INSIDE: DreamVision park plans announced, questions remain Page 6 TM & ©2015 Amusement Today, Inc. March 2015 | Vol. 18 • Issue 12 www.amusementtoday.com Laser tag convention, educational day are highlights Amusement Expo 2015 looks to ‘get in the game’ in Las Vegas STORY: Dean Lamanna Two full days of exhibit [email protected] time follow on Wednesday and Thursday, March 25-26. LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The Registration includes admis- 2015 edition of Amusement sion to two co-located events Expo, the annual conference that are expected to increase and trade show of the coin- the number of attending op and revenue-generating buyers: the National Bulk amusement, music and fami- Vendors Association Show ly entertainment center (FEC) and the 2015 Laser Tag Con- industry, is rolling out at the vention (lasertagconvention. Las Vegas Convention Center com). In addition, there is a March 24-26. one-day reciprocal admission Co-sponsored by the policy between Amusement American Amusement Ma- Expo and the adjacently-sited chine Association (AAMA) Pizza Expo. and the Amusement & Mu- Special marketing op- sic Operators Association portunities, including Show (AMOA), this year’s expo Specials and the Innovator will offer comprehensive in- Awards Program, also are ex- dustry education and a con- pected to help generate buyer vention floor packed with traffic at vendor booths. more than 100 exhibitors. Other Amusement Expo Vendors specializing in coin- highlights: op machines, electronics, go- 2015 AAMCF Spring kart equipment, laser games, Charity Golf Outing (Mon- photo booths, plush / novel- day, March 23): All trade ties, redemption equipment show attendees are invited to / merchandise, sports games, enjoy a day of sun, golf and tattoos, token dispensers, networking at The Las Vegas Amusement Expo 2015, co- video games and more are Country Club prior to the sponsored by the American participating. expo. Registration includes Amusement Machine Asso- A full day of educational green fee, practice balls, a ciation and the Amusement sessions is scheduled on Tues- boxed lunch and two drink & Music Operators Asso- day, March 24, at the Westgate tickets. A portion of net pro- ciation, will include a day of Resort & Casino, the expo’s ceeds benefit the American comprehensive industry edu- hotel headquarters. These in- Amusement Machine Chari- cation sessions in addition to formative, interactive and fun table Foundation. two full days of exhibits by sessions, which together carry Industry Gala Recep- vendors and support busi- the theme “Get in the Game,” tion (Tuesday, March 24): nesses. The Westgate Resort will cover topics ranging from This gathering will provide & Casino is the event’s pri- cashless transactions and op- guests with an opportunity mary hotel host. erating cost management to to mix and network with ex- COURTESY AMUSEMENT EXPO finding a niche in corporate hibitors and fellow operators. events at FECs. 4See EXPO, page 5 Dated material. material. Dated RUSH! SUBSCRIBE TODAY! NEWSPAPER POSTMASTER: 23, 2015 February Mailed Monday, PLEASE PERMIT # 2069 # PERMIT (817) 460-7220 FT. WORTH TX WORTH FT. PAID US POSTAGE US PRSRT STD PRSRT 2 AMUSEMENT TODAY March 2015 NEWSTALK EDITORIAL: Gary Slade, [email protected] CARTOON: Bubba Flint Will DreamVision Mountain be a reality or a snow job? The DreamVision Company, a privately owned, Fort Worth, Texas-based entertainment and media concern, announced plans on Feb. 9 in Fort Worth and Feb. 11 in Muscle Shoals, Ala., for two massive theme park resorts expected to open by 2020. The Texas announcement, attended by Amusement Today, included local city leaders, Slade special guests, a large media presence and the DreamVision team. The latter was led by CEO Rick Silanskas, Theme Park Development President Dave Goodman, Chief Creative Officer Ron Logan and moneyman Bryan Robinson, CEO of Provident Global Capital, LLC. The Texas property, announced as DreamVision Mountain, is a 5,000-acre resort. Designs revealed a theme park divided into sections surrounding a massive, iconic mountain, which will house an array of indoor ski slopes and feature a daily snowfall. The resort is also said to have a water park, hotels and a golf course, although none of those attraction details were highlighted during the confer- ence. The Alabama property, DreamVision Soundscape, is somewhat smaller at 1,400 acres. It, too, features a theme park (emphasizing music), a golf course, hotels and retail. What has not been clear is the $3.5 billion price tag: Is it for EDITORIAL: Scott Rutherford, [email protected] both properties or just for the Texas location? The questions don’t stop there. Take, for example, some of the Long live the King hazy details related to the proposed Texas resort. For me, the wooden roller of the past. DreamVision never addressed whether the full $3.5 billion had coaster will always be the true Then, in 2001 something