Volume 2, No. 6. March 22, 2002
Allied
force
In
a marriage of strengths and mediums, THE LOOP is formally forging a partnership
with the industry newspaper Amusement Today. Officially launching April
1, the partnership will manifest most in a new Web site, www.amusementtoday.com,
that will be run by Minton Enterprises, LLC, publishers of THE LOOP.
"It
just fits," said Gary Slade, publisher of Amusement Today, which begins
its sixth year covering the amusement industry with its April issue. "We do
so much together anyway we needed to find a way to combine efforts that was
good for both of us. We found a way that will also change how news is delivered
to the industry."
In
particular Slade means a special feature of the new Web site, a page titled
Extra Extra that will contain breaking news stories as they develop. The stories
will then be expanded with the reporting of complete details in the semi-monthly
LOOP or the monthly Amusement Today.
In conjunction with the Extra Extra updates, THE LOOP will start running an Extra Extra box that will be continuously updated with headlines of new items posted on amusementtoday.com. This way, readers can have a quick source to breaking news. THE LOOP will continue to be delivered free via e-mail notifications with the posting of each new issue the second and fourth Fridays of every month.
Though other web sites offer amusement industry news, amusementtoday.com will
feature the combined efforts of Amusement Today's team and Minton Enterprises,
two organizations grounded in journalism with strong connections throughout
the industry. Further, the partnership combines the strengths of the two organizations:
Amusement Today is the industry's most respected publication among manufacturers
and parks, especially in North America, while THE LOOP brings to the mix Eric
Minton's nine years of experience covering the amusement industry—including
zoos and haunts—plus international connectivity and a strong web presence
that already draws more than 8,000 visitors per month.
While both entities remain separately owned, the alliance also represents a
combination of advertising efforts. Amusement Today will take on the
bulk of ad sales for THE LOOP in addition to selling amusementtoday.com and
the newspaper. With all three outlets advertisers will be able to purchase maximum-exposure
packages through cooperative advertising.
At the least the alliance clears up confusion, both for readers of the two publications
and the publishers themselves. THE LOOP, which was first developed in 1999 as
a column for IAAPA's Funworld Magazine, launched as a web site in February
2001; a month later, as a freelance writer, Eric Minton joined the Amusement
Today team as the Ohio Bureau Chief. Both publications occasionally shared
information and traded out advertising, and THE LOOP operated out of the Amusement
Today booth at the 2001 IAAPA Trade Show. Nevertheless, the two entities
competed for editorial and advertising.
Now, they combine forces, keeping what makes each special, adding a breaking
news element and making the whole more affordable for advertisers and more accessible
for readers. "It marks a new beginning for reporting news to keep our readers
better informed," Slade said. Meanwhile, it marks the end of confusion and competition
between two good friends.
Drowned
in debt
Open
only three years, during which time it became a warning beacon of financial
excess among the aquarium community, Colorado's Ocean Journey in Denver, Colorado,
announced Tuesday that it would shut its doors to the public April 2. The aquarium
will remain operating another two months while it finds homes at other AZA-accredited
facilities for its 8,000 animals.
"We are still hoping there can be some miracle to pull us through," said Kimberly
Thomas, public relations manager for the aquarium. "We hope some angel will
come along to give us money that the bondholders would find acceptable. But
we're talking multi-millions."
Specifically, $63 million in debt, $57 million of that in bonds. Last July the
aquarium defaulted on its bonds when it quit paying into the escrow accounts.
By then Ocean Journey, which had opened at a price tag of $93 million to much
fanfare in June 1999, was on its way to losing another $6.8 million for the
year. Ocean Journey was built and budgeted on a forecast of 1.1 million visitors
per year, a figure—if it could be reached—that still swould not allow
the aquarium to climb out of debt quickly. The first year 1.4 million visitors
passed through its doors, and the aquarium still struggled financially. Last
year attendance dropped to 742,000.
In January the mayor offered a bail-out plan, but the city council this month
wouldn't approve it in the face of an economic downturn that forced budget cuts
throughout the city government. The aquarium also reportedly approached several
amusement corporations about purchasing the facility, including its neighbor,
Six Flags, none of whom showed interest in running the operation.
At an impasse with the bondholders, the aquarium board decided on a course of
closure. "We're trying to be very realistic so we can give our employees as
much notice as possible as well as help our animals find suitable homes," Thomas
said. Ocean Journey employees 100 people, not including three contracting agencies,
and 550 volunteers also work there. The animals represent 500 species, including
three Sumatran tigers, two people-loving sea otters and a flirtatious octopus.
