Volume 2, No. 8.   May 10, 2002

Surf’s down
When the proprietors of Surf Cincinnati decided they would not be able to open the Forest Park, Ohio, waterpark for the 2002 season, the first people they informed was their primary competitor, The Beach about 10 miles north in Mason, Ohio. The purpose of the pilgrimage to their 17-year rival was to ask The Beach to take care of Surf’s longtime customers.

The Beach obliged, offering Surf season pass holders the opportunity to switch over to Beach season passes at no charge. The Beach also is providing other discounts, such as half-price parking to Surf pass holders, who were accustomed to free parking at the other park, and 2001 Surf season passholders who have not yet renewed can get specially priced Beach season passes.

“I felt it was a positive thing to do,” said Pamela Strickfaden, The Beach’s vice president and general manager. “It’s a way to offer people continued opportunity to enjoy waterpark activities.” She also believed the Schneider family, who bought Surf Cincinnati and the neighboring Harbour Club in 1999, did the smart thing by seeking The Beach’s cooperation. The company’s banquet business continues to be a success, and while the Surf waterpark needed costly upgrades to maintain competitiveness—an investment the Schneiders apparently decided to forego—the owners are hoping to expand their Harbour Club activities, Strickfaden said. “They had a concern to keep good will in the community,” she said. Surf Cincinnati’s owners did not return phone calls yesterday.

Strickfaden admitted that The Beach should see a boost in attendance this year thanks to the Surf Cincinnati situation. However, she said she’s not gloating over the loss of competition that actually founded the Cincinnati waterpark market a year before The Beach opened. “It is a shame,” Strickfaden said. “It’s always a shame to see a facility close, and we empathize with what it takes to run an independent facility. They have had a core of loyal customers who have stuck with them over the years, and we hope they make us their new home.”

Give the world kids
In the week after ascending to IAAPA’s chairmanship last November, Alain Baldacci revealed that one of his goals was to position the association as an organization that could somehow facilitate social change for impoverished children around the world (THE LOOP, December 14, 2001). Now he and, thanks to approval of the association’s board of directors, IAAPA have a partner in the effort: UNICEF.

IAAPA and the United Nations Children’s Fund are ironing out details on a campaign that would allow parks and zoos individually to help raise funds and awareness of UNICEF’s mission. “It’s going to be a voluntary program, and it’s very flexible to meet the means and size of your park,” Baldacci said.

Henry Mui, account manager of corporate partnerships and alliances at UNICEF, has high hopes for the IAAPA iniative. “Being that the parks cater to families and children and we have our own mission to save children’s lives and build their futures, it just made sense to see if we could work together on a global level,” Mui said. UNICEF focuses on five main themes: HIV and AIDS prevention, immunization for diseases, water and sanitation, education, and early childhood development, including building for children “the right to play, to have fun,” Mui said.

Mui currently is working on which UNICEF mission would meld best with that of IAAPA’s and then work on a mechanism to generate funds. “We still have quite a bit of work to do, but we’re excited about the opportunities,” he said. He also pointed to one of UNICEF’s most time-honored traditions, “trick-or-treat for UNICEF” at Halloween. “Usually, that the first time a child gets involved in social responsibility,” he said. “It’s the idea of a child helping another child around the world.”

Baldacci was inspired by a more recent UNICEF fundraising program, “Change for good,” a partnership with international airlines who collect passengers’ spare change left over after exchanging currency. The chairman is cognizant that any program IAAPA endorses needs to be flexible for the wide variety of sizes and types of its member facilities, and it also needs to have minimal impact on operations. The program will also be entirely voluntary. “We believe it is going to start very mall, but if you start adding small participation from here and from there and from other countries, when you put all this together in a few years we will become a very important partner of UNICEF. That’s my hope.”

He has encountered opposition, especially from park owners focusing more on operational aspects than conceptual. However, he noted that IAAPA’s role in Give Kids The World also started out small and conceptual. Baldacci sees the UNICEF program working hand in-hand with Give Kids The World. “In one program we are trying to give terminally ill children a last moment of happiness with their families. That’s a very beautiful program. UNICEF is trying to save the lives of children who don’t have enough food, who suffer from violence of different forms, who never will be able to become a good adult.” If IAAPA can help those children become good adults, he theorized, they could become customers at amusement parks. Mui himself said one of UNICEF’s goals is “building up societies.”

Good societies include fun times. “We’ve seen a lot of children in dire situations, especially in war-torn countries,” Mui said. “They are in a situation where they are going to die. Anything we can do to give a child a chance to smile, it’s a glimmer of hope, a reason to keep alive.”

