Attraction Profile
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Santa Cruz Beach
The popular boardwalk has a 2017 facelift with two new rides and a new entrance
Boardwalk A
Left to right: Charles Canfield, Chairman, Tom Canfield, Executive VP and Karl Rice, President of Santa Cruz Seaside company.
s part of a $14 million improvement for 2017, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk added two new major rides, ARM's Screamer (which the Boardwalk
named Typhoon) and Zamperla's Disc’O (Shockwave). Additionally, the Boardwalk built a first-time ever, main entrance to the Boardwalk. I spoke to Tom Canfield, executive vice president of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, about the impressive expansion.
What made you choose these two particular rides? “We rode Zamperla’s Disc’O and really liked it. Because we have limited space to expand in our park, we designed a new upper deck based on the specific footprint of the ride. We felt that adding elevation would really enhance the experience and make it an even more exciting ride. The Typhoon was a little more difficult. When we removed our original Typhoon ride (the Kamikaze, from Fabbri) to make room for Sea Swings several years ago, we lost a ride that provided the experience of going upside-down. We looked at several rides to help fill our new Main Entrance Plaza and decided that we needed an upside-down element but with something different. Our new Typhoon (ARM's Screamer) is cageless, allowing your feet to dangle. Along with a pretty incredible lighting package, we felt it was a perfect fit for the middle of the plaza.”
The new entrance is the type of amusement park improvement that doesn't necessarily show a specific financial return. What do you think are the benefits of such an investment?
“We're a very old park, and our front door (the first thing our guests see) has always looked more like our back door. Over the last several years we have been addressing this issue. When we made fairly modest enhancements to an entrance by our Looff Carousel, it was an immediate hit with our guests. They love taking photos under the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk sign. We also felt we needed a ‘Main Entrance’ because we wanted our guests to have a sense of arrival. The location our new Main Entrance is directly across from our main parking lot. We have also moved ticketing from a couple of small booths on the Boardwalk to the front entrance to help our guests get their day started more easily. Now people have a sense of arrival with a much more aesthetically pleasing main entrance.”
What was the process of making this change? “The project was planned for a long time and several steps needed to be completed first. The area included old, unattractive buildings that housed back-of-house functions that needed to move first (check-in stations, communications, training rooms, first aid, guest services, and other offices.) Once all of that was completed, it became an opportunity site. We knew that [during the construction] we were [temporarily] losing some good revenue producing attractions - Fright Walk, Laser Maze, and some games of skill - so we made sure to plan for their return in the new plaza, all renovated. “Our philosophy is to reinvest in our property. My
grandfather Laurence Canfield established that philosophy and it was continued by his son, my father, Charles Canfield. You can’t argue with success. We have learned that investing
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