With
a fiduciary obligation to make as much money as possible and save capital, the
aquarium decided to close after spring breaks are concluded, and will sell as
many animals as possible rather than give them away to other institutions, Thomas
said. Next week the aquarium will host a scheduled Regional Aquatic Workshop,
attended by aquarium professionals from around the world. "It turned out to
be very good timing," Thomas said. "It will help people see what we have here
in our inventory, and it offers the aquarists here a chance to network."
The aquarium announced that it would not reimburse the 15,000 families who had
paid $85 memberships, but Wednesday the Denver Zoo offered free memberships
to the zoo for all current Ocean Journey members. Meanwhile, news of the closing
caused an outpouring of community support and visitors. Children started fund-raising
campaigns, and one raised $112 to give to Ocean Journey. "There's grass roots
support, but when you're talking multimillions, it's not enough," Thomas said.
More than 4,000 people visited the aquarium Wednesday, about double its normal
gate, she said. "It was real bittersweet because they were having a lot of fun,
but it was too late."
Institutions accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association who are interested in providing new homes for the animals can contact Ocean Journey's curator of fish Rich Lerner (rlerner@oceanjourney.org) or curator of training and husbandry Pete Davey (pdavey@oceanjourney.org).
A restraint finding
In the first application of California's
1999 permanent amusement ride safety law, the state's Division of Occupational
Safety and Health issued a report Tuesday on last September's shoot-the-chute
fatality at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, ordering improved restraint systems
on the ride before it can reopen.
A woman weighing 292
pounds fell from the Perilous Plunge boat just as it was making its final
descent. The state inspectors determined that the woman's obesity was partly
to blame for the accident, but that the ride's seat belt and lap bar were insufficient
to restrain a person of that size. The division ordered Knott's to make 12 modifications
to the ride, including changing the restraints to accommodate larger people.
Knott's officials said the park would work with the ride's manufacturer, Intamin AG, to make the changes and reopen Perilous Plunge when it meets inspectors' approval. In a prepared statement, the park also commended the process that led to the reported findings. "(Park) officials respectfully thank the state's investigators for the professional and diligent manner in which the investigation was conducted," the statement said.
New heights
The issue never was about tip-toes.
Disneyland in Anaheim, California, wanted to create a high-tech height check
as a time management service for guests. So, the Imagineers sought to replace
measuring stick-carrying cast members with something new and cool, and effective,
too.
"We've taken technology and applied it so that guests understand as they start
their day what they can do and what they can't do for the remainder of the day,"
said Jim MacPhee, vice president of attractions and guest service operations
for Disneyland Resort.
His team began testing
the new ultrasound unit, located at the park's information board in the entry
plaza, on December 5. As children stand against a pole, the device shoots an
ultrasound beam between the pole and the child's head to measure his or her
height, calibrating five to 10 times to ensure an accurate reading, MacPhee
said. The reading then automatically triggers a color-coded light that corresponds
to a Disney character on a wristband the child can wear. White—Mickey Mouse—lights
up for individuals less than 35 inches (89 centimeters), yellow/Minnie Mouse
35 to 40 inches (102 centimeters), blue/Donald Duck 40 to 46 inches (117 centimeters)
and green/Goofy above 46 inches. Eventually the attractions themselves will
have corresponding color-coded signage, MacPhee said.
Ultrasound, MacPhee
said, "takes any subjectivity out of it," and that is as much a perception issue
as a purpose for using it. Castmembers carrying measuring poles could ensure
children stayed flat-footed and accurately judge their heights, but using technology
removes even the notion that such calls are incorrect. Adding the color coded
lighting system makes the measuring experience more fun for the family, too,
as castmembers can remark with surprise, "Oh, look you're a green!" And the
wristband serves as a Disney keepsake for the children. "The wristband is quite
the collector's piece right now," MacPhee said.
The device's primary
mission, though, is to save guests time and heartache. By measuring at the start
of their day, families know what attractions to target and what to avoid. It
also precludes approaching an attraction with the promise of riding and then
learning at the entrance that the child is too short, a scenario usually resulting
in tears, pouts and implorings from children and parents alike. For these reasons,
guests have been reacting to the measuring station as "a great experience,"
MacPhee said. "The reception we've received from guests is an indication that
it's another great tool, like Fast Pass, to plan their day here."
