Do you have a comment
or question?
Contact Eric
Minton here.
©2001, Minton
Enterprises LLC
All rights reserved
Volume 1, No. 18. October 5, 2001
For
a printer-friendly version of this free newsletter
CLICK HERE
Terra Mitica's Miguel
Navarro (left) and Luis Esteban (middle right) joined forces with Paramount
Park's Jane Cooper (middle left) and Johnny Taylor (right). Photo
courtesy of Terra Mitica
Paramount's world
view
Paramount Parks has been itching
to get into the European market for awhile, but the Viacom company did
not want to dive into an economic quagmire in the process. When Paramount
Park's CEO Jane Cooper finally sealed the deal Tuesday to take over management
of Terra Mitica in Benidorm, Spain, after a summer of negotiations, Paramount
Parks immediately made itself a major player in Europe while apparently
protecting its own financial footing.
Terra Mitica opened July 31, 2000, to immediate accolades as one of the
most beautiful amusement parks in the world. Costing about 70 billion
pesetas (US$360 million) to build and extensively themed in minutia detail
depicting the five classical civilizations of the Mediterranean, the 245-acre
park sits on a mountainside above the seaside resort city of Benidorm.
Though it drew almost 3 million guests in its first year, Terra Mitica
still performed below its potential, and while it has a couple of good
rides, the product seemed to be underperforming from an operational standpoint,
too.
"The park has a good reputation because it's gorgeous," said Lamberto
Fresnillo, the secretary of the Association of Spanish Parks and Attractions,
of which Terra Mitica is a member. "They have all the conditions to be
one of the most important parks in Spain and Europe: the product, the
design, the rides, the attractions, the site. But, of course, you need
to operate it very well." Paramount Parks will take over security, sales
and marketing, maintenance, retail, restaurants, human resources and training,
Miguel Navarro, managing director of Terra Mitica, said in a statement.
Paramount Parks officials would not reveal details of the management deal,
but according to Spanish newspapers the Valencian regional government,
in addition to paying Paramount an undetermined fee for operating the
park, handed over 5 percent of its shares in the park for four years.
If in those four years the park turns a profit, Paramount Parks may extend
the contract another four years and increase its shares to 15 percent.
Under an experienced hand, the park should turn a profit. Aside from Spain's
40 million residents, including a huge middle class, the country draws
42 million tourists every year, and Benidorm is a hot spot especially
for British, German and Northern European holidaymakers. "It has everything
that is necessary for a theme park to succeed; at least on paper," Fresnillo
said: "Site, sun, infrastructure, airport, you can operate 11 months a
year, tourists. It's amazing there. The destination right now is not the
park, it's Benidorm." The challenge for Paramount Parks is to tap into
that market more thoroughly than Terra Mitica had done in its inaugural
year. "This is a personal opinion, but to be able to sell the tickets
they have to be able to sell the park to tourists, whether at the destination
or as part of a tour package," Fresnillo said.
Which is precisely why Paramount Parks picked such a gem to make its entree
into Europe: though located in Spain, Terra Mitica could easily draw from
as far away as Scandinavia. If the park's ride package and operations
ever equaled its theming, Terra Mitica could be the world's benchmark
theme park.
Meanwhile, Europe is getting yet another American operator in its amusement
park market. "I don't think there is happiness or unhappiness," Fresnillo
said of Spain getting its third U.S. operator, with Universal's ownership
of Port Aventura in Tarragona and Six Flags opening a Warner Brothers
Movie World near Madrid next spring. "I have to say the general impression
is that it's good news that some expert is coming here. (Paramount Parks)
is a well-known operator, and I think people expect success."
Fellowship
of foes
The fiercest of competitors are also the steadfastest of colleagues in
the amusement industry. Nowhere is that more evident than with the Northern
California Attractions Association, which rushed to the aid of member
Bonfante Gardens when the Gilroy, California, theme park shut down its
season early last month because of financial difficulty.
"We support our brother attractions," said the association's president
Rodney Fong, vice president of the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf in
San Francisco. Bonfante's closing left its season ticket holders out in
the cold, so eight of the other nine member attractions offered those
pass holders special deals at their properties. Six Flags Marine World
in Vallejo will give pass holders free admission for the rest of its season,
the Wax Museum and the National Steinbeck Center are offering free admission
through the rest of the year, and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is providing
unlimited rides. Paramount's Great America in Santa Clara, Roaring Camp
Railroads and Big Trees in Felton, Winchester Mystery House in San Jose
and Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey are offering discounted admissions.
