P8
Park Word
AUGUST 2016
4 Park Hoppin' Paul Ruben on flying theatres
5 Front Gate Figures of Fun/Big Question
6-20 Park News Your monthly round-up
22 Kernels Bite-sized news
24 Show Preview Euro Attractions Show
26 Kynren Live entertainment profile
28-29 Valravn at Cedar Point Ride profile
30-31 Joker at Six Flags Great Adventure Ride profile
33-34 Pulsar at Walibi Belgium Ride profile
37-49 Dark Rides Special feature
38-39 Dark Rides: Lagotronics Projects Cover story
48-49 Dark Rides: John Wood Q&A
48 Irland at Europa-Park Attraction profile
52-55 Hopi Hari Park profile
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62 Show Guide Calendar
63 Web Guide Online resources
THIS MONTH’S COVER SHOT: Lagotronics Projects is working on a record number of interactive game-based dark rides around the world. Pictured here is the second of four projects for the Wanda group in China, at the new Wanda City Mall in Nanchang. Also in
development are ambitious new rides in the Middle East and a space-saving new dark ride concept in China. This is in addition to upgrades of two existing attractions in Europe. See page 38 for more details.
www.lagotronicsprojects.com
Editor: Owen Ralph (+44 161 438 2934)
parkworld@btopenworld.com
North American Editor: Paul Ruben (+1 585 381 1012)
parkw@rochester.rr.com
Contributors this issue: Shaun Martin, Remko Hendriksma, Marcus Gaines, Astrid Gonzalez
Sales Manager: Mark Burgess (+44 1622 699124)
mburgess@datateam.co.uk
Publication Manager: Jacqui Hunter (+44 1622 699106)
jhunter@datateam.co.uk
Publishing Director: Paul Ryder
pryder@datateam.co.uk
Managing Director: Parvez Kayani
p.kayani@datateam.co.uk
Publication Secretary: AUGUST 2016 • ISSN 1462-4796
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P33 P30
We've talked a lot in these pages in recent years about intellectual property (IP), usually in relation to IP owners licensing their brands to theme parks. Several operators have done quite well out of such relationships by tapping into the loyal fan base of their chose film or TV franchise (as is usually the case). It's interesting to examine the power relationship
here. On the surface, it would appear those that own the IP are in the stronger position thanks to the steady stream of royalty payments they receive from the park, often linked directly to gate receipts. Yet IP owners also value the tangible, emotional connection to consumers that a park can offer. During a presentation I sat in during at this year's IAAPA EMEA Spring Forum, Plopsa group boss Steve van den Kerkhof suggested that, in a saturated media market, in future parks may become the one of the key places audiences for brands are nurtured, and as such operators will be in a commanding position to ask IP owners to pay them. As part of the Belgian TV company Studio 100, Plopsa already owns has its owns its own IP and is therefore a perfect example of vertical integration; a mini Disney if you like. Another European operator, Compagnie des Alpes (CDA), has also tried to build a life for its Walibi brand outside the park in recent years, and as such has so far resisted the temptation to license any external IP (although deals are in place at some of its other parks, Astérix being the most obvious). And there's another way parks can generate positive
cash flows when it comes to IP: by licensing their own brands to other park owners. Only three of the four Walibi parks in Europe, for example, are owned by CDA. The other, Walibi Sud-Ouest in southern France, is now operated under a licensing deal by Aspro. With three years yet until any of them open, as much as 4% of Six Flags' revenue in the second quarter of 2016 was derived from licensing deals for new parks in China, Vietnam and Dubai. Sure, Six Flags has spent many years building its own brand domestically, but already that's $1.6 million on the balance sheet (in just three months) before a single guest has walked through the gate, and without anything like the capital costs of operating its chain of parks across the US. Food for thought.
Owen Ralph – editor
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