Volume 3, No. 6. March 28, 2003
War
footing
Mark Riddell had
big plans. Opening the 2003 season with the new Drop Zone Stunt Tower
and SpongeBob SquarePants 3-D movie, the public relations manager for
Paramount’s Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, planned a media day featuring
a Hollywood-style red carpet opening for the film, complete with paparazzi and
Nickelodeon characters. Then the journalists and VIP guests would move over
to the Drop Zone where skydivers trailing orange and yellow smoke would drop
in to cut the ribbon. “I was getting carried away with it,” he admitted.
“It was going to be very exciting.”
But it didn’t happen. Scheduled for March 20, the park decided to cancel
the media day in light of the war in Iraq starting. Paramount’s Carowinds
in Charlotte, North Carolina, also canceled its media event scheduled the same
day, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg dropped the media portion of its Friday
preview of the R.L. Stine’s Haunted Lighthouse 4-D attraction. “Media
day was toned down, and we canceled some events,” said Diane Centeno, public
relations manager for Busch Gardens Williamsburg. One of the events canceled
was a broadcast satellite tour. “We had a couple of media come out, local
newspapers,” she said. “Broadcast media were interested in R.L. Stine,
but they were just too busy.”
That fact, alone, prompted the cancellations. Local journalists were swamped
working local angles to the war coverage, and even if they had been able to
attend the parks’ press previews, outlets had little room on their pages
or in their broadcasts for local puff pieces. “They didn’t need to
be hearing from us when they’ve got so much else in the world going on,”
said Scott Anderson, public relations assistant manager at Paramount’s
Carowinds. Even an enticing visual and bona fide news story like the popular
Goosebumps author interacting with 550 school kids at Busch Gardens couldn’t
crack through the day’s main story.
Carowinds officials were also thinking of the needs of the invited VIP, figuring
that most people preferred to stay home with families watching events unfold
in Iraq. “I know I was extremely interested when things started,”
Anderson said. “I wanted to watch it.”
The two Paramount parks decided to cancel their events after President George
W. Bush’s speech the previous Monday setting a 48-hour deadline for Saddam
Hussein’s capitulation. That 48-hour deadline, Anderson said, “was
looking like it would fall right on top of us.” The Carowinds public relations
staff spent the next two full days calling some 1,000 invited guests. The response
from those reached was positive, he said. The response from the media was sincere
thanks. “The media we heard from really appreciated it and were receptive
to coming out at a later date,” Riddell said.
In the end, the cancellations made little difference. Both North Carolina and
Virginia were doused by rain showers that day. “We probably would have
had to cancel anyway because of the weather,” Anderson said. “It turned
out to be an awful day,” said Riddell. While he was disappointed that his
big plans never came to fruition, he felt the park made the right decision,
and it was a decision that made the lost day much more bearable to him than
would have been the case had his big show simply been washed out. Meanwhile,
outstanding weather brought good crowds out to the parks over the weekend even
without the media previews.
Besides, Carowinds had another story going. The park installed metal detectors
at its gates for this season and the PR team pitched that story to local media
the morning of the president’s speech. For the rest of the week, that story
became a hot local angle to war coverage in all the regional outlets. “We
not only got the message out that this is a safe place to visit, but we combined
it with the fact that, ‘Hey, we’re opening this week,’”
Anderson said. “A lot of the coverage we didn’t get from canceling
the media event we got anyway.”
Springing
into action
The summer was a
given. Then Efteling conquered winter. Now the venerable Netherlands theme park
in Kaatsheuvel is aiming to grow its spring season through, well, growth.
That growth will come in the form of 400,000 flowering bulbs and more than 100,000
spring plants, in addition to the park’s voluminous trees. Called Spring
Efteling, the festival from April 1 to the end of June will feature a demonstration
area on the central square utilizing the park’s own gardening and landscaping
staff to answer park guests’ questions and offer advice. Multi-lingual
signs will be placed around the park identifying various plants, trees, fish
and ducks. Supplementing the nature-driven festival will be a sand sculpture
festival running the duration of Spring Efteling and a sheep shearing display
at the end of June.
The purpose of the festival, said Henk Groenen, Efteling’s head of communications,
is to drive attendance during a traditionally soft period, a strategy emboldened
by the park’s immense success with its winter program. “What we are
now trying to do is give extra attention to spring time,” he said. Annual
pass holders make up a small percentage of the 3.4 million visitors per year,
Groenen said, so rather than spurring repeat visits from regulars, Spring Efteling
is seen as a way to get the bulk of the park’s patrons to make bi- or tri-annual
visits.
