|
In
this issue:
(To
go directly to a story, click on a blue keyword below):
Cedar
Point exceeds expectations;
Last-minute
loan gives Conneaut Lake Park a fighting chance;
The
Beach moves from teens to teachers for summer hires;
75th Anniversary
gives Rye Playland impetus for fund-raising events;
Joyland
in Texas draws its share of celebrity appearances;
Holiday
World combines community service with staff training on disability
Play Day;
Lagoon
reminisces the good ol' days with jail;
We welcome the
Hubba Hubba Highway to Busch's Water Country USA,
a giant ride and kiddie area to Paramount Canada's
Wonderland, two rides to Holiday World, an
Africa-themed carousel to Toledo Zoo, a Swatter
and water ride to Six Flags AstroWorld, Zonga
(and sea lions) to Six Flags Marine World, some
Lightnin' to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, a ghost
train to Parc Asterix, and Supermans to Six
Flags Great America and Six Flags Great Adventure;
and,
We discuss the
aura atop Cedar Point.
For
a printable version of this newsletter,
click
here
For
more information on the facilities and organizations featured in
this newsletter, visit our Connections Page.
click here
For
back issues of THE LOOP,
click here
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| New
Arrival—Special |
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Dragster
rode to the top of the charts the day it debuted (above) as the
short ride time and shortened trains didn't lower anybody's opinion
of the world's Top Thrill (below). Photos
by Eric Minton/THE LOOP.
It’s
420 feet!
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, announces the arrival of Top
Thrill Dragster, May 4, 2003. Measurements: 420 feet high (128
meters), 2,800 feet (853.5 meters) of track, 90 degree angle of
ascent and descent, 121 mph (195 km/h), six 16-passenger trains,
20 second ride. Delivered by Intamin.
Many of the comments were unprintable. It’s nigh near impossible
for even the best writers to translate into English or any other
language the exhalations of pent-up fervor emitting from the mouths
of the many coaster enthusiasts disembarking from what is now the
world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster.
The general gist of impressions among enthusiasts is that Cedar
Point’s new record-setter didn’t just surpass expectations,
it off-the-chart surpassed expectations. Said Justin Garvanovic,
editor of First Drop Magazine: “I’d have to say
this is the best thrill ride anywhere.” That quote came after
a couple of rides and the unprintable type of commentary he had
been offering.
So, the $25 million ride the whole industry has been eyeing this
year with a mixture of awe and trepidation was a huge hit upon its
debut, pun intended. But it’s debut was not nearly as smooth
as Top Thrill Dragster itself.
Four hundred and twenty feet may be impressive, but it’s also
vulnerable. Building to that height is hard to do along Lake Erie’s
windy coastline. On top of that, Dragster was constructed
during one of Ohio’s harshest winters ever. “We’re
in the shape we’re in today because we planned on having a
bad winter, but the winter lowered the boom, really hammered us,”
said Monty Jasper, the park’s vice president of maintenance
and construction. “We started testing on March 1, and we needed
every moment all the way up to yesterday.”
Cedar Point personnel didn’t get their first rides on Dragster
until just a couple of days before the scheduled media preview.
That was a little close for comfort, but that ride at least bolstered
confidence in Top Thrill Dragster’s potential impact.
“When we rode it the other day, the management team was just
screaming,” said Bill Spehn, vice president of operations.
“We were excited about the experience, and we’re a pretty
hard group sometimes to say that.”
The
weather continued hounding Dragster right up to its debut.
The night before that Thursday’s media preview a lightning
strike knocked out one of the computer control components. The morning
of the media event thunderstorms in the area shut Dragster
down, canceling live morning show broadcasts. Then, what Spehn called
“Cedar Point pixie dust” came into play just before the
scheduled opening ceremony; the sun pierced the cloud cover. By
mid morning the sky was clear blue, despite radar showing a band
of thunderstorms marching through much of the region. The skies
above Cedar Point stayed brilliant until the media day concluded
at 7 p.m. (19,00) when stormy weather quickly reasserted itself.
Given the delay in live TV and radio rides among the 800 media members
in attendance, and given the temperament typical of a just-completed
high-tech ride, Top Thrill Dragster’s operations were
far from smooth on media day. Many reporters and guests waited up
to four hours to get on. One train rolled back into the launch area
after failing to make the ascent, a roll back cheered heartily by
the enthusiasts on board at the time (who were regarded with envied
by those watching). The park ran only five of the trains, and those
were missing one car each, carrying only 10 passengers per trip.
“We never start at full capacity,” Jasper said. “We’re
a conservative company. We don’t want to dance headlong into
some problem.”
That conservative tendency continued when the ride opened to the
general public for the first time on Sunday still using the four-car,
five-train operation. From the moment the park’s gates opened
and the first guests had sprinted down the midway to Dragster’s
entrance, the queue extended to a four-hour wait, said Robin Innes,
Cedar Point’s director of public relations. That was in part
due to the first several trains carrying the 96 winners of Cedar
Point’s traditional first-ride auction to raise money for the
local chapter of the Red Cross. The auction tallied a total of $35,000
with top bidders—and first-train front seat riders—13-year-old
David Lutz and his father Charles Lutz of Orchard Park, New York,
bidding, respectively, $1,504 and $1,503 to ride together.
Spehn likes to call Top Thrill Dragster the culmination of
a “two-three-four” punch: Magnum XL the first full-circuit
coaster to surpass 200 feet in 1989, Millennium Force the
first to surpass 300 feet in 2000, and now Dragster the first
to surpass 400 feet. “It’s not an ego thing, it’s
a business decision,” said Cedar Fair CEO Dick Kinzel of Cedar
Point’s ongoing drive to remain head-and-shoulders above the
competition. “It’s fun, it’s great for the ego, but
you can’t put ego over what’s good for business.”
But, he admitted, 420 feet is mostly about ego. “I wouldn’t
be honest with you if I didn’t tell you we could have made
this at 360 or something,” he said. “But certainly there
was magic in going four, and then we knew that a park in California
had something a little over four, so, obviously, we designed it
to go at least over whatever the competition was.”