came out of been secured and did not reveal if the land was secured or where King of the Midway. These left field that no one expected: the prefab- it was located. The company’s response on the site question was roaring, clattering contrap- ricated wooden track coaster pioneered by “West of town.” Anyone who lives in North Texas can tell you that tions have been driving front Intamin that featured laser-cut rails and poly- the available land north and west of Fort Worth has as many gas gates and thrilling guests for urethane-coated wheels. Traditional coaster well storage tank sites (e.g., Barnett Shale) as fire ant mounds. Not exactly an ideal location for a sprawling resort. over a century. fans felt these rides were slowly erasing the DreamVision promoted nightly fireworks. Okay, that’s fine — Rutherford Despite its obvious popular- classic coaster experience. Rocky Mountain but how does one keep the high-flying fireworks (in Texas winds) ity, there have been challeng- Construction emerged in 2011 with products from igniting the parched landscape? The state is now entering the es to the wooden coaster’s reign. The ride’s that would even further blur the lines between fifth year of historic drought. It was an ironic development that, the appeal seems to cycle in recurring waves. wood and steel coasters by offering new and same week of this media blitz, the National Weather Service issued Following the glory of the 1920’s Golden modified hybrids capable of inversions and a Red Flag Warning for North Texas — citing conditions ripe for Age when a phenomenal number of amazing other maverick maneuvers. wildfires. designs were realized, the Great Depression While all these acrobatics do indeed DreamVision park renderings show massive water areas and and the onset of World War II spelled the make for a unique experience, these rides waterfalls throughout the park grounds. Perhaps they don’t know about the water conservation efforts that are ongoing in Texas — end for literally thousands of wooden coast- are a far cry from a true wooden coaster. But again due to the drought which shows no signs of improving. ers. Inspired by Disneyland (1955), the theme that’s OK; there’s room for all. Companies DreamVision’s primary backer, Bryan Robinson with Global park industry began to flourish, and with it a like Great Coasters, The Gravity Group and Provident Capital, LLC, advertises 20 years of investments, yet the ramp-up of wooden coaster construction. This Martin & Vleminckx are still building rides the company was registered with the Alabama Secretary of State just occurred in conjunction with a proliferation of old-fashioned way (with a few tricks up their weeks before the media event, on Feb. 3, 2015. steel coaster technology that many thought sleeves). Similarly, the past is being honored In the end, the media, and locals, were left with more questions would actually usurp the wooden coaster. But and preserved by all those parks realizing the than answers. Snow job or a reality? Time will tell. not so. Daring designers like Bill Cobb and historical importance of maintaining their clas- RELATED STORY — PAGE 6 Curt Summers followed by Custom Coasters sic wooden coasters. and Great Coasters spawned a sensational Long may the wooden roller coaster in all RELATED VIDEO — amusementtoday.com (Video Track) new crop of wooden rides inspired by legends its incarnations endure. Long live the King. AMUSEMENT TODAY STAFF Gary Slade, Founder Dean Lamanna Sammy Piccola Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Editorial Accounting / Circulation [email protected] [email protected] (817) 460-7220 [email protected] Deliveries Member of: Amanda Childress / Childress Media Pam Sherborne 2012 E. Randol Mill Rd., Suite 203 IAAPA, AIMS International, PAPA, Graphic Design Editorial Sue Nichols Arlington, Texas 76011 NEAAPA, NJAA, OABA, WWA, TTIA, [email protected] [email protected] Advertising NAARSO and IISF (615) 662-0252 Subscription rates (U.S. & International) are: 1 year (14 issues) $50; 2 years (28 issues) $100; 3 years (42 John Robinson / W.H.R. Inc. Scott Rutherford [email protected] issues) $150. 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. Please allow up to six Daily E-mail Newsletter Editorial weeks for your subscription request to be processed and the first issue mailed. [email protected] [email protected] Bubba Flint Cartoonist Amusement Today is an independent newspaper, published monthly by Amusement Today Inc., P.O. Tim Baldwin Jeffrey L. Seifert [email protected] Box 5427, Arlington, Texas 76005. Presort Standard Postage (Permit No. 2069) pre-paid at Fort Worth, Texas. The entire contents of this newspaper and its related websites are copyrighted and trademarked Editorial Editorial / Special Projects by Amusement Today 2015, with all rights reserved. [email protected] [email protected] POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Amusement Today, P.O.