While bringing attention to its spring beauty, Efteling is in the midst of an
ambitious capital improvement program to solidify the park as a resort destination.
The park is nearing completion on its new theater which will include a 400-seat
restaurant and “great foyer.” The theater will anchor a new themed
district in the park, the Entertainment Realm, that will include more restaurants,
theaters and possibly a wedding chapel. Groenen said the new realm will be similar
to a Universal’s City Walk or Downtown Disney “but done in the Efteling
way, magical like in the 18th century.”
In 2004 Efteling plans to open another new district, the Dream Realm, which
will include a new hotel fashioned as a castle, woodland villas and cottages
that resemble manors. As a place for families to spend their nights in an Efteling-style
themed environment, it literally will be a dream realm, and for Efteling itself
an attempt to catch a dream of expanding its primary market throughout Europe.
A super gift
As part of the growing
synergy between the technologically advanced thrill rides and the longtime DC
Comics superheroes who have inspired those thrill rides’ names, the three
Six Flags parks that this year are installing new Superman-themed rides—Great
Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey; Great America in Gurnee, Illinois; and Six
Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas—are also getting new Superman comic
books to sell in their stores.
It's just such an old-style comic book that’s grabbing attention among
media members covering Six Flags Great America. Susie Storey, public relations
manager for the park, approached DC Comics with a request for Superman comic
books to use as media teasers and promotional gifts in her publicity campaign
for the May 3 opening of Superman Ultimate Flight, a B&M flying coaster.
DC Comics obliged with about 2,000 copies of The 10 Cent Adventure version of
Superman. “We said, ‘Here’s how many we’d like,’ and
they sent them right to me,” Storey said. “They’ve been great
to work with. They’ve been very, very nice.”
The book, in which Superman takes on Amok in various guises, is a perfect primer
for people unfamiliar with the Man of Steel. It briefly details his back story
and displays his many superhero abilities. “It’s talking about how
Superman came from another planet and made his home here, and what we’re
saying (in the ride’s promotional campaign) is that Superman is coming
to make his home in Illinois,” Storey said.
Thematic tie-in aside, the book has served its purpose. Storey sent a copy to
some 500 media members. “A lot have called to say they got it and like
it,” she said. “They are asking when we’re sending invitations
to media day.” She also plans to use the comics for promotional gifts,
and her office mailed copies to the homes of full-time employees. “We not
only want to get the public excited but get the whole park excited as well,”
Storey said. “It’s been really fun. People have made a point to come
into the office and say ‘We got our comic book!’”
Crafting
a scene
They are part of
the environment. In turn, they create the environment.
One section of Parc Astérix near Paris, France, replicates a medieval
French street scene, with timber houses looming over the street, musketeers
dueling in the square, and traditional artisans crafting their wares. The craftsmen—a
stone carver, a wood carver, a potter, a blacksmith and a glazier—are integral
to the street scene, dressed in medieval garb and working in shops open to the
park’s patrons. Guests can watch the artisans at work, ask questions and,
in some cases, buy their goods.
However, these craftsmen are not merely for show. They also provide some of
the park’s authentic theming. The stained glass throughout the park was
the work of the glazier. The blacksmith provided much of the park’s wrought
iron decorations. The stone carver produced Caïus’ head at the front
of the Caïus Pizzarium restaurant, and the stone carver and blacksmith
together built the fountain of the Musketeers.
Some of the work is, frankly, not so authentic. The potter, for example, created
many of the pitchers and bowls used in the restaurants, but they look more comical
than traditional; after all, they are inspired by a series of comic books. “Most
of the time they demand modern-looking things with writings or strange pots
with very bright colors,” said Gilles Cesaire, the Parc Asterix potter
who, in his own Paris studio, specializes in urban pottery. “I wouldn’t
choose that look and color for my own stuff.”
The 40-year-old Cesaire has been a potter since he was 15, turning professional
at age 25. He joined the Parc Asterix scene-making scenery 10 years ago, recruited
by a park director who had visited one of Cesaire’s exhibitions. “I
was very, very frightened at the beginning,” Cesaire said. “You have
to make (the wares) while people are looking at you. It’s like being on
the stage; you feel naked with all the people looking at you.”
Now, he said, he’s “Very cool with this job.” He enjoys demonstrating
his skills and talking with people. “You can see the interest in people.