Positioning a sale
As the Tussauds Group was considering various options to expand Halloween programs at three of its parks in England, the company was exposed to a new sales medium that turned out to be a crucial cog on the way to securing a deal with The Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company.

The New York-based designers will be installing two mazes at Thorpe Park in Surrey and a walk-through show at the mansion on Alton Towers in Alton for late October fright festivals. They also have been contracted to build a yet-to-be-determined walk-through at Chessington World of Adventure in Chessington, England, for this year’s Halloween celebrations. Tussauds’ executives were first drawn by Sudden Impact’s Return of the Mummy maze at the IAAPA Trade Show in Orlando last November. Talks moved on to phone calls and e-mails, but then Sudden Impact Chairman and CEO Lynton Harris widened his use of the Internet in pursuing the deal.

At the time he was filming scenes of his Fright House in Washington, D.C., a show intended for last October but one he canceled in the wake of 9/11 (THE LOOP, September 21, 2001). He taped a personal message to the Tussauds Group—“I played up the Australian-English humor a bit and said we wanted to come over and scare them,” Harris said—and uploaded the whole thing onto a private Web address, which he sent to Tussauds.

“It was very, very useful, considering they’re so far away and the difference in time zones,” said Paul Lanham, creative director for Tussauds Parks. “(Harris) created a unique web site that shows the look of the thing, the audience reaction, the sound. You get a proper understanding of what his things can do.” The same effect could be accomplished via video or DVD, but the Web method allowed not only for same-day viewing but simultaneous screenings during conference calls.

Harris still had to fly to England for face-to-face meetings and presentations to close the deal, but once he had the contract he continued using the private Web site to share design ideas and concepts. “If you don’t have high-speed Internet access it takes a while to download, but it’s still a lot quicker and cheaper than sending it Federal Express,” Harris said. “And you have the ability to change it the next day after you get their inputs.”

“I think it’s a very useful tool, actually, especially if you are showing a show-biz product,” said Lanham, who had never experienced that kind of sales approach before. “It’s not easy to get out and see those kind of things.”

Charitable rebates
An old traditional seaside amusement company has also taken to the Internet as a way to promote personalized sales, except that these sales are tied directly to community fundraising efforts.

Burroughs & Chapin Co., Inc., in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, owners of The Pavilion Amusement Park and several other amusement venues around the seaside resort town, last year launched an on-line ticket sales program for local nonprofit organizations. Under the program, any community organization can apply to Burroughs & Chapin for a Personal Identification Number (PIN). That organization can then give out its PIN number and encourage users to purchase their attraction tickets on-line at www.MyrtleBeachTrips.com. For any ticket purchased with that PIN, 15 percent of the total purchase will automatically go back to the nonprofit organization. People can also use the PIN when purchasing tickets by phone.

“We wanted to offer our local market and the people who visit us over and over again a way to give back to the community,” said Nicole Aiello, hospitality and tourism public relations coordinator for Burroughs & Chapin. In its first summer, the program attracted 15 organizations, she said, ranging from a local fire department raising funds for education programs to a youth baseball team seeking money for uniforms. Aiello would not reveal how much money was turned over to the organizations through the program, but it was successful enough that Burroughs & Chapin decided to expand it to outer markets for this season.

“Myrtle Beach gets a lot of repeat traffic, so we can give back to other communities for being loyal customers as well,” Aiello said. The program, once marketing efforts gear up, will expand to include all of Myrtle Beach’s drive market, reaching as far north as Ohio and New York. Currently the program can be used for season passes and day passes for the Pavilion, Myrtle Waves Water Park, NASCAR SpeedPark, South Beach Adventure Park and the Pirates of the Carolinas dark ride. Burroughs & Chapin may someday add its miniature golf courses and other venues to the program, too, Aiello said.

New Arrivals

It’s a tower ride!
Pleasureland Southport in England announces the arrival of Lucozade Energy Space Shot, May 8, 2002. Measurements: 150 feet high (45 meters), 12 seats. Delivered by S&S Power.

For its newest thrill ride, the Atlantic Coast park gathered an eclectic bevy of notable first riders to join managing director and Blackpool Pleasure Beach impresario Geoffrey Thompson on the debut ride.

