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P8


Park Word


MAY 2015


4 Kernels Bite-sized news


5 Front Gate Setting the agenda for the month ahead


6 Park Hoppin’ Paul Ruben swallows a bug


6-26 Park News Your monthly update


28-29 Viva Aqualand Cover story


30 Asian Attractions Expo Show preview


32-33 Halloween & Attractions Show Show review


34-35 House of Nightmares Attraction profile


36-38 Fury 325 Ride profile


40-41 Wanda Movie Park Park profile


42-43 Plopsaqua Waterpark profile


44-45 Adventure Inside Attraction profile


47-48 Park Photography Special feature


50-53 Bio parks Special feature


58 Show Guide Calendar


59 Web Guide Online resources


P40 P36 P34


What never fails to intrigue me each time I visit Alton Towers is how, despite the presence of several large and (in)famous rollercoasters, there is not a one single visual hint of the park’s presence until one reaches the sign at the gate. That’s because of the strict “nothing visible above the trees” height limit the British park must work to each time it plans new attractions. This in turn has lead to some particularly creative bits of theming, submerging rides such as Nemesis partially underground. But Alton Towers has also experienced a long- running and well-documented dispute with local residents Mr & Mrs Roper, who have filed all manner of noise-related complaints over the years. Given that they moved into the village of Farley in 1968, two years before Alton Towers started adding rides (it was previously a stately home and gardens), I would argue there is a little validity to their arguments. Certainly you wouldn’t put a major theme park in this location if you were building it from scratch, not least because of the local roads. Nevertheless, Alton Towers remains the UK’s busiest park, new rides continue to appear, and the Ropers haven’t actually felt so aggrieved as to sell their home. At Legoland Windsor, also operated by Merlin


Entertainments, The Royal Borough of Windsor recently rejected a planning application for a new haunted house. The refusal was based on councillors’ fears that the attraction would “attract more visitors to the park” and add to already high levels of traffic congestion. We can of course expect Merlin to appeal, but as it stands that judgment effectively means the local authority is saying the park cannot grow and must be content with its current (admittedly rather healthy) visitor numbers. Wow.


Owen Ralph – editor


Editor: Owen Ralph (+44 161 438 2934) parkworld@btopenworld.com


North American Editor: Contributors this issue:


Paul Ruben (+1 585 381 1012) parkw@rochester.rr.com


Julien Panie, Nick Diamond, Jason Karl, Gordon Dorrett, Astrid González


Sales Manager: Mark Burgess (+44 1622 699124) parkworld@datateam.co.uk


Publication Manager: Jacqui Hunter (+44 1622 699106) jhunter@datateam.co.uk


Publishing Director: Managing Director: Publication Secretary:


Paul Ryder pryder@datateam.co.uk


Parvez Kayani p.kayani@datateam.co.uk


Ashley Parnell (+44 1622 699109) parkworld@datateam.co.uk


Head Office: Datateam Business Media Ltd London Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8LY, UK Tel: +44 1622 687031 datateam.co.uk


MAY 2015 • ISSN 1462-4796


© Copyright 2015. All materials in this publication remain the copyright of Datateam Business Media Ltd and no part of it may be reproduced without the written permission of the proprietors. A request to insert an advertisement is deemed to be an acceptance of Datateam Business Media Ltd’s conditions of trading, copies of which are available on request.


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THIS MONTH’S COVER SHOT: The Racer Twin Turbolance is one of the biggest waterslides in Europe. You can find it at Aqualand Maspalomas in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria – one of 11 Aqualand waterparks supplied by Polin Waterparks & Pool Systems. This month the Turkish company will open its first King Cobra at Aqualand El Arenal in Mallorca, helping the Aspro-owned chain stay no.1 in Spain. See page 28.


www.polin.com.tr


Annual subscription (11 issues): UK £67, overseas £161 +44 1825 765 250 datateam@capsule-group.com


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