Measuring stick wielding cast members remain at the individual attractions as Disneyland fully phases in the program. MacPhee said more units are planned throughout the park, and the program will begin rolling out in Disney's California Adventures by the end of this month.
Fears for the future
With signs that the haunt
industry, after an off year in 2001, is still growing, the fledgling International
Association of Haunted Attractions elected a new president and board of directors
to lead an organization with growing membership and increasing financial stability.
Bob Turner, president
of Turner Enterprise Inc., which runs Haunted Hydro Dark Attraction Park in
Fremont, Ohio, took over the gavel from D'Ann Dagen at this month's annual IAHA
meeting during the TransWorld National Halloween Costume and Party Show in Chicago,
Illinois. Turner becomes the association's third president under the bylaws
adopted four years ago after Dagen served consecutive one-year terms.
"Last year I had not
worked enough with D'Ann and needed one more year to feel comfortable before
taking over," said Turner, who had been vice president during Dagen's tenure.
"She's done a great job for us, given us a lot of committed time. Anytime you
are building an organization it's the slower steps that have to be handled very
carefully for the long-term growth of the organization. She's accomplished a
lot of those steps that will allow me to take it to the next milestone."
Among those milestones
is to establish more IAHA-sanctioned regional meetings so more haunt operators
can gain the educational benefits of the association's training seminars and
literature. Last year IAHA published a Safety Manual free to members, and this
year it produced a 118-page addendum to the safety manual, plus a 132-page Haunters
Handbook, with operational tips from established operators. "I think from the
inception of the TransWorld conference four years ago to what it is today we
have made tremendous strides and have established some great networking opportunities
for a lot of people across the haunted industry," Turner said. "And the new
handbook is a wonderful addition to the safety manual. Between those two activities
we truly have accomplished a great deal."
Just by staying alive,
IAHA has accomplished a great deal. The haunt industry is saddled with a seasonal
calendar more pronounced than any other sector of the entertainment industry
and creative egos and strong personalities—a requirement if you are going
to dress as a fiend with the express intent of frightening your paying guests—unmatched
in the amusement industry. Yet despite many clashing personalities among this
group, they have banded together for the benefit of the whole.
Membership stood at
300 going into this year's TransWorld show and officials suspect it could approach
400 once the applications collected in Chicago are counted. Meanwhile, the association's
coffers sit at a close to $30,000, a workable amount for an organization still
wholly dependent on volunteer labor. Dagen proved the perfect president for
these pivotal years, earning universal admiration from her peers and rising
above personality issues while bringing to the table her strong business sense
and organizational skills as president of La-De-Da Productions in Fort Worth,
Texas. She will continue serving the association under the title Past President
as a non voting advisor to the board and provide administrative support.
One thing IAHA does
have going for it is a still-growing industry; in fact, IAHA itself may be a
contributor to that trend. The TransWorld conference saw about a 20 percent
increase in attendance over last year, pulling in more than 300 people, and
many of the attendees were newcomers. "It's kind of surprising how many are
trying to get into the business," said Randy Young, an IAHA board member who
runs the Haunted Castle and Black Forest in Fort Wayne, Indiana. "At least in
outward appearance, it is a healthy industry." Young, Turner and several haunt
vendors reported that while the number of theme parks attending the show was
down, representation from zoos is on the rise, and family entertainment center
operators helped fill the trade show aisles.
And filled is no hyperbole.
At the haunt end of the trade show floor traffic was consistently heavy. "Whether
they were buyers is hard to say," Young said. "There may have been a lot of
lookers rather than buyers." But that was better than the other sectors at the
show did: the costume end of the floor saw much less traffic, and the aisles
in the party portion of the show were virtually empty. As the U.S. economy struggles
to recover from its recession and the attractions industry still wonders what
9/11's ultimate fallout will be for this year, the haunters, at least, are feeling
bullish and building a future.
For a complete list of IAHA's newly elected officers, click here.
Building
from the ground up
Want to inspire your staff to a feeling
that they can surmount mountains? Build a mountain.
Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park in Kapolei, Hawaii, took on new management this year and faced an uncertain season of attendance thanks to the downturn in destination tourism. However, instead of retrenching, the waterpark embarked on one of the most ambitious capital improvements ever in its three-year history and looked to the land for inspiration.
Volcano Express, set to open
Memorial Day weekend, features a four-lane race slide by ProSlide Technology
descending from a heavily themed volcano. Plans include smoke rising from the
top, steam oozing off the sides and fiery, red light illumination at night.
The slides themselves will start off as red at the top, fade to orange by the
mid-point and end up as yellow at the bottom, representing molten lava flowing
down the volcano.