You can see the children’s eyes when you throw a ball of clay down that
transforms into a vase. It’s magic for them.” This is primarily true
of French children who do not get art lessons in their schools. The school curricula
for British and German children, on the other hand, does include art. “They
are not amazed,” Cesaire said. “They come and most of the time look
at the final product and say, ‘Ah, it’s good or not.’”
Though Cesaire works full days at the park, always “on stage,” the
six-month season allows him half a year to focus on his own studio and exhibitions,
and the two jobs gives him variety in styles and objects. As for his contribution
to Parc Asterix’s scenery, his favorite is a mosaic reproduction of a Greek
mosaic featuring dolphins located on a wall near the park’s Dolphinarium.
Unlike the commissioned cartoonish work, the dolphin mosaic was wholly his creation.
“They had not given any order,” Cesaire said. “I proposed it
for myself, and maybe that’s why it’s my favorite.”
Treasured
map
The first time Nicholas
visited Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, he threw a fit.
The boy has autism, and the environment proved too much of a stimulus for him.
But his parents, Sally Lewis and Henry Chiarkas, tried again, and eventually
Nicholas not only grew accustomed to the park, he grew to love it. Last year
he visited 22 times.
When he couldn’t be in his beloved amusement park, he did the second best
thing: he visited the park’s map in his home, wearing out brochure after
brochure of the cartoon-like grid. Lewis resorted to grabbing whole handfuls
of maps from the park’s brochure racks. Then, at the end of the season
she called the phone number on the Knoebel’s large “you are here”
maps. That phone number put her in touch with the map’s producer, Amusement
Media of Center Strafford, New Hampshire, a firm which provides map services
and marketing for 125 parks across the nation.
“We get a lot of calls from people about our maps in the parks, people
asking for copies or wanting to use them for personal use and web sites. We
answer quite a bit of those,” said Amusement Media President Peter Wensberg.
“This was completely different.”
Lewis’ original call was answered by office assistant Stacy Scribner, who
rode herd on the whole project. When subsequent conversations revealed that
Nicholas liked to draw on the maps, that the maps were proving to be the primary
source for his vocabulary, that he had an empty wall in his room, and that his
fifth birthday was coming up March 12, Scribner developed the ultimate gift
for the boy: a 4-by-8 foot (1.2-by-2.5 meters) laminated Knoebels map with a
set of dry erasable markers. “I”m kind of a sucker for human care
stories,” Scribner said. “She was just really nice, just trying to
help her kid out.”
Amusement Media produced the map at no charge, part of its standard contract
with its clients—the company sells sponsorships and advertising on its
maps. Because of that client relationship, Amusement Media sent the map to Knoebels,
and Joe Muscato, the park’s director of marketing, wrapped the map and
carried it to Nicholas’ home about 20 minutes away to present at his birthday
party.
“It was great, his whole family was there, the aunts and uncles,”
Muscato said. Nicholas was enraptured with the gift. “He has Knoebels memorized,"
Muscato said. "They can call out a ride, any ride, and he instantly points
to it. Or he can stand in front of it and immerse himself in Knoebels. Sally
told me that in the off season he has the maps and video tapes of himself at
Knoebels and that’s what he does. His grandmother said that when you baby-sit
for him, you’ve got to be prepared to watch the tapes. A lot.”
Typically, people with autism become wholly absorbed in an object, subject or
process. “He’s locked into Knoebels,” Muscato said of Nicholas.
“It’s fun to know that something you’re involved in does that.
We’re supposed to be making kids happy.”
Brought to
you by . . .
At the time children
are learning their ABC’s, the Oregon Zoo wants them to learn some TLC for
wildlife and ecosystems. So, the zoo is launching a new education program for
preschoolers and their parents this spring called “Animals from A to Z.”
Beginning April 1 and running through mid-June, the 90-minute sessions will
include a tour, crafts, games and hands-on activity.
The program’s title, however, is not simply a catchy phrase. Each day’s
session will focus on a different animal, starting with Anaconda and going through
Zebra, then filling out the remainder of the schedule with a repeat of the first
nine letters, from Australian Walking Stick to Insects.
For Oregon Zoo’s education programs coordinator, Rex Ettlin, that title
may have proven overly ambitious. “We’re trying to do animals we actually
have here so the kids would see it here,” he said. Oregon Zoo has no jaguars,
for instance, so J proved particularly vexing until Ettlin decided to feature
the Steller’s Jay, a bird which is native to the region and hangs around
the zoo. “We’ll take (the children) up to the marsh where the jays
are commonly found. . .and have a picture on hand as a backup.”
