TM Celebrating Our 15th Year Vol. 15 • Issue 1 APRIL 2011 S&S Screamin’ Swing takes flight at Dollywood STORY: Scott Rutherford est attraction. “When we [email protected] were kids, we were absolutely amazed when we saw an air- Adventurous guests vis- plane do stunts in the sky,” iting Dollywood this season said Parton. “Their tricks will find an exciting way to see would entertain us for hours the Great Smoky Mountains on end, and I just know that thanks to the park’s newest my new Barnstormer ride is thriller – Barnstormer. Locat- going to be every bit as excit- ed in the Tennessee themer’s ing to folks today. I can’t wait Owens Farm section, adjacent to see the looks on folks’ faces to the Mountain Slidewinder as they dip and soar!” flume ride, Barnstormer is While thrillseekers enjoy a $5.5 million dual Screa- spins aboard Barnstormer, min’ Swing supplied by S&S Dollywood’s younger guests Worldwide. will find plenty to keep them Inspired by the jovial an- occupied at a new children’s tics of 1920s stunt pilots as section created around the they flew their fixed-wing air- new barn. The activity-filled planes, Barnstormer features play area includes Lil’ Pilots two pendulum arms with Playground, which is home seating for 32 riders. Seated to a wooden bi-plane rep- back to back, riders travel lica. Additionally, Granny’s progressively higher on each Garden & Pig Pen offers play swing of the Barnstormer’s 4See DOLLYWOOD, page 4 arms, reaching a maximum speed of 45 mph and 230 de- Dollywood’s new Barn- grees of rotation. At its peak, stormer seats 32 riders and the Barnstormer crests 81 feet achieves a maximum speed above the barn’s rooftop. of 45 mph and 230 degrees Dolly Parton recalls with of rotation. At its peak, the fondness her memories that Barnstormer soars 81 feet inspired the production and above the barn’s rooftop. theming for her park’s new- COURTESY DOLLYWOOD This month’s issue of Amusement SUBSCRIBE TO Today marks the beginning of 15 years as we begin our Dated material. material. Dated AMUSEMENT TODAY 15th Volume. Below are RUSH! three interesting facts FACTS NEWSPAPER POSTMASTER: PLEASE 31, 2011 March Thursday, Mailed (817) 460-7220 on AT’s 15 years: PERMIT # 2069 # PERMIT FT. WORTH TX WORTH FT. com • 7,072 pages published. PAID US POSTAGE US • 93 tons of newsprints used. PRSRT STD PRSRT FAST • 283 Golden Tickets awarded. 2 AMUSEMENT TODAY April 2011 NEWSTALK OPINIONS CARTOON LETTERS AT CONTACTS EDITORIAL: Gary Slade, [email protected] CARTOON: Bubba Flint Amusement Today’s 15th year Where did the time go? With this April issue, Amusement Today begins its 15th year of publishing. When the company was started back in 1997, there was no way of knowing the roller coaster ride that would be ahead. Slade Six Flags would be bought and sold multiple times. Paramount Parks would be sold. And who would have ever thought the Busch Gardens and SeaWorld properties would be under new ownership? And then there are the park closures. Opryland and AstroWorld were two that locals wish they had back, as were Miracle Strip, Bell’s and Geauga Lake to name a few. Just as fast as the parks changed hands, so did the supplier side. While Arrow may be the biggest name to be gone, others — from Chance to Vekoma — escaped through reorganization. During these past 15 years, Amusement Today has grown, all in an effort to keep the news on our amuse- ment industry flowing to you our reader. We have ex- EDITORIAL: Andrew Mellor, [email protected] panded out international news coverage and added the Accommodating extended visits Midway section on carnivals and state fairs, following the closing of Amusement Business. While many parks around major hotel development or the addition of camp- AT has jumped into the electronic media side as well, the world have successful- grounds, chalets, holiday cottages or similar. This through the launch of two Web Sites and a daily emailed ly extended their seasons into year, for example, in the U.K.’s Drayton Manor the winter months by open- Theme Park will open a new 152-bedroom hotel news edition, with more on the way. ing around Halloween and while it was also recently announced that Legoland And we would have never imaged that our annual Christmas, for example, opera- Windsor, again in the U.K., is to open a 150-room Golden Ticket Awards event would turn into the fun tors have also come to extend hotel in 2012. One of that park’s sister attractions, filled two-day event and ceremony that it is today. visitor length of stay on indi- Legoland Deutschland, will extend its holiday vil- Mellor vidual days by increasing open- lage this year too, with the addition of a further 24 As AT begins Volume 15, issue No. 1, we will continue ing hours at various times of the holiday homes, and no doubt many others, large to send news your way, through all the various outlets season, be it for just an hour or two, or going right and small, will be developing accommodation that are available to us. into the evening by putting on special events such offerings this year and next or if not, planning We also welcome your comments through your writ- as concerts and other forms of live entertainment. something for the future in whatever form it may ten or emailed letters, so let us know what’s on your Whatever route is chosen maximizing the use take. mind! of the attractions and facilities on offer in a park in Naturally, larger developments such as major this way is something that has become increasingly hotels add yet further to a park’s offering and as Thanks for letting us be part of the fun, and thank you noticeable over the years and not surprisingly – it well as helping to hold guests for longer periods to all who have supported us through these past 14 years. makes complete sense to make the most of what during the season also provide opportunities to —Gary Slade you have to offer and to maximise revenues by maintain activities, and therefore revenues, 12 opening as much as possible during the main sea- months of the year. Thus some will move into son period and/or extending things further into the the conference and events business, with facilities Gary Slade is the founder and publisher of Amusement winter months. available to cater to what potentially could be a Today. His love for amusement parks began at age six Of course, one of the best ways to encourage lucrative market. when he first visited Pontchartrain Beach Amusement guests to stay longer is to provide on-site accom- But whatever form it might take, accommoda- modation and the trend to do so seems to be tion in its various guises is and will continue to be Park and Six Flags Over Texas. His long newspaper career continuing apace. Increasingly parks are adding an important part of our industry’s future. helped lead to the launch of AT in 1997. accommodation of one form or another, be it a 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, 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. [email protected] POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Amusement Today, P.O. Box 5427, Arlington, Texas Contributors: Terrance Lind, Andrew Mellor, Jeffrey L. Seifert, B. Derek Shaw, Janice Witherow, WHR Inc. 76005-5427. April 2011 AMUSEMENT TODAY 3 THIS MONTH IN HISTORY •1905: On April 24, a disastrous Presented by MINUTE fire swept through Ocean View Park, in Norfolk, Va. The fire, started by a boy’s cigarette, 2 DRILL began in the tunnel of the sce- COMPILED: Janice Witherow nic railway and burned fiercely for an hour, doing an estimated Patty Sullivan - Eli Bridge Company $25,000 damage. Beside the www.RollerCoasterMuseum.org Patty Scenic Railway, an assortment of Sullivan buildings were destroyed. Even though the bucket brigade fought is one the fire valiantly, only the razing of a large building stopped the fire busy lady from spreading further. … and she loves •1907: On April 24, Milton Hershey officially dedicated Hershey every Park in Hershey, Penn.