The park is marketing this as the
island of Oahu's only active volcano, and the $400,000 project represents the
first time Hawaiian Waters has gone beyond landscaping and signage in theming
a ride. But it's not the archipelago state's active volcanos that gave management
its inspiration, but the dormant ones.
"Everything else that we've done
in the park is given names based on something to do with Hawaii," said Jerry
Pupillo, the park's new general manager. "All the islands were formed by volcanos.
In developing a new ride we thought that the way to expand and do new things
is the way Hawaii expanded and became new things, which was via volcanos. We're
having a little fun with it; it's a motivation for our staff."
It is specifically timed motivation.
Horizon Amusement Group of Sacramento, California, was contracted to build and
manage Hawaiian Waters, training a management team to take over in its wake.
That contract concluded at the end of last year, and Pupillo, the park's first
hired employee, took over as General Manager January 1. His new management team
settled on the ambitious Volcano Express project. "It was a tremendous
commitment on our ownership's part, and greatly appreciated," Pupillo said.
Especially in view of the coming season's uncertainty in attendance. About 30 percent of Hawaiian Waters' gate comes from out-of-state tourists, the bulk of that coming from Japan, a market which markedly fell off after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Even if that market doesn't bounce back this year, Pupillo feels Volcano Express will heighten interest in the local market for the 2002 season. "Then, when the tourists start coming back, we'll have something new to sell them," he said.
When
in Lubbock. . .
Joyland Amusement Park doesn't usually
get too ambitious about its marketing reach. The small, family park serves the
201,000-population city of Lubbock and draws from other South Plains counties
of west Texas. This summer, however, Joyland's advertising clout will reach
around the world, thanks to a little help from Rome.
The Vatican Museum is sending 31 medieval frescoes from its collection to Lubbock
for an exhibit at the Museum of Texas Tech University from June 2 to September
15. Called, "Traditions and Renewal: Medieval Frescoes from the Vatican Museum,"
the collection features rare works painted by members of the Roman school from
1250 to 1340. This is the first time the Vatican Museum is loaning a collection
of its works to a single city, and after the exhibit closes in Lubbock the works
will return to Rome where they will stay locked up for at least 20 years.
Because of this exclusivity, Lubbock is expecting up to 400,000 visitors from
around the world to descend on Texas Tech to view the exhibit. There, the tourists
will get a booklet about the exhibit, the university and Lubbock, a book that
contains sponsorships by local hotels, restaurants and businesses: among them,
Joyland, which is placing a $2 coupon off the regular $12.95 admission ticket
to the park. The ad also briefly describes the 14-acre, 30-ride park.
"When these people fly in they will have some extra time in the evenings," said
Kristi Dean, one of Joyland's owners. "So, we want them to go out and have some
fun." She also supported the book for its potential to refract the Vatican exhibit
spotlight onto the rest of Lubbock. "It's important just to get the word out
to people when they visit that there is more here than just Texas Tech and Bobby
Knight," she said, referring to the college's basketball coach who gained notoriety
as head coach at Indiana University.
Admission to the exhibit is free but will require reservations. For more information,
go to www.vaticanexhibit.com
and www.vaticanexhibit.org.
To check out Joyland, go to www.joylandpark.com.
New Arrivals
It's
a talking tree!
Pearlmart Shoprite in Jackson,
New Jersey, announces the arrival of a talking tree, February 19, 2002. Measurements:
22 feet tall (7 meters), 8-foot diameter (2 meters), 4-by-8-foot walk-through
(1-by-2 meters) and 16 witticisms. Delivered by Custom Creations and Gilderfluke
& Co.
Six Flags Great Adventure
has competition 10 miles up the road. It's a supermarket. "We try to make shopping
fun," said Jim Haslett, vice president of operations and a partner of Pearlmart
Shoprite, which has five stores in north-central New Jersey. Its latest is a
70,000 square-foot (21,500-square-meter) full-service supermarket with
extensive theming and humorous signage. For example, over the seafood counter
hangs a depiction of a fisherman being pulled out of his boat by an oversized
fish. "It shows the fish winning," Haslett said. "But it's a friendly fish so
it won't scare the children."
The store's entertainment
centerpiece—standing, fittingly, in the produce section—is the talking
tree, the first time the food chain has taken its penchant for entertaining
customers to the level of animatronics. The tree's eyes move as it mouths encouragement
for children to eat vegetables and tells bad jokes ("Where do watermelons go
on vacation? John Cougar's Melon Camp"). Though part of the produce section
the tree is strategically located near the seafood counter and the deli, places
where customers generally have to wait while being served. While they wait,
their children make friends with the tree.