"We're just helping (Bonfante) out, and we're keeping that visitor in
northern California," Fong said. "Plus we all get an opportunity to expose
our attractions to some of their guests."
The association formed 15 years ago, and while some members have left
and re-joined, none have shuttered before now. Along with sharing the
cost of advertising in national and regional media, the association maintains
a scholarship fund for students attending travel and tourism academies.
The members also have formed what Fong called "a little bit of a fraternity,
a group of friends" that shares concerns, insights and business barometers.
"From big attractions to smaller guys like Winchester and Big Trees, it's
a good mix of people," Fong said. "We all realize we're fierce competitors,
but our job is to get people into northern California. Then we fight over
them once they get here."
For more information on the association, visit their web site at www.sfbayfun.com.
Disney-MGM Studios capped its centennial celebration with a new icon. Photo courtesy of Walt Disney World Resort
Prevailing Memories
Monday was supposed to be the
national kick-off of the "100 Years of Magic" celebration at
Walt Disney World in Florida honoring the 100th birthday of founder Walt
Disney. However, given current nationwide circumstances in the wake of
the September 11 terrorist attacks, Disney officials decided to postpone
the national media launch until December 5, Walt Disney's actual birthday.
Still, the 15-month-long celebration did inaugurate Monday, with new parades at each of the four major Disney World theme parks, new topical shows, new souvenirs and a new icon for Disney-MGM Studios, a 12-story Sorcerer's Hat, the kind Mickey Mouse wore in "Fantasia." The company also installed 10 trivia game computer kiosks in each park. The touchscreen units, called "Discover the stories behind the magic kiosks," offer 10 questions covering topics that tie into each kiosk's particular location.
The company's cast members also gost their own personalized memento of the celebration with new nametags that include a personal magical memory of a Disney experience engraved on the badge in place of the employee's hometown. Cast members choose one of 100 different memories, ranging from "Magic Kingdom" to "Mickey Mouse Watch" and "Disney Lunch Box." Imagineer Roger Holzberg, for example, picked "64 World's Fair" for his nametag because that exhibition is where he first saw the animatronic Abe Lincoln, a moment that inspired him to become a Disney Imagineer.
"It's another way to interact with guests," said Walt Disney World Public Relations Representative Michelle Baumman. "Instead of having the hometown you can have these memories you can talk about with guests, and they can tell you theirs." Baumman's new nametag bears "Winnie the Pooh," the first stuffed Disney character she owned as a child. "I kept it for a very long time, and it's still my favorite stuffed animal, and now it's my daughter's favorite."
Pride
ride
The terrorist attacks on September
11 continue to impact the amusement industry across the United States,
but the stories are now turning more positive.
Last weekend Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, opened to the public under a special promotion called "Ride for Relief," raising more than $200,000 for The September 11 Fund established by the United Way and the New York Community Trust. The day was originally booked for a private party, but when the group, who wanted to remain anonymous, suggested that Hersheypark open to the general public, as well, park officials came up with the Ride for Relief idea. At the same time, the local NBC affiliate approached the park about a similar project, and the synergy allowed the promotion to come together in only two weeks' time. Though marketing only locally, the event drew 16,000 patrons, and the park ran out of commemorative pins by 5 p.m. (17,00).
Guests were encouraged to wear red, white and blue, and most did, said Chris Barrett, Hersheypark's managing director of sales and marketing. "We had a lot of radio and TV out here, and everybody they interviewed said how proud they were to be here and wanted to help. The lion's share of people came to show their patriotism and do something for the cause." Barrett also said several employees donated their day's wages to the fund.
The Busch Entertainment parks—SeaWorlds and Busch Gardens—are offering free admission to all police officers, firefighters and emergency medical workers through the end of the year. LEGOLand California in Carlsbad is giving active military and public safety personnel discounts to its park October 13-21.