For V, Ettlin decided to feature a vermilion sea star, for X he will feature
the veterinary clinic via “X-rays.” He also had trouble with D, a
letter he had to use twice: he settled on Desert Tortoise and Dwarf Caiman.
For U he listed “urchin,” but before his program was released to the
public somebody had placed the “sea” in front of “urchin,”
appropriately differentiating the echinoderms in the zoo’s collection from
the class members themselves.
Ettlin skipped Q altogether. “I wimped out,” he said, but later wished
he had used “qiviut,” which is the undercoat of a musk ox. “I
could have gone to scientific names, but the kids wouldn’t have known those,”
he said. Wouldn’t qiviut been even more of stretch for children? “Good
point.”
Each class can hold up to 20 people, with no more than five children per one
adult. Only a few weeks into registration, a few classes have already sold out.
“I'm astounded at how much of an influence a particular animal has on registration,”
Ettlin said. “The elephant class completely sold out instantly. The rhinoceros
class sold out.” On the other hand, three animals have inspired no registrants
whatsoever: the Inca tern, the vermilion sea star and those jays.
New Arrivals
It’s
a 4-D movie!
Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia announces the arrival of R.L. Stine’s
Haunted Lighthouse 4-D and Trappers Smokehouse, March 22, 2003. Measurements:
22 minute movie; 650-seat restaurant, 26 items on the menu. Film delivered by
Joe Dante (director), Sam Hamm (screenplay) and R.L. Stine (story).
Frankly, the media missed a treat. Fortunately, the park didn’t miss a
beat.
For the media day special preview of its new 4-D movie—which became a media-less
day (see related story in this LOOP)—Busch Gardens brought
in the Goosebumps author himself, R.L. Stine, and 550 third and fourth graders
from Hampton Roads-area elementary schools. Stine engaged the children for about
a half hour, demonstrating how he creates his famous ghost and suspense stories
by prompting the children to lead him through a developing plot line.
“They shouted out ideas and he created a whole new ghost story from their
suggestions,” said Diane Centeno, public relations manager for Busch Gardens
Williamsburg. “He’d say things like, ‘What happens next? Should
he turn the key or run down the stairs?’”
Stine’s impromptu story writing might have overshadowed the subsequent
sneak preview of the new film except that it rides on Stine’s craftsmanship
as a story teller. Replacing Pirates in its Globe Theatre, the new film
stars Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Michael McKean along with up-and-coming
child stars Sara Paxton and Matt Weinberg. The story sends the children—on
screen and in the audience—on a frightful 3-D adventure through a coastal
lighthouse supplemented by such effects as blasts of air, water sprays, buzzing
seats and ticklers. Though the film went into an existing theater, the seats
were rebuilt for Lighthouse’s special effects.
In
addition to adding to its entertainment palette, Busch Gardens added delights
for its guests' palates with the new Trappers Smokehouse in the park’s
New France section. Replicating a giant log cabin, the new eatery imported the
former Smokehouse Restaurant's (now only a drink stand) popular menu of barbecue
baby back ribs, chicken and brisket, then added such fare as fresh grilled salmon,
smoked chicken and shrimp jambalaya and roasted vegetables. The buffet style
Trappers also offers two new signature desserts, apple cobbler and warm bread
pudding.
“This Smokehouse is monstrous compared to the old one,” Centeno said,
which, in a different light, could also be an apt description of the park’s
new 4-D film compared to the old one.
It’s
a drop tower!
Paramount’s Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, announces the arrival
of Drop Zone Stunt Tower and SpongeBob SquarePants 3-D movie,
March 22, 2003. Drop Zone measurements: 305 feet high (93 meters), 272-foot
drop (83 meters), 72 mph (116 km/h), 56 passengers, 93-second-long ride. Delivered
by Intamin.
Considering Paramount’s Kings Dominion missed out on the opportunity to
get advanced press in the week leading up to its season opener (see related
story in this LOOP), day one attendance surpassed that of the
2002 season's opening day. Reason: “Weather,” said the park’s
public relations manager Mark Riddell. “The weather was absolutely perfect.
There’s a fair amount of cabin fever in the world, and people were so relieved
to be out of their homes.”