By installing an animatronic
tree, Pearlmart Shoprite epitomizes a further fusion of the amusement industry
and retail businesses. When THE LOOP announced the new arrival of a family entertainment
center inside a Covington, Kentucky, toy store (THE
LOOP, November 16, 2001), we broached the prospect that such blurring
of the retail/entertainment lines could be a trend in the making. A supermarket
seems to represent the concept's furthest frontier because food shopping is
not only an essential day-to-day task, it is inherently unentertaining.
Haslett looks to the
amusement industry to glean entertainment value out of visiting a supermarket.
"We don't want to be an amusement park," he said. "I looked at the carousels
like they have in malls, but we really can't put that kind of equipment in a
store. But we do want to have the theme of fun. If we can have people enjoy
shopping, which is a difficult task, they'll choose us over somebody else."
That they seeme to do. Thanks to a wise-cracking tree, customers are returning to the Pearlmart Shoprite to take in shopping and a show.
Congratulations
for a successful opening!
For
more photos and information on the talking tree,
Click
Here
It's
a flying coaster!
Alton Towers in Alton, England, announces the arrival of Air, March 16,
2002. Measurements: 840 meters long (2772 feet), 20-meter-high drop (66 feet),
75 km/h (47 mph), 28 passengers per train. Delivered by Bolliger & Mabillard.
B&M entered the field of flying coasters under typically dreary and drizzling
English March skies, but the initial reports coming out of Alton Towers indicate
the company has landed another winner for its catalog. "It has received an excellent,
excellent response," said Liz Greenwood, the park's public relations manager.
It is a response delivered by the most demanding customers, she said. "Traditionally
the first day of the season we get a lot of roller coaster enthusiasts because
they have been watching the development for the past two years. And in many
ways they are the hardest to please because they have an idea in their minds
of what the ride should be."
Ironically the ride has been enticing significant numbers of non-coaster riders,
too. "You watch this one go around and it looks so smooth, it doesn't look violent,"
Greenwood said. "It has encouraged a lot of people who don't normally do roller
coasters to go on it. And they're coming off loving it." The ride is not intended
to be so much a physical thrill but an experiential thrill, she said. Consequently
it does not attain high speeds or heights, and theming is restricted to a tunnel
entering the lift hill. "It's about the proximity of you to the ground and you
to the sky," Greenwood said.
B&M's version of the flying coaster starts with passengers loading into seats.
The floor then drops away and the seats tilt forward to move guests into a prone
position, which they maintain the length of the ride. Restraints are shin bars
and vests that feel light as air.
Despite being B&M's first flying coaster and Europe's first-ever flying
coaster type, Alton Towers didn't pursue a high-profile debut, Greenwood said.
Alton Towers teamed up with Thorpe Park in Surrey, England, on March 12 to helicopter
media to the two parks for test rides on Air and Thorpe's Colossus,
opening this weekend. On the eve of the season opener, Alton Towers then hosted
a three-hour Radio One show, including a performance by the pop group Sum 41
and live broadcast on Air itself. "That gave us a huge amount of publicity,"
Greenwood said of Great Britain's top youth radio station.
On opening day Air stole the show on its own. As the gates opened the
crowd rushed as one to the new coaster. "There are some good athletes visiting
our park," Greenwood said of the sprinting guests. "The rest of the park was
virtually deserted all day: rides were walk-on, walk off." Meanwhile, queues
for Air maxed out at 2 1/2 hours during the day, she said, another indication
that this new B&M model is off to a flying start.
It's
an entertainment center!
GameWorks announces the arrival of Newport on the Levee GameWorks in Newport,
Kentucky, March 15, 2002. Measurements: 25,000 square feet (7,576 square meters),
130 games, two bars, one restaurant, 100 employees. Delivered by Andamiro, GameWorks,
Global Billiards, Hyper Entertainment, ICE, Konami, Lazertron, Midway, Namco,
Sega, Stern Pinball, Universal Studios, Williams.
Forgive the people of Cincinnati, Ohio, for thinking three GameWorks opened
up locally in less than a month. Only one installation of the entertainment
center opened in this market—in the entertainment/retail complex called
Newport on the Levee on the Kentucky-side banks of the Ohio River—but in
a marketing plan meant to build buzz while honing the center's details, GameWorks
unveiled itself in three phases.