Staff and students from the Liverpool University Air Squadron—Royal Air Force pilots in training—were on hand to compare the 4-g blast off of Space Shot with supersonic flight. They could also, if they dared, liken the ride to ejecting from a fighter aircraft. Steve Bennett has been chasing a lifelong dream of riding a rocket to the moon, and is currently heading Starchaser Industries, a company that builds space-reaching rockets. Known throughout Britain as “Rocket Man,” his presence was a natural for a ride touted as a “Space Shot.” It also provided him an opportunity to consider some new ideas in launch technology. National celebrities Neil and Christine Hamilton rounded out the opening day team. He is a former member of Parliament and nationally known wit. She is a hostess of entertainment and current affairs programs on British TV, includingThe Christine Hamilton Show on which she interviews celebrities who have survived troubled times, making her a perfect expert to describe a ride expressly intended to provide customers several seconds of pure fright.

Under a cloudy but dry sky, the debut ride shot off without incident and was well covered by local and national media, proving an old amusement industry maxim: even if you can’t send your rocket to the stars, if you bring the stars to your rocket you are sure to make news.

It’s an Impulse coaster!
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, announces the arrival of Wicked Twister, May 2, 2002. Measurements: 215 feet high (65 meters), 2,700 feet (818 meters) of track, 90-degree angle of track, 450-degree twist of track, 32 passengers. Delivered by Intamin.

Leave it to Cedar Point to put a twist on a ride that is not even new to its own market. The park chose the Intamin Linear Induction Motor-launch Impulse for its 15th roller coaster because Cedar Point lacked that type of ride in its already varied mix. True to the park’s tradition, it made its version of the Impulse larger and higher than any others.

However, it’s the backward twist that sets Wicked Twister apart. Both uprights of the track twist around—not just the forward tower—and the backward twisting perspective gives the ride a singularity that also is a Cedar Point tradition. Such elements were enough to give the park substantial buzz on the Thursday media day, attended by some 350 press representatives and coaster enthusiasts. The ride's advance appeal was also revealed with a Red Cross-sponsored auction for the first public rides the following Sunday. Demand proved so great the park added a second train to the charity auction and saw about $14,000 raised, with a top bid of $700.

“We at Cedar Point have a reputation that when we design and install a roller coaster it will be different from anything in the industry or any other park,” said Daniel Keller, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. “Although perhaps people were reading some of the PR initially and were familiar with the ride, once they got to Cedar Point and had a chance to ride it they said, ‘Wow! this is something special.’”

One of the first-time riders on media day happened to be Dick Kinzel, Cedar Fair’s president and CEO who had been traveling when Wicked Twister was tested by the rest of the Cedar Point management team. “It’s an entirely different sensation,” he said after his experiencing it for the first time. “It has a unique place in the coaster selection here at the park. I’m very pleased with it.” Of his first-time, front row ride, he cited as the most remarkable moment when the train peaked on its backward climb. “When you’re going backwards and we actually stopped you can sort of get your thoughts.” Get your thoughts? “Yeah. You know you’re up there.”

It’s twin tube slides!
Big Kahuna’s in Destin, Florida, announces the arrival of Tiki River Run, May 4, 2002. Measurements: 457 feet long (138 meters), a drop of 54 feet (16 meters), one and two-person tubes. Delivered by ProSlide Technology.

The big crowds that gravitated to Big Kahuna’s first capital improvement in four years on the season’s opening day were prompted by the most effective in-your-face marketing the park could have ever conceived. The park lies right next to U.S. Highway 98, the beach resort town’s main thoroughfare which sees as many as 80,000 automobiles a day. The new tube slides replaced the Big Kahuna ’s original 1987 concrete body slides right at the front of the park, so local residents driving by knew something new was happening.

“People have been watching the construction since the winter, and that built excitement,” said Jenn Minor, the park’s director of marketing. She also purchased advertising across the bottom of the local newspaper’s Sunday front page, a contract she secured for 13 weeks. Thanks to that combination, Minor said, “a lot of people went immediately to Tiki River Run” on an opening day blessed with 90-degree (32 degrees Celsius) sunny weather. Guest comments indicated that first-day riders were well rewarded after the long winter’s wait, Minor said, especially one 12-year-old who proclaimed Tiki River Run “scarily exciting.”

Sounds like a good promotion slogan for a future attraction at the park.

It’s two flat rides!
Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania, announces the arrival of Meteor and a Tilt-a-Whirl, May 4, 2002. Meteor measurements: 48 seats on platforms that circle up to 65 feet (20 meters) above the ground. Meteor delivered by Zamperla, Tilt-a-Whirl delivered by Sellner Manufacturer.