Whalom's
woes
The family that has owned Whalom
Park in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, for 66 years and hopes to get the amusement
park opened next summer after remaining dark for all of the 2001 season
won an ally last week. Historic Massachusetts, an advocacy group for historic
preservation in the state, listed Whalom on its ninth annual Massachusetts'
Ten Most Endangered Historic Resources List. That register includes historical
and cultural landmarks threatened by neglect, insensitive public policy,
vandalism, inappropriate development or insufficient funding.
Those last two items apply to Whalom. The Bowen family, who own only 41
percent of the Whalom Park Amusement Company shares, have been unable
to convince the other shareholders to sell their stakes to amusement operators
rather than real estate developers.
"We have good backing as far as private investors who want to get involved
in the amusement industry, or specifically in our park," said Allyson
Bowen, whose grandfather, Henry G. Bowen, bought the 1893 trolley park
from the Fitchburg and Leominster Street Railway Company in 1935. "Currently
our offer to the other stockholders is the best one on the table, and
it has been since it was made in the spring. But we are running up against
obstacles buying out the other stockholders." Bowen said she does not
know why other stockholders—none of whom hold a majority share in
the company—are balking. "If I knew what the obstacle was, I would
try to get around it."
The 35-acre park has 30 rides, including a 1939 wooden roller coaster,
two flume water slides and several classic flat rides, including a tumblebug
and flying scooter. Also on the property is a carousel with Loof carvings
dating to the late 19th century and a Mangels mechanism circa 1912. Allyson
Bowen is director of the Whalom Park Carousel Association which won an
IAAPA award last year for its efforts at saving the carousel from destruction.
Even if the park as a whole doesn't reopen, the carousel is safe, Bowen
said. "The three towns that make up the tri-town area (Lunenburg, Fitchburg
and Leominster) all want it. There's going to be no lack for a home for
the carousel. But our first choice is to keep it on the midway."
Bowen cites poor management of the park the past five years as what "basically
set the company back," but she remains optimistic that Whalom, which historically
pulled in annual attendance of 200,000 to 250,000, can be a money-making
enterprise, especially with its authentic nostalgic setting and equipment.
"Whalom is different from other parks in the fact it has retained its
history," she said. "It has a feel of an amusement park that my parents
and my grandparents would have gone too." She also points to the park's
location 45 minutes outside of Boston and the surrounding 11 million-residents
population. "With proper management and proper marketing, I think we can
really find a niche within the New England amusement industry."
Even if the park reopens, it will have to overcome the stigma of being
closed all of 2001. Aside from cosmetic and mechanical renovations to
get the grounds and equipment suitable for public use, the park would
have to spend money simply advertising its survival. "It will be an uphill
battle to get the people back," Bowen admitted. The ability to do that,
and to even obtain a majority of shares in the company, rests on the park's
convincing the local population and its own ownership what a historical
treasure it is.
"There's a double-edged sword in preservation," Bowen says. "It's only
when people see things being lost that they decide to actually save those
that remain. It takes being the last of your kind to make people stop
and notice you and make historic preservation profitable."
Chelsea stood tall after Zawadi gave birth to the baby on public display. Photo courtesy of the Jacksonville Zoo.
At least it wasn't
in a taxi
No drill had prepared the Jacksonville
Zoo staff for handling the developing situation, particularly concerning
issues of the public's need to know. “We acted on whim,” said
Angie B. Lindsey, manager of marketing and communications of the Florida
institution. “We just knew there was a need to get out there and
explain what was going on to the public.” The zoo's education director,
Kelli Whitney, quickly gathered the necessary information, imparted a
quick lesson to the volunteers and sent them out as troops into the crowd
of some 150 people who had gathered around the giraffe and zebra enclosure.
There one giraffe had an extra set of hoofs sticking out from her belly.
The births of two giraffes in one month—the first giraffe births at the Jacksonville Zoo since 1989—was news enough, but the second birth occurred on public display. “Usually they happen at night," Lindsey said. “The keepers walk in in the morning and there's a baby.” That was true of the September 7 birth of the as-yet-unnamed daughter of E.T. (Extra Tall, who herself is a 19-year-old Jacksonville Zoo native) and Sterling, a 5-year-old brought to Jacksonville in 1998. The baby was to go on public display September 28, but two days before her debut she was upstaged by the dramatic arrival of her half-sister, Chelsea.
