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Park Hoppin’ with Paul Ruben


F Swimming with fishes Burning Ruins A


going to go to Pennsylvania’s PoconoMountains, which is best known for its skiing and other outdoor activities. I don’t ski, and I’m not going to stand outside in freezing January temperatures. I had a better idea. I was going to Kalahari Resorts Poconos where they have a giant indoor waterpark to splash around in during the day and adult beverages waiting for me in the evening. I was headed to Kalahari to experience their new underwater virtual reality


ire has a rich tradition in the outdoor amusement industry. For example, in the early morning of 29 July, 1907, a three-alarm fire started that destroyed George C. Tillyou’s Steeplechase Park at Coney Island, New York. Tillyou reportedly remained calm throughout, even promising to host events that had been planned within the park before the fire. Ever the showman, the morning after the fire Tillyou posted a sign outside the park. It read, “To enquiring friends: I have troubles today that I had not yesterday. I had troubles yesterday which I have not today. On this site will be built a bigger, better, Steeplechase Park. Admission to the burning ruins – ten cents.”


snorkeling experience, DIVR by Ballast Technologies. Read about it on pages 46 & 46. Inside the waterpark the temperature was a toasty 84º F (29º C), the perfect alternative for a winter day. While amusement parks may have a variety of low capacity attractions that can be offered for an upcharge, before now waterparks have not. DIVR changes that.


It transforms any pool into a fantastic adventure where guests can go deep sea diving, flying, or on a spacewalk. It combines the weightlessness of being in water with the immersion of virtual reality, resulting in an unprecedented full-body sensory experience. Ballast’s partner, Sub Sea Systems, is hoping to upgrade some of these systems to the DIVR+ version with thruster and sensory bubble effects. Arriving at the DIVRsite within the


Kalahari waterpark, I was fitted with a waterproof virtual reality mask, which consisted of two eyepieces, a large screen smart phone, speakers, and an attached snorkel to breathe through while in the water. A very helpful attendant, Nate Olsen, gave me a single-use mouthpiece that I placed on the end of the snorkel, and fitted me with a floatation belt around my waist. Tethered to an anchor at the bottom of the pool, the belt helped me keep comfortably afloat. Kalahari offered three different video experiences, with more planned in the


future. In the first I was swimming with ocean fish. I believe this is computer generated imagery, and as I turned my head left and right the scene changed appropriately. Then I thought I would test it to see if my hands and arms would appear if I waved them in front of my face; this is virtual rather than real reality, so they did not. At the end of the video I stood up and Olsen transferred a second, and later a


Scott Simpson, operator of Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City, New Jersey, was not as opportunistic as George C.Tillyou. In the early morning of 30 January this year a four-alarm fire ravaged his boardwalk amusement park and nearby businesses in Ocean City, New Jersey. Unlike Tillyoou, he did not offer tickets to see the burning remains of the fire, but then people could walk the boardwalk for free and see for themselves. The fire was caused by an undetermined electrical source near the front of the park. It caused extensive damage to the building that housed the park’s arcade and administrative offices and left thick black clouds of smoke in its wake. No one was inside and no one was injured. But Playland’s signature outdoor amusements that tower over the boardwalk such as the Gale Force roller-coaster and Double Shot thrill ride were untouched by the flames that shot in the air. The main entrance to the park had been through the Arcade, under the animatronic pirate ship that was also destroyed. Through a secondary entrance on the boardwalk Simpson has been able to open the park in the spring while awaiting rebuilding of the structure. Right now there is just blackened sand beneath where the building once stood. In April I visited to see if restoration had started. It hadn’t. You can see the devastation behind me. In his temporary office behind the park, Scott told me, “We lost our Dairy Queen, Hamburger Construction restaurant, Dip ‘n Dots, the Arcade with more than 100 games, and all of the offices. Gone are our financial records, employment records, tax records, our deeds, four computers, surveillance system, ride manuals, contacts, and all that goes with that. A portion of the electrical system was lost and has to be restored. Stored in the building were the Samba Balloon seats and Helicopters. Just about everything in the building was lost. Insurance may only cover about 75%. We had a fire-proof safe that saved a few items.” But that’s not the worst of it. In his office Scott kept a fine collection of Park World magazines. I asked, “Were they in the fireproof safe?” Inexplicably they were not. Printed on high quality paper and filled with fiery language, hot topics, and even my stupid photos, they only added to the inferno. But I’m stoic. I’ll get over it. Scott already has.


ll the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey, so what am I going to do on a winter’s day? One thing I wasn’t going do is to start singing California Dreaming by TheMamas and the Papas. No, I was


third video. These were fascinating, too. In one I was floating in outer space at an abandoned space station, watching the planets float by, and in the second interacted with a whale and an octopus back in the ocean. All the time there were four or five other guests in the pool, all tethered in place, enjoying their own adventures. So, what did I learn from this? For one thing, being weightless while


experiencing virtual reality enhances the experience. Second, DIVR is a sure-fire addition to any waterpark, indoors or outdoors. Third, while breathing through a snorkel tube, one should always keep the tube’s upper end above water.


SUMMER PART 1 2021MARCH 2020


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