Though the Zamperla Hawk 48, its counter-rotating arms looping face-to-face riders in a vertical circle, can be an attention-grabber at any amusement park, the Dorney staff decided to “lay a little low,” this year, said Chris Ozimek, the park’s public relations manager. After the hit installation of the inverted roller coaster Talon last season, this year’s capital improvements of two midsize rides and a couple of new show stages didn’t seem to merit a media day or grand opening hullabaloo.

Events conspired to give the park and its new ride a celebratory startup, anyway. First there was the Eta Aquarids meteor shower, a true astronomical event that peaked that Saturday night and proved, well, heaven-sent for Ozimek. “Good timing, huh?” he said. “I was really happy to find that when I was digging around for (Meteor-related references).” The connection prompted one Allentown television newscast to broadcast its weather forecast live from the park that weekend.

The next day came a more earthy show: more than 1,000 Harley Davidson motorcycle riders concluding a fundraising parade for the Muscular Dystrophy Association at the park, the second year in a row the bikers used Dorney as their destination. “We had a lot of media at the park for that,” Ozimek said. The media coverage continued through this week, with even a Washington, D.C., morning news team telecasting live from Dorney.

How did the park’s Meteor fare in all this activity? With excellent weather prompting “nice crowds,” Ozimek said, Meteor shared top-draw status with Talon and the venerable Steel Force roller coaster. Not bad for what was planned to be a low-key opening.

It’s a water ride!
Adventureland in Des Moines, Iowa, announces the arrival of Saw Mill Splash, April 28, 2002. Measurements: 60 feet high (18 meters), 270-foot slide (82 meters), six person rafts. Delivered by Whitewater West.

Opening day brought a first for this 28-year-old amusement park: it didn’t open.

The weather forecast for that Saturday called for heavy rains and cold temperatures all across Iowa. “That’s not a good mix, obviously,” said Ryan Sullivan, the park’s communications director. “We made the decision before we opened up to not even open.” Sunday’s weather arrived in a much better mood, a bit cool and overcast but no rain, and the park saw a decent turnout, most of which headed directly to the first-in-North America water ride, which maintained 20-minute-long queues throughout the day.

Adventureland placed Saw Mill Splash in its Outlaw Gulch area at the back of the park. “Usually it’s the last place people go to because it takes a while to get back there,” Sullivan said. “It was the busiest area throughout the day. People went right back there.” For the family amusement park, Saw Mill Splash provides something of a signature ride. Owner Jack Krantz was looking for a water ride—a popular draw for summer-sweltered Iowans—that could cater to families. He also wanted something different. “This is a perfect fit,” Sullivan said, and with its waterwheel and geysers it is an attractive piece of fun, too.

The true test came the next Saturday when the park basked under 80-degree sunshine (27 degrees Celsius), a forebear of Iowa’s steamy hot summer. “The ride was packed the whole time,” Sullivan said.

It’s a multi-habitat exhibit!
The St. Louis Zoo in St. Louis, Missouri, announces the arrival of River’s Edge, April 27, 2002. Measurements: 10 acres, four continents represented, 11 species, three interpretive outposts, one aquarium, one eatery and one conference center. Delivered by Dave Mason & Associates (architects), Jones & Jones (conceptual design).

The zoo’s marketing team had worked up a perfect script to celebrate the opening of the third and final phase of its $27 million “crown jewel” exhibit which uses a mythical river as its theme. The zoo’s new President and CEO Jeffrey Bonner was supposed to oversee a ceremonial pouring of the waters at the Saturday morning public opening, but Mother Nature stepped in to do the honors instead. “We had a monsoon that day,” said Kevin Mills, the zoo’s director of marketing. The whole celebratory festivals, which featured local performers and artisans representing international cultures, had to be moved to the various indoor locations.

Despite the deluge, 4,000 people visited the zoo that day, and on Sunday when the sky cleared and the artists moved their acts outdoors, 23,000 visitors showed up. The numbers rose even higher last week as word-of-mouth marketing kicked in.

The zoo has given its community a treasure of an exhibit, one where the barriers between animals and visitors seem nonexistent. “This is an exhibit where you can get closer to the animals than ever before,” Mills said. “And through your suspension of belief, you can achieve a thrill thinking those animals could reach out and touch you, even if you can’t touch them.” The zoo has been marketing Rivers Edge with such slogans as “You’re not at the zoo, you’re in it,” “How close is too close” and “Keep repeating: it’s only a zoo; it’s only a zoo.”

