AIMS NEWS & NOTES - PAGE 39 TM Celebrating Our 15th Year Vol. 15 • Issue 6.1 SEPTEMBER 2011 Euro Fighters from Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH Canobie Lake Park, Six Flags Over Georgia add coasters STORY: Scott Rutherford [email protected] German ride manufac- turer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is having a tre- mendous year with its line of Euro-Fighter compact steel roller coasters. Two opened in Italy and Japan respectively while another pair made their debut stateside at Canobie Lake Park and Six Flags Over Georgia. Untamed Canobie Lake Park Canobie Lake Park’s guests have come to expect rides and attractions of only the highest caliber. The Berni, Captell and Ulaky families that maintain and operate the classic New Hampshire trolley park make sure to offer this Canobie Lake Park’s new Untamed, left, is themed to the park’s new Big Bear Plaza and its Adirondack station. Six Flags on a daily basis. CLP’s new- Over Georgia’s Dare Devil Dive takes on the theme of an air school complete with hangar and control tower. Both coaster est resident easily lives up to are from Germany’s Gerstlauer. those lofty standards. CANOBIE LAKE COURTESY BRIAN PLEMMONS / SFOG COURTESY PARK From the moment one approaches Big Bear Plaza tion, which resembles a rustic the initial plunge, the two-car proud at the guest response New Hampshire. The struc- where the ride is located, it’s hunting lodge complete with trains, which each seat eight we have received from our ture was designed to feel as if clear just how much time and deer antler chandeliers. riders in two rows, zip around new Euro-Fighter this season. the coaster is being supported effort went into making cer- Serving as a replace- a tight layout that includes We opened the attraction, by a network of Birch trees. tain Untamed blended into its ment for the Rockin’ Rider, three inversions — a vertical affectionately called Untamed, Our station is hand crafted environment. The upright steel an SDC Galaxi coaster that loop, an Immelmann, and a in early June and have heard with New Hampshire Granite supports have been painted to operated at the park from zero-g roll. excellent comments and feed- and the incorporated stones resemble a vast forest of birch 1970 until 2004, Canobie Chris Nicoli, Canobie Lake back from our riders. The con- and logs were found on-site trees while much of the hand- Lake Park’s new Untamed Park’s marketing/entertain- cept, acquisition and installa- here at the park. There are made fencing is fashioned of is a Euro-Fighter Model 320. ment manager explains how tion of Untamed was devel- approximately 70 hand-carved wood and capped off with The compact ride features a guests have reacted to the new oped in-house by our design bears and our three cars were carved bear-shaped finials. The 1,184-foot-long course that coaster and just how much and development team and custom molded to resemble Adirondack features extend to begins with a 72-foot verti- went into making Untamed has been themed strategically grizzly bears gliding along the and are amplified in the coast- cal lift and beyond-vertical the ride it is. “We, at Canobie to blend in with the indig- track.” er’s amazingly detailed sta- (97-degree) first drop. After Lake Park, are extremely enous beauty and nature of 4See COASTERS, page 5 Visit SUBSCRIBE TO It’s Coming! www.GoldenTicketAwards.com for complete details Dated material. material. Dated AMUSEMENT TODAY September 16-17 RUSH! NEWSPAPER POSTMASTER: PLEASE July 29, 2011 Mailed Friday, (817) 460-7220 PERMIT # 2069 # PERMIT FT. WORTH TX WORTH FT. com PAID amusementtoday @ US POSTAGE US PRSRT STD PRSRT 2011 Golden Ticket Awards • Holiday World & Spashin’ Safari • Santa Claus, Indiana 2 AMUSEMENT TODAY September 2011 NEWSTALK OPINIONS CARTOON LETTERS AT CONTACTS EDITORIAL: Gary Slade, [email protected] CARTOON: Bubba Flint Register now for the 2011 Golden Ticket Awards It’s not too late to register for the 2011 Golden Ticket Awards, but the clock is tick- ing so don’t delay! This year’s event will be held at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana on September 16 & 17. Slade Presented by Amusement Today, the Golden Ticket Awards event has become a great way for park professionals to cap off their summer sea- son. The two day event is filled with social time, good food, behind-the-scenes tours, and many other learning opportunities. The highlight of the event is the actual awards ceremony, which is always filled with memorable moments as we look back on the past year in our indus- try. The 2011 Golden Ticket Awards are open, and free to attend, to all professionals who are employed in the amusement industry. All