The opening of Drop Zone Stunt Tower seemed hardly impacted by the lack
of media coverage. Riddell had been regularly sending construction shots and
updates to thrill ride enthusiasts and media members, creating more buzz than
drop towers typically get. On opening day, Riddell led a pre-opening walk-back
to the ride for about 50 enthusiasts, “the largest number of people we’ve
had for a walk-back,” he said. These were the first public riders, and
they set the tone for the day.
“You see it on their faces,” Riddell said. “The expressions say
the same story for every rider. They are so shocked at the end of what they
just experienced, then they laugh, then they get back in line.” Unlike
Paramount’s first Drop Zone Stunt Tower installation at Kings Island
four years ago, this one does not rotate during its ascent. “That gives
you a reason to get in line again to get a seat on the other side,” Riddell
said. The lack of rotation also allows 16 more seats. Furthermore, this tower
drops from a greater height (Kings Island’s drops from 264 feet) and descends
5 mph faster. Whether repeat riders or first timers, Drop Zone Stunt Tower
maintained a steady 30 minute queue throughout opening day, Riddell said.
It also drew a large non-participatory audience. Located on a plaza in The Grove,
the new ride enticed many guests to lounge about on seatwalls and in the area’s
refurbished eateries. “I never got there on Saturday when there wasn’t
a large group of people sitting in that area,” Riddell said. “That
area of The Grove has become as valuable as beachfront property.”
While Drop Zone Stunt Tower drew the bulk of attention on opening day,
the park’s new 3-D movie starring Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants
definitely has broader appeal and might end up being Kings Dominion’s hottest
new addition this season. “Awareness of SpongeBob was not as great,”
Riddell said of the two new opening day attractions. “After all, when you
come to the park you see Drop Zone from the parking lot. But I think
SpongeBob is one of those great guest satisfiers that will grow with
word of mouth.”
Riddell said the new 3-D movie, which occupies the park’s motion-seat theater
that showed Seventh Portal the past two years, “tracks closely to
the TV show.” In that he’s something of an expert. “I have 2-year-old
twins, so I see it every day.”
It’s
a roller coaster!
Paramount’s Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina, announces the arrival
of The Rugrats Runaway Reptar, March 22, 2003. Measurements: 49 feet
high (15 meter), 1,122 feet long (342 meters), 26 mph (42 km/h), one 20-passenger
train, 90-second ride. Delivered by Vekoma Rides Manufacturing.
Give them another couple of years and Charlotte might just have a whole new
theme park. In the past nine years Paramount’s Carowinds has added or revamped
five themed areas, including the past three consecutive years: the North Gate
plaza in 2001, Carolina Boardwalk in 2002 and now Nickelodeon Central for 2003.
Replacing the Old World Marketplace, the new kiddie area greets guests with
the vibrant, primary colors typical of anything Nickelodeon. Even the pavement
has been painted Nick style. Two existing rides have been re-themed for the
purpose. Powderkeg Flume, an Arrow flume ride, is now The Wild Thornberrys
River Adventure, featuring a new queue area, a newly themed station house,
props along the flume’s wooded course and a couple of water spray features.
The Gauntlet, a Chance flat ride, is now Rocket Power Air Time,
themed after Nickelodeon’s Rocket Power with a bright yellow paint
scheme. Aside from being brighter, the ride has emerged from its hideaway behind
a retail outlet—thanks to the removal of that shop. “I’d seen
it in operation in the past and it didn’t have a prominent role because
it wasn’t as visible,” Scott Anderson, public relations assistant
manager for the park, said of The Gauntlet. “Now it’s easy
to find and easy to see, and I think ridership will definitely increase.”
The landscape’s one bona fide new feature is Carowinds’ 12th coaster,
an inverted junior version from Vekoma, easily that company’s biggest hit
of the past three years. On Carowinds’ opening Saturday Reptar drew
a crowd immediately upon the first guests entering the park, and it maintained
a 30-minute queue all the way to closing time. Aside from beefing up the ride
options of the new Nick Central area, Reptar fills a special niche for
Carowinds; now kids have their own Top Gun, the park’s superb B&M
inverted coaster. “We’ve been positioning it that way,” Anderson
said. “We’ve been saying it’s a smaller version of Top Gun.
I’m hoping that message is getting across.”
Because of cancellation of its media/VIP preview day (see related story
in this LOOP), Carowinds needed a positive promotional message for opening day.
It got help in part from Mother Nature who gifted the park with 70 degree temperatures
(21 degrees Celsius) and a light breeze.