Six-year-old Zawadi, also impregnated by Sterling, went into labor at 10:30 in the morning. After her water broke and the baby's feet appeared, keepers moved her to a private yard, though it was still in public view. “We had several school groups in the park that particular day,” Lindsey said. “The giraffes are in an enclosure ysou can see from three different locations, and at every one you couldn't get through the pack of people.” Quickly on hand were the education volunteers, explaining the feet- and head-first sequence of giraffe birthing and the infant's 6-foot plunge to the ground from the standing mother. The volunteers also fielded questions, but as always there's nothing quite so precious as parental involvement in a child's education. “This little boy saw the feet sticking out and said, ‘That looks like it hurts,’” Lindsey said. “And his mom looked down at him and said, ‘It does.’”
Chelsea was named after The Pride of Chelsea, the nickname for a New York City Fire Department Unit that lost five members during rescue operations at the World Trade Center September 11.
Return
visits
Miniature parks around the world (LOOP,
June 29, 2001) formally organized a new association at their meeting
last month in Rimini, Italy. Called the International Association of Miniature
Parks, the association has 20 members and appointed four officers: Rudi
Rasschaert of Mini-Europe in Brussels, Belgium, as president; E.M. Bierens
of Madurodam in The Hague, The Netherlands, as chairman of the Public
Relations and Promotion Committee; Diethard Humer of Minimindus in Klagenfurt,
Austria, as chairman of the Membership Committee; and Paolo Rambaldi of
Italia in Miniatura in Rimini as chairman of the Product Committee.
IAMP also put up their own web site, www.go.to/miniatureparks.
Here are the other founding members in addition to those listed above (to visit their web sites, you can find some of these parks on our Connections page):
Cockington Green
in Nicholls Act, Australia;
Miniature World in Victoria, Canada;
Pueblochico in the Canary Islands;
Miniaturpark Klein-Erzgebirge in Oederan, Germany
Modellpark Berlin in Germany;
Mini-a-thur in Ruhla, Germany;
Freizeit und Miniaturpark Allgau in Weitnau, Germany;
Rugen Park in Gingst, Germany;
Bekonscot Model Village in Beaconsfield, England;
France Miniature in Saint Quentin en Yvelines, France;
Parcs des Mini Chateaux/Groupe Durand-Allizé in France;
Mini Israel in Shimshon, Israel;
Sardegna in Miniatura in Barumini, Italy;
Miniatuurpark Appelscha in Norden, The Netherlands;
Catalunya en Miniatura in Barcelona, Spain;
Swissminiatur SA in Melide, Switzerland.
In
this issue
(To
go directly to a story, click on a blue keyword or phrase below):
For this special World Waterpark Association Trade Show issue, we coast into Holiday World & Splashin' Safari for a sneak peak it its new water slide; mourn with Schlitterbahn Beach its loss after the South Padre Island bridge collapse; watch Camelbeach Waterpark lift the fortunes of its ski resort progenitor; and preview next week's WWA activities.
Paramount Parks finally makes itself a global player, and Bonfante's competitors come to the closed park's aid.
Walt Disney World delays the big day but keeps the memories, and Hersheypark was among the parks that inspired patrons to rebound from the terrorist attacks.
Whalom Park tries to return for an encore engagement, and a Jacksonville Zoo giraffe makes a natural debut in public.
Miniature parks formally ally into an association, and we get naked for a thrill ride in Adventure World and go inside for a waterpark at Branson's Grand Country Square.
by Eric Minton
Special WWA Edition
Drawing
water
Holiday World only has two roller coasters, but thanks to a concerted
and clever marketing push—and the fact those two wood coasters, The
Raven and The Legend, have earned Top Five status on many rankings—the
Santa Claus, Indiana, park has, over the past couple of years, become
something of a coaster mecca for enthusiasts and television producers.
So, when it came time to beef up the offerings in Holiday World's waterpark,
Splashin' Safari, you could bet that roller coastering would somehow be
involved.
Yesterday, Will Koch, president and general manager of Holiday World,
climbed aboard a track-hoe to break ground on ZOOMbabwe, a 102
foot-tall, 887-foot-long (31 and 269 meters) enclosed family raft slide
from ProSlide Technology. "It's taller than The Raven," Koch pointed
out, then noted, "I think we are going to be comparing it to our roller
coaster experiences a lot. It's kind of like the roller coaster of the
waterpark: the nice curves, the nice drop sections. It's a family ride
but also a high-thrill ride."
