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Park News
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Santa Claus comes to Chengdu!
North Pole Adventure opens in Sichuan Province
Guests at the new Happy Valley park in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, recently of black-light. This enhances
celebrated Chinese New Year with the help of …Santa Claus! North Pole Adventure every scene, from the
is the latest North Pole Adventure family dark ride from Sally Corporation and quickly colorful furnishings in the
filled to capacity when the park opened at the start of the year. kids’ house to snow-covered
The new dark ride was supplied by Sally Corp
“Our guests are very excited and happy with the ride,” reports park operations landscapes, giant icicles and a pop-open igloo that sparkles and glows.
manager Mr Lang. “It is doing very well.” In fact, the park has proved very popular “Everyone gets really excited helping the little characters, Sally, Willie
per se, and already looks on course to surpass Happy Valley in Beijing and Shenzhen and their dog, find their way to the North Pole and Santa’s workshop,”
in terms of visitor numbers, welcoming 400,000 guests in its first month alone. says Sally’s Jim Cassidey. “The Chinese people love the secular aspects of
This is the second North Pole Adventure to open at a Happy Valley park. The first Christmas that are the focus of this ride.”
opened in Shenzhen in 1999, where it is still popular with guests. While this new Happy Valley Chengdu was developed by the OCT Group. Happy Valley
ride is basically the same as the first, with the same child-friendly characters and Shanghai will open this summer, where a third North Pole Adventure will be
storyline, the decision was made to make add an extra dimension with the inclusion featured among the rides and attractions.
Romano joins Quassy
Europe’s only haunted trade show!
Following an inaugural one-day event last year, Scare Attractions UK has
Gina Romano, a veteran of the amusement park industry revealed that ScareCON will take place for the second time this May in
for more than 20 years, has been named human Birmingham, England.
resources director at Quassy Amusement Park, Although this is Europe’s only show dedicated to the haunted attractions
Middlebury, Connecticut. industry, such facilities are growing at a rapid rate across the continent, the UK
Romano was raised in an amusement park family at in particular.
Nellie Bly Park in Brooklyn, New York. She has done As well as the main trade show, where a live scare attraction will be featured
everything from painting rides, making cotton candy, for visitors to try, there will also be specialised seminars and the UK’s first
counter service in food and games, marketing, group “Screamie Awards,” voted for by users of the website hauntedattractions.co.uk
Gina Romano
sales and events. She became general manager and “We are aiming to attract delegates from all areas of the leisure industry,”
president of Nellie Bly in 1996, but left in 2006 due to says Michael Bolton from Scare Attractions UK. “There are many places that
conflicts with the landlord, The City of New York. Since then she has continued would be brilliant for a scare attraction of some sort, yet the owners or
to work with other parks on special projects. She has also served on the board managers may not even be aware that their site has this potential.”
of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Brooklyn Boy Scouts of America and ScareCON 2009 takes place on Thursday, May 7, at the NEC in
IAAPA, where she became the first female chair in 1997. Birmingham. Registration includes free
“To have someone with Gina’s knowledge and high calibre of work ethic admission to the Screamie Awards.
will be a real plus for the park,” says George Frantzis II, Quassy co-owner.
www.scarecon.co.uk
New creative director at Thinkwell
Thinkwell, a creator of experience-based entertainment for theme parks and leisure collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering on projects for
destinations worldwide, has added industry veteran Danny Hartigan to its team in the Disney/MGM Studios. He has previously collaborated
the role of director of creative. Hartigan is a themed entertainment veteran and with Thinkwell on the traveling museum experience Sesame
brings more than two decades of experience as a writer, director and performer. Street Presents: The Body.
For the last 12 years he served as a principal of Hartigan Wade, creating “I’ve worked with Danny over a decade on wide variety
attractions for Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Japan, EPCOT in of projects, “ says Thinkwell fouder and CEO, Craig Hanna.
Orlando and Disneyland Resort Paris. Hartigan began his career with SAK “He’s an amazing talent, extraordinarily versatile and a
Entertainment, where he developed Murder, She Wrote – Live for Universal and consummate professional.” Danny Hartigan
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