Polar X-Plorer
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PW_May12_p01:PW_May12_p01 02/05/2012 16:59 Page 1 MAY 2012 Polar X-plorer Zierer drop coaster anchors Fantasilandia Legoland’s latest land Aquatica San Antonio 40 years of Kings Island + more! ZEBEC fp - Nov 10:Layout 1 29/10/10 11:58 Page 1 Complete Lily Pad Walk Setup Zebec provides a Complete Lily Pad Walk Setup Foam Lily Pad Floats including Foam Lily Pad Floats, Overhead Constructed for heavy commercial use and made Complete Lily Pad Walk Setup with high density foam completely encased in a Netting and Pool Side Safety Padding – All made FOAM Lily Floats in our USA 70,000sf Cincinnati, Ohio factory. water-tight, reinforced outer membrane cover. Overhead Netting This thick outer membrane is extremely tough Lily Pad setups are custom designed for each Entry Pool Side Padding )('&%$#"! "$' #($#%"#'"#"'(")%$$"!(%!" providing excellent abrasion, puncture and wear resistance along with water-tight construction. Safety Padding Safety Pad Features "Sizes"" #'"!%"#'"#"'(")%$$"!(%! 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Bumper Boat Tubes Rapid Heavy-Duty Single, Double, Tear- River Raft Drop, 3 and 4 Person Clover Tubes made in USA with extra heavy materi- al and overlapped, heat-welded seams Inline Rafts Round Heavy Duty Tubes Rafts +1(513) 829-5533 Fax +1(513) 892-7466 [email protected] www.zebec.com Floatation Collars Foam Mats Inflatable Barriers Sidewinder Sidewinder Tubes Rope & Snow Rafts Tubes Bumper Netting PW_May12_p03:PW_May12_p03 09/05/2012 12:32 Page 3 P12 MAY 2012 6-7 Front Gate Setting the agenda for the month ahead 8 Park Hoppin’ Lost Lagoon was a prototypical steel Paul Ruben’s Great Wolf adventure and concrete waterpark. We really wanted to bring the Aquatica brand to “ this part of the country and give our 9 Kernels guests a waterpark unlike anything else Bite-sized news they have experienced Tim Morrow discusses SeaWorld San Antonio’s new waterpark, P22-23 ” 8-18 Park News Your monthly update P22 20 Show Preview Asian Attractions Expo 22-23 Q-Lines Aquatica San Antonio 24-26 Polar Land at Legoland Attraction profile 30-31 Pharaonique at Parc Astérix! Attraction profile P28 32-34 Fantasilandia Park profile 34-35 Seabreeze Park profile 36-37 Kings Island 40 years Park tribute 38 Ride Guide We were worried that this new park was Products and services for parks and attractions not going to attract any more guests than Coney Island. However, on July 4, “ 1972, the floodgates opened and we 41 Show Guide attracted approximately 40,000 guests Exhibitions and networking for amusement professionals Dennis Speigel remembers the opening of Kings Island, P36-37 ” 42 Web Guide P38 Online resources for the amusement industry THIS MONTH’S COVER SHOT: Polar X-plorer by Zierer is the MAY 2012 highlight of Legoland Billund’s new Polar Land area. This unique coaster is one of two from the German manufacturer to feature a vertical drop, alongside Verbolten at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in the USA. Turn to page 24 for more on Polar X-plorer. zierer.com Polar X-plorer Fantasilandia Aquatica San Antonio Zierer drop coaster anchors 40 years of Kings Island + more! Legoland’s latest land PW_May12_p04:PW_May12_p04 14/05/2012 09:05 Page 2 www.parkworld-online.com ParkWord MayMay 20122012 Around 15 parks and attractions professionals from across Europe gathered recently in the north of England as part of an ongoing quest to establish a worldwide standard for the safety of amusement rides and devices. Ranging from representatives of trade associations and amusement parks to ride inspectors and engineers, the people in question were all members of the ISO/TC254 committee’s working group 3, and I was invited to sit in on the first day of their meeting at the offices of Leisure Technical Consultants (LTC) near Manchester. You can read more on page 8 of this issue. What struck me, apart from what a nice lunch LTC had laid on for delegates, was how committed they were to the cause. That’s perhaps to be expected, as theme parks and other attractions rely on the safe transportation of millions of guests each and every day of the year. In the amusement industry, safety is no laughing matter, and without it there would of course be no industry. Nevertheless, I was encouraged by the time everyone had given up to formulate what will eventually be the ISO/TC254 N9 guidance document for theme parks, amusement parks, fairgrounds and other visitor attractions worldwide. Just as it’s a thing of wonder that people are willing to forge careers as nurses for the good of our health, I’m also very grateful to