Not that he's expecting the new ride to make as big a splash on coaster
enthusiasts' internet sites as have The Raven and The Legend.
With this $1.7 million investment—the largest expansion in Splashin'
Safari history—Koch is ssmore concerned with improving Splashin'
Safari's capacity and continuing steady attendance growth. "We don't expect
it to appeal to the coaster enthusiasts as a new coaster would, but we
are hoping the general public will see it in the same magnitude as a roller
coaster for the waterpark."
Even Koch may be underestimating the enthusiasts. To ride ZOOMbabwe,
guests will pass underneath The Legend, and the tower to the new
water slide will offer great views of the coaster. ZOOMbabwe also
interacts with The Legend, at one point passing just 8 feet (2.5
meter) over the coaster's track, providing a new scrunch element for the
woodie.
Still, while the enthusiasts will effectively have a new Legend
to visit, and the Kochs have forged a strong bond with coaster fans, Will
is glad to be "talking waterpark again," he said. "It's been since 1998
that we did anything in the waterpark, and this will enable us to move
the focus back to Splashin' Safari again. Not that it's bad talking about
new roller coasters, but it's time to do something else."
Abridged
season
The world was still reeling from the shock of the September 11 terrorist
attacks when, four days later another major tragedy struck closer to home
for Schlitterbahn Beach on South Padre Island, Texas. The park's receptionist,
Jackie McClendon, lost her daughter Chelsa Welch and son-in-law "Harpoon"
Barry Welch when they were driving across the causeway linking the island
with Port Isabel just as a barge rammed into one of the bridge's supports.
As the highway collapsed into the bay, several cars plunged into the water,
among them the Welches, who left behind a 2-year-old son. They were among
eight people killed in the 2 a.m. (0200) incident.
The bridge collapse also put a sudden halt to all commercial activity
on South Padre Island, whose only link to the mainland is that causeway.
The NBGS-owned Schlitterbahn Beach shut that Saturday because few employees
could make it to the park. On Sunday, after consulting with other island
leaders and facing the logistical problem of getting chemicals to the
park when no tanker truck could get across the Intercoastal Waterway,
NBGS CEO and Schlitterbahn Beach General Manager Jeff Henry shut the park
down for the rest of the year. The move wiped out 14 operating days in
the weekend-only shoulder season. "It's like a long hurricane hitting
you," said Public Relations Director Sherrie Brammel. about 130 seasonal
employees were laid off, and the full-time staff, after winterizing the
park, were shifted to NBGS and Schlitterbahn in New Braunfells, Texas.
It was a dour ending to the NBGS showcase park's inaugural season (LOOP,
June 1, 2001), which had been a creative and operational success
for the company. "This was so much bigger than Schlitterbahn; it's impacting
the entire island," Brammel said. "All the fast food restaurants have
closed down because there's no people and they can't get supplies." Authorities
say the bridge should be repaired by the first of the year and NBGS hopes
to sreopen Schlitterbahn Beach as planned for spring break next March.
Slip-slidin'
success
Most
waterparks throughout North America reported increased attendance during
the 2001 season, but one, Camelbeach in Tannersville, Pennsylvania, not
only saw a stellar year but could measure the park's success against a
singular barometer: it's own 38-year-old ski business.
The Camelback Ski Corporation expanded it's sparse summer offerings (a
swimming pool, small set of body slides and a dry alpine slide) in 1998
with a tube water slide complex, lazy river and interactive kiddie area.
The company annually added to the waterpark, climaxing this year with
the 31,000-square-foot (9,394-square-meter) Kahuna Lagoon (LOOP,
June 29, 2001). With each addition, Camelbeach has seen attendance
increases and witnessed a 60 percent jump this year over 2000's numbers.
Such a jump the corporation never saw in the history of it's winter business.
Furthermore, the summer stats are closing in on those of winter. "I would
guess that prior to 1998, the numbers of people in attendance in summer
were 16 to 18 percent, at the most, of our winter business," said Rich
Wiseman, vice president and general manager of Camelback Ski Corporation.
"This last summer it was 70 percent of our winter business. So summer
is gaining very rapidly."
