PW Mar 09 P15.qxd 2/25/09 11:59 am Page 15
Park News
www.parkworld-online.com
Astroland donates
Village Roadshow
Rocket to City
management changes
Secure future for Coney Island icon
The board of Village Roadshow Theme Parks in Australia has announced a
comprehensive management review of its Gold Coast operations. According to
chairman John Kirby and CEO Graham Burke of parent company Village
Roadshow, the changes will “provide greater depth of management and
optimise profitability into the next decade.”
Village Roadshow Theme Parks CEO John Menzies has been promoted to
the position of chairman of the group and Tim Fisher, the current chief
operating officer, is now chief executive officer (CEO).
The organisational change follows a recent restructuring of the Gold Coast
theme parks, where the businesses were delineated into two distinct operations;
the Warner Bros Movie World business unit and the Sea World business unit.
The former comprises Warner Bros Movie World, Wet ’n’ Wild Water World,
Australian Outback Spectacular and Paradise Country, while the latter takes in
Sea World, Sea World Resort and Water Park, Sea World Whale Watch and
Sea World Aviation.
Robert White who, like Fisher, is an ex-Paramount Parks executive, has been
appointed general manager of the Warner Bros Movie World unit, while Taubin
Gay has been appointed general manager of the Sea World unit. Ernst Pfister
The Rocket is loaded up for the move
remains at the helm as general manager of Sea World Resort and Water Park
Carol Hill Albert, co-owner of Astroland at Coney Island in New York, has donated
the park’s most famous icon, the 71ft Astroland Rocket, to the City of New York.
“This one-of-a-kind Rocket simulator was the very first ride to arrive at Astroland
Park when it was founded by my late father inlaw Dewey Albert in 1962," notes Hill
Stengel receives
Albert. "My husband Jerome and myself are donating this in his honour and on
behalf the Coney Island History Project. It is especially fitting that this Rocket, which
German honour
was the first to arrive, will be the last item to leave Astroland Park.”
Werner Stengel has been awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Cross of Merit)
The Astroland Rocket Ship is one of the first and only surviving early amusement
by the Federal Republic of Germany for his outstanding contribution to
park simulators. It debuted in 1962 at Astroland, showing simulator films of rocket
rollercoaster design and development.
rides while the chassis rocked its viewers to “outer space.”
The Bavarian engineer and doctor of science was presented with the award
The ride eventually sat atop Gregory and Paul’s hamburger/hotdog stand, and
recently at a ceremony in Munich. Giving his laudation, Martin Zeil, Bavarian
was one of the early victims of Coney Island’s redevelopment. While the City and
minister for economic affairs, noted that Stengel had designed his first
Thor Equities continue to negotiate over ownership of Coney Island, Astroland Park
rollercoaster while at Munich Technical University: “Due to your design
must move off the property and either sell or take everything with it.
processes and principles, new and unusual ride elements were realised,”
remarked Zeil. Such innovations included the first rollercoaster loop.
Space Age entrepreneurs
“With your technical solutions, you have essentially enhanced the quality and
safety of amusement rides and therefore strengthened the market position of
The Star Flyer rocket ride was invented by John Taggart and Sam Daugherty,
German and European suppliers.
former police officers turned space age amusement entrepreneurs. In 1958,
You, dear Dr Stengel, have earned
the year Explorer 1, the first US satellite, lifted off at Cape Canaveral and
a reputation across the world as an
NASA was founded, Taggart and Daugherty formed the US Amusement
ambassador of German
Corporation.
engineering skills.”
The rockets were built at Todd Shipyards in California. The prototype was
Today Stengel’s firm,
installed at Peralta Park in Oakland in June 1958. Star Flyer II was a sensation
Ingenieurbuero Stengel, is the
at the 1959 State Fair of Texas in Dallas, riding approximately 40,000
world’s leading authority on
children and adults during the 17-day fair.
rollercoaster design, having had
By 1960 three rockets had been built. One travelled with Royal American
input on over 500 rides.
Shows, the largest carnival of its day, and the other two were in Palisades Park
in Fort Lee, New
Stengel is seen here (right)
Jersey, and Riverside
receiving his award from Mr Zeil
Park in Chicago.
Dewey and Jerry
Albert, who had rides
Warwick Dungeons
at Palisades Park, first
saw the rocket there
Merlin Entertainments continues to pair up its various attractions brands. Warwick
and were inspired to
Castle in England, until now about the group’s sober of its outlets, it to get a lot
buy one for their new
more gruesome with the announcement that a Dungeons attraction will open there
space-age theme park.
in time for Easter. Standalone Dungeons already operate in cities such as London,
Edinburgh, York, Amsterdam and Hamburg.
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