Sol Spin Stirs New Excitement at Knott's
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INSIDE: Quassy rebuilds C.P. Huntington train; ANNIVERSARY Chance closes in on #400 TM & ©2017 Amusement Today, Inc. PAGES 27-29 June 2017 | Vol. 21 • Issue 3 www.amusementtoday.com Hersheypark soars with S&S Triple Towers Installation is first in the country with three towers at different heights AT: B. Derek Shaw [email protected] HERSHEY, Pa. — On April 8, during Springtime in the Park pre-opening day weekends, Hersheypark unveiled its new- Sol Spin, a Top Scan from Mondial, began daily operation at Knott's est trio of attractions to the pub- Berry Farm in April. COURTESY KNOTT'S BERRY FARM lic — Hershey Triple Towers. Being billed as “the first choose-your-thrill triple tower Sol Spin stirs new in the United States,” the new attractions provide an experi- excitement at Knott’s ence for each member of the family with varying heights, Mondial Top Scan tion that was once occupied thrill levels and speeds. Located by a Mondial Wind Seeker in the Minetown section of the joins ride lineup swing tower, which had a 110-acre park, each tower oper- short run at Knott’s before ates independently, launching AT: Dean Lamanna parent company Cedar Fair at varying times with its own [email protected] Entertainment relocated it to ride staff. Each tower affords a BUENA PARK, Calif. Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, unique view of the park from Hersheypark's new Triple Towers offers park guests the op- — Knott’s Berry Farm is in- Mo. up above. portunity to choose three heights of towers, 189 feet, 131 creasing its seasonal harvest Jon Storbeck, vice presi- Triple Towers are located feet and 89 feet. The towers, from S&S Worldwide, opened of thrills with the addition of dent and general manager of in a spot where the Red Baron, on April 8. COURTESY HERSHEYPARK Sol Spin, a new high-end flat Knott’s, told Amusement To- Frog Hopper and Convoy ride, which opened April 21 day that he’s impressed by the kiddie rides were previously. Inc. describes the process, “The other park had done something during the concluding days across-the-board guest reac- Convoy and Frog Hopper decision to create an attraction like this before. The concept of the annual Knott’s Boysen- tion to the unique thriller. were moved to where the Huss where guests could choose their was further developed by their berry Festival. “Since Sol Spin’s grand Condor (Flying Falcon) was level of thrill originally came team, and with some valuable The wildly whirling, opening, we’ve seen a great located. That attraction was from a discussion back in Sep- input from their board of di- brightly colored attraction — mix of parents, teens and removed after Labor Day 2016 tember 2015 with Hershey En- rectors, the Triple Towers were from the Top Scan product young adults enjoying it,” he and stored for eventual use tertainment and Resorts Gener- born.” line manufactured by Neth- said. “This attraction has add- in the future. The Red Baron al Manager, Kevin Stumpf. We Barto told Amusement Today, erlands-based Mondial — is ed excitement to our Fiesta has been moved to near the discussed the idea of a different “We believe it is the first time one of less than a handful of Village themed area and yet entrance of the Boardwalk area size tower to address each level that three different size towers, such rides in North America another daring experience for in Hersheypark. of thrill guests were willing to that offers three very different and the only one in the world our guests. And at night, Sol Talks on the project started experience. As we discussed the and unique experiences, were with a 36-seat configuration. Spin’s colorful and vibrant three years ago. Pete Barto, di- concept, we got excited about offered to guests at the same It fills a long-vacant space in rector of sales for North Ameri- the idea and began doing ad- 4See SOL SPIN, page 6 the park’s Fiesta Village sec- ca and Europe, S&S Worldwide, ditional research to see if any 4See TOWERS, page 8 NEWSTALK PARKS & FAIRS Page 3 Pages 23-36 Dated material. material. Dated RUSH! INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS, SAFETY NEWSPAPER POSTMASTER: PLEASE 22, 2017 May Mailed Monday, Pages 11-14 Pages 37-45 PERMIT # 2069 # PERMIT FT. WORTH TX WORTH FT. PAID US POSTAGE US WATER PARKS CLASSIFIEDS PRSRT STD PRSRT Pages 15-22 Page 46 2 AMUSEMENT TODAY June 2017 June 2017 AMUSEMENT TODAY 3 NEWSTALK EDITORIAL: Gary Slade, [email protected] FLINT’S VIEW: Bubba Flint Best-Value parks list An interesting magazine article was passed our way recently as published in the May/ June issue of Consumer's Digest. The article ranked the best-value amusement parks in order based on their