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Wednesday
Aug 7, 2013
Summer at Coney Island is in full swing, and Central Amusement International (CAI) has made sure that visitors to the People’s Playground will find Luna Park and the surrounding attractions are all up and running.
The 2013 season, which officially kicked off on Memorial Day weekend, features a number of new rides and attractions that are all part of the major overhaul that has been taking place at Coney Island over the last several years.
“As we maintain our original attractions and add new ones to Luna Park, this
season we demonstrate our commitment to Coney Island and our mission to be an innovative and exciting place for visitors of all ages,” said Valerio Ferrari, president of Central Amusement International, operator of Luna Park, the Cyclone and other area attractions.
Disney's big bet on theme parks is undoing wounds left by The Lone Ranger.
The media giant Tuesday reported better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped in large part by revenue and profit gains at its global empire of theme parks. Those gains were enough to counteract weakness in the movie business, most recently with the lower-than-expected performance of The Lone Ranger.
Disney reported flat overall profit of $1.8 billion, or $1.01 a share. Excluding a $60 million restructuring and impairment charge, the company reported earnings of $1.03 a share, which beat expectations by nearly 2%, says S&P Capital IQ. Revenue inched up 4.4% to $11.6 billion.
Anheuser-Busch on Tuesday afternoon will officially open the new biergarten at its brewery in Soulard.
The 10,000-square-foot outdoor venue will seat 300 and offer a variety of Anheuser-Busch beers, including 17 brews on draft.
Some of the 125 employees who work the Anheuser-Busch tour experience will work at the biergarten, according to Julia Mize, vice president of experiential marking at Anheuser-Busch.
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The land has been purchased. Demolition work has started. But details on what a firm affiliated The Dollywood Co. has planned for the more than 14-acre site remain scarce.
World Choice Investments purchased four parcels on U.S. Highway 98 near Wal-Mart last December.
Rumors have swirled for months that the site would be used for a new Dollywood-themed dinner theater. However, no development order for the project has been filed with Destin or Okaloosa County.
A mother is suing Camden Park Incorporated for injuries she and her son allegedly sustained while riding the Flying Scooter.
On July 30, 2011, Elizabeth Harless and Ryan Scott Harless were at Camden Park and were passengers on the Flying Scooter, according to a complaint filed July 30 in Wayne Circuit Court.
Elizabeth Harless claims when the ride operator began accelerating the Flying Scooter to its speeds, the motor on the ride seized up, sheared its mounting and fell to the ground, which caused the ride to come to a complete stop and cause injuries.
These comments are in regard to the recent fire at Conneaut Lake Park. Being a lifelong patron of this iconic little amusement park, my greatest concern is that a lot of people will shy away and accept this as the park's death knell. However, that is far from being the case.
First off, although the Beach Club and banquet hall were completely lost in the fire, already there are efforts in motion to rebuild them. The building was insured, and the park has announced on its Facebook page that it will be holding a special event Sept. 13-15 featuring more than 40 bands. The boardwalk is still intact, and the park, thanks to the recent efforts of volunteers and The Travel Channel and Lusid Media, looks better than it has in years.
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The days may be getting shorter, but the summer fun isn’t over yet at Dollywood and Dollywood’s Splash Country! To celebrate your trip to your family-favorite summer destination, you'll find FREE parking at both parks for a limited time.
Make your way to Dollywood or Dollywood’s Splash Country soon because FREE parking is available for a limited time. Extend your family’s summer vacation and make more time for happy!
We had the opportunity to test the new MyMagic+ MagicBands, thanks to our Cast Member friend Derek! The MagicBands are testing currently for some resort guests in addition to Cast Members.
The test included one night at Disney's All Star Music Resort. We didn't stay there with Derek, but did test the MagicBand on the door. The MagicBand itself is very lightweight - I don't really like having anything around my wrist, so I'm not sure I'll wear it often, and definitely not for resort doors. Unlike getting into the parks or using for the Fastpass+ attractions, it was a little awkward getting into the room with it. I would have liked to see the RFID chip placed on the side of the band instead of on top, so not to have to twist the arm/wrist.
It will be interesting to see what the average length of resort check-in will be once MagicBands are fully introduced, since I expect guests will have quite a few questions about the MagicBands and MyMagic+. The box we received it in was HUGE - very nicely presented with our names in the box and on the back of our MagicBands. We were told that personalization can be done with bookings up to 3 or 4 days in advance.
