Front Gate
www.parkworld-online.com
Figures of Fun
2.7
kilometres – distance from Gold Reef City theme park to Soccer City World Cup stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa
8.9
kilometres – distance from Ratanga Junction theme park to Green City World Cup stadium in Cape Town, South Africa
160
metres – length of world’s largest manmade waterfall, a signature feature of new Ice Land waterpark in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
2,000
jobs – indirect employment impact of Los Aleros historic theme park in Mérida, Venezuela
10,000
minimum number of participants in the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson, taking place at over 200 waterparks and other aquatic facilities across the world on June 3
Produced in association with AECOM Econmomics.
www.aecom.com/economics
Ups & Downs
New Luna Park - The new look Luna Park opened as planned at Coney Island in New York on May 29. It’s amazing what can be achieved in just three months!
BigQuestion
If money were no object, what new attraction would you add right now?
Dennis Vourderis, Deno's Wonder Wheel Park at Coney Island, USA: Wow, what a question! I could come up with a few. My brother Steve thought we should open the Coney Island parachute jump again, or bring back the steeplechase horse ride. I said we could buy the carousel back from New York City or bring back a new version of the Virginia Reel and place it next to the Wonder Wheel. Then we’d build an aerial tram along the boardwalk so that riders can see all of Coney from one end to the other. Finally, we’d put a dome over the kiddie park, so it can open year round. You could even build a rollercoaster that sweeps out over the beach and
boardwalk, goes down towards the Bowery turns around and goes into a structure or building. It would need to be the tallest and fastest in the world, with loops and inversions. If money were no object a lot of dreams would be reality, and that's why our forefathers
were so successful. They pursued their dreams and did not think about the bottom line, at least that's what my dad did, and he didn't wind up in the streets.Today, in the real world, we need to make decisions based on whether or not they will be profitable. For now, Steve and I are buying a new Samba Balloon from Zamperla. It's the least we could do to show our support for our new neighbours at Luna Park and their $30 million investment that will breathe new life into Coney's already fresh air.
Risto Räikkönen, Linnanmäki , Finland: For a city amusement park like us in Helsinki money is not always the first thing we think about when planning a new attraction. The most important issue is always the space; where we could find a space for a new attraction? If we did not have any limits I'd like to have an attraction similar to Fata Morgana at Efteling in the Netherlands. It’s a boat trip through the forbidden city from the tales of 1,001 nights; a wonderful, very well themed and breathtaking attraction. Pure perfection! As we don't have any space and we don't have the money, we'd rather put the focus on this season and try to make it as
good as possible. We have got a kiddie ride coming soon from Italy (by Technical Park) and then next year we are going to have a major ride (Sky Loop) from Maurer Söhne. For the season of 2012 we will need something for families and adults again.
Pat Goodenow, Sylvan Beach Amusement Park, USA: Sylvan Beach has a very limited amount of land available for new attractions. If money was available and we had the space, I would purchase a wooden coaster. Central New York State does not have a wooden coaster and it would help to reinforce our theme of being a nostalgic, family park, with ties to attractions found in our past. Our park had a wooden coaster over 90 years ago and many of our guests still tell stories of their grandparents riding that coaster.
Water Park - Flooding caused Beech Bend Park, Bowling Green, Kentucky, to suspend operations for one weekend last month
Hear This - A Detroit hospital study has linked ear injuries to rollercoasters. A rider turned his head as a ride was accelerating and experienced a quick change of pressure in the ear causing dizziness and temporary hearing loss
Drunk Driver - A bus driver taking Ohio school children on a trip to Cedar Point was charged with drunken driving after crashing the vehicle. No one was seriously hurt
Like Father Like Son - Jay Gillian owner of Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City and Gillian’s Funland of Sea Isle City, New Jersey, has been elected next mayor of Ocean City. Jay's father, Roy Gillian, also served as mayor from 1985 to 1989
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