attendees must pre-register for the event via the Web site: GoldenTicketAwards.com. EDITORIAL: Event schedule, hotel and other key information can be Scott Rutherford, [email protected] found at the Web site, or see related story on page 37. Good help is hard to find We look forward to seeing everyone there! Good customer service is a problem for certain parks. The pool from which they Gary Slade is the founder and publisher of Amusement skill that requires patience and hire is often a murky one. But some of the employ- Today. His love for amusement parks began at age six empathy. It’s not something that ees we encountered at this park should NEVER have when he first visited Pontchartrain Beach Amusement can be easily taught or explained; been allowed to interact with the public on any level. Park and Six Flags Over Texas. His long newspaper career it has to be experienced, learned More than 95 percent of those we dealt with couldn’t and practiced. Having traveled the have cared less that we – or any other guests – were helped lead to the launch of AT in 1997. world both as a tourist and work- there. In some instances they were downright rude ing as a customer service agent and confrontational. Even a security guard on the Rutherford and crew member for several large platform of a closed ride responded to my question commercial airlines, I feel I have about when it might open with utter, unprovoked It’s Coming! a pretty good idea what good customer service en- hostility. I was shocked. After several run-ins with tails. employees such as this, my friend and I elected to September 16-17 Over the course of the summer, I visited a great leave after less than an hour. I won’t publicly name number of this country’s amusement and theme this park but I have drafted a letter to the operator. parks. During these trips, I witnessed many exam- Less than an hour’s drive north, we arrived at reigstration ples of good customer service in action. Starting in another park where employees were the polar op- central Florida and working my way up the Atlantic posites of those we dealt with earlier. From the very deadline seaboard all the way up to New Hampshire, I wit- moment we stepped onto the property, we were met sept. 2 nessed employees interacting with guests in ways with nothing but smiles and a welcoming attitude. that ensured visits were joyful and memorable. It was a such a relief to be at a place where people However, there was one dark spot on the trip that enjoyed their jobs and passed that on to their guests. was beyond dismaying. I was excited to show this I suppose we get spoiled by places like Dolly- Go to place off to my traveling companion (a fellow park wood and Disney where an emphasis on superior fan) as it would be his first visit. Crowds were light customer service is simply a way of life. What it all GoldenTicketAwards.com on this sunny afternoon. We were there not as mem- boils down to is simple human kindness. Treat oth- and register to attend now! bers of the working media but as customers. ers as you would like to be treated, with dignity and I realize finding competent workers can be a respect, and often everything falls into place. AMUSEMENT TODAY STAFF Gary Slade, Founder Tim Baldwin Sammy Piccola Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Editorial Accounting / Circulation (817) 460-7220 [email protected] (817) 460-7220 [email protected] [email protected] Deliveries Member of: Pam Sherborne 2012 E. Randol Mill Rd, Suite 203 IAAPA, AIMS International, PAPA, Arlington, Texas 76011 NEAAPA, NJAA, OABA, WWA, TTIA, Stacey Childress Editorial Sue Nichols NAARSO and IISF Web & Graphic Design [email protected] Advertising (817) 889-4441 (615) 662-0252 Subscription rates are: 1 year (14 issues) $50 in the USA; $70 elsewhere; 2 years (28 issues) $90/$130; [email protected] Scott Rutherford [email protected] 3 years (42 issues) $130/$190. Send check or money order (U.S. funds only, drawn on a U.S. bank) to Amusement Today, P.O. Box 5427, Arlington, Texas 76005-5427. Your cancelled check is your receipt. Editorial Please allow up to six weeks for your subscription request to be processed and the first issue mailed. John Robinson / W.H.R. Inc. [email protected] Beth Jenkins Daily E-mail Newsletter Advertising Amusement Today is an independent newspaper, published monthly by Amusement Today Inc., P.O. Box 5427, Arlington, Texas 76005. Presort Standard Postage (Permit No. 2069) pre-paid at Fort Worth, [email protected] Bubba Flint (615) 794-7288 Texas. The entire contents of this newspaper and its related Web sites are copyrighted and trademarked Cartoonist [email protected] by Amusement Today 2011, with all rights reserved.