PW Oct 09 P12:PW Oct 09 P12.qxd 28/09/2009 09:39 Page 12
Park News
www.parkworld-online.com
New dawn in New Orleans
Nickelodeon deal saves park
Amusement. The reconstruction of the park
will be funded by a mix of private investors
Nickelodeon, the children’s TV franchise, has entered into a licensing agreement and GO Zone bonds (issued for the post-
with the City of New Orleans and Southern Star Amusement (SSA) to develop a hurricane rebuilding of New Orleans). There
Nickelodeon-branded park on the site of the city’s former Six Flags/Jazzland will be no local public funding.
amusement park. The new outlet in New Orleans will be the
Nickelodeon Universe New Orleans will be a 65-acre theme park and waterpark first outdoor Nickelodeon park in the US.
incorporating Nickelodeon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the The first Nickelodeon Universe, an indoor
Explorer and Avatar. facility at Mall of America in Minneapolis,
Several new rides are planned, plus the renovation and retheming of existing opened in 2008. Nickelodeon also has
attractions. Nickelodeon costumed characters, live entertainment, retail outlets, several branded lands and attractions in
games and food will also be featured. Architectural plans are complete and North American regional theme parks
construction is expected any day now, with the park targeted to be in service by the including Universal Studios in Orlando and
end of 2010. Hollywood, plus Nick Land at Movie Park in
SpongeBob SquarePants and the
Under the terms of the agreement, Nickelodeon will receive a licensing fee and Germany and Nick Central at Dreamworld
Mayor of New Orleans at the press
the City of New Orleans will retain a leasing arrangement with Southern Star in Australia. conference to announce the deal
Café with a view
Swedish success story
Located in Wildwood, New Jersey, Morey's Piers' Ocean Cafe offers one of the
A SEK150 million (Euro.18615.2m/$20m) investment in new attractions paid off for
best views on the island, whether on a deck overlooking the water or inside
the Swedish group Parks & Resorts Scandinavia (PRS), which enjoyed
the Ocean Oasis Waterpark and Beach Club. But the real treat is the menu,
attendance increases across its attractions this summer.
one that goes beyond regular boardwalk fayre.
At the flagship Gröna Lund in Stockholm, the park enjoyed a successful
Eschewing burgers, hot dogs and
July, with several 20,000+ attendance days. Even on July 22, a Wednesday, it
pizza, the offering includes coconut
pulled 19,657 guests without any special events – one of the best midweek
shrimp with citrus dipping sauce,
attendances ever. In total, numbers for the month were up 20% on last year.
salads with grilled chicken or fresh
Guests were able to enjoy Insane, a new ZacSpin coaster from Intamin.
seafood, crab cake sandwiches and
July 22 was also a good day for the Kolmården wildlife park, where
wraps, plus the popular Oasis
14,551 guests poured through the gate and helped the venue smash its
sandwich with grilled chicken,
previous daily attendance record of 13,101. New for 2009 was the
bacon, smoked gouda and honey
Delfinexpressen family coaster by Vekoma.
mustard on a toasted ciabatta.
Skara Sommarland, home of S&S’ first Freefly Coaster (otherwise known
Liquid refreshments include tropical
as Tranan), posted a July attendance increase of 11%, despite wetter weather
drinks, as you’d expect in the
than 2008. Campsite bookings were up, too.
Caribbean.The exotic menu is
Also enjoying a successful summer was Stockholm’s Aquaria water museum.
thanks to Morey’s new executive
Other attractions operated by Parks & Resorts Scandinavia include the
chef, Wally Jurusz.
Vildmarkshotellet hotel and spa at Kolmården and Abba Museum in Stockholm.
The menu also includes the
“There was a lot of speculation this spring about whether Swedes would stay
Cheeseburger in Paradise, with fries
at home for their holidays,” says PRS acting CEO, Jan Roy.
…and a palm tree. All for $1,000.
Maybe they did. August was also a great month for the group, with a
No takers yet.
combined attendance increase of 37%. That means, compared to last year, PRS
welcomed an extra 320,000 visitors from April to August.
Meanwhile at Liseberg in Gothenburg, which is not part of Parks & Resorts
AIMS seminar adds aquatic
Scandinavia, the summer has also been a marked improvement on 2008,
when a rainy start to August crippled attendances. This time, the last two weeks
certification
of July and the first two of August saw a 21% leap. In the week beginning July,
the park welcomed
Next month’s AIMS Safety Seminar, to be held as part of IAAPA Attraction Expo, will
almost 200,000
for the first time this year include a track for operators of aquatic attractions.
guests. Liseberg CEO
Scheduled classes include such topics as waterpark inspections and the prevention
Mats Wedin said he
of waterborne illnesses, plus formal aquatic certification testing.
expected numbers to
“The waterpark and water attractions portion of our industry continues to
remain strong into
experience significant growth,” notes AIMS International president Mark Moore.
September, boosted by
The 2009 Safety Seminar will be held from November 15 to 20 at the New York
a programme of
New York Hotel in Las Vegas. Over the six day period over 200 classes will be
concerts.
offered by 100 instructors covering attractions operations, maintenance and
RIGHT: Tranan helped
aquatics. AIMS participants will receive complimentary admission to the IAAPA
boost attendance at
Expo. Registration and special hotel pricing are limited and available on a first
Skara Sommarland
come first serve basis at
www.AimsIntl.org.
12 OCTOBER 2009
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