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ParkWord
March 2009
The “Park” in Park World has traditionally stood for
theme park or amusement park, but these terms are becoming
increasingly irrelevant for a number of reasons.
“Theme park” is often used to describe all manner of attractions, from
straightforward amusement parks that have little or no theming to themed
attractions that, at first glance, have little in common with a traditional ride-
based amusement park. It’s understandable, but sometimes a little frustrating.
When I became editor of Park World in 2001, I was a little dismissive of
any attraction that didn’t have flashing lights or bright colours, but as I had
previously worked on newspaper covering fun fairs, maybe that’s not so
surprising.
I soon realised, however, that many of the suppliers working in the parks
and attractions industry also worked on many other projects. Zoos, museums,
brand centres, shopping malls, hotels and casinos – all of which compete for
the “leisure dollar” – use amusement industry vendors on a regular basis,
and in turn incorporate theme park elements into their attractions.
I hope theme park and amusement parks are also learning something in
return. If, as a park operator, you haven’t already attended a TiLE conference
or a TEA meeting, then consider doing so. You’ll soon see how beneficial it is
exchanging ideas with developers of related, but not identical, attractions.
Last month I visited two new outlets in the Netherlands, the Heineken
Experience and Rotterdam Port Experience, which you can read about on
page 24/25. Attractions like this are part of our industry, and there’s plenty
we can learn from each other. Just don’t call them theme parks!
Owen Ralph - Editor
Editor Owen Ralph (+44 161 438 2934)
parkworld@btopenworld.com
North American Editor Paul Ruben (+1 585 381 1012)
parkw@rochester.rr.com
Managing Editor Stephanie Norbury
s.norbury@btconnect.com
Contributors this issue Heather Eichenbaum, Anna Lukasik,
Pieter Cornelis
Advertisement sales Mark Burgess (+44 1622 699124)
parkworld@datateam.co.uk
Publication Manager Paul Ryder
pryder@datateam.co.uk
Managing Director Parvez Kayani
p.kayani@datateam.co.uk
Subscriptions Karen Wright (+44 1622 699109)
parkworld@datateam.co.uk
Publisher Datateam Publishing Ltd
INTERSHAU London Road, Maidstone,
Booth Kent, ME16 8LY, UK
No 3E34
Tel: +44 1622 687031
Fax: +44 1622 757646
www.datateam.co.uk
ISSN: 1462-4796 MARCH 2009
© COPYRIGHT: ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PUBLICATION REMAIN THE
COPYRIGHT OF DATATEAM PUBLISHING LTD AND NO PART OF IT MAY BE
REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PROPRIETORS
A request to insert an advertisement is deemed to be an
acceptance of Datateam Publishing Ltd’s conditions of trading,
copes of which are available on request.
Park World is
a member of:
MARCH 2009
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