Quarter 2, 2014 Dates for Your Diary Guess Who Came to Play at Web Adventure Park! Zero Hour Contracts Update

In this issue: BALPPA does Barcelona FEC Seminar at LEGOLAND – May 2014 Quarter 2, 2014 Dates for your diary Guess who came to play at Web Adventure Park! Zero Hour Contracts update SUMMER’S HERE! Quarter 2 of 2014 has flown by! Along with various seminars and sub group meetings, we also held the 2014 Summer Conference in Barcelona which was a great success. BALPPA DOES BARCELONA We have recently returned from the Summer Conference and thoroughly enjoyed it! This year’s conference took place in Barcelona, Spain and our guests enjoyed a golf day, city tour, visit to Port Aventura, our Gala Dinner with stunning 360 degree views across the city as well as flamenco dancers. We also visited Tibidabo theme park where we were treated to more stunning views of Barcelona some great attractions and BALPPA CEO, Paul Kelly a sumptuous lunch. enjoys the stunning surroundings at Port Thank you to everyone who came along – we hope you Aventura against a enjoyed it! Thanks also to our very generous sponsors who all rather unfortunate back received awards, presented by BALPPA Chairman, Bob drop! O’Connor at the Gala Dinner: Steven Wooley, Embed Phil Pickersgill, Derek Smart, The Noisy Karen Staley, IAAPA Innovative Leisure Drinks Company Europe INNOVATIVE LEISURE GIVES TWO LOCATIONS THE SKY TRAIL TREATMENT. Innovative Leisure has installed High Ropes attractions at two UK locations - the National Water Sports Centre (NWSC) in Nottingham and North Bay Railway in Scarborough. The NWSC has installed a double level Navigator course which pits its adventurous clientèle against 36 hair-raising rope elements at heights of up to 10m. The course's continuous belay system ensures maximum safety and with a throughput of over 200 participants per hour and a capacity of up to 50 people at once, patrons can test their nerves across tight rope walks and cargo nets amongst the many elements the course offers. The NWSC site has also added a Sky Tykes Junior Ropes Course which gives children from as young as 2 years old the chance to try out challenging rope elements just like the bigger Sky Trail course. Set in the Scarborough hills, North Bay Railway has also added a double level Navigator course which again offers many rope-based elements to challenge patrons and the attraction’s owner David Humphreys commented: "A two tier Sky Trail has been installed as a crisp new attraction at the North Bay Railway, Scarborough. It has proved to be a hit from the start with our customers, keeping them on site for a longer periods and helping with other secondary sales.” CHIMPS BOLOGNESE FEAST! Dudley Zoological Gardens' chimps have been tucking into a delicious meal of vegetarian pasta bolognese, thanks to the culinary talents of their keeper. Lower Primates Trainee Keeper, Shaun Crompton, said: “I quickly discovered that primates love pasta, so when I was thinking of alternative dishes to give the chimpanzees, I remembered the spaghetti bolognese that I make at home and decided that would be a perfect dish, minus the meat meat and a few other high-sugar ingredients. “I use carrots, onions and tomatoes, plus a few chillies for that extra kick, and cook it for them about once a month as a treat and they love it!" The girls are given their pasta bolognese in individual plastic cups, to ensure they each get an equal portion. Sean added: “Chimps aren’t very good at sharing and if I gave them a big batch the lower ranking girls wouldn’t even get a look-in, as the older girls would eat the lot. So I use plastic cups, which I then hide around the climbing frame in their internal den. They eat the DZG's Lower Primates Trainee bolognese out of the cup and when it's empty they come over to us Keeper, Shaun Crompton, for a refill of their favourite squash.” delivers his bolognese feast to the chimps. BLUDGERS AND BROOMSTICKS AT WARNER BROS. STUDIO TOUR LONDON This summer, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter invites visitors to discover how magical sports and wizarding games came to life on screen as it hosts its first Bludgers and Broomsticks feature. th st From Friday 18 July – Monday 1 September, visitors will discover how a combination of special and visual effects were used to create the illusion of flight and to make chess pieces move – as well as getting the chance to test green screen technology for themselves. Head Prop Maker Pierre Bohanna’s team will demonstrate the techniques used to hand-craft broomsticks throughout the Harry Potter film series. After the debuts of the Nimbus 2000 and the Firebolt, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets respectively, brooms were made to match their owners’ personalities – Arthur Weasley’s even features pedals and a seat from a Muggle bicycle! Some of the attraction’s knowledgeable staff members will don authentic Quidditch robes used in the Harry Potter film series and visitors will get the chance to examine the costumes of Gryffindor players up close. For more information or to book tickets, visit www.wbstudiotour.co.uk or call the attraction’s Visitor Services Team on 0845 084 0900. The Studio Tour is located just north of London and tickets must be pre-booked. Secrets will be revealed. LOUIS IS DRIVING FORCE BEHIND NEW GULLIVER’S ATTRACTION Warrington theme park Gulliver’s is keeping it in the family after its founder’s grandson pioneered the latest attraction to hit the resort. Louis Dalton, the grandson of Ray Phillips who started the theme park company in 1978 and the son of current managing director Julie Dalton, is the brains behind the arrival of a brand new Nerf Zone live gaming centre at the Warrington park. Growing up in theme parks run by the family, Louis has always taken a keen interest in the development of the parks and regularly acted as chief tester for new rides and attractions alongside sister Emily and cousins Beth and Charlie. Now, Louis is set to take centre stage as the new Nerf Zone was handpicked and co-designed by him with his friends in mind. Mum Julie, Managing Director of Gulliver’s theme parks, said: “Louis is an active member of the family business – he’s long been a fan of Nerf like most children his age and thought it would be the perfect fit for our parks. He’s the expert so we took his word for it and have now rolled out Nerf Zones at all three of our theme park locations in Matlock Bath, Milton Keynes and now Warrington.” Louis (left), sister Emily and cousin Charlie at Nerf The new Nerf Zone at Warrington is an interactive play attraction where children can enjoy Nerf blaster fun in a purpose-built environment. Gulliver’s Nerf Zones are among the first of their kind in the UK and give children the chance to play with the entire range of the hugely popular Hasbro toys with friends. MAJOR INVESTMENT FOR WEST MIDLAND SAFARI PARK An £80m investment plan at West Midlands Safari Park to build an indoor waterpark, 1,000-delegate conference / exhibition centre and a 250-room hotel at the attraction is moving closer. The full planning application for the water park will be submitted in August 2014, along with the application for outline planning for the hotel. The Safari Park’s vision is to create a year-round resort, allowing visitors to stay on site longer and enjoy a wider range of high quality attractions. The project will create almost 500 new jobs and create a world-class resort attraction in Wyre Forest. Nick Laister, Senior Director at RPS, who produced the planning brief on behalf of the park, said: “We are delighted to be taking the next step in this major project.” WMSP is already one of the leading visitor attractions in the Heart of England, attracting 750,000 visitors annually and employing over 400 staff. The Park already has extensive corporate facilities located at Tree Tops Pavilion and at the prestigious Spring Grove House. WMSP is committed to developing its role in regeneration, education, community support, scientific research and worldwide conservation. ZONE LASER HOLD EUROPEAN CONFERENCE AT THE CURVE THEATRE Zone Laser has held an international meeting for operators of its laser game equipment based all over Europe. 84 people have attended the meeting which was held at The Curve theatre last month. Laser game experts from as far afield as Russia, China, Australia and the USA have joined up with the UK and European operators that are supplied by the Leicester-based company. Zone Laser is the central provider of equipment used in laser game centres throughout the country and beyond. Their supply and support headquarters are hidden behind a secret door at their own Megazone centre on Belgrave Gate. MD Peter Davies explained that the conference was a great way of sharing operational ideas and a chance to look at new products and ideas for new games. Peter was thrilled that so many of Zone's customers had travelled to see the new products and concepts and to share ideas. Erik Guthrie from Indiana described the meeting as: “Totally brilliant. The sharing of ideas has been outstanding.” Jason Thompson from Laser World in West Midlands added, “The information and great conversations I had with the other guests was uplifting, and will greatly help me and my businesses.” Patrick Holmes, the original designer of Zone equipment said “the experience was a rare opportunity to introduce the new fat lasers and the touch-screen interactive phasers.

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