Nevertheless, what happens way up there is not nearly as important
as what happens on the ground. The most magical moment of media
day came at the end when Spehn told Dragster’s operators
they could ride the coaster. When the train filled with young Cedar
Point employees moved into the launch area along the midway and
in front of a grandstand, the remaining enthusiasts and reporters
strolled alongside, shouting encouragement to the riders and trying
to get them to raise their arms (they did not). The train suddenly
sped off, reaching 121 mph in four seconds. The enthusiasts all
cheered—for the ride and the people who run it.
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Back
from the brink
She
misspoke. But the words of Betty Tolbart, a member of Conneaut Lake
Park Preservation Society, aptly reflected her resolve: “We’re
not going to go down fighting, we’re going to go up fighting.”
It is a resolve that runs through the community surrounding the
tiny amusement park in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, that has battled
closures, lawsuits, outdated sewage systems, back taxes and mounting
debt to try to stay alive—rather, this year, to come back to
life. Just a week ago, the park did not have the cash to open as
scheduled on Memorial Day weekend.
But last week local car dealer Jim Miller stepped forward with a
$150,000 loan. “It gives us the money to open up, pay the back
bills, get the gate open, get us the parts we needed and cover the
insurance,” said Gene Rumsey, Conneaut Lake Park’s general
manager. The park’s lack of insurance coverage meant volunteers
could not help ready the park the past few weekends, leaving the
park scrambling to get ready in time and get the word out of its
revival. “We’ll be open,” Rumsey insisted. “We’ll
have maybe three rides that won’t be running, but unless something
disastrous happens, we’ll open.”
The loan still must be approved by Crawford County Judge Gordon
R. Miller, who is overseeing the park while its ownership remains
in litigation. The hearing is Tuesday. “Anything could go wrong,”
Rumsey said of the hearing, “but nobody expects anything to
go wrong.”
That would virtually be a first for this 111-year-old park sitting
on Pennsylvania’s largest natural lake. Yet, even with the
ongoing court battles and court-appointed custodian Herbert Brill
meeting dead end after dead end as he worked all winter to raise
cash to get the park open, the community seems to be rallying around
Conneaut Lake Park. And why not? Rumsey estimated the park is worth
$20 million to the local economy.
“The community is really, really interested, really getting
involved this year,” said Gloria Shea, a member of the local
historical society and the Friends of Conneaut Lake Park, a volunteer
organization. “Last year we had a ton of volunteers to run
the rides because college kids had to go back to school before Labor
Day. It was amazing how many people we did get. It was encouraging.”
She is hoping that momentum swings into this season, too. Several
volunteers have committed to working at the park the next two weeks
prepping it for a season opener Memorial Day weekend. The Friends
will run a garage sale that weekend in the park's convention center
with all proceeds going toward the debt payoff. Shea is counting
on the typical Memorial Day weekend crowd giving the garage sale
a boost, and the garage sale itself enticing more people to visit
the park that first weekend. “We haven’t really advertised
it yet, but we’re already getting a lot of donations,”
she said; so many donations of clothing, furniture and other wares
that she hopes to run monthly garage sales throughout the season.
Other fundraising events are planned, such as concerts on the lawn,
plant donations for a memory garden, and large lollipops lining
the kiddie land walkways that, for a donation, will bear children’s
names.
This winter the park gave up ownership of its sewer system to the
Conneaut Lake Area Joint Municipal Authority, which not only will
renovate the system but erased a $400,000 debt the park owed on
past repairs. The new arrangement should save the park about $60,000
a year, Brill estimated. And now that the park has cash to open,
Rumsey believes Conneaut Lake Park’s revenues will cover operating
costs for the season.
However, things looked rosy this time last year, too. Conneaut Lake
Park and its adjoining hotel still need significant capital upgrades,
is handcuffed by debt and still working through legal challenges.
“It’s a finger in the dike,” Shea said of the $150,000
loan. “We do have to move forward and we have to get some grants
and we have to stay open longer than we stay open. I think (the
park) has a wonderful future, but it’s going to take a lot
of people’s time to do it.”
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Labor
pool
Like most waterparks, The Beach in Mason, Ohio, likes to visit local
high schools to recruit its seasonal employees. But Beach recruiters
spend as much time in the teacher lounges and bus garages talking
to prospective employees as they do among students.
“Years ago they would say, ‘That’s a place for kids,’
they couldn’t envision what they might do here,” Pamela
Strickfaden, the waterpark’s vice president and general manager,
said of the adult seasonal staff. “Now as you change that and
more older people start to work with us, they say, ‘Yeah, I
can work there.’”
That they would want to work at The Beach became crucial for the
park three years ago when Strickfaden decided she would no longer
hire anybody under the age of 16. “Honestly, we did that because
the rules and regulations governing the (employment) of 14-year-olds
and 15 year-olds are so restrictive, and you are absolutely fighting
the kids” who wanted to work longer hours, she said. “We
were auditing and going through the paperwork and we’d go,
‘Uh oh, this person clocked out 15 minutes late,’ and
finally I said, ‘This is it. We’re not doing it anymore.’”
The decision especially threatened the park’s retail division,
where the bulk of younger employees gravitated, and a few weeks
out from that season several jobs had yet to be filled. But they
were filled in time, and the problem never occurred again, Strickfaden
said. This year, the waterpark already has received about 800 applications
to fill its seasonal staff of 500; in recent years the park would
get about 480 applications prior to the season opener.
Many of the adults end up working in positions requiring strong
communications skills, like guest relations, season pass processing
and receptionists. Retail, too, is getting older workers. All that
has allowed the fields traditionally filled by older workers—such
as security, first aid and landscaping—to blend more easily
with the rest of the park’s workforce.
“I think a number of years ago, when you came in to work as
an older person and you’re kind of a fish out of water, we
tended to handle you with kid gloves,” Strickfaden said. No
more. “They are working as part of this company. They have
to be able to assimilate.”
A job at The Beach could appeal to older adults for the same reason
it appeals to teens: it is a fun place to work and they get several
perks, including season passes. The Beach, in turn, gets employees
who arrive with many established, valuable skills.
