Park News
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do opportunities Merlin seals Aussie deal
Merlin Entertainments has revealed that it plans to open a Madame Tussauds attraction in Sydney following its acquisition of the Sydney Attractions Group and Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World from Village Roadshow. The deal, which marks Merlin’s springboard into the Australian and New Zealand markets, was completed on March 3 and includes Sydney’s top three tourist attractions, the Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Wildlife World and the Sydney Tower Observatory and Skywalk. Also now under Merlin’s ownership are Manly Oceanworld in Sydney, the Hamilton Island Wildlife Park in Queensland and Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World in Auckland, New Zealand. A multi-million dollar investment programme is now planned for the six attractions, including the introduction of the Sea Life brand. Madame Tussauds Sydney will open in 2012. Appointed as director for the new Australia/New Zealand “midway” division is Edward Fuller, previously general manager of the original Madame Tussauds in London. “These are exciting attractions with enormous potential,” says Fuller. “They are well established and of a very high quality, and I believe will benefit greatly by being part of the Merlin ‘family’. Most of all, even in my short time getting to know them, my colleagues and I have been very impressed by the operating teams who are knowledgeable and passionate about their businesses and I am sure that we have a lot to learn from one another.”
Merlin now intends to use the division as the foundation increase its presence in the wider Asia Pacific region.
Edward Fuller, director of the new Australia/New Zealand division
Cleary named new Chip Cleary
IAAPA president The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) has named James “Chip” Cleary as its new president and CEO, replacing the departed Charlie Bray. Cleary is due to take over this top staff position on April 4, marking a return to the role for an amusement industry veteran.
Respected by his colleagues, Cleary's experience spans carnival (fair), amusement park, family entertainment centre and waterpark operations. A 30-year industry veteran, the high energy Cleary started his career in 1978 at Adventureland Amusement Park in Farmingdale, New York, going on to supervise the design and construction of Splish Splash waterpark on Long Island, New York, in 1991, where he served as president until 1999. The park was sold to Palace Entertainment in 1999, at which point Cleary became the company’s vice-president of waterparks. Palace Entertainment was purchased by the Spanish group Parques Reunidos in 2007 and Cleary was named senior vice-president of waterparks. Cleary has been an active volunteer in IAAPA for nearly 15 years, serving on the association’s executive, membership, strategic planning, government relations, safety and maintenance, compensation, conference, trade show and exhibitor award advisory committees. He also served as chairman in 2010.
APRIL 2011
Kernels
Construction has begun a new tourism and leisure facility in Nigeria. Delta Leisure Resorts will be the development of its first of its kind in the Delta State and is being designed and created by Sarner and its African subsidiary Sarner PFM. The resort will cover over 150 hectares and include a waterpark, 5-star and 3-star hotels, luxurious chalets, a casino, golf course, historical attractions, a family entertainment centre, children's area, sports facilities, spa and retail. The project is being supported and backed by the Delta State and the first phase is due to open at the end of 2013.
Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) has partnered with consultants Jerry Henry & Associates to launch H2R Market Research. The new company will provides research services in the travel, tourism, leisure, healthcare and retail service sectors among others.
The award-winning Hot Ice show returns to the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, England, this summer. Show numbers will include “Fire,” a high energy pyrotechnic spectacular with fire-breathing skaters, fast skating, daring lifts and the infamous “head banger spin.” Other scenes will see performers gracefully fly above the ice suspended from silk. The winner of several IAAPA “Big E” awards, Hot Ice returned to the Pleasure Beach after a brief sojourn in 2010, bolstered by the popularity of TV show Dancing On Ice, which features several of its performers. The latest production will run at the Pleasure Beach Arena from July 6 to September 4.
www.hoticeshow.com
EAAPA (Eurasian Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo), the smaller of Russia's two annual amusement industry trade shows, attracted over 3,500 visitors when it took place for the second time this February, according organiser Smile Expo. In addition to more than 100 exhibitors from 16 countries, the event also featured a conference focusing on modernisation and innovation in the Russian amusement industry.
Zamperla has supplied interactive Magic Bike rides to three Legoland Discovery Centres. The attractions, called Merlin’s Apprentice, have gone into LDC outlets in Grapevine Mills in Texas, Berlin and Manchester, England.
Due to open this month at the Vegas Mall in Moscow is a new 4D interactive dark ride courtesy of 3DBA and partners including Alterface and Preston & Barbieri. The ride will use a “trigger free” shooting system where passengers tap a rubber pad to interact with the action on screen and score points. During the ride the cars also spin during different scenes, which will be a combination of live props and computer-generated projections. The 4D effects will include wind, water, air blasts, strobe lights and smoke.
Flambards in Cornwall, England, has installed a power optimisation system, helping the park to reduce its energy use and carbon emissions by 18%. Prior to learning about the 1,200-amp Voltis system from energy consultant Lightwater Environmental, Flambards has been considering the costly installation of an on-site high voltage sub- station to ensure its energy requirements could be met.
Slagharen, the Dutch theme park and resort, has been recognised as “Kids Holiday Destination of the Year” for 2011 by users of the website Zoover, beating off competition from Landal GreenParks and Legoland Billund. Last year Slagharen was voted “Best Large Amusement Park in the Netherlands” by the same website.
Chessington World of Adventures near London has been crowned “Theme Park of the Year” in the UK Theme Park and Visitor Attractions Awards for 2010. The recognition acknowledges the Merlin-operated attraction's visitor growth, high guest feedback and new developments including Wild Asia and the Wanyama Village. Attractions pay a fee of £210 ($340/€240) each to enter the TP&VA Awards, which are selected by a panel of judges.
Jeff Ellis & Associates is making its International Lifeguard Training Program (ILTP) available to non-client waterparks, resorts, training companies, educational institutions and individual lifeguard instructors. “By making ILTP available to more lifeguard instructors, facilities and organisations, we know it will increase lifeguard skill and retention levels,” explains Richard A. Carroll off Jeff Ellis & Associates. “Our goal is to achieve zero-drownings.” The company is also offering a Vigilance Training Program following research that shows failure to recognise swimmer distress slows response times and may result in drowning.
www.jellis.com
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