Trampoline parks often feature wall-to-wall trampolines, foam pits and activities like dodgeball, and have become popular venues for children's birthday parties and other occasions.
But like backyard trampolines, these parks come with risks. Trampoline park visitors have sustained compound fractures and other injuries, resulting in paralysis and even death.
California state Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, hopes Senate Bill 256 will make the parks safer. If passed, his bill would regulate the construction, maintenance and operation of trampoline parks with the goal of increasing safety.
Excellent opportunities are available!!! --- www.LandrysInc.com
The New Orleans-shot fantasy adventure "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters," opens in theaters on Wednesday (Aug. 6), featuring scenes shot at the old Six Flags New Orleans amusement park, which was shuttered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and has rusted away, abandoned, ever since. It's not the first time the park has been cast in a movie, however. Here are five projects that shot at least briefly in the derelict theme park, which has found a second life as an unofficial backlot.
I first “met” Tamara, a cotton-top tamarin who lives in the forest in Colombia, South America, when she was still in her mom’s belly. Thirteen years later (a ripe old age for a cotton-top), she continues to amaze me. Cotton-tops usually give birth to twins, and she recently gave birth to her 12th litter and 22nd infant!
Over the years, Tamara has been a fantastic mom and family member. Thanks to her resourcefulness, Tamara’s family has continued to thrive in their forest home. And she has helped us to learn so much about cotton-top tamarins. For example, we had no idea how many infants a female in the wild could produce. Thanks to Tamara, we’ve had the opportunity at the conservation organization dedicated to cotton-tops, Proyecto Titi, to study all of her infants and learn so much about these fascinating animals. Luckily for Tamara, cotton-top moms don’t raise their babies all by themselves. The babies’ dad, brothers and sisters all help to take care of the babies.
Theme parks fans long have recognized a pecking order in the theme park industry. At the top, offering attractions and facilities of the highest quality (and, as a result, attracting the largest attendance) has stood Disney. One step below that stood the Universal, Busch and SeaWorld parks, which offered great rides and shows, but usually in facilities that were a notch less fancy than those built by Disney. Next came the regional amusement parks, such as Cedar Fair and Six Flags, which operated even more basic facilities, focusing on lightly or unthemed roller coasters and carnival rides.
But those divisions are beginning to blur, at least at the top of the industry. Disney took a huge step backward in quality with its Walt Disney Studios park in Paris and the original California Adventure, though it's now investing billions to reverse that course with top-quality projects such as Cars Land and Buena Vista Street. At the same time, Universal's working to close the gap from the opposite direction. With the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal's now building attractions at the Disney level. (Some of us might argue that Universal's Potter exceeds Disney's current standards.) SeaWorld's becoming more ambitious in its construction projects, too, with more richly themed environments such as Orlando's Antarctica and San Diego's Explorers Reef.
It can be a little overwhelming trying to sort out the MyMagic+ program and all that it implies. Moreover, what does it mean for the Guest experience? Walt Disney World Eyes & Ears–the newsletter for Cast Members–has been updating its employees on the progress of MyMagic+. Here are some quotes to give you further insight as to what is being emphasized to the Cast Members...
Caesars Entertainment Corp. shuffled its Las Vegas and Atlantic City resort management executives Tuesday, moving a regional president from the Strip to the east coast.
The company, which has 10 properties on or near the Strip, said Eileen Moore, currently president of the company’s Mid-North Regional Division, will come to Las Vegas to oversee three casinos.
Moore will be a regional president and general manager of the Flamingo, The Quad and the $180 million Gansevoort development after receiving required regulatory approvals, said company spokesman Gary Thompson.
After a unanimous vote, the company's board of directors says it will keep its entertainment division, which is "critical to its corporate strategy."
Sony's board of directors voted unanimously to reject the notion that it should spin off its entertainment business, and it sent a letter Monday explaining its position to Third Point, the investment vehicle of Daniel Loeb.
The City of Ottawa has lifted its moratorium on summer camp visits to Calypso Water Park after the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) laid 20 safety-related charges against the park stemming from incidents that occurred in 2011 and 2012.
The safety watchdog laid the charges July 16 in relation to incidents on three slides – Pirate’s Aquaplay, the Steamer, and Bobsleigh slides – some of which resulted in injuries, according to the TSSA.