Three weeks before the opening, about 150 media and local dignitaries were invited
to learn the lay of the location. The centerpiece Arena Bar was functioning,
but the walls were still covered in plastic, no games had been installed, and
the Jax Grill kitchen hadn't received its permit. A local caterer used GameWorks
recipes to set up the buffet. "That first event was meant to answer the question,
'What is GameWorks?'" said LeeAnne Stables, the company's senior vice president
of marketing. "There was so much interest to see what we were doing."
The second event, two weeks later, further sated the curiosity when GameWorks
invited 300 media and special guests to serve as official game testers. "When
you bring this many games in, you have to get them played, you have to operate
them," Stables said. The event allowed management to watch traffic flow and
subsequently move some games around, including a Turret Tower
which had been placed front and center inside the entry. "It looked good on
paper when we planned it out," Stables said. "But it was the first thing you
saw when you came in and it blocked the view of the bar and the rest of the
facility. We thought, 'We spent all this money to make this look good, why are
we blocking it?'" So GameWorks spent more money on a hydraulic lift to move
the Turret Tower to one side.
After a follow-up employees' guests night and a week of sneak previews, GameWorks
finally opened for real with a Friday night bash. Some 400 guests—again,
including media and local dignitaries who were beginning to feel like fraternity
brothers and sisters—showed up for a three-hour free play, free drinks
and free food session featuring fire-breathing bartenders and a local band playing
'70s disco tunes. The public were allowed in at 10 p.m., and a long line quickly
formed of guests signing up for the game-play cards.
By then,
the venue was a smoothly running operation, a direct result of the three-step
unveiling. "It is so helpful to the technical guys and to the staff to have
the feedback and have 10 days to make adjustments," Stables said. GameWorks
first employed this method at its previous opening last fall in Tampa, Florida.
Aside from working out the kinks, each media event spawned local newspaper,
television and radio coverage, and both Cincinnati daily papers devoted multi-page
spreads to the new GameWorks.
It's a carousel!
The Dallas Zoo in Texas
announces the arrival of its Endangered Species Carousel, March 11, 2002. Measurements:
36-foot diameter (11 meters), 30 figures representing 16 species. Delivered
by Chance Rides.
On the day its new carousel was to open, the Dallas Zoo was closed. More than
650 local dignitaries and guests had committed to attending the March 2 opening
gala, but zoo officials canceled on the eve of the event thanks to a weather
forecast—accurate, it turned out—of sub-freezing temperatures and
snow.
Rescheduled for a week later, the ribbon-cutting ceremony still took place under
chilly skies and "a wind like you would not believe," said Ellen Villeneuve,
the zoo's public information officer. Even so, about 200 guests and members
of the media showed up for the first official rides, a celebration that featured
a "carnival buffet" of midway food, such as caramel corn and hot dogs. The weather
was still cool and windy when the carousel opened to the public the following
Monday, but it registered 401 riders at $2 per ride. On Tuesday the air warmed
to the mid-70s and the number of riders surpassed 600.
Other than a monorail safari, this is the Dallas Zoo's first ride. The $800,000
capital improvement project, funded by a 1998 City of Dallas bond program, included
the custom-built carousel, a shed, benches and stroller parking. This endangered
species carousel features two unique creatures. One is an okapi, a tip of the
hat to Dallas Zoo's successful breeding program of the giraffe's Congo cousin.
This figure represents the first okapi Chance has made for its carousels. The
second unusual figure is a triceratops, an animal who was last listed as "endangered"
several epochs ago. "We wanted to use this as something to educate the public
as well as give them a fun ride," Villeneuve. "We're saying that this could
be the only place that your children's children could see these animals. That's
one of the reasons we have the triceratops: we're showing what could happen
to the others."
It's an Australian exhibit!
The Jacksonville Zoo
in Florida announces the arrival of the Outback Steakhouse Australian Adventure,
March 9, 2002. Measurements: Two acres, five species comprising three koalas,
two kangaroos, eight wallabies, 37 lorikeets and one cassowary. Delivered by
QC Management and The Stellar Group.
The Jacksonville Zoo traditionally sells naming rights to its exhibits as part
of its sponsorship programs, but Outback Steakhouse took its association with
the zoo's new Australian exhibit a step further, partnering in the marketing
campaign. Aside from providing advertising, Outback Steakhouse participated
in the exhibit's weekend opening, sending its Australian-native representative
to the zoo in the restaurant's HumVee.
