware, and The Phantom Theater at Paramount's Kings Island near Cincinnati,
Ohio.
Eric’s Turn
Life
lessons
When Odysseus sailed for the Trojan war, he entrusted his young son's education
to a teacher named Mentor. Odysseus, aka Ulysses, remains a popular figure of
Greek mythology, thanks to his much-detoured return trip from Troy, but only
Homerphiles know about the character of Mentor. Yet, that character's name is
more often used today. Indeed, the word "mentor" has assumed a revered place
in the English language with its definition of a trusted counselor or guide:
people like Merlin for Arthur, Yoda for Luke, and, I hope, me for Karen.
Karen Kennedy works at Magic Waters Waterpark in Rockford, Illinois, and I was
paired with her through the Women Of Water mentoring program for young women
entering the waterpark industry. WOW started as a movement within the World
Waterpark Association at last fall's WWA trade show by Kim Adams-Bakke of Rockford's
Magic Waters, Franceen Gonzales of Waterworld Safari in Phoenix, Arizona, Judith
Leblein of Water Technology, Inc. and Splash Magazine's Marilyn Turner. At their
first meeting the women solicited industry members who were interested in either
being mentored or being a mentor. A month later mentors were paired with their
proteges and asked to initiate the mentoring relationship.
I signed up to serve as a mentor (I'm no WOW, but I believe in the program's
aims) and yesterday met with Karen for the first time (that's us above outside
her office). She joined the business staff of Rockford's Magic Waters last summer
after being graduated by Northern Illinois University with a math major. She
already has begun coursework toward an MBA. Karen started off working as business
development and cash control supervisor at the waterpark, but has since added
marketing duties and group sales solicitation to her job. Intelligent, personable,
confident and already an obvious asset to Magic Waters, Karen could eventually
be an important contributor to the whole amusement industry, and my role is
to encourage and smooth her progression by providing a little insightful light.
That light is not fueled by wisdom so much as experience.
The amusement industry has long had a tradition of networking and sharing information,
but WOW's program and an initiative announced just this week by the International
Association of Haunted Attractions are taking such educational interrelationships
to another level.
Wednesday evening I attended the IAHA's annual "Crazy Bob" Talk-back session
heading into the annual TransWorld National Halloween Costume and Party Show
at the Rosemont Convention Center in suburban Chicago, Illinois. Robert "Crazy
Bob" Turner, owner of the Haunted Hydro Dark Attraction Park in Fremont, Ohio,
monitors the session like Oprah working a talk show audience, soliciting opinions
and experiences from a crowd of 140 haunt operators. A third of that audience
were newcomers to the industry, and the veterans readily shared their knowledge
on everything from effective scare devices to effective customer surveys. Robin
Downward (above) of Mysterium Entertainment in Medford, Oregon, gave his colleagues
tips on using masks.
With the ongoing popularity of the Crazy Bob sessions—this was Turner's
fifth year hosting the event—IAHA is looking to provide a more formal mentoring
program. As currently proposed, members would list their particular expertise
in a directory that would be posted on the association's web site. "Right now
we don't publicly say, 'Here are the 17 people who do pneumatics,'" said IAHA
President D'Ann Dagen. "My own area of expertise is not-for-profit management.
Somebody else may be carpentry." Members would use the directory to locate such
expertise to answer immediate needs and concerns, she said
This is not mentoring in the classic sense of a long-term educational relationship.
"We're talking expertise made available for brief encounters," Dagen said. But
it does formalize the brotherhood that already exists in such IAHA encounters
as Crazy Bob's sessions.
It's no myth that when we share experiences with the young talent entering the
industry, we ensure long, continued success for all of us.
