INSIDE: SeaWorld San Antonio debuts Intamin jet ski-themed ANNIVERSARY launch coaster TM & ©2017 Amusement Today, Inc. PAGE 20 August 2017 | Vol. 21 • Issue 5 www.amusementtoday.com Mine Blower bursts onto the scene at Fun Spot The Gravity Group Gravity Group. Korey Kiepert, engineer delivers dynamite and partner with The Grav- action at Kissimmee ity Group, commented on the snug fit: “We had to optimize AT: Tim Baldwin the ride for the site. The far [email protected] end is narrower than the front end; the challenge was to fit KISSIMMEE, Fla. — “The many passes into the ride. Be- Mine Blower is an amazing cause of the Timberliners, we ride in such a small footprint can have a super-tight radius that really packs a punch. at the top of the lift hill.” This is a one-of-a-kind custom Standing at 83 feet tall, A nine-month, $14 million project at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has resulted in this formal coaster that you can’t ride Mine Blower begins with a park gateway and two new thrill rides. COURTESY SANTA CRUZ BEACH BOARDWALK anywhere else in the world,” snappy turn off the lift speed- said John Arie, Jr., chief op- ing directly into an 80-foot Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk expands erating officer of Fun Spot first drop that belies its height. America Theme Parks. The 65-degree plunge starts New main entrance way for a welcoming arched named Rice to the position A small footprint is cor- the ride off with a huge bang brings added room entry that leads into a bright, two years ago. “We’re always rect. Shoehorned into a piece that continues into an upside- open plaza stretching across focused on enhancing the of land that used to hold a down barrel roll directly over for rides, food, fun to the beach side of the prom- guest experience, so that was go-kart track, Mine Blower is enade. an underlying theme.” the latest installation by The 4See FUN SPOT, page 5 AT: Dean Lamanna Two new thrill rides — a Rice told Amusement Today [email protected] Zamperla Mega Disk’O called that the project, more than a Shockwave and an ARM dual- decade in the planning, was SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — arm Screamer named Typhoon based on factors ranging from Northern California’s beloved — occupy high-profile posi- guest surveys and spending seaside amusement institu- tions in the new plaza, while patterns to how people gen- tion, Santa Cruz Beach Board- a new food experience, a new erally interact with the park. walk (SCBB), is celebrating its birthday party room, more SCBB’s in-house creative team 110th anniversary this sum- ticket windows, and several collaborated with several out- mer with a just-completed $14 relocated and upgraded at- side design firms and vendors million facelift that includes tractions and games round out to arrive at plans that were expanded offerings and new- the impressively reimagined both practical and aestheti- found space for showcasing and reorganized area. cally appealing. major rides. “The goal of the project “Over that 10-year period, Central to the nine-month was to take a part of the park there were a lot of changes,” improvement project was a — our main entrance — that, Rice said. “But we kept mas- new main entrance for the to a large degree, was sort of saging it. If you look back at park, which never had a for- an afterthought and create a all of the different concepts on mal gate facing Beach Street grander sense of arrival,” said paper, from where we started across from its parking lots. Santa Cruz Seaside Co. (and to where we ended up is very An older building containing At Fun Spot in Kissimme, Fla., an inversion sends riders up- SCCB) President Karl Rice, different. But it was a very games and attractions was side down directly over the station on the new Mine Blower the grandnephew of company razed over the winter to make coaster. COURTESY FUN SPOT CEO Charles Canfield, who 4See SCBB, page 6 Dated material. material. Dated RUSH! NEWSPAPER POSTMASTER: PLEASE July 27, 2017 Thursday, Mailed PERMIT # 2069 # PERMIT FT. WORTH TX WORTH FT. PAID COM US POSTAGE US REGISTRATION OPEN!S. ICKetAWarD PRSRT STD PRSRT enT WWW.GOLD 2 AMUSEMENT TODAY August 2017 August 2017 AMUSEMENT TODAY 3 NEWSTALK EDITORIAL: Tim Baldwin, [email protected] FLINT’S VIEW: Bubba Flint The barefoot challenge Earlier this summer, I enjoyed several visits to various water parks. Some were all- day affairs and others were just brief stops for an hour or two. I have enough water park experience under my belt to know that some type of water shoes can be a valuable benefit. But Baldwin when planning to be on site for a brief time, I don’t always have the footwear in hand on each visit. And looking around, I see more than half of water park visitors are barefoot as well. While this is nothing new, there is no denying that a problem exists — a major one. At virtually every water park I visited, I saw many guests hopping about because concrete walkways became sizzling hot. Painfully so. And, yes, I can bear witness from personal experience. Within weeks I noticed how vast the range of effort was placed into alleviating the problem. Some parks offered shaded areas to ward off the severity and some purposefully sprayed the walkways down to cool them off. Sadly, more often than not, there was no relief to be EDITORIAL: Andrew Mellor, [email protected] found for guests feeling their feet scorched to excruciating levels. Quality counts I found the apathy to this problem to be quite We all appreciate a quality product, people return home and inevitably disheartening. The solution can’t just be: “We have no matter what it might be. From a de- they want to see similar standards if footwear for purchase in our gift shops.” The guest cent cup of coffee or a meal in a clean, they visit a theme park, for example, experience then spirals downward from pained to pained well-maintained establishment, to the more locally. But sadly, those high so badly they feel gouged by having to purchase extra purchase of an item or a day out in pleas- standards are not always to be found. items for their children. ant, cared-for surroundings, we all recog- Of course, not all locations can To water park operators everywhere, I offer this nise when things are done right and stan- be expected to match the quality of challenge: Before the hot days of summer come to a close, dards are good. Mellor some of the major players in our in- make a move to where it is mandatory that all supervisors With the ease of travel that we all dustry for a number of reasons, but must walk barefoot in the middle of the afternoon. Even enjoy these days, the world is a much smaller having visited a major theme park recently place, enabling us to sample different locations which one would expect to lead the way in if it is for only 15 minutes. If management is subjected to and experiences literally all over the world. creating experiential value, it was disappoint- the hot walkways for even a fraction of the time guests When it comes to theme parks, water parks and ing to see many areas of the venue that were are, problem areas will certainly be determined. From this FECs, people regularly enjoy such facilities in clearly lacking in the care and attention that challenge, hopefully progress can be made and the guest different countries and can therefore compare could make such a difference to the visitor ex- experience can climb even higher. them with those back home – and often do. perience. And this was not a park that would Guests obviously appreciate that the likes struggle for the budget to do so. Details on "The Networking Event of the Year" of Disney and Universal have extremely high There’s nothing worse than seeing a park have been released and amusement industry parks and standards which are at the very top of the tree which doesn’t really seem to care, or rather suppliers are invited. The Golden Ticket Awards, presented when it comes to the parks industry, but many an operator not making the effort. Tired, un- annually by Amusement Today and hosted this year by other venues also maintain excellent standards cared-for areas, buildings, facilities and even Lake Compounce & Quassy Amusement Park, are set for throughout their facilities and set the bar when attractions detract terribly from a property and Sept. 8 and 9 in Bristol, Conn. View the schedule of events it comes to overall excellence. clearly give a bad impression. High standards or register at: www.GoldenTicketAwards.com. Having experienced such top-class venues, and quality count and should surely be at the expectations are not surprisingly raised when forefront of every operator’s mind at all times. 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. Box [email protected] [email protected] Website Maintenance 5427, Arlington, Texas 76005. Print issues are John Robinson • (513) 256-1441 $50 per year and are mailed Presort Standard Postage (permit No. 2069) Pre-Paid Fort Worth, Accounting & Classified Editorial [email protected] Texas.