But a spokesperson for the water park questions the swift decision from the city’s parks, recreation, and cultural services department to halt programming at Calypso. Shawn Murphy said Tuesday all the incidents were addressed by 2013.
The City of Pflugerville will have another way to cool off next year with a new water park approved Tuesday.
The Pflugerville City Council approved economic development grants for Hawaiian Falls Water Park and Adventure Park.
The new development will cost $21.5 million. Developers say it will span 25 acres and will be built near the southwest corner of SH 130 and FM 685.
Nixon Water Park is hosting a Back-To-School Splash-Bash from 5:30-8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7.
Tickets for the event are $6 and include a hot dog, bag of chips and 16 oz. drink. According to park officials, tickets are limited to the first 200 and are available for purchase at Nixon Park, 400 E. North St. in Jackson.
Jackson Recreation Service Coordinator Joseph Hawley said the event will include a poolside disc jockey and school supplies will be given away all night.
Plans for a water park in Elk Grove the likes of Roseville's popular Golfland-Sunsplash and Cal Expo's Raging Waters could be coming to Elk Grove as soon as summer 2015.
This morning, The Sacramento Bee reports plans for such an Elk Grove water park as well as an adjacent aquatics center are charging ahead.
If funding and plans continue to stream forward, residents and visitors could expect to cool off in the new park possibly by summer 2015, city officials told the Bee.
A Six Flags White Water visitor allegedly asked three children to watch a 1-year-old child so she could enjoy the attractions at the Marietta water park.
"Said victim was left without proper supervision for approximately 30-60 minutes," according to the arrest warrant for 21-year-old Stephanie Michelle Pasley of Chattanooga, Tenn.
The City of Tahlequah, Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation are partnering on a 25-year lease for the town's first water playground, scheduled to open in 2014. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker is anticipated to sign the lease agreement that will allow city officials to build the "splash pad," equipped with jet tunnels, water sprayers and rock slides on nearly an acre of tribal-owned land downtown, states a Cherokee Nation press release.
The city will lease the space for the splash pad for copy month.
"Establishing good governmental partnerships that improve the lives of Cherokees and non-Cherokees alike is something I believe in and we will continue to develop these kinds of infrastructure improvements for our citizens," Chief Baker said in the statement.
The Iowa State Patrol will ask fairgoers this year to be on the lookout for suspicious activity and report it to law enforcement authorities during the Iowa State Fair.
The fair will be the agency’s first major push of the “If You See Something, Say Something” homeland security campaign.
“What we’re trying to get people to do is if they see something suspicious or out of the ordinary, to find the closest officer and let the officer know,” said Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Scott Bright said.
Forty-eight-year-old Laurie Roberge said she has worked the fair circuit for 30 years and knows what to look for when hiring people for the 10-day run of the upcoming Skowhegan State Fair.
No drinking on the job and no drugs, for starters, she said.
"We need their Social Security card; photo ID. We do a criminal background check," said Roberge, who was in charge of hiring to set up the fair today. "If the background checks come back good, we'll call them. They'll come in for a safety meeting, get their uniform and their show ID and report to work for training."
A diver participating in an Indiana State Fair show was injured after he fell from a diving board Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
The diver was preparing to make a handstand dive when he slipped and fell an estimated 15 feet, a fair spokesman said.
Officials said he was rushed to Methodist Hospital with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries.
Seattle Aquarium has announced that, in partnership with Seattle City Light, they plan to install the largest solar array to be found at any West Coast aquarium.
The 49 kilowatt project scheduled to complete in the fall, is part of the utility company’s Community Solar and Green Up programs and will cost around $330,000.
The St. Louis Zoo will soon temporarily close its penguin and puffin exhibit as it begins work on a new polar bear habitat.
A final date is still being determined, but the closing is expected to come this fall and last until early 2015, the zoo said.
The first change visitors will notice takes place on Aug. 20, when the zoo’s 20 Humboldt penguins will be moved “off-exhibit.”
Veterinarians at SeaWorld Orlando have successfully performed the first-ever shark C-Section, the theme park announced yesterday. The three-pound whitetip reef pups are the latest additions to the 30 sharks at Discovery Cove, the pricey sister park of SeaWorld that allows patrons to cuddle with bottleneck dolphins while Instagramming a variety of other aquatic creatures.