Nickelodeon, though, proved the most alluring lure, and evidence of that was
the element Anderson said appeared most popular throughout opening weekend:
the meet-and-greet station staffed by a continuous succession of 10 Nick characters
throughout the day. “That was probably, crowd-wise, the biggest draw,”
Anderson said. “The kids just love to interact with the characters, and
now they know where those characters are going to be right off the top.”
It’s
a waterpark!
Great Lakes Companies, Inc. announces the arrival of Great Wolf Lodge and Bear
Track Landing in Traverse City, Michigan, March 17, 2003. Lodge measurements:
48 1/2 acres (19.5 hectares) of which the lodge occupies 15 acres (6.7 hectares)
and 40 buffalo roam on 18 1/2 acres (7.5 hectares), 281 all-suite rooms, three
restaurants, 6,500 square feet (604 square meters) of meeting space, two retail
stores, one 7,000-square-foot (650 square-meter) arcade and redemption center
with 125 games, one 3-D interactive theater, one children’s activity room
with a life-size doll house and tree fort, one spa, one fitness center, one
outdoor activity pool. Bear Track Landing measurements: 38,000 square feet (3,540
square meters), eight waterslides, 87,000-gallon (329,331-liter) leisure river,
four story, 12-level interactive treehouse with 60 guest-activated water effects
and a 48-foot (14.5-meter) tall, 1,000-gallon (3,785.5-liter) tipping bucket,
77,000-gallon (291,477-liter) recreation pool, 17,000-gallon (64,352-liter)
zero-depth kiddie pool, two 7,000-gallon (26,498-liter) whirlpools, one snack
bar. Waterpark delivered by National Rock & Sculpture, Neuman Pools, ProSlide
Technology, Pro Tile, SCS Interactive and Water Technology.
Here’s another measurement: 110 inches (279 centimeters). That is the amount
of snow that fell on Traverse City in the month of February, a new record. Not
only were the memories of the harsh 2003 winter lingering among residents, so
was the snow itself as Great Lakes opened its third lodge and indoor waterpark.
No wonder that on a cool, slightly overcast day the mood around the property’s
ribbon-cutting was “very festive,” said Eric Lund, senior vice president
of sales and marketing and a principal of Great Lakes Companies. “It was
a great day to spend inside the indoor waterpark where it’s always 84 degrees
(29 degrees Celsius).”
After first intending to name its lodges for different furry northwoods mammals—Traverse
City originally was to be called Great Buffalo Lodge—the company decided
to stick to a brand name. Besides, future expansion looks like it would outpace
the potential selection of appropriate animal names (a lodge is scheduled to
open in Kansas City, Missouri, in May, and ground-breakings are scheduled in
Niagara Falls, New York; Williamsburg, Virginia; the Poconos in Pennsylvania;
and the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota). So, the new lodge and all
the rest will use the company’s Wisconsin Dells namesake. Meanwhile, Great
Lakes’ second installation, Great Bear Lodge in Sandusky, Ohio (THE
LOOP, March 23, 2001), might be renamed, Lund said.
Though the Michigan lodge goes back to the chain’s originating name, it
continues the company’s practice of building on lessons learned. The new
Bear Track Landing is 5,000 square feet (464.5 square meters) larger than the
Sandusky version, all the pools are a little bigger, the slides and river are
longer, the snack bar larger and the deck space spacier. Lund said that despite
the mathematical reality, the deck “feels as if it’s 25 percent bigger.”
The Traverse City waterpark also has a family tube ride, the 336-foot-long (102.5-meter-long)
Howling Wolf using three-person toboggan-style rafts, that its predecessors
don't have.
For last Monday’s grand opening, the lodge hosted an evening event for
about 1,000 VIPs, and the next day the doors were thrown open for a public open
house. About 4,000 people took self-guided tours interacting with staff stationed
in the various rooms and attractions. All this came after Monday’s official
ribbon cutting attended by about 200 company and community officials. Upon cutting
the ribbon in front of the Grand Lobby’s massive stone fireplace, the gathering
engaged in a champagne toast “to July traffic year-round,” Lund said.
That must have been good champagne. The lodge, opened in time for Michigan’s
spring break traffic, already is booked solid for the next three weeks, Lund
said.
It’s
a roller coaster!
Terra Mitica a Paramount Park in Benidorm, Alicante, Spain, announces the arrival
of Tizona, March 15, 2003. Measurements: 688.8 meters long (2,260 feet),
32 meters high (105 feet), 100 km/h (62 mph), 17,650-square-meter (189,983-square-foot)
footprint, 20-passenger trains. Delivered by Vekoma.