One of the advantages of hiring sub-16 teens—they tend to be
the most eager workers—has not been lost by hiring adults,
either, said Tara Nahrup, The Beach’s manager of media and
public relations. “To come in and work at The Beach part time
when you’re a teacher, you’re going to be earning a lot
less than you do normally. They really have to build their hours
in order to make the kind of money that they’re looking for,
so they want more hours just as much as the young ones.”
Unlike the young ones, though, they legally can get more hours.
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The
Rye time
Timing couldn’t be worse. When you are a government-funded
park, as is Playland Park in Rye, New York, which is part of the
Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation,
these days of constricted government coffers can restrict your ability
to run your operation, let alone make improvements.
Timing couldn’t be better. When you are turning 75 years old,
as is Rye Playland, you have a perfect fundraising medium available
to you.
Rye Playland is taking advantage of its 75th season, which opens
tomorrow, to raise money that will supplement entertainment activities
in the park, said Peter Tartaglia, the Playland’s director
of marketing. “We have a new stage this season that will be
ready in June, and we plan on doing more concerts and more concerts
of higher caliber,” he said. As part of its yearlong anniversary
celebration, the park also will hire actors to dress in 1920s costumes
and work as greeters at the park’s most historic rides, the
Dragon Coaster, Carousel, Derby Racer, Old Mill and the Whip.
Working through the Friends of Parks, Recreation and Conservation
in Westchester, Inc., Rye Playland is engaging in a number of fundraising
activities throughout the season. The most elaborate took place
Wednesday evening, a dinner gala at the Westchester County Center.
With prices ranging from $4,000 to $10,000 per table (seating 10
each) or $350 per individual reservation, the gala attracted 170
people Tartaglia said. The evening included a silent auction and
the opportunity for patrons to purchase ads in the gala journal.
Tartaglia did not yet know the final tally.
The park also is offering The Walk of Fame for which corporations,
families and individuals can purchase a 6-by-8-inch (15-by-20 centimeter)
brick etched with their name or logo. “The Walk of Fame is
something we’re going to keep open to the public for the entire
season; when we have enough bricks we’ll install one section,”
Tartaglia said. “We think that will be very successful once
the crowds start coming.”
This is the first time in memory the venerable park has engaged
in any fund raising efforts for itself, Tartaglia said, but the
occasion of the 75th anniversary presented an ideal opportunity.
“Our budgets come from Westchester County, and we are receiving
similar funding this year to what we received last year,” but
that makes for shortfalls due to rising energy and insurance costs.
“We needed more to supplement our offerings. And (the fund
raising campaign) is a good way to bring attention to the 75th anniversary.”
What timing.
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Figments
of imagination
Many of the world’s most popular celebrities are not real.
The nice thing for budget restricted parks and zoos is that many
of those celebrities reside in your very neighborhood, down at the
local cable station.
“Last year we had Spider-man,” said David Dean, president
of Joyland Amusement Park in Lubbock, Texas. “We’re trying
to do it this year with Hulk.”
Dean works with his local cable provider to bring costumed characters
out to his park, which the cable company can do if it broadcasts
the cartoons featuring the characters and has access to their licenses.
Among the characters available are Marvel heroes, Nickelodeon toons
or Scooby-Doo’s gang. Joyland has had actors who play the character
come in from Dallas, and the park has had costumes arrive in Federal
Express packages for someone at the park to wear for the day. “A
friend of my wife’s got to dress up as Dexter,” Dean said.
“Sometimes the cable rep pays part of the fee for them coming,
sometimes we pay part of the fee,” Dean said. “A lot of
times the cable company can work with the park’s budget. They
can bring in whatever you can afford.” Nickelodeon characters,
for example, tend to cost more than Marvel characters, said Dean,
who backed off of SpongeBob SquarePants when he saw the appearance
fee. But Hulk would cost him about $3,000, a fee which other sponsors
could subsidize.
The character generally greets guests at the park, works an autograph
stand and poses for pictures. The park advertises the appearance
which, Dean said, could prompt people to show up merely to see the
character. “They could come here and go, ‘Hey, while we’re
here, let’s go ride something,’” said Dean, whose
Joyland is a pay-as-you-go park. He tries to schedule the appearances
early in the season and on days when they are more apt to bolster
attendance, like a holiday weekend.
Naturally, the character has to have some drawing power. Dean wants
Hulk this year because the Hollywood film based on the character
is scheduled to be released this summer. In doing so he hopes to
catch lightning in a bottle twice, after his experience with Spider-man’s
appearance last year.
“Sometimes you hit these things and all the pieces fall into
place, and sometimes it’s more difficult,” he said. “Spider-man
made a great BIG difference. A lot of people came out to see Spider-man.
I’m just guessing he did 500 autographs.”
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Playfulness
The
day before Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari begins its
daily operations for the season, the park’s employees experience
one of their more important and enjoyable orientation sessions.
On that day, the Santa Claus, Indiana, theme park opens its gates
to 2,000 children with disabilities who can enjoy any attraction
in the amusement park they wish.
The annual Play Day, now in its 11th year and scheduled for May
14 this year, is run in coordination with the Easter Seals Rehabilitation
Center in Evansville, Indiana. The center, which serves about 30
counties in southern Indiana, southern Illinois and western Kentucky,
sends invitations to that region’s schools. All the children
with disabilities—whether mobility, mental, visual, aural or
other disability—arrive in school groups for the day which
lasts from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (14,00). Admission is $7 per child,
the entire fee going toward the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center.
“For us it’s a wonderful way to start off the season in
that there’s so much joy that day,” said Paula Werne,
Holiday World’s director of public relations. “Kids are
bouncing with excitement. Santa says he has to get ready for the
day because he gets so many bone crushing hugs. He’s bruised
in the ribs afterward.” Pam Kirk, the Rehabilitation Center’s
public relations director, also described watching the children
as they enter the park’s gates. “You can just tell from
the excitement that they have looked forward to this all year. It’s
a big day for a lot of those kids.”
Play Day is not, however, solely a feel-good day. It allows Holiday
World employees an opportunity to work with guests who have a variety
of disabilities. Not only can the hosts and hostesses practice ride
loading and service situations, but the experience helps allay many
of their fears and encourages them to treat such customers with
the same respect and dignity afforded guests without disabilities.