Although the surgery occurred on July 18th, theme park officials decided to hold off until now to make sure the shark pups didn't die and bum everyone out. (Or else that's just what they told Riptide, and they really wanted to coincide with #SharkWeek, the longest-running cable television event in history.) The programming marathon has the same life-giving properties as a Caesarian, as its given baby boomers and other people who can afford cable a reason to breathe since 1987.
It’s “Shark Week,” and that means legions of shark fanatics across the country are glued to their television through August 11th.
But here in the Philadelphia are, shark fans can get a little closer to the king of the ocean.
Camden’s Adventure Aquarium, home to the largest collection of sharks on the East Coast, is offering a special “Shark Week: LIVE!” program that kicked off on August 3rd and runs through the remainder of Shark Week.
In a landmark decision today, NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) announced that it denied the request of the Georgia Aquarium to import wild-caught beluga whales.
A group of California business, education and nonprofit leaders — including Monterey Bay Aquarium founding director Julie Packard — have agreed to help revamp the state parks system in an effort to restore confidence and financial stability to an institution rocked by scandal.
The dozen volunteers will spend the next 18 months addressing the problems that led to the state threatening to close 70 of the 280 parks in the system after long years of funding shortages — and more recent revelations that now-departed leaders socked money in a secret fund.
The Parks Forward Commission will design a blueprint to make the park system financially viable by studying everything from potential revenue sources to whether a lack of innovation at the top is tied to the practice of promoting only law enforcement rangers to leadership positions
Georgia officials are considering the idea of a adding a new tourist attraction to downtown Atlanta in the form of a state history museum.
Gov. Nathan Deal recently toured the old World of Coca-Cola building at the edge of Underground Atlanta, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
"The building was designed to be a museum, and the governor thought it would an ideal location for a history museum if the price were right and the state was able to attract a significant amount of private dollars," said Brian Robinson, Deal's spokesman.
The Children’s Museum of Sonoma County being built in west Santa Rosa received a $1 million boost Monday from a local foundation.
The Ernest L. and Ruth W. Finley Foundation awarded the capital campaign a grant for a science and imagination gallery in the museum, which is scheduled to open in late summer 2014 next to the Charles M. Schulz Museum on Steele Lane.
The gallery is designed as a 3,000-foot multi-level exhibit space including a child-size grocery store, demonstration beehive, laboratory, train station and other hands-on science activities.
AROUND THE GLOBE
Suzhou Amusement Land in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, has invested 10 million yuan to build a water roller coaster. The facility attracts 6,000 people on average on work days and 15,000 people on weekends, an increase of 50 percent from the previous year.
Suzhou has been very hot recently. At noon, temperatures in the water park reached 28 C. Tourists from Suzhou and nearby cities including Nantong, Yangzhou and Taizhou visit the park. The peak hours this season, 4-9 pm, are later than the previous summer and fall peaks.
The water roller coaster is made up of a tower, a colorful spiral pipe and a water slide, according to Jing Haiming, a manager of the amusement park.
Empire Industries Ltd. today announced that its Dynamic Structures business unit has been awarded a contract to manufacture a signature attraction for a global leader in amusement parks and resorts for a park in China. The work associated with this prestigious contract is valued at over $18 million and will be executed over the next eighteen months.
"This contract is another concrete example of how Empire's global clients are aggressively addressing the growing need for high quality entertainment options throughout Asia," said Guy Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of Empire Industries. "Empire has focused its unique selling proposition to capitalize on the continuing demand for entertainment consumption options from China's growing middle class."
IPOH folk can now boast of having the “Longest Man-Made River in Malaysia” in their city.
The Malaysia Book of Records (MBW) accolade was awarded to the Lost World of Tambun’s (LWT) “Lost World Adventure River”, which has been one of the main attractions at the theme park since its opening.
During the 660m-ride, visitors are splashed by rumbling waves at the “Arch Ruins” and giant sprouting toads at the “Frog Geyser” while the “Needle of Tambun” offers fun-filled tipping buckets and breathtaking views.
Interlink, water ride specialists, have designed, manufactured and installed a new Super Flume log flume ride at PowerPark in Härmä, Finland.
The Super Flume, opened in July, is located in a new area of the park and has been integrated into an existing bridge structure.
The bridge inspired the ride’s name, Kwai River, after the iconic film Bridge Over the River Kwai, and each of the ride’s boats is named after a character from the film. The theming has been extended by using the Bridge Over the River Kwai film soundtrack throughout the ride, and the park has a new Thai restaurant which is accessed via the bridge.
