P8
Park Word
JUNE 2015
4 Park Bloggin’ Hong Kong Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions
5 Front Gate Setting the agenda for the month ahead
7 Park Hoppin’ Paul Ruben at Walt Disney World
6-20 Park News Your monthly update
22 TEA London Day Out Event review
24-26 IAAPA Europ Spring Forum Event review
28-29 Turbulence Ride profile/cover story
31 Red Arrows Skyforce Ride profile
32-33 Let’s Go Loopy Ride profiles
34 & 39 I-Drive 360 Attraction profile
40-41 Batman Freefly Coaster Ride profile
42-48 Kids Lands Special feature
52-54 Aquatopia Waterpark profile
56-57 Aqua Mexicana Waterpark profile
58 Forbidden Caves Attraction profile
60 Chimelong OMG! Park/supplier update
62-65 Latin America ACOLAP Meeting
70 Show Guide Calendar
71 Web Guide Online resources
P60 P48 P31
Children’s rides have always been an important part of the theme/amusement park mix, but not always as headline attractions. In recent years, however, new emphasis is being placed on attractions for the younger guest and the themed environments around them. Done right, such lands can even compete with a rollercoaster for marketing potential, especially if you integrate a licensed intellectual property. It’s not just the rides that matter though. “It’s about the whole package,” says William Bryan at England’s Drayton Manor, which has enjoyed great success with its branded Thomas Land area. “For us this means live character shows, the Thomas & Friends music playing, the souvenirs on offer. If people want to extend their visit, then we also have our Thomas themed rooms in the on- site 4-star Drayton Manor Hotel. It’s the tiny details that can make a big impact.” Speaking of detail, I was interested to read that
Vienna, home to the famous Prater city centre amusement park, has a new tourist attraction: some traffic lights. Instead of the usual stick figure, lights at 47 pedestrian crossings across the Austrian capital feature couples – a man and a woman, two women or two men. The lights were installed to mark the city’s hosting last month of the Eurovision Song Contest, won in 2014 by drag diva Conchita Wurst, and have apparently become such a hit they will now be staying after the camp TV spectacular has left town. Novelty traffic lights are not new, however.
Cross the road towards the main entrance of Liseberg in Gothenburg, Sweden – another great European city park – and you will see an illuminated green rabbit, the park’s mascot, beckoning you over the crossing. How’s that for attention to detail?
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
Jennie Nevin, Adrian Fisher, Gert-Jan Meeuwesen, Astrid González Nariñozález
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
JUNE 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.
Member of:
THIS MONTH’S COVER SHOT: Adventureland, Long Island, New York, has introduced Turbulence, a custom spinning coaster by Mack Rides. The $5 (€4.6m) million attraction features a compact layout that the German manufacturer says adds to the thrill as the train navigates multiple near misses, twists and turns. See page 28.
www.mack-rides.com
Annual subscription (11 issues): UK £67, overseas £161 +44 1825 765 250
datateam@capsule-group.com
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