“Everyone who works that day has this new comfort level,”
Werne said. “It’s like, ‘That was OK, I’m OK
now.’”
Play Day, in fact, grew out of the park’s efforts to improve
its accessibility for people with disabilities. While developing
its training manual and auditing its facilities, the park approached
the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center for advice. “That led
to the idea of doing something special for kids with disabilities
who might not be able to enjoy a quality amusement park, because
it was too difficult to do so, or maybe the families couldn’t
afford it,” Kirk said. With Play Day, “People could come
and enjoy themselves at a leisurely pace, and the staff could concentrate
on making it accessible. This particular day provides them an opportunity
to take a fresh look every year at accessibility.”
Though a training opportunity for Holiday World’s staff, the
days usually run smoothly, Kirk said. “I’ve been attending
Play Day eight years, and I can’t think of a time when I’ve
seen a need to step in because they do such a great job. The park
is, I believe, one of the most accessible in the country. The whole
staff makes it a priority, and they welcome people with disabilities
every day they are open.”
The Rehabilitation Center also benefits from the occasion. The funds
gathered on that date go toward purchasing therapy equipment the
center otherwise would not be able to afford in its operational
budget. “That one day of the year gives back (to people with
disabilities) for years and years,” Kirk said.
It looks like it will continue to do so for years to come, too.
“Holiday World came up with this idea themselves and they perpetuate
it,” Kirk said. “We don’t go back to them and say,
‘Would you please do that one more time?’ They always
come to us and say, ‘This is the date.’”
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Lagoon's
jail has a more hospitable role than in days past. Photo by
Eric Minton/THE LOOP.
A
keeper
One
of the major elements of Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah,
is Pioneer Village, a reconstruction of a typical frontier community
set in the late 1800s. The village comprises 42 buildings, most
of those authentic originals and all but one of those moved to the
site from all around Utah. Many are museum pieces, furnished as
they would have appeared 150 years ago, while others house special
exhibits and retail outlets.
The one building remaining on its original site is a jail. The three-cell
stone building stood at the entrance to the Lagoon amusement park
back at the turn of the 20th century when it was still a trolley
park. Troublemakers would be thrown into the jail, where they would
have to spend the night before taking the morning train back to
the city.
Such a structure many a park would consider an asset, but, obviously
from its appearance, Lagoon hasn’t used the jail for 84 years.
During that interim, the park’s Director of Marketing Dick
Andrews said, “It’s tempting, isn’t it?"
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Eric's
Turn
Photo
by Chris Godsey/www.rideworld.com
The
real thrill
Let’s talk racin’.
Sarah and I once attended a Winston Cup stock car race in Rockingham,
North Carolina. I was on assignment, doing a story about pit crew
chiefs. Sarah’s uncle, Billy Hagan, was then the owner of the
car driven by Sterling Marlin, so we spent the race weekend in their
infield garage and the race in their pit stop area.
During that weekend I met Marlin and encountered many other NASCAR
drivers. But the moment that sticks out most in my memories came
when I was walking along the garage road, and I felt a presence
behind me. What does a presence feel like? Energy, palpable, measurable,
a force field you could enter like passing from an air conditioned
room into the Arizona desert day. I turned around, and there was
Richard Petty, wearing his trademark sunglasses and cowboy hat.
Just then, a couple of fans rushed up asking for his autograph,
and with a natural smile and greeting, he obliged.
I used to be a music critic covering rock and country musicians.
I’ve been a sports writer assigned to covering professional
golf and Major League Baseball. In both of those fields, and in
covering the amusement industry which sometimes engages film stars
and government officials, I have met countless celebrities. Some
I have questioned among press conference crowds, some I have interviewed
one on one, and a few have evolved into casual friendships. Some
celebrities I merely passed without communication or I observed
from a distance.
Among all of these a few stand out for carrying about them an aura
of greatness: country music legend Roy Acuff, Atlanta Braves pitcher
John Smoltz, Charleston, South Carolina, Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr.,
and, though she’s not a celebrity, my wife, Sarah. The greatest
aura of all was that surrounding Richard Petty. I didn’t stop
to talk to him, probably because I was awestruck. And you know what?
Not only was Rockingham's the first race I’d ever attended
in person, it was the first NASCAR race I’d ever seen, period.
I knew little about the sport, and I only knew Richard Petty had
won a lot. But upon seeing him in person, it brought to mind something
Kent tells King Lear in Shakespeare’s play: “You have
that in your countenance which I would fain call master—authority.”
Let’s talk racin’.
Last week I attended the media preview of Top Thrill Dragster
at Cedar Point (see story above). For my first
experience on the 420-foot, 121-mph coaster I was fortunate to hitch
a ride with Cedar Fair CEO Dick Kinzel and his daughter (pictured
above). Of course, the story of the day was the record-breaking
coaster with a launch, climb and dive that sets your heart to racing.
I’m noticing a trend, though. Every time I visit Cedar Point—to
cover Wicked Twister’s opening a year ago (THE
LOOP May 10, 2002) and to attend last fall's IAAPA Summer Meeting
(THE LOOP
September 27, 2002)—I end up writing in my Turn about Dick
Kinzel, either as president of such a high-quality operation with
a number of talented officers, or as gracious host with his wife,
Judy.
This time, I’m just writing about the man himself. He is one
of a couple of people I’ve met in the amusement industry who
have that aura of greatness about them. Though our relationship
is wholly professional and cordial, I tend to feel a bit awestruck
every time I’m near him. And here I have a corroborator in
Funworld’s Frank Elliot. After we interviewed Kinzel
together at the foot of Dragster last week, Elliot said as
we walked away, “You can tell the quality of this park starts
at the top with him.” So true.
But the guy who has the audacity to send paying customers 121 mph
up a 90-degree incline 420 feet; who lets slip a sly twinkle in
his eye as he talks about the “business decision” to run
a park with the most, largest, fastest, and arguably best coasters
in the business; who oversees a 11-property company that has paid
out dividends to its stockholders year after year even in tough
times; this guy has something that makes him truly valuable. And,
I’ve come to realize, it’s the one thing he shares with
the country fiddler, the baseball pitcher, the Charleston mayor,
the stock car driver and the professional executive I listed above.
