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ParkHoppin’ with Paul Ruben
Seeking Santa
Having survived the holiday season and recently returned from a visit to Santa's Land in Cherokee, North Carolina, I thought it might be fun to write about this family theme park and zoo, featuring the famous (their claim, not mine) Rudicoaster. They offer a collection of classic children’s rides, some fun shows, and a beautiful mountain setting. That’s me standing by the Bambis that pull Santa’s sleigh. This is not, however, the only festive-themed park in the United States. Santa’s Land, a 55-year-old attraction in Putney, Vermont, has re-opened for the holiday season after closing as a year-round attraction due to the recession. The 41-acre (17-hectare) park features meet-and-greets with Santa Claus, a reindeer petting zoo, a train ride and an Elf House. It got me thinking. Christmas has been a popular theme for many parks. Created in 1949, Santa’s Workshop near Lake Placid, New York, bills itself as the USA’s oldest theme park. It was designed by Arto Monaco, a former Walt Disney artist. Santa’s Workshop was ahead of its time and spawned many imitators.
Santa’s Workshop, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a Christmas-themed family amusement park that has been in existence since 1956. The village was to be identical to the one built in Lake Placid. Famously, Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana – what a name for a town! – began life as Santa Claus Land in 1946 and changed to its current name in 1984. The park remembers Santa Claus (the man, not the town) with a large statue at the entrance of the park, a large Christmas Tree and Nativity Scene.
Santa’s Village was a theme park that operated in East Dundee, Illinois from 1959 to 2006. It was built by Glenn Holland, who also built two other Santa’s Villages in California, one located in San Bernardino County and the other in Santa Cruz County. Santa’s Villages were the first franchised theme parks in the world.
There is another Santa’s Village in Jefferson, New Hampshire. This Santa’s Village was the brainchild of Normand and Cecile Dubois who, in the early 1950s, wanted to create something novel to their region. It opened in 1953 and continues to thrive today. Outside the States, SantaPark, Rovaniemi, Finland, opened in November 1998. The park is designed to emulate the cavern residence of Santa Claus on the Arctic circle. Popular culture often depicts Santa Claus (or “Joulupukki” in Finnish) coming from Lapland. Therefore, tourists come every year to Rovaniemi to meet Santa. It’s closer to the North Pole than Indiana.
Santa’s Village & Sportsland in Ontario, Canada, is a holiday theme park operating during the summer. It is over 50 years old. Another Canadian park, Village du Père Noël, Val-David, Quebec, offers children the chance to visit Santa at his summer residence. In 1953, Réal Rousseau and Jacques T Melchers built in the beautiful Laurentian Mountains, and the park has since welcomed over three millions visitors. I’m sure I’ve overlooked some others, but that’s more parks celebrating Christmas than celebrate an imaginary mouse or the number of flags they fly. The appeal of Christmas-themed parks is based on the three ages of man. There’s the age when you believe in Santa Claus, when you don’t believe in Santa Claus, and when you are Santa Claus.
6
Two-way traffic
Chinese plan park in Australia, Aussies plan park in China!
The Australian theme park operator Village Roadshow has announced that it plans to open a marine park in China as a result of a RMB 3.5 billion (US$560m/€430m) deal with Guangzhou R&F Properties. Scheduled to open by 2015, Hainan R&F Ocean Paradise will be located on Hainan Island in the southern Chinese province of the same name and adopt a similar format to Village Roadshow’s (VR) Sea World park on Australia’s Gold Coast. A Wet ‘n’ Wild waterpark will also be developed on the same site. Village Roadshow has been appointed lead consultant on the project, offering design, development and construction expertise, as well as operating the two parks for up to 20 years. It will not, however, have any ownership interests. “Our key involvement in every aspect of this project represents significant reward and recognition our Village Roadshow Theme Parks branding and capabilities,” states VR chairman Robert Kirby. “We look forward to working closely with R&F, one of China’s leading property developers, to deliver a world-class destination theme park.” Located south of Guangdong and to the east of Taiwan, Hainan is China’s smallest province, but the country’s largest special economic zone. After a less than salubrious past, it is now enjoying new found status as a holiday island. Just the time, then, for new tourism development such as Ocean Paradise.
Village Roadshow will use expertise from Sea World in Australia for the new park in China
The new park is one of seven national ocean parks approved across the
country. At the opposite end of the Guangdong province, facing Macau, the Chimelong Group is preparing later this year to open Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, while in the neighbouring province of Fujian construction work is about to start on Xiamen Ocean World. Meanwhile a new Chinese-backed enterprise, Australian Chinese Theme Park Pty Ltd (ACTP), has received local approval to develop a theme park in New South Wales, Australia. ACTP will purchase 15 hectares (37 acres) of land in Wyong Shire for AUS$10 million (US$560m/€430m). The first stage of construction is expected to begin in 2015, with completion due by 2020. Reports suggest the park will be based on Chinese life and culture, including a replica of the gates of Beijing's Forbidden City and with special areas set aside for weddings and events. Previous attempts at recreating the county’s landmarks on foreign shores, such as at Splendid China in Orlando, Florida, have failed to have any long term viability. It remains to be seen if tourists in Australia – which is of course much closer to the ‘real’ China – will be sufficiently curious for such an attraction for it to become a success.
*According to local press reports, plans exist for a park in England called Visions of China. Rotherham Council has apparently approved the sale of a former coal mine near Rother Country Park in South Yorkshire to China Visions Ltd and MCD Developments. The two firms want to spend £118 million ($190m/€144m) creating replicas of oriental lakes, gardens and temples, together with a theatre, hotel, spa and other facilities, and believe they can attract 1.5 million visitors a year.
DECEMBER 2012/JANUARY 2013
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