"He was great talking to guests about living in Australia," said Angie Lindsey,
the zoo's marketing and communications manager. "He was entertainment within
himself."
The zoo, which officially unveiled the exhibit in a donor's reception the week
before, set up several objects d'entertainment to entice the public to see Australian
Adventure: a crocodile themed bounce house for kids, a video surfboard simulator,
a didgeridoo performer and walk-about characters from Nickelodeon's The Wild
Thornberrys cartoon, who came courtesy of the local cable representative.
Gorgeous spring weather also drove a gate that reached 7,300 people on Saturday
and 5,700 on Sunday, untypically high numbers even for a new exhibit, Lindsey
said.
The exhibit itself also had a particularly powerful drawing card: koalas. "They
are just so daggone cute," Lindsey said, and in Australian Adventure guests
can view the teddy bear-like marsupials in an air-conditioned habitat. The koalas,
however, were not the weekend's biggest hit with guests. That honor went to
the lorikeets, who flew about the new Lorikeet Aviary feeding off cups of nectar
in the hands of guests. With a $1 upcharge for admission to the aviary, the
Jacksonville Zoo chose its stars wisely.
It's a tower
ride!
Miracle Strip Amusement
Park in Panama City Beach, Florida, announces the arrival The O2 Tower,
March 8, 2002. Measurements: 185 feet high (56 meters), 12 seats. Delivered
by S&S Power.
The beachfront amusement park rushed to get its $2 million new addition, an
S&S Space Shot Turbo Drop combo, opened in time to handle the college students
descending on this resort town for spring break. The tower, however, stood dormant
for most of its first week. "College spring breakers are much more into the
club scene and doing foam parties in their rooms," said Buddy Wilkes, Miracle
Strip and Shipwreck Island's general manager. "A bowling alley on the beach
has thong bowling every night. An amusement ride is a little too squeaky clean
for that mind set."
The subsequent week saw more high schoolers on their spring breaks, and the
mix of the increased high schoolers, families and Southeastern college students
boosted ridership for O2. "When we started getting the mixture of high
school kids and families, we did really well," said Wilkes, noting that he was
able to keep O2 open until 1 a.m. (01,00) on some nights.
The tower stands just off the beach, which stretches 27 miles along the Gulf
of Mexico shore. "We're sort of in the middle of the beach, so on a clear, bright
day you can see from one end of the beach to the other, all 27 miles," Wilkes
said. Wilkes plans to offer O2 as a tourist viewing tower, sending guests up
to the top in gentle elevator mode so they can shoot pictures of the view (THE
LOOP, November 30, 2001). That role will begin in the summer, Wilkes said.
So far, the ride is not generating many daytime riders. "We opened during daytime
and competed with the beach, and that didn't work. Now we're opening at 5 p.m.
That's when the cruising on Front Beach Road starts."
It's a tower
and theater!
Xcaret in Playa del
Carmen, Mexico, announces the arrival of a Skytower and theater, March 4, 2002.
Tower measurements: 110 meters tall (363 feet), 72 passengers in a 360-degree
rotating gondola. Theater measurements: 1,200 square meters (3,900 square feet),
876 seats, two shows with a cast of 60 each. Tower delivered by HUSS Machinenfabrik.
After a delay of almost
four months, the firm that runs several natural parks in the Riviera Maya region
of the Yucatan Peninsula finally got its second Skytower open and now can live
up to a boast that it has "The World's Best View." The eight minute ride to
the tower's top gives guests a varying show of natural and man-made richness.
To the west is a green carpet of jungle rolling out to infinity with vestiges
of ancient temples. To the north are beachfront resort hotels, to the east the
clear blue Caribbean Sea lapping at Cozumel Island, and to the south the Ecoarchaeological
park of Xcaret itself.
"We have one of the
most beautiful corners of Mexico and the world," said Javier Moreno, a park
spokesman. "The tower is the only way to take in this view." The company is
so intent on capitalizing on this view that it opened its first tower in Cancun
in September and plans one for Isla Mujeres next month and Cozumel later in
the year.
Meanwhile, Xcaret sought to
celebrate the country's cultural attributes through two shows at its new theater.
"Voces y Danzas de Mexico" features 60 performers wearing 40 different costumes
doing dances and songs representing all nine states in Mexico. "Tradicion del
Caribe" also uses a 60-performer cast to take guests on a musical tour of the
Caribbean Islands. Both shows last 100 minutes.