All are genuine people sincerely friendly, caring and giving of
their time and attention to anybody no matter the scenario.
Kinzel and the rest have that in their countenance that I would
fain call friend—humanity.
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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.
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Volume
3, No. 9. MAY 9, 2003
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Click
here to read these stories
Wonderland
Texas founder dies
Busch
Tampa GM promoted; Williamsburg's GM moved
Girl
chokes on taffy during coaster ride
Toledo
Zoo elephant gives birth
Cedar
Fair revenues take first quarter hit
Gaylord
Entertainment founder, president dies
LeSourdsville
Lake closed 'indefinitely'
Conneaut
Lake Park growing desperate for funds
For
these stories,
click Extra! Extra!
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New
Arrivals
It’s
an interactive river!
Water Country USA in Williamsburg, Virginia, announces the arrival
of Hubba Hubba Highway, May 3, 2003. Measurements: 1,500
feet long (457 meters), 15 feet wide (4.5 meters), three-feet, three-inches
deep (one meter), six-feet-per-second (two meters) current, six
geysers, two “gas pumps,” four water cannons, two rapids,
two “sonic showers,” four misting ballards, four squirting
squigglers, five trees each with six water dumping coconuts, a 4,000-square-foot
(371.5-square-meter) lagoon and one snack bar. Delivered by Suzanne
Sessions, Inc. and Water Technology.
Hard to say whether a waterpark river with the current of Niagara
Falls would have inspired guests to visit Water Country USA last
weekend. Saturday when one of the park’s most ambitious capital
investments ever opened to the public, rain in the morning and a
high of just 60 Fahrenheit (15.5 Celsius) dampened attendance, and
though Sunday was dry the air was still cold. On both days the park
closed early.
What few people did experience Hubba Hubba Highway gave it
a thumbs up, said Tim Cuddihy, vice president of Water Country USA,
part of the Busch Gardens Williamsburg complex. “I think they
were really surprised by how fast they moved through the river,”
he said. The river gets the last part of its name from that speed,
but Hubba Hubba’s uniqueness is the amount and variety of interactive
water elements along its route. Guests maneuver through geysers
and bubbles and sprays and squirts and shots of water from cannons,
the last manned by other guests. Then there are the dumping coconuts,
some 30 in a forest of five trees.
Rather than provide innertubes for the Highway, Water Country
USA is encouraging guests to wade or swim the river wearing life
vests. “We always have the ability to come back and introduce
tubes if we need to, but we think this is the best way to experience
the attraction,” Cuddihy said. “Life vests give buoyancy,
but still allows you to get immersed in the water.”
Hubba Hubba’s installation adds about 3.5 acres (14,164
square meters) to Water Country’s offerings and gives the park
much needed capacity, with an estimated throughput of 2,000 guests
per hour compared to the park’s large wave pool which does
about 1,150 per hour, Cuddihy said. “We are going to be able
to spread the guests out on those busy hot, humid summer days and
shorten the lines at the other attractions, greatly increasing guest
comfort.”
Comfort certainly was the order of the day last weekend, and
Hubba Hubba Highway provided that even in the cold. Water temperature
throughout the park is kept at 82 degrees. “Folks were completely
immersed in our water,” Cuddihy said.
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Sledge
Hammer made a big impression on Wonderland guests. Photo
courtesy of Paramount Canada's Wonderland.
It’s
a flat ride & kiddie area!
Paramount Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, announces
the arrival of Sledge Hammer and Nickelodeon Central, May
4, 2003. Measurements for Sledge Hammer: 80 feet high (24 meters),
6,738-square-foot (626-square-meter) footprint, six eight-seat gondolas.
Measurements for Nickelodeon Central, 39,127 square feet (3,635
square meters), four new rides. Delivered by Barbeieri, Huss and
SBF.
Big is the over-used descriptor for Paramount Canada’s Wonderland
this year: a big debut, a really big ride, and a bigger-than-Elvis
star—the latter would be, of course, SpongeBob SquarePants.
His character is one of the Nickelodeon cartoon cast members who
have been enjoying popular runs on Canada’s YTV and Treehouse
broadcasts, but Wonderland’s Nickelodeon Central is the first
to introduce the brand live to Canadian guests. The new Nickelodeon
Central area, similar in tone and style to those at Paramount’s
other North American parks, includes an SBF Wild Thornberrys
Treetop Lookout and Barbeieri Dora’s Dune Buggy
like those at Paramount’s Great America in California (THE
LOOP, April 11, 2003), a Jimmy Neutron’s Brainwasher
also by SBF, and kiddie bumper cars totally made over as a Rugrats
Toonpike.
In addition to the rides, the area features four characters for
meet-and-greet: Dora the Explorer, Hey Arnold, Jimmy Neutron and
SpongeBob. “You’d think they were pop stars,” said
Kris Williams, the park’s manager of public relations and special
events. “They just got mobbed.” Especially the guy in
SquarePants, whose 3-D movie also opened at the park’s motion
theater on Sunday.
When it came to making a big impression, though, the Sledge Hammer
carried the day. Looking like a giant claw opening and closing with
spinning gondolas affixed to its fingers, the Huss Jump2 simply
awed anybody who came within its view, whether they rode it or not.
“People are just mesmerized, it is a fabulous, incredible machine
to watch,” Williams said. “Pound for pound it’s easily
one of the most powerful rides on the planet. And it has the most
sophisticated computer system in the entire park. You can’t
help but be captivated by it. I spent the entire day with media
crews out there and talking with guests, so I know that to be true.”
On a day that reached 16 Celsius (61 degrees Fahrenheit) with sunny
skies, the park saw a typical opening day attendance, what Williams
described as “an amazing crowd.” “We’ve always
had good turnouts on opening day,” she said. That this year’s
opening turnout was no different from the past is testimony that
the SARS epidemic in nearby Toronto is playing no role in the park’s
performance. For 2003, it appears to be business as usual—only
bigger.
