Front Gate
www.parkworld-online.com
Figures of Fun
1.2
metres – height used to distinguish between adult and child guests at Wahooo! and the Lost Paradise of Dilmun waterparks in Bahrain
137
feet (42 metres) – steel swallowed by 22 performers at 10 Ripley’s Believe It or Not! attractions to celebrate World Sword Swallowers Day on February 27
305
feet (93 metres) – height of the new Intimidator 305 coaster at King’s Dominion in Richmond, Virginia
5,000
Number of cast members (employees) at Hong Kong Disneyland
165,676
bottles of Champagne served on the London Eye since opening in March 2000
Produced in association with AECOM. www.era.aecom.com
Ups &
Downs
Merlin Magic - Attendance at
Merlin Entertainments' attractions rose 9.7% to 38.5 million in 2009, buoyed by new openings including Sea Life Porto and Madame Tussauds Hollywood
BigQuestion
How confident are you about the economy this season, and have you delayed adding a new attraction as a result?
Rob Norris, Seabreeze, USA: We are “cautiously optimistic" about the 2010 season. We are currently installing a Zamperla Mega Disk ‘O’ ans look forward to strong walk-in attendance. Our only concern is with the corporate outing segment of our business. It was off in '09 and shows signs of continued weakness for 2010. Hopefully the sun will shine and we will celebrate a great 132nd season!
Dimtri Kontoyiannis, Allou! Fun Park, Greece: In Greece
the big problems hit the country in October last year, but the world crisis started in 2008. In the meantime we did a 2 million euro investment. We also lowered our prices two years ago, before the crisis really hit, and have free entrance, which helps. Up to now we have not felt any impact. We had a very good winter, we were up year on year, and right now I am very optimistic for the summer. We are investing again and will launch a new attraction in June, but I don’t what to say what because we are finalising the contract and I am playing on price!
Chris Deere, Rainbow’s End, New Zealand: Although we have
noticed a moderate downturn we have continued to invest in our park with our most recent addition being the Invader, a Zamperla Disk ‘O’ Coaster, which opened in December. We will continue to track attendance levels but have further capital investment planned over the next couple of years on both new attractions and re-vamping of existing attractions.
Jerome Gibas, Kennywood, USA: It's been our experience the economy will always fluctuate, but weather continues to be a more defining factor in any given summer. For many of our guests, an annual trip to Kennywood is a tradition. Families work hard, so when it comes to time for recreation we look forward to providing them with an affordable option. In preparation for the 2010 season, we have already invested millions of dollars in our new launch coaster, Sky Rocket, which will be ready this summer. Sky Rocket will launch riders from zero to 50mph in three seconds and include a variety of great elements including three inversions. With the addition of our first new coaster in nearly a decade, this summer should be a blast!
Quitting Kentucky - Kentucky State Fair officials are suing Six Flags, former operator of Kentucky Kingdom, over ownership of rides and equipment at the Louisville park
None Like It Hot - A fire
destroyed a toy store, an arcade, a restaurant and the bingo parlour at Adventureland, Altoona, Iowa. No one was injured
Crate Expectations - Universal
Studios Singapore opened on March 18 but one attraction wasn’t quite ready. Madagascar: A Crate Adventure is one of more than 10 rides unique to the Singapore park
Hop Hop Hari! - Hopi Hari, São Paulo,
Brazil, saw a 291% increase in web traffic and a 68% rise in online sales after it introduced a revamped website in February
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