The theater fits the mission of the park, which preserves an important portion
of Mexico's natural wonders—including underground rivers, lagoons, coral
reefs and jungle—and archaeological treasures. "The theater shows we have
a richness in this country in traditions, folklore, music, culture and art,"
Moreno said. "We love our country, and our first target is to save and transmit
this culture to all of Mexico and all around the world."
Eric’s Turn
A
powerful two
Those of you who clicked on to the previous issue of THE LOOP on March 8, the
day it was posted, saw a different edition of the newsletter than those who
checked in again after March 9. After posting our story on Cedar Fair removing
the VertiGo rides, we received a report from S&S Power on what they determined
to be the cause of the ride's collapse. Rather than waiting two more weeks to
report the news in this edition of THE LOOP, we decided to update the original
newsletter itself and highlight the change here. To see the revised story, click
here.
This sequence of events exemplifies one of the key changes coming to THE LOOP
thanks to our alliance with Amusement Today described at the top
of this newsletter. One result of the alliance will be the new Web site, www.amusementtoday.com,
which Minton Enterprises, THE LOOP's publisher, will operate as I assume the
title of Web Editor at Amusement Today in addition to my duties as a
writer for the newspaper.
The new site will contain a page called "Extra Extra" that will feature breaking
news in the industry. With the alliance, when either company gets new information
from a manufacturer, an amusement park, a waterpark, a zoo, a family entertainment
center or any other attraction, we will post a brief report of that news on
Extra Extra. You will be able to get more information and insights on the story
in the next issue of THE LOOP or in the next issue of Amusement Today.
As part of this alliance, we will be making some changes to THE LOOP. Most will
be cosmetic, and you'll see those in the next issue (April 12). One important
change, however, will be the "Extra Extra" box on the newsletter itself. This
colored box will be easily identified and continually updated with headlines
of breaking news stories. The headlines will link to the Extra Extra page on
amusementtoday.com where you can view the complete story. When we update Extra
Extra, we update THE LOOP. If a major event merits more coverage, THE LOOP itself
will be appended with the news, and complete details and analysis will be given
in the next issues of THE LOOP and Amusement Today.
This means
that in addition to reading THE LOOP when the link arrives in your e-mail box,
you will definitely want to check back frequently for any new news. To make
that quicker and easier for you, we are posting every current issue of THE LOOP
at a single address, www.gettheloop.com/theloop.html. This issue is parked at
that address, so right now take a second and add this page to your favorites
or bookmarks. Make a habit of checking in every day or every other day to stay
connected with your friends and colleagues. All previous issues of THE LOOP
are moved to an archived address that can be easily accessed through THE
LOOP Home Page Index.
What else does our alliance with Amusement Today bring?
— More value to advertisers through co-operative ad placements.
— A stronger web presence for Amusement Today to assist operators,
manufacturers and readers in everything from getting weather reports and stock
news to ordering subscriptions.
— More resources for THE LOOP, which in turn improves some of our other
services, such as the Connections page and Reading Room.
— Seamless news gathering efforts between the two organizations working
together to provide you with comprehensive coverage and understanding of the
industry in the quickest time.
Several of our friends in the industry have wondered when Gary Slade and I would
team up. "The synergy is so right," they often said, and we both agreed. But
we needed to find a way to make it worthwhile and mutually beneficial not just
for us but for our readers, as well. I have been equally frustrated and amazed
at the many times I called Gary to enlighten him to breaking news only to hear
that it was old news to him. As a competing journalist I was daunted by how
much Gary knew and how easily he got news through his industry connections;
as an industry promoter I also thought it a shame that everyone inevitably had
to wait up to a month to learn all that news. With "Extra Extra," you'll get
the news shortly after Gary and I do.
As for the synergy, it is so right. I first met Gary on May 5, 1999, when I
was writing for Funworld Magazine and we both were covering the opening
of Georgia Scorcher at Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta. A fast friendship
formed (who doesn't make friends with Gary from the outset?) and grew as we
crossed paths at subsequent industry events and trade shows. Though last February
as I was undertaking the launch of THE LOOP as a web-based newsletter, I gladly
accepted Gary's invitation to join the Amusement Today team, which includes
oft-time coaster-riding companion Randy Duffer (that's us above on Wild Adventure's
Cheetah in Valdosta, Georgia).
Now, I take great pride in allying THE LOOP with Amusement Today and
solidifying the partnership with Gary. Some might think either we or Amusement
Today are following the old adage "If you can't beat them, join them," but
that's not it at all. Rather, we realized that if we both can do better together,
why not?