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Holiday
World guests got a treat on the new HallowSwings. Photo
courtesy of Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.
It’s
a tower & swing!
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana,
announces the arrival of HallowSwings and Liberty Launch,
May 3, 2003. Measurements for HallowSwings: 45 feet tall (14 meters);
Measurements for Liberty Launch: 80 feet tall (24 meters), 12 riders.
Delivered by S&S Power and Zamperla.
Holiday World AND Splashin’ Safari are getting new capital
improvements this year, the first time both parks have received
new rides in the same season. The prototype Proslide Zinga
going into the waterpark earned top billing for Holiday World’s
marketing efforts, so the park will wait until Splashin’ Safari
opens May 17 to stage a ribbon-cutting ceremony and media event.
Consequently, the two new rides that debuted with Holiday World’s
season opener Saturday received little hoopla.
They did receive much notice, however, said Paula Werne, the park’s
director of public relations. On a sunny, mid-70s (20s Celsius)
opening day, Liberty Launch, the S&S Double Shot located
in the park’s Fourth of July themed section, stood high on
an elevation of the park in full view of the surrounding community
and visible from the front gate, serving as an orienteering landmark
for the people who sprinted into the park when the gates opened.
“Some of these people have been counting the days to its opening,”
Werne said. “I know because I get the mail off the web site
and get a lot of E-mails about it.”
The Zamperla HallowSwings in the Halloween area got its share
of attention on opening day, too. “Every time I walked by it
was full,” Werne said. Zamperla applied the haunt theming to
the flying carousel per the park’s instructions. “We didn’t
want a scary, terrifying Halloween, we wanted it more trick-or-treat
kind of fun,” Werne said. “So the skulls are smiling.”
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Toledo's
Dennler got a honey of a ride, accompanied by Jennie Lagger of the
Toledo Zoo grounds department, on his new African carousel. Photo
by Eric Minton/THE LOOP.
It’s
a carousel!
The Toledo Zoo in Toledo, Ohio, announces the arrival of African
Animal Carousel, May 2, 2003. Measurements: 4,952-square- foot
(460 square meters) building containing one 46-foot-diameter (14-meter-diameter)
carousel with two chariots and 42 animals representing 24 species,
two 378-square-foot (35-square-meter) birthday party rooms and a
1,380-square-foot (128-square-meter) kitchen. Delivered by Carousel
Works and Lathrop.
The blend of serious conservation message and irreverent attitudes
made for something of a surreal birth day for this one-of-a-kind
carousel. Custom-built for the zoo as part of its Africa exhibit—the
bulk of which will open next year—Toledo’s newest and
second carousel features only African species, including eight new
designs Carousel Works carved especially for the zoo: a cape hunting
dog, a pygmy hippo, a warthog, a large zebra, a lion cub, a rhinoceros,
a hyena and a honey badger.
It was the honey badger Toledo Zoo Executive Director Bill Dennler
chose for his first ride on his new toy. “It’s one of
the most elusive animals for me to see in Africa,” he said.
“I took seven or eight trips to Africa before I saw my first
one. And it’s one I’ve always had an affection for because
they are incredible creatures; real survivalists.” As he spoke,
the carousel was starting up for the third spin in its short history,
this time carrying a dozen or so hard hat-wearing construction workers
who had been invited over from the other side of the high fence
where the rest of Africa is being built. “OK! Look at this,
this is cool,” Dennler shouted.
The zoo opened the carousel a year early, Dennler said, “because
we could. This was the easiest piece to do, and rather than make
people wait an entire year for all of it we thought we could open
up this end of it first.” The carousel, in fact, is not wholly
complete. It currently bears panels of African scenes that will
eventually be replaced by 16 custom paintings by wildlife artist
Harold Roe.
The carousel will earn $1.50 per ride, but the real revenue producer
in this complex are the adjoining themed birthday rooms. The “Giraffe
Room” has a wall mural of a giraffe heading toward a tree branch
hanging from the ceiling, and the “Cheetah Room” has spotted
walls and a big cat hiding in a ceiling panel (that cat’s identity
is in dispute: Dennler points out that it should be a leopard because
cheetah’s don’t climb, but that would necessitate renaming
the room). With the new rooms dedicated to birthdays, the zoo anticipates
increasing its annual take of $17,000 in party bookings to $38,000
this year and $98,000 after next year when a new train opens as
part of the Africa exhibit. Already, bookings are head of projections,
said Dave DiCola, director of visitor services and marketing.
The exposure to Africa’s varied fauna continues in the complex's
bathrooms where dung beetles sit on piles of dung and photos of
animals hang inside the stall walls, “so when you’re sitting
you’re looking at something, not just a blank wall or graffiti,”
Dennler said. Party boys will no doubt giggle at the herd of zebra
rear ends on their door. “We had a lot of fun with this,”
the executive director said.
Opening day didn’t so much dawn as it drizzled into being,
cold and damp. But the mood was upbeat among the dignitaries at
the 9:30 ribbon cutting as Dennler announced the zoo’s elephant
birth (see story in Extra!
Extra!) and contest winners took the first ride on the African
carousel inside its glass pavilion where the air was warm, dry and
happy. The merry-go-round started up to cheers as half-a-dozen children,
the rest adults and four television news camera crews took the three-minute
circuit. By noon a queue had formed among the general public, many
of whom also stopped to peer through peepholes in the construction
fence at the rest of the Africa exhibit progressing toward completion.
It was anticipation and gratification all in one.
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Metropolis
was well represented when Superman took flight near Chicago. Photo
by Jeremy Martin/ Six Flags Great America.
It’s
a roller coaster!
Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, announces the arrival
of Superman—Ultimate Flight, April 29, 2003. Measurements:
115 feet high (35 meters), 109-foot (33-meter) first drop, 2,798
feet long (853 meters), two 32-passenger trains. Delivered by Bolliger
& Mabillard.
Metropolis is one super city. We’re not talking the fictional
home of Clark Kent aka Superman but the real 6,734-population Illinois
town near the Kentucky border at the opposite end of the state from
Six Flags Great America north of Chicago. The town cashes in on
its name every June when it hosts a Superman Celebration that attracts
20,000 people annually, and as part of the festival the town honors
community heroes with a Superman of Metropolis Award.