Even more significantly, the 2000-01 winter was Camelback's best ever,
said Wiseman, who would not reveal exact attendance figures. Part of the
resort's winter upturn was perfect ski weather, but though the two clientele
differ ("There's no skill involved in going to a waterpark," Wiseman pointed
out), Wiseman is certain the rising summer traffic in 2000 also played
a part in winter's good numbers. "A lot of people that came in the summer
saw what we had to offer in the winter, and that helped us in marketing
the ski side of the business." And vice versa. This summer for the first
time area resorts began booking rooms for people specifically planning
to visit Camelbeach. "That has to be carryover from the previous year,"
Wiseman said.
In what may surprise many of their waterpark brethren, the Camelback corporate
folks find the summer business more resilient than their winter market,
which generally caters to weekend skiers from the New York City-Philadelphia
metropolitan corridor. "In the winter, if you have a day of rain or warm
weather, skiers stay away for a couple of days even though we have great
snow-making equipment," Wiseman said. "In the summer, you can have a cloudy,
rainy day, and the next day it was like it never happened. We found it
rewarding. I'm glad we got into the waterpark business in 1998."
For a profile of Camelbeach Waterpark, see the October issue of Splash
Magazine (click here
for details).
Troubled waters
The year has been, for the most part, a good one for waterparks in North
America. After a soggy early summer, the weather turned glorious in much
of the country, and many parks were reporting attendance increases over
what was generally considered a disastrous 2000 season (which had seen
attendance top 71.2 million people, a 4.7 percent increase over 1999,
according to the World Waterpark Association). This year's attendance
boost came without much capital investment, the second year in which fewer
parks were placing orders.
That last point is the prevailing concern as the waterpark industry gathers
at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, next week.
The terrorist attacks of September 11 have thrown even more consternation
at the industry convocation, even prompting the agent for Olympic athletes
Mark Ruiz and Brook Bennett to temporarily cancel their promised and promoted
appearances at the show (as of this posting, the athletes do plan to be
at the show, but will not post scheduled booth appearances). Though the
WWA board and staff has marshalled an impressive letter-writing campaign
to encourage members to attend in spite of current travel restrictions
and trepidations, the trade show was already facing an uphill battle for
attendance by it's choice of venue. Orlando is a prime draw in most years,
but in a year when the IAAPA Trade Show had already scheduled for the
same convention center just a month hence, many operators were opting
out of two trips to central Florida.
Such issues are magnified in a year when the show needs to succeed to
boost the association's viability and, more importantly, the industry
itself needs to rebound from the sluggish sales and downsizing suppliers
of the past year. The WWA is doing its best to bolster the efforts of
the 180 companies listed to exhibit. On Friday, the WWA will be drawing
for cash prizes totalling $2,000. Attendees can register at Booth 657,
and prizes will be awarded beginning at 12:30 p.m. (12,30) and thereafter
every half hour to 3:30 p.m. (15,30), the amounts rising from $100 per
drawing to $400. "It will pay to stay!" is the slogan of this promotion.
Despite the troubling waters beneath the surface, this edition of the
WWA Convention and Trade Show promises to be a special one. The opening
general session at 11 a.m. Thursday will include a dedication to the association's
founder, Al Turner, who died in April. The beach party that evening at
Walt Disney World's Typhoon Lagoon will include a special toast to Turner,
as well. Anybody who has attended a WWA knows that this group will get
into the party spirit, even in memorium to their long-time leader. Next
week's show also will be the membership's introduction to new President
and CEO Rick Root.
WWA Conventions often schedule no-holds-barred seminars, from water quality
issues to emergency response training. This year's course work includes
Tina Bruno, new executive director of Time to Learn, who will present
the seminar "Is the August Creep Hurting Your Business?" at 1 p.m. (13,00)
Wednesday. With her successful organization of a grass-roots campaign
to roll back the school calendar in Texas (LOOP
June 1, 2001), Bruno's tips on marshalling resources in your locality
to combat over-extending school administrators is must hear matter.
Even if the WWA should see low attendance next week or slow sales on the
trade show floor, too many mitigating factors will keep the show from
being an accurate barometer of either the state of the industry or the
state of the association. However, if despite the obstacles attendance
and business is good, the whole amusement industry will have much to hope
for.