Terra Mitica’s marketing team found the perfect forum for promoting its
newest thrill: “Mortadelo y Filemón,” a popular Spanish cartoon.
In a recent episode the characters searched Terra Mitica for the park’s
new ride, a show that included footage supplied by the park of the looping inverted
coaster.
Among the “characters” on the ride was Miguel García, the park’s
international sales manager. “They knew when they needed people to ride
a coaster for a long time, they could ask me,” said the avowed coaster
enthusiast. He ended up riding six straight hours for still and video cameras;
on a coaster with seven inversions, that’s a hardy effort.
García knew from that experience, however, that Tizona, the park's
third coaster but the first steel one with inversions, would be a hit for Terra
Mitica’s guests. "Tizona" was the name of the sword used by Spain’s
legendary hero, El Cid Campeador, and the coaster got its name by replicating
the maneuvers that weapon would make in battle, swooping up, down, over and
around. “We’re not used to inverted coasters here, so it’s a
new type of coaster for this area,” García said. The coaster’s
first dive in fact swoops down toward the queue area.
Keeping true to Terra Mitica’s emphasis on authentic theming, Tizona’s
station house appears as an ancient Spanish fortress, historically replicated
down to the coat of arms. The coaster itself is royally presented with a yellow
track on purple supports and red trains.
The official first ride came at a media event on the day before the season’s
Saturday opening day. The park’s General Manager John Fitzgerald and Commercial
Director Elizabeth Williams christened the coaster along with members of the
media. Under sunny skies but breezy temperatures the next morning, guests sprinted
from the front gates all the way across the park to the Iberia section where
Tizona is located. “We had something like 50 people waiting before
the park opened, and they ran, ran, ran to the end of the park to be the first
to ride it,” García said. “There was huge expectation for the
first days, and everybody wanted to ride it.” Anticipating the long lines,
the park gave its season pass holders the privilege of moving to the front of
the queue for Tizona.
The coaster helped the park kick off its new identity as a Paramount Park, a
fact now promoted via the park’s name itself. With the coaster’s bright
colors and castle context—not to mention the facial expressions of riders
like García—images of Tizona have dominated the park’s
television and media advertising and adorn billboards in the region. “It’s
really working well for the start of the season,” García said.
It’s
food and games!
Joyland Amusement Park in Lubbock Texas announces the arrival of Jimmy’s
Place, March 15, 2003. Measurements: 450-square-foot (41.8-square-meter) food
service area, 600-square-foot (55.7-square-meter) games area with two games.
Delivered by Bones Framed Pictures, Classic Creations, Coca Cola, Tony’s
Pizza and Toy Works.
Joyland opened the 2003 season March 15 with its “best start yet,”
said President David Dean. While he was glad to have his new capital improvement,
a new foods and games area on the midway, up and operating by opening day he
does not credit it for drawing the record crowds. “The weather had a lot
to do with that, and we weren’t at war yet,” he said of the 80 degree
Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) opening weekend. “You can have spots on
the 10 o’clock news every night, and it won’t do as good as 80 degrees.”
The new food stand serves pizza, nachos, chips, Coke drinks, ice cream bars,
brownies, cookies and cotton candy. A seating area adjoins the stand, but the
park is still building a shade for the seating.
Frog Bog and a muffin tin game comprise the new games area, with the former
performing “really great,” Dean said. “We’re still working
on the prizes, trying to get that tuned in, giving away the right prize at the
right price.”
Jimmy’s is named after David’s dad, a nomenclature the younger Dean
chose more for interdictory reasons than tribute. “About 15 years ago we
opened another food and games area and we served lemonade. It was Thelma’s
brand lemonade. We only had that brand for one year, but the name ‘Thelma’
always stuck. So we said, ‘Let’s give this place a name that would
make some sense,’ so we named it after my dad because he liked pizza.”
It’s
a waterslide!
West Edmonton Mall’s World Waterpark in Edmonton, Canada, announces the
arrival of Tropical Typhoon, February 14, 2003. Measurements: 10.12 meters
high (33 feet), 20-meter-long (65 1/2-foot-long) slide, six-meter diameter (19
1/2 feet) on the inside of the bowl and 8.4-meter diameter (27 1/2 feet) on
the outside curve. Delivered by Van Egdom.
