Volume 3, No. 9. May 9, 2003
New Arrivals
It’s
a roller coaster!
Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, announces the arrival of Superman—Ultimate
Flight, April 17, 2003. Measurements: 109 feet high (33 meters), 2,798 feet
long (853 meters), two 32-passenger trains, 50 mph (80.5 km/h). Delivered by
Bolliger & Mabillard.
Since 9/11, “hero” has probably become the most overworked noun in
the United States. But it’s saying something when at a theme park in New
York City’s backyard, a New York City firefighter and a U.S. Army sergeant
show up to hand out awards to hero worshipers.
The official opening of the park’s new B&M flying coaster served as
the culmination of the “Search for Heroes” essay contest, a solicitation
of 500-word compositions about personal heroes. If the program started as a
way to promote the superhero-named coaster, it evolved into much more, judging
from the number of tears the park’s Public Relations Manager Kristin Siebeneicher
shed while going through some 700 entries.
“We had all sorts of great stories from a woman whose husband helped save
people in the first World Trade Center attack, and a teacher who wrote about
a teacher who inspired him, and a woman who wrote about herself,” she said.
The winning entry by high school student Carly Coulter focused on her brother,
who has autism. The youngest of the 25 finalists was an 8-year old who wrote
about his father who had died before he was born. Another finalist was a 39-year
veteran of the New York City Police Department who wrote about his two sons
who inspired him to come home alive every night. Three finalists emerged from
the same high school creative writing class, prompted to submit an essay as
part of a class assignment. Because all three students resided in different
towns, the Six Flags staff did not know of their connection until after the
finalists were chosen and a parent commented on the coincidence. “So, we
invited the teacher out to give their awards,” Siebeneicher said.
Great Adventure’s marketing staff selected the 25 finalists, then culled
10 to send to a panel of celebrity judges who chose the grand prize winner:
former National Football League all pro running back Otis Anderson, former professional
wrestler Mick Foley, actress Holly Robinson Peete, National Basketball Association
all star Wally Szczerbiak, pop vocal group LMNT, and two local television news
personalities. Foley and Anderson attended the opening ceremony, while Peete,
Szczerbiak and LMNT all sent autographed pictures to the 25 winners. “We
received nice notes from them on how moving the essays were and how they appreciated
being a part of it,” Siebeneicher said.
The morning ceremony took place on a “bitter, bitter” cold day, the
skies threatening rain but never delivering. Once the essay winners were recognized,
Coulter, Foley, Anderson and park General Manager Tim Black flipped a lever
symbolically starting Superman and setting off a pyrotechnics show. Then,
all but Anderson headed for the front row of the first train; he may have been
willing to run up against 3,000 pounds of padded opponents during his NFL career,
but he wasn’t about to fly like the Man of Steel. His teen-age daughter
went in his stead while he served as bag holder.
The media and invited guests enjoyed exclusive ride time for about 90 minutes
before the ride went public at noon. By then, a long line had formed. “People
saw it running and said, ‘I should be on that,’” Siebeneicher
said. “The park wasn’t exceptionally crowded that day, but the line
was lengthy,” in excess of two hours, she estimated.
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
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