Park News
parkworld-online.com
Park Bloggin’ by Anthony Goret
The French industry is doing well but a few taxing issues lie ahead
Aquanura at Efteling AWARD-WINNING WATER
Two Thea Award-winning fountain shows are about get a new look. Billed as a spectacle of water, light and fire, Aquanura at Efteling has been enthralling guests at the Dutch park since it debuted last season. Bringing the fun to a close each day on Vonderplas, between the park’s main gate/Efteling Theatre and Fata Morgana, the 15-minute spectacular is the largest water show in Europe. Four giant frogs transform the seemingly peaceful lake into a water ballet as Indian water lilies, fountains and a magical musical score bring fairytales to life. Produced by WET Design, a new version of the show is set to wow Efteling guests as from 2014. Meanwhile in the USA, World of Color – Winter Dreams is an all-new holiday (Christmas) version of the popular after-dark water spectacular at Disney California Adventure, Disneyland Resort. Launching on 15 November, the show will be hosted by Olaf the snowman from the upcoming Disney animated feature Frozen, featuring new animation with classic winter scenes from such beloved Disney films as Bambi, Fantasia and Toy Story. The show will include new special effects and present some new methods for utilising the massive stage of water, colour and light on which World of Color is presented. Millions of guests have enjoyed World of Color since it opened in 2010 as part of the five-year expansion of the park outside Los Angeles, picking up a Thea Award from TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) one year later. The show’s nearly 1,200 powerful fountains create one of the world’s largest projected water screens.
efteling.com/aquanura
Worlds of Color at Disney California Adventure
The SNELAC (Syndicat National des Espaces de Loisirs, d’Attractions et Culturels) is the French national union of recreational, amusement and cultural sites. As a trade association we represent all kinds of family leisure sites within a closed space, including theme parks, recreational parks, water parks, animal parks, cultural and natural sites. Many of these sites also offer a variety of additional services such as accommodation, food and beverage, shops etc.
Our membership of more than 240 facilities includes such attractions as Disneyland Resort Paris, Parc Astérix, Futuroscope, Grand Parc du Puy du Fou, the Eiffel Tower, Musée du Luxembourg, but also some small local companies all around France which together attract over 70 million visitors per year. The main mission of the SNELAC is to defend the interests of our industry at government and European Union level and to provide training, technical support, promotion, communication and business liaison for our members. Visiting an
amusement park or attraction is one of the
Attractions as diverse as Parc Astérix and the Eiffel Tower are members of SNELAC
safest leisure activities available and that’s down to a relentless focus on safety in every aspect of our members’ businesses. It is an essential issue, which needs to be considered in order to have a sustainable operation, and for the good of the whole sector. Yet whilst safety is critical, we are also in the business of selling “dreams” and so it is important every employee is trained to offer the best experience to visitors, and share the happiness of the operator. In turn management must adhere to the labour code and various regulatory constraints to ensure that, even though we are a seasonal industry, all issues are covered in relationship to healthcare, personal protection cover, salary scale etc. To assist with this, SNELAC negotiates a collective branch agreement with national employee unions. Seasonal work often attracts young people without much education, and it is the industry’s duty to train these employees and offer them new opportunities. The SNELAC creates a professional qualification certificate, a diploma that is recognised by the French Ministry of Labour. For some people it is the first diploma of their life, which is great for the SNELAC but also for society and young people in general. French habits in relation to travel, leisure and entertainment are changing. People still go on holidays, but they are of shorter duration and closer to home. For most SNELAC members, 77% of their visitors come from nearby (within two hours), except for water parks and aquariums which are generally located in tourist locations. On balance, we can say the last economic crisis did not affect the sector.
continued over the page SEPTEMBER 2013 11
Eiffel Tower image courtesy
bigphoto.com
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