Volume 2, No. 20. October 25, 2002
New Arrivals
It’s
a flat ride!
Adventure World in Perth, Australia, announces the arrival of The Power Surge,
September 28, 2002. Measurements: 57 feet high (17 meters), 24 passengers in
12 gondolas. Delivered by Zamperla.
When you open a ride with 31 nude passengers, as Adventure World did last year
in debuting The Rampage (THE
LOOP, October 5, 2001), you’ve set a pretty, um, high standard for
ride openings at your park. “It was difficult to beat that, so we didn’t
even try this year,” said the park’s General Manager Andrew Sharry.
Instead, his new $1.2 million Australian (US$664,000) Power Surge premiered
with no fanfare when Adventure World opened for the season.
Still, the new ride gained notice. “The feedback has been absolutely fantastic,”
Sharry said. “I didn’t expect it to be as strong as Rampage,
but the feedback we’ve been getting is that it’s a better ride.”
Thus, the park has had two hit installations in consecutive years, an important
outcome in the first two years of Sharry’s five-year strategic plan to
grow the park’s attendance. For one thing, last year’s Rampage
was the first new ride since 1997. “There’s been a drought of new
rides since 1997, and that’s as good as a lifetime in this industry.”
For another, he’s shifting the park’s focus from being merely a waterpark
to a more full-scale amusement park. “Seventy percent of the people were
coming because of the water attractions, which is fantastic when you’re
having good weather, but when you’re having mild weather, it’s no
good,” Sharry said.
He also had identified a “real hole” in the park’s demographic:
young teens. The physical thrill rides of Rampage and Power Surge
not only appeal to that demographic, but are good spectator rides for other
guests.
With The Power Surge, Sharry is hoping to raise another bar established
by Rampage: last year the park saw a 29 percent increase in attendance
and 34.5 percent increase in revenue. That’s a naked truth from which you
can’t avert your eyes.
©2002, Minton Enterprises
LLC
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