The town’s name also attracted Susie Storey, Six Flags Great
America’s public relations manager, as she was planning the
media event for the opening of her park’s new B&M flying
coaster. At the time she was looking for any Superman-related hook.
She already was conducting a “Search for Heroes” essay
contest in conjunction with the ride’s opening, and she had
invited anybody named Clark or Kent to share in Superman’s
official inaugural ride. Doing something with a real Illinois town
named Metropolis would be a cute touch, she thought; but the Metropolis
connection proved particularly special.
“We wanted to do some kind of partnership with them,”
Storey said. “They said they were interested in coming to be
part of media day, and we’ll try to do some partnership with
their celebration in June.” The park’s contributions will
include the comic books Storey had used as promotional gifts for
the new ride (THE
LOOP March 28, 2003), a coupon in the celebration’s official
program and a basket of Superman merchandise to be auctioned
in a fund raiser.
The Metropolis mayor had intended to attend Six Flags’ media
day, but she had to send the town’s public relations specialist,
Neal Pankey, and the chairwoman of the Superman Celebration, Karla
Ogle, in her stead. In a twist of irony, one of the “Search
for Heroes” essay winners had written about her grandmother,
who happened to reside in Metropolis. That prompted the Metropolis
officials to bring their own Superman of Metropolis Awards and,
in a surprise for the Six Flags staff, bestowing them upon the essay
winners as well as park General Manager Jim Wintrode, his heroic
achievement cited as bringing Superman to the park.
With the honors handed out, Wintrode, Pankey, Ogle and Walter Bolliger
occupied Superman’s first row, and the rest of the train
filled up with 25 Clarks and Kents for the inaugural run.
The real test of Superman’s strength came on Saturday
when the ride opened to the public. Under sunny skies but chilly
temperatures the park’s gates opened to an almost total rush
to the new ride, which replaced the venerable Shockwave at
the front of the park. “Everyone went straight to Superman,”
Storey said, and reaction was wholeheartedly positive, she said.
“It is definitely going to become a park favorite, if not the
park favorite.”
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Six
Flags AstroWorld took a Swat at a world debut (above) but
Diablo Falls was the surprising hit for the park. Swat
photo courtesy of Six Flags AstroWorld; Diablo Falls photo
by Gary Slade/Amusement Today.
It’s
a swatter & water!
Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, Texas, announces the arrival of
Diablo Falls, April 26, 2003, and Swat, April 11,
2003. Measurements for Diablo Falls: 60 feet high (18 meters),
469-foot-long (143-meter-long) flume, six-passenger rafts. Measurements
for Swat: 65-foot tower (20 meters) with the ride platform
rising to 105 feet (32 meters), 30 feet wide (nine meters), 30 mph
(48 km/h). Delivered by S&S Power and WhiteWater West Industries.
Thank goodness both rides are hits because the media preview were
misses. With a media day originally scheduled for April 3 when both
rides were supposed to be ready, the park’s marketing team
first learned that the WhiteWater raft ride was still a few weeks
from completion. Then, on the eve of the media day, the park postponed
opening S&S’s prototype Sky Swatter. The media day was
rescheduled for April 24, but Swat was ready to go the following
week, so Daryl Freedman, the park’s public relations manager,
mounted a quick media outing for that ride. “It is a world
debut, so we didn’t want to lose the impact,” she said.
Diablo Falls opened as re-planned April 26, but its media
preview was undermined by Swat already stealing the thunder,
and by actual thunder. “On the 24th the forecast was for a
tornado watch, hail and thunderstorms,” Freedman said. “A
lot of people assumed we had canceled it again, and TV news were
covering the weather.” The media day went ahead as scheduled
under light sprinkles, but several news crews rescheduled live shots
for the following week.
Meantime, the rides—situated side by side in the park’s
Mexicana Section—were wowing crowds. Swat’s public
debut coincided with AstroWorld’s annual high school physics
day, a perfect ride, with its thrust air technology and forward
and backward rotations, for a physics lesson. “(The students)
just came off going ‘Whoa’,” Freedman said. Diablo
Falls’ opening coincided with the American Coaster Enthusiasts
spring conference, whose members immediately started generating
buzz for that ride’s surprisingly high thrill quotient.
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When
Zonga (above) couldn't play, sea lions saved the day (below).
Photos courtesy of Six Flags Marine World; Zonga photo
by Scott Craig/Sacramento Bee.
It’s
a roller coaster!
Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo, California, announces the arrival
of Zonga, April 25, 2003. Measurements: 112 feet high (34
meters), 3,250 feet long (990.6 meters), 53 mph (85 km/h), one 20-passenger
train. Delivered by Schwarzkopf.
Weather wherewithal. Even if a ride doesn’t have the flexibility
to operate in any weather condition that does not mean the public
relations effort can’t do so.
So, there was Jeff Jouett, public relations manager at Six Flags
Marine World, facing a crisis the day before his Thursday media
day celebrating the park’s new coaster. Zonga, now in
its third incarnation after serving as a fair unit in Europe and
then as Texas Tornado at Six Flags AstroWorld, has a curving
lift hill using rubber tires, and when the tires get wet, the ride
can’t run. “We had 70 percent forecast of rain for the
next day,” Jouett said, “and it rained 70 percent of the
day.”
Combining the forecast with the fact northern California already
was enduring one of its wettest springs on record and the new knowledge
that, Jouett set about canceling his big event. It was to feature
40 members of the Youth West African Music and Dance Ensemble (“I
envisioned these kids in native African costumes going around on
the ride, thinking it’s going to be colorful and the ride’s
really colorful and what a nice combination,” Jouett said),
80 coaster enthusiasts, and a large contingent of press, including
16 committed hits on morning television shows.
It was those morning TV hits that prompted the most concern. By
the time Jouett called in the event’s cancellation late in
the afternoon, those shows’ producers had long-ago left their
newsrooms, so it was too late for them to reschedule their coverage.