LOOPing to
success
For those suppliers attending the IAAPA Trade Show in November, you still
have time to bolster your own chances at a successful show by promoting
your presence, your new products and your show specials in THE LOOP. Click
here for more details on
our show specials, or email our advertising manager, Lynne Mosman, at
lynne@gettheloop.com.
New Arrivals
It's a gondola!
Adventure World in Perth,
Australia, announces the arrival of The Rampage, September 29,
2001. Measurements: 13.5 meters high (45 feet), 15.8 meters long (52 feet),
31 seats in a 10.5-meter-long (35 feet) gondola. Delivered by Moser Rides.
Ironic that a ride shrouded in absolute secrecy up to the very moment it opened to the public should have the most unshrouded, shall we say, of media debuts. Tuesday night, four days after Rampage opened with Adventure World's season, the popular television talk show "Rove [live]" pulled together 31 riders to take a spin on The Rampage in the nude, a stunt broadcast live across the continent. "It was shot from a distance, so you couldn't see anything but a lot of white skin," said Natalie Cameron, the park's spokeswoman.
Stormy weather inadvertently continuing the shroud over the $1.8 million (US$904,000) ride on Saturday—hardly anybody showed up at the park until Monday—and the Royal Show's weeklong residency in town drew Adventure World's clientele. Consequently, the "Rove [live]" telecast gave The Rampage the exposure it deserved. "We were working against a pretty strict construction timeline, and the landscaping wasn't ready Saturday anyway, so we decided to use the 'Rove [live]' stunt as a launching," Cameron said. "And it was a good launching pad. Since Tuesday we've had a flood of radio interviews and a lot of newspaper coverage."
But still not a lot of crowds, thanks to competition from the Royal Show. What crowds do come to the park are giving The Rampage, Moser's most technically advanced version of its rotating/twisting gondola thrill ride, the longest queues, albeit only five minutes in duration, Cameron said. That is fine with the Adventure World. "It's always good for the park to have that soft opening week so the staff can get used to the operations."
It's a waterpark!
Grand Country Square in
Branson, Missouri, announces the arrival of Splash Country Indoors, September
21, 2001. Measurements: 20,000 square feet (6,061 square meters) , 2,000-square-foot
(606 meters) toddler area, 150-foot (45.5 meters) lazy river, three-story
treehouse with two tube slides, two spas holding up to 20 people each
and a recreation pool with three basketball goals. Delivered by EMPEX
Watertoys, Fugleberg Koch/Group One Entertainment, Mendota Engineering,
Neuman Pools, ProSlide Technology, SCS Interactives, Superior Foam, Turner
Construction, Water Technology and West Coast Netting.
The two little boys stood outside the door to the new indoor expansion of Grand Country Square's Splash Country waterpark. It was 9:30 a.m. (09,30) Sunday morning, two days after the park had quietly opened to guests of the Square's 319 hotel rooms. Glenn Robinson, Grand Country Square's founder and owner, came upon the boys and told them the doors would not open for another 30 minutes. "Do you mind if we wait here?" one of the boys asked. Robinson said, "Sure, you can," whereupon one of the boys said, "You have an amazing place here for kids."
That was all the dedication Robinson needed for his new installation, though he is planning an official ribbon cutting October 18 with 1,500 invited guests and local dignitaries. Of all the ventures Robinson has pursued in his retail/entertainment center, which includes restaurants, music theaters, souvenir shops and the hotel, the 1999 opening of the mine-themed Splash Country ranks among his favorites. He loves watching three generations of families play in the park, and his business sense further tingles at the incremental increases in booked hotel rooms and rates guests are willing to pay that the waterpark brought. "It seemed to me that in the last few years of retail we were not seeing near as many families as we used to," Robinson said. "The first summer we opened up the outdoor waterpark, we had more beautiful families than I'd ever seen in business before."
The indoor addition, which carries on the outdoor park's mine theme plus uses 55-foot tall windows to give the lazy river the feel of a real mountain river, gives the hotel a year-long water play element. In just the two weeks since its unannouced opening, Robinson has seen a noticeable increase in families with pre-school-age children visiting on weekdays. "It's amazed me."
Obviously, he has a great place there for business.
See the November issue of Amusement Today for a profile on Splash Country Indoors.