While the general public is enamored with the seamless Asian elephant exhibit and the underwater viewing of swimming hippopotamus, the zoo has created a pioneering conceptual standard for the whole zoo industry. Rather than put the focus on species or geographic habitats, Rivers Edge looks at a variety of animals who live along the rivers in South America, Africa, Asia and North America. The trail encounters seven cascading waterfalls and moseys past capybaras, bush dogs, giant anteaters, black rhinoceros, warthog, carmine bee-eaters, spotted hyenas, cheetahs, and dwarf mongoose, in addition to the elephants and hippos. “There’s a commonality of these species which live along the world’s rivers,” Mills said. “This is an attempt to describe how closely related human beings are to that wildlife and those wild places, because people congregate along those waterways.”

St. Louis, sitting at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and innately linked with riverboat lore, is a natural for such a message. And natural is the keyword to the St. Louis Zoo’s latest achievement. No wonder Mother Nature wanted to take part in the ceremonial pouring of the waters.

Rebirths

It’s an interactive exploratorium!
Blackpool Pleasure Beach announces the rebirth of Impossible, April 24, 2002. Measurements: Five sections, 18 seats on the swing.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach took its always popular mirror maze, gave it a 21st century makeover and joined it with the 1954 haunted swing in a revitalized exhibit that invites children to experience the wonders of physics and play with the laws of nature. The 750,000 Sterling Pound (US$1.1 million) interactive exploratorium is housed in a neo-surreal redesign of the original 1927 hall of mirrors so that it recalls the work of Gaudi, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Spanish architect’s birth. The mirror maze and hall remain, but have been outfitted with UV lighting. The hall of mirrors then leads into a gallery of interactive displays of optical illusions, aural illusions and other sensory tricks. This section ends with the former Haunted Swing which has been re-themed as Sir Isaac Newton’s Swing, offering a lesson in gravity.

Because Impossible’s purpose is to combine education and fun, the park debuted the attraction with 9- and 10-year-olds from nearby Thames School, who were greeted by Fred Dinenage, host of the long-running children’s television show How, a star in the children’s eyes.

Eric's Turn

Of friends and fun
Any time I need my enthusiasm batteries rejuvenated, I find visiting an amusement park usually does the trick, even though that’s my job. One park in particular always recharges my mood: Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

I was there last week to cover the opening of its 15th roller coaster, Wicked Twister (see story above). It is always a pleasure to not only experience the park itself (immaculate and fresh, even when it is closed to the public) but to enjoy the fellowship of the team that runs the park, like Vice President of Maintenance Monty Jasper (above center with Intamin President Sandor Kernacs on the right and me on the left). Spending a day touring the park with that management team reiterates the joy that comes when you successfully maintain high standards and professionalism. Meanwhile, sharing a first ride with CEO Dick Kinzel on a coaster reminds you of the child’s joy that our products bring even the highest-ranking members of our industry.

Another park that has a way of bringing an automatic smile to my face—even when I go nowhere near it—is Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana. Being there is like stepping into a living Rockwell illustration in feel and friendliness. The operators there take the notion of "family park" to so many dimensions: the Koch family owns and operates it and the venue is geared for a family audience, but also it treats its staff and guests alike as part of the family. Even journalists, too. This week I received a birthday card from Holiday World signed by much of the management staff, a heartwarming surprise for which I want to express my sincere thanks.

I have maintained often that it is the people in this industry that keeps me in the industry. As a freelance writer I have covered dozens of trades, and the amusement industry by far has the friendliest and most dedicated personnel.

One organization within the industry that is among the best at fostering such dedication is the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and we at THE LOOP are proud to announce that we have become members of the AZA. As with other trade associations, the AZA serves as a collegial network and provides training and government affairs services. The AZA also spearheads many environmental, conservation and animal welfare missions, utilizing its membership not only to help raise funds and awareness but also to lend professional expertise in incidences of animal crises around the world. The AZA also runs an arduous accreditation process, but the tag "AZA-acredited zoo" carries tremendous prestige because of the organization's high standards.

If you click to our home page or indexes you will see the AZA logo in the left-hand column, along with those of IAAPA and IAHA. All of those click through to those organizations’ web sites. Find time to explore those sites and discover for yourself the spirit of mission that underlies the motivation of so many of the operators and suppliers in the amusement industry.

Clarification
In the April 26, 2002, issue of THE LOOP, a New Arrival announcing the opening of Adventures in Imagination at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, listed only one supplier. The museum was delivered by Bruce Robinson, Sandlot Pictures, UV/FX, Bandit Lites and Maltbie. The motion theater was delivered by JHP Productions, MY Design and IWERKS. The full list has been added to THE LOOP, and we wanted to alert you to the change.

©2002, Minton Enterprises LLC
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