bang for the buck which includes attractions and cost of admission. It was interesting to see in the seven parks listed, that Slade only one big themer made the list. The rest of the list is made up of the traditional, family-first parks that keep providing thrills with no nonsense gimmicks or pricing structures. It's also interesting to think that although some of the parks listed are now corporately-owned, they were all once family-owned, yet all continue to operate today as if they were all still family-owned. Perhaps that operational, guest-first mentality is the very reason the parks below made this list. Let's hope others are taking notes. Listed in order, the magazine's descriptions were: 1. Holiday World: Delivers a charming retro holiday theme and a water park that has two of the longest water coasters in the world. Ticket prices include admission to the water park, parking, EDITORIAL: Andrew Mellor, [email protected] sunscreen and unlimited soft drinks. 2. Knoebels: Known for its classic wooden roller coasters, Happy anniversary AT Knoebels is one of the few remaining free admission, family- As regular readers will have seen, the for the parks’ business which I founded owned amusement park in the United States. Entertainment, April issue of Amusement Today marked and edited for many years. picnic facilities, parking and Wi-Fi capability are also free. the publication’s 20th anniversary issue. Like Gary, when I look back over 3. Santa's Village: Designed for children age 12 and under. As publisher Gary Slade noted in his edi- the past 38 years, I cannot believe all Santa's Village has a retro Christmas theme. Its reasonable torial at the time, he doesn’t know where that time has passed since I first set admission rates include water park attractions, parking, picnic those years have gone, they’ve gone by out on my chosen career path. And facilities, stroller and wheelchair rentals, pet kennels and Wi-Fi so quickly. the older I get, the quicker the time capability. This got me to thinking about when Mellor goes by, as I am sure many will agree. 4. Lake Compounce: As the country's oldest continuously I first started contributing toAT myself The way we journos work these operated amusement park, Lake Compounce pays homage to its with international news items, and, like Gary, days has changed dramatically since I first start- history as it delivers modern-day thrills. Admission prices include I couldn’t believe it when I delved into my AT ed too. I remember many a trip around the U.K., entry to the water park and unlimited soft drinks. files and discovered I’d been submitting stories Europe and even one in the U.S. to visit parks 5. Dollywood: Thrill-seekers will love its great selection since 2006. Quite amazing and longer than I had and manufacturers to compile articles, but, of of roller coasters, but Dollywood also delivers some of the thought. course, nowadays the internet has changed all best festivals and live entertainment of any amusement park. My own journey within the industry began in that as we can get so much information by just DreamMore Resort guests get good value with parking, early late 1979 when I joined the family business (as it sitting at our desks. It’s not the same, of course, park admission, devices that let them skip ride lines and 2-day was then) here in the U.K. called World’s Fair. We and I miss getting out to see people face to face park tickets for $70. published a weekly newspaper for the travelling like I used to, but for the way I work nowadays 6. Waldameer: Waldameer dates to 1896 and has a charming, fairground business, the coin-op sector and mar- (which doesn’t just entail writing articles), the in- traditional vibe. Admission, entertainment, parking and picnic ket traders in a combined publication of more ternet is key as it is for everyone. facilities are free. than 80 pages per week. Subsequently we add- My congratulations to Gary and the staff for 7. Story Land: Story Land has a fairy-tale and nursery rhyme ed other titles to our portfolio, one of which was reaching this milestone year in the history of AT. theme that's geared to the 12-and-under crowd. Parking and pet the theme park magazine Park World in 1985 – Long may it continue to keep readers informed kennels are included with admission. one of, if not the, first full-color, magazine titles about this wonderful industry we all work in. Call (817) 460-7220 for advertising, circulation or editorial inquiries Amusement Today is an independent, privately- Founder, Publisher and Editor Social Media & Editorial Print Issue & Extra Extra owned trade newspaper published 14 times Gary Slade • (817) 460-7220 x3 Dean Lamanna Desktop Edition Production per year by Amusement Today Inc., P.O.