Nine-month year-to-date revenues increased € 9 million to € 920 million, reflecting improved guest spending and higher real estate revenues, partially offset by lower theme parks attendance and hotel occupancy
Third quarter revenues decreased 2% to € 352 million in an environment where challenging economic conditions, notably in Southern Europe, and, to a lesser extent, adverse weather in France, had unfavorable impacts on the business
Gateway Ticketing Systems, admission control and ticketing software supplier, has installed a new ticketing system at Sundown Adventureland in Nottinghamshire, UK, bringing benefits for the park and guests.
Sundown Adventureland theme park’s visitors are typically families with children younger than 10 years old. The park hosts a Christmas Spectacular event which was the catalyst for bringing in Gateway’s new ticketing system.
Paul Tomlinson, Park Manager at Sundown Adventureland, said, “Primarily we were looking for a proven ticketing system that could manage our online web bookings for the Christmas Spectacular here at Sundown Adventureland. This is a massive event for us and it is totally controlled by the booking system. I knew Gateway’s Galaxy system was used worldwide in a lot of big theme parks so felt sure it could help us too.”
Thrill seekers at Oakwood got a bit of a fright yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon when rollercoaster Speed broke down leaving them suspended 100ft in the air for nearly half an hour.
Photographer Paul Rankin, of Cross Hands, was enjoying a day at the park with his family when he spotted the seven stranded passengers who were rescued by park engineers at around midday on August 6.
“It became apparent that these people were stuck and it took about 25/30minutes for the engineer to get out there."
According to a spokeswoman for the amusement it after twenty years for a major refurbishment . This would Droomvlucht totally ready for the next twenty years. "We have chosen to take place, instead of several short periods of maintenance. Maintenance at a time place"
It is in the work not only to technical maintenance. The attraction is also made more beautiful. "The story remains the same: the Dream Flight remains the Dream Flight."
Han Jianjun, a 27-year-old Beijing-based environmentalist, climbed into a snub-nosed boat that had no paddles but did have a seatbelt. He settled himself inside and stretched his legs. Looking around, he saw multiple lanes, each with a boat and a person sitting inside. A coach checked to make sure all the seatbelts were buckled, then gave safety tips, telling them to avoid wiggling around while sitting inside or else the boat would tip over.
Then the coach gave his boat a push. With a jolt, the boat slid down the 20-meter-high hill.
"It went really fast - just a few seconds," Han said of his first try at grass sledding, which took place at an amusement park in Beidaihe, Hebei Province. The plunge evoked the excitement of a roller coaster. "It was better than playing on the slides when I was young."
Bradford might soon get its own Jurassic Park.
A planning bid has been submitted to Bradford Council to create a “dinosaur visitor attraction” in woodland at Tong Garden Centre in Tong Lane that would include animatronic prehistoric beasts.
The application comes from Ossett-based Christian Cristobal, a former theme park designer who moved to Yorkshire from the Philippines a decade ago.
Atlanta architecture firm tvsdesign will design the Wanda Nanchang Aquarium in Nanchang, China.
The aquarium will be part of the Nanchang Wanda Cultural Tourism City theme park, which will also have hotels, stages and other attractions. The developer for the project is Dalian Wanda Group.
Tvsdesign said the two-story, 322,000-square-foot Nanchang aquarium will display distinct and unique species from the Pacific Ocean behind a “concept of complete immersion that strives to give visitors the sensation of actually visiting an underwater world.”
On Tuesday, August 6 the Curacao Sea Aquarium was proud to host 120 children from the Casa Cuna Villa Maria Kresh. The children, ages 2 to 4, were given a first class tour of the facilities where they learned about many of the sea creatures that make Curacao’s marine life such an important asset to the island.
The Curacao Sea Aquarium believes strongly in educating the public about this natural resource and was especially happy to be able to excite such a young audience. Hopefully they will take a new respect for our oceans away from this experience. The Aquarium sponsored the visit, with transportation and refreshments provided by Edward Martina and all of the participants of his class at Just Yoga Curacao. Martina donates his yoga class proceeds to educational charities on the island.
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ScareLA Convention
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Sep. 18 - Sep. 20
Euro Attractions Show (EAS) 2013
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Sep. 26 - Sep. 28
GTI Asia China Expo
(China Import and Export Fair Pazhou Complex)
Nov. 18 - Nov. 22
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