West Edmonton Mall did not schedule any fanfare for the opening of the latest
installation in an ongoing $1.2 million makeover of its 18-year-old waterpark,
even though the big blue Tropical Typhoon is now the park’s eye-catching
centerpiece. Turns out the park got something of a media boost anyway. Just
a week before the opening, a certain romance-based reality show on television
featured a bowl slide at another waterpark. “Hey, free publicity,”
said Kevin Hanson, the mall’s operations manager. “It didn’t
hurt my feelings a bit.”
Tropical Typhoon opened on a cold Valentine’s Day, with the outdoors
thermometer hitting minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit). “It
was 30 degrees Celsius where we were,” said Hanson, who spent the day inside
the 86 degree Fahrenheit waterpark watching reaction to his new slide. “From
the minute it opened there was a constant line for the whole day.” Since
then, “It’s been lined up throughout all the busy days. It’s
obvious that it’s the busiest slide.”
West Edmonton Mall’s waterpark “in the last few years was getting
tired,” Hanson said, so the mall has undertaken several changes. All the
fiberglass slides are being resurfaced, some of the slides have been revised
with new effects, and others are being replaced. Tropical Typhoon, Western
Canada’s first bowl slide replaced Cannonball Run, an enclosed slide with
a free-fall drop into the pool. Typhoon in fact uses the same pool for
its splash down pool. This summer should see the opening of a renovated Raging
Rapids tube river slide on which Van Egdom is adding an enclosed runout
featuring strobe lights.
While much of the makeover is intended to integrate more family activities into
the park's offerings, the mall wanted to keep thrills in the mix and chose the
bowl slide for both its popularity and visual appeal. Tropical Typhoon
is located near several viewing platforms where people can look down into the
bowl. “It’s a big thing not only for the riders but the people watching
it,” Hanson said.
Eric's Turn
Term
of endearment
We have just posted something a little unusual in the Reading
Room: a term paper.
Lynne Mosman, our advertising manager, is going to school. Going back to school,
I should say. She didn't finish her college career 20 or so years ago, and she
recently resumed her track toward a bachelor’s of science in business management
at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. She is participating in that
school’s Off-Campus Program aimed at working adults who already have at
least 62 transferable credit hours. The bulk of the curriculum is concluded
via on-line courses.
She recently finished up one of her courses, English 305 E-Rhetoric which, according
to the course catalog, “introduces strategies for effective communication
on the Internet.” As an employee of Minton Enterprises, Lynne gets full
use of our resources toward any educational pursuit, but she has also taken
the opportunity to use some of her required coursework and electives to supplement
her experience and skills working for THE LOOP. When it came to the term paper,
an assignment requiring a thesis “phrased as an argument,” Lynne chose
to write hers on “The effectiveness of on-line advertising.” As you
might suspect, this is an argument Lynne has been making to many potential LOOP
advertisers.
However, a thesis paper has certain academic standards it must uphold. Lynne
accomplished the appropriate research to find evidence that would bolster her
statement. She followed a specific format in presenting her argument, which
included establishing arguments countering her own stand. From a purely sales
point of view, this may not seem to be our most profitable course of action
publishing counterpoints to THE LOOP's livelihood, but we see this as an educational
piece for our readers who may be considering advertising on the Internet, whether
it’s in THE LOOP or other sites. It at least serves as a primer, encouraging
you to consider your own particular advertising needs and to see the big picture
of Internet marketing.
By the way, she earned an A grade for the paper, and currently is carrying a
4.0 overall average.
After you have read Lynne's piece (click
here), if you want to further discuss web advertising with her, send her
an e-mail at lynne@gettheloop.com, or call her toll-free at 866-902-5667.
Yes, mother
My mother insists I brag on her so, OK.
My parents, Patsy and Dean Minton, pictured above, are visiting with us here in Tucson to take in a little baseball spring training. Parents being wired the way they are, they insisted on helping out in the office. And I’m not about to pass up free help.
But I didn’t have them do just any menial task. Way back when I was in high school, my mother—again, being a mom—started keeping a scrapbook of all my articles published in the local newspaper. At the time, I didn’t know the importance of a “clips book” and humored her indulgence. But upon graduation when I inherited the scrapbook, I realized its importance and I’ve kept it up since—now comprising 18 volumes. The past couple of years I had fallen behind, so mom the originator is happily getting them caught up to date.
Meanwhile, my father has helped with the editing and posting of this particular issue of THE LOOP. But what I’m most thankful for was his solid support of my dreams to be a journalist when I was a teen-ager, and his continuing support of all my endeavors since.
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.
©2003, Minton Enterprises
LLC
All rights reserved
