Front Gate
parkworld-online.com
Figures of Fun
30
age of woman refused entry with her 63- year-old father to Legoland Discovery Centre (LDC) Toronto, Canada. The attraction has since offered them a VIP visit, but other LDC outlets retain a no adults-only entrance policy
40
million – number of rides give since 1987 on Vortex looping coaster at Kings Island, Ohio
100
km per hour – speed of new Alpina Blitz rollercoaster opening next season at Nigoland, France
160
feet (49m) – height of world-record breaking loop on Full Throttle rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain, California
400,000,000
Malaysian Ringit (US$125m/€95m) – approximate cost of 20th Century Fox theme park, opening 2016 at Genting Highland, Malaysia
BigQuestion
What has been your best ever PR event and how did it engage the media?
Jack Morey, Morey's Piers, USA: My favourite was the launch for our 40th anniversary book (A Wild Ride) ... it was hilarious. When we were looking for a way to celebrate both an important anniversary as well as the book we no doubt thought of doing a book launch. But when we discussed it internally we had a misunderstanding with respect to the definition of a launch. It was a great and creative misunderstanding, as we literally launched the book out of a cannon with human cannonball carrying it! We threw a party and invited the numerous people that contributed to our history. The third generation boys served the appetisers. The media loved it and we loved it because it was quirky, but authentic to the core!
Per Dam Jensen, Fårup Sommerland, Denmark: I have only been at Fårup the last one-and-a-half years, but in that time, I think the launch of Orkanen (Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster) has been the best event ever. Orkanen means “hurricane” in Danish and in addition to the normal Fårup brand look, we created a hurricane poster for the park. We even approached the television news and weather bulletins, telling them that the speed of rollercoasters very much depends on the weather conditions. They picked up on this and we got two minutes of coverage on national TV! Furthermore, we had a
competition running on Facebook where fans could compete to be a “test pilot” on the day before the opening. More than 3.000 entered the completion, so it obviously created a lot of attention on social media.
Brad Thomas, Silver Dollar City, USA: Our announcement last August about Outlaw Run, our new looping wooden rollercoaster, certainly helped us start telling the “story” and gave us the opportunity talk about this unique ride’s features. From that moment, coaster enthusiasts, theme park fans, Silver Dollar City fans and members of industry and mainstream media began to follow our announcements. Throughout the process, it was our desire to talk about the ride, but also ensure that we showed the “heart of Silver Dollar City”. We wanted to make the “good guy” the hero, and to encourage kids to
aspire to celebrate men and women of the law. Nothing showcased that more than our contest to find students doing amazing things in their communities. Ten winning children and their families won a trip to Branson and Silver Dollar City, and were paired with representatives from the secret service, state highway patrol, police, sheriffs’ departments and the drug enforcement agency.
See footage of Morey's book “launch” at
bit.ly/IKbRn
AUGUST 2013
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