those helping to ensure we can continue riding rollercoasters carefree. As legislation varies from country to country, the document will be not become law, and restrictions within the USA will prevent it becoming completely global. Nevertheless, the TC254 committee is in close dialogue with the American ASTM F24 committee, and the guidance is expected to become the most authoritative international work published to date, pooling knowledge and best practice from around the world. Unlike yours truly, who will do anything for a ham sandwich, some people really do earn their lunch. Owen Ralph – Editor Editor Owen Ralph (+44 161 438 2934) [email protected] North American Editor Paul Ruben (+1 585 381 1012) [email protected] Contributors this issue Richard Veldhuis, Thomas Clarke, Linda Hill, Dennis Speigel Sales Manager Mark Burgess (+44 1622 699124) [email protected] Publishing Director Paul Ryder [email protected] Data Development Manager Alex Wetton [email protected] Managing Director Parvez Kayani [email protected] Publication Secretary/ Jennifer York (+44 1622 699109) Subscriptions [email protected] Head Office Datateam Business Media Ltd London Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8LY, UK Tel: +44 1622 687031 MAY 2012 ISSN 1462-4796 datateam.co.uk © Copyright 2012. All materials in this publication remain the copyright of Datateam Business Media and no part of it may be Member of: reproduced without the written permission of the proprietors. A request to insert an advertisement is deemed to be an acceptance of Datateam Business Media Ltd’s conditions of trading, copies of which are available on request. @ParkWorldMag MAY 2012 Mack Rides p35:Layout 1 30/04/2012 10:15 Page 1 Front Gate www.parkworld-online.com 24 26 BigQuestion Figures32 28 What will be your biggest challenge in 2012? of50 Fun20 38 Gary Conroy, Old Town (Kissimmee, Florida), USA: As new 41 owners of Old Town we believe our greatest challenge will be rebuilding our brand to attract a larger segment of the tourist and local population 17 back to the park. Branding is a very scientific concept and it will be number of Gentoo penguins at Polar imperative we achieve a very unique and memorable experience for our Land, the latest addition to Legoland guest by ensuring a high standard through exceptional guest service. We Billund, Denmark (see page 24) must teach all our vendors to provide the same experience so our guest has one fluid experience. We will also invest significant capital in theming and getting the environment back to its iconic status. 20 Michael Mack, Europa-Park, Germany: Getting our new hotel, Bell per cent – increase in visitors this Easter to Rock, ready on time is our greatest challenge. I think we got the season off parks and attractions operated by Grupo to a nice start with out new wooden coaster Wodan, but the challenge with Xcaret, Mexico (compared to Easter 2011) that could be capacity, which our operations guys think is too low compared to Blue Fire Megacoaster. Apart from this we are looking forward to a great season as a result of the biggest investment in the history of 167,000 Europa-Park! euros ($219,587) – amount donated to charity since 1985 as a result of coins Bob Montgomery, Darien Lake, USA: Our biggest challenge this year thrown into the wishing fountain at will be educating our market that Darien Lake is more than just an Efteling, The Netherlands amusement park. Recent enhancements to our accommodation and our waterpark make Darien Lake a destination experience for families, teens and young adults. We have added $5 million in new attractions and entertainment to make 2012 our best season ever. Communicating our 20,000,000 value proposition will be especially important this year, as economic euros ($26m) – cost of new Pharaonique Egyptian-themed area at Parc Astérix in conditions and rising gas prices make close-to-home vacations particularly attractive for families. France (see page 28) Pascal Fliche, Parc Astérix, France: Oz Iris, our new B&M inverted coaster, is the big news for 2012 at Parc Astérix. Our main challenge is to 100,000,000 get as many visitors as possible to come and discover it! We are confident US dollars (€76m) – planned investment once they have ridden it they will become our new park ambassadors; in new attractions over next four years at flying over an Egyptian temple is definitely unique experience! The ride is Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey part our new land Pharaonique and integrates the worlds of Astérix and Cleopatra, leading comic and movie stars in France, and reinforces Parc Produced in association with AECOM.