Jouett therefore turned to the park’s other new offering for
the 2003 season: Sea Lion Celebration, an interaction program run
twice a day in which up to six people for $99.99 each can go behind
the scenes with Marine World’s sea lion trainers. The program
had been running since the park opened for the 2003 season on March
15, but, Jouett figured, “At least the sea lions run in the
rain.” He tracked down the head sea lion trainer to call in
her crew for the first 5 a.m. live shot the next day. Not only did
all the TV morning shows accept the switch in topic, “One station
liked the sea lions so much they added a segment,” Jouett said.
“We ended up getting 47 minutes on Sea Lion Celebration, and
everybody mentioned Zonga and mentioned it in a nice way.”
Intermittent showers continued on that Friday, too, when the park,
open to the public, hosted seven live radio remotes and their listeners
who had won tickets to ride Zonga. Marine World also hosted
its high school media day that day. “We gave them press kits
and showed them Zonga and told them Zonga doesn’t
run in the rain,” Jouett said. He also learned for the first
time that Zonga required a full hour between last raindrop
and first run.
Finally,
at 7 p.m. (19,00), one hour before the park’s scheduled closing,
“Zonga went up the lift hill with a load of guests, including
the diehard high school journalists,” Jouett said. The park
kept the ride running until 10 p.m. (22,00).
Once opened, Zonga has proven a popular ride, Jouett said.
“It’s an intense enough ride that it scares people just
looking at it, but once they ride it they have a lot of fun. It’s
one of those ‘I-dare-you’ kind of rides.”
Meantime, Marine World has seen a spike in interest in Sea Lion
Celebration.
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It’s
a roller coaster!
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, announces the
arrival of Greezed Lightnin’, April 19, 2003. Measurements:
722-foot-long track (220 meters), 142-foot-high (43-meter-high)
and 100-foot-high (30.5-meter-high) inclines, 60 mph (96.5 km/h),
one 28 passenger train. Delivered by Schwarzkopf.
One thing about the Schwarzkopf shuttle-loop coasters: they may
not look like much, but they are addictive. And never mind that
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom’s “new” Schwarzkopf is
a journeyman coaster, most recently residing as Viper at
Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta. In its new home it has merited
travel section cover photo status for newspapers as far away as
Cincinnati and Indianapolis.
This at the beginning of Kentucky Derby week, no less.
Located between the park’s Tin Lizzies and the public
highway that slices through Kentucky Kingdom, Greezed Lightnin’,
the park’s eighth roller coaster, brings a much-needed thrill
structure to the front gate side of the park. “We needed another
steel coaster, we needed something on the original side of the road,”
said Jim Kunau, the park’s director of marketing. “It’s
going to contribute to distributing people throughout the park and
will be a nice anchor for this side of the park.”
For media day the Thursday before the public opening Kunau and company
had to contend with a bleak forecast of thundershowers. “It
looked ominous at times, but no raindrops,” he said. The park
invited children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to cut the ribbon
and take the official inaugural ride, and opened four other rides
in the area for the kids, too. Once Greezed Lightnin’
made its first official pass, invited coaster enthusiasts took over
the train and didn’t relinquish it for the rest of the day,
only moving from car to car between rides.
Typical park guests apparently would do the same thing if they could.
Since Greezed Lightnin’s public debut Kunau often witnesses
guests running from exit to the entrance. “The idea that people
immediately want to jump right back on is the best feedback you
can get,” he said.
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After
honoring heroes, essayists and assayists launched a heroic ride.
Photo
courtesy of Six Flags Great Adventure.
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.
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It’s
a ghost train!
Parc Asterix in Plailly, France, announces the arrival of Transdemonium,
April 5, 2003. Measurements: 270 meters long (886 feet), 12 meters
high (39 feet), 2,000 square-meter footprint (21,528 square feet),
13 trains with two, four-seat cars traveling from 11 km/h to 18
km/h (7 mph to 11 mph). Delivered by Farmer Studios and WGH.
The park’s fact sheet lists construction time on this project
at seven months. Hah! Parc Asterix had a ghost train when the park
opened in 1989, but the ride never opened. Further attempts to get
the ghost train concept off the ground faltered. In 1995 Michel
Linet-Frion became director of Grévin Productions, a division
of the park’s parent company, Grévin & Cie, and
two years later he turned his attention toward resurrecting the
ride. Six years of various design scenarios and changing plot lines
later, Parc Asterix finally has the ghost train it always was meant
to have.
“It’s always been one of the major ingredients of the
park, and now that we have it, we’ve confirmed that,”
Linet-Frion said. “It’s going to become an icon, like
the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. It’s like it’s
always been there. And in a way, it has.”
The new ride sits in the same location as the original in the park’s
medieval town section. Transdemonium is themed on the notion
that a pre-first millennium baroness, afraid that spirits would
provoke an apocalypse in the year 1000, hired a sorcerer to somehow
fend off the spirits. Linet-Frion picks up the tale: “What
he said is, ‘What they like is frightening people, they have
fun doing that. If we give them a place to have a ball at that,
they will forget to trigger the end of the world.’ It happened,
and it worked.”
Using darkness and special effects, including air blasts, water
sprays and dangling cloth, Transdemonium gives guests a train
ride through gentle frights and typically Asterix humor, including
a false ending in what looks like the original station. “When
we trigger a fright effect, we do something to detraumatize,”
Linet-Frion said. This is, after all, a family ride in keeping with
the park’s continuing move toward balancing its established
thrill rides with more mid-level attractions.
The park ran plenty of advertisements for Transdemonium,
which debuted with the park’s season opening day, but the ride
itself opened with little fanfare. “We stopped doing (opening
events); I don’t know why,” Linet-Frion said. “You
get some press, but it doesn’t get to the masses.” Instead,
the press were given preview rides and lights-on tours of the attraction.
“That’s how we got a lot of press coverage,” Linet-Frion
said.
The masses came anyway, especially on an opening day with “great,
great weather” in now drought-stricken France, Linet-Frion
said, and the response confirms for his team that Transdemonium
is heading for icon status. “We stand at the exit and see when
the people come out, and we got the right recipe. The little ones
come out and say, ‘I wasn’t frightened,’ but they
wouldn’t say that if nothing happened. The parents come out
relieved.”
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