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Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week #3
Update : 20/08/13 - 10h50Published by François Mayné the 16 July 2013, New.
NewsParcs' Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week is a review of the latest news and releases of companies supplying the theme park industry worldwide.
This weekly report covers topics such as corporate announcements, financial news, contracts won, new products, projects completed or appointments. Read our previous issues (along with our Theme Park Industry News Roundup)
Our round-up of this week looks at Innovative Leisures' entry into the farm attraction sector, Lo-Q's new contract signed; Ride Entertainment Group's latest projects completed, WhiteWater's record sales orders and Zamperla's new family interactive water ride.
WhiteWater West Industries
EAS booth #1012
WhiteWater West Industries has confirmed a record volume of sales orders signed during its first quarter of 2013. The company explained that orders were equally divided among the Asian, European/Middle East and North American markets.
The Canadian manufacturer has seen a notable surge in interest in its interactive water play structure AquaCourse™; its linear induction Water Coaster AdrenaLIM™ and its waterslides MEGAtubes™, Rattler™, Anaconda™ and AquaSphere as well as in its interactive mobile app Apptivations, a new business activity since the purchase of Apptivations LLC last year.
Geoff Chutter, WhiteWater’s President & CEO said, “We attribute this success to the energy and momentum built by our commitment to creative innovation coupled with our long standing reputation for quality and customer service. We have been thrilled with the response to our newest generation of ORIGINAL innovations. “Nothing excites our 530 employee base more than the satisfaction of delivering the most memorable, ‘WOW!’ experiences to people throughout the world.”
Continued worldwide growth for the company is expected throughout the year with several new projects soon to be announced.
Italian manufacturer Antonio Zamperla has reported the opening of the first model of its brand new Water Mania family interactive water ride in June at Coney Island, New York, USA.
Water Mania is taking the form of a Tea Cup ride on water in a circular pool. The ride features six arms each with a cup at the end seating four passengers. Each rider has a water canon to splash the other passengers and the cups rotate, one clockwise and the next one anti-clockwise, while the whole ride also rotates clockwise.
Single and double versions of Water Mania are available, the latter featuring 48 seats, and two examples of the ride are now currently in operation in the United States, the double being installed at Coney Island. Diameter including fencing of the single version is 13 meters/42.6 feet. The double version is 25×13 meters/ 82×42.5 feet. Theoretical hourly capacity is 480 pph for the single version and 960 pph for the double.
Ride Entertainment Group has released details about the latest projects completed around the globe by its installation and retrofit division, Entertainment Management Group (EMG).
At the end of 2012, EMG sold a magnetic retrofit system from Velocity Magnetics to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for the new Iron Rattler hybrid wood coaster (retracking by Rocky Mountain Construction). In addition, the company was contracted to install much of the new coaster’s mechanical components such as the drives, brakes, and sprockets.
Regarding recent rides' installations, EMG has been entrusted the installation of a Gerstlauer Amusement Rides Spinning Coaster moved from California at Six Flags Mexico. The largest project was the installation of the world tallest Funtime StarFlyer at Six Flags over Texas. “It was an important job for us,” said Adam Sandy, Sales Director for the Ride Entertainment Group. “Six Flags over Texas is where it all started, and the 122-meters/400-foot Texas StarFlyer is a ride that redefined the park’s skyline.”
Bill Wright, EMG’s Technical Director, said that the tower represented a unique set of challenges for the team. “We had to assemble and torque all of the tower sections on the ground. But, they had to be built up at a distance where the crane had enough reach to grab the pieces and lift them skyward on the tower. In addition, we had to have enough open land to accommodate a 650-ton crane. While the tower itself is traditional steel erection, nothing is really ‘simple’ when you’re setting a tower of that size.”
This summer, company staff will travel to Australia to help install the brand-new 76-meters/250-foot Skycoaster® at Wet’n’Wild Australia. “However, we anticipate additional fall projects before putting their tools away for the year;” added Bill Wright.
Lo-Q has signed a 5-years agreement with two Wet ‘n’ Wild branded water parks in Phoenix and in the newly open location of Las Vegas, USA, to install its virtual queuing wristband technology, in time for the summer season. Both properties are part of Village Roadshow Theme Parks, a division of Village Roadshow Limited.
Branded as Xpress Band at both Wet ‘n’ Wild locations, Lo-Q’s innovative system uses a waterproof and lightweight radio frequency identification (RFID) wristband that allows guests to virtually queue for their favorite slides without physically standing in line. Xpress Band users select their desired ride from multiple self-service kiosks located throughout the parks and will be notified on their wristband when it’s time to return. Guests use a separate entrance to enter the ride and scan their band for validation, thereby avoiding standing in line and maximizing their time to enjoy park attractions.
“We are excited to be working with Wet ‘n’ Wild Phoenix and in Las Vegas during its inaugural season,” said Steve Brown, chief operating officer of Lo-Q. “These operators understand that guests want a premium park experience that includes minimizing the amount of time they have to wait in line. We are proud to provide a product that meets this need and helps increase overall guest satisfaction throughout the park.”
UK based adventure play attractions specialists Innovative Leisure has announced entry into the farm attractions sector of its range of Sky Trail High Ropes and Sky Tykes Junior ropes courses.
Strengthening a relationship with Mead Open Farm in Billington, UK which began in 2010 with the installation of an Innovative Leisure Static Climbing Tower, the farm attraction has now expanded its adventure play offering with a new combined high ropes design aimed at children aged 2 and up, through to adults.
“The growing farm attractions sector is constantly looking for appropriate ideas to offer visitors something new and, with primarily outdoor locations, adventure play attractions are helping to boost attendance and deliver a fun memorable family experience,” said the company.
The ten pole Sky Trail Discovery course is 6m/19.7ft in height and comprises a series of challenging rope elements from tight ropes to stepping stones which provide a perceived sense of danger in total safety. Participants rely on a full body harness and are attached to a continuous track via the 'silent puck' system, a recent upgrade to the Sky Trail range. The Sky Tykes Junior ropes course shares poles from the above modular Sky Trail layout and offers children between the ages of 2 and 7 challenging ropes elements at the less daunting height of 1 meter/3.3 foot.
The courses are designed to accommodate 100 participants per hour. Sky Trail Discovery is designed to take 25 people at any one time while Sky Tykes is taking 10 children at a time.
Does your company works within the amusement park industry? If your are interested in sharing news with NewsParcs, please contact our editor François Mayné via contact@newsparcs.com
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Our Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week is a round-up of the latest news relative to companies supplying the theme park industry around the world. This weekly report covers topics such as corporate announcements, financial ...
The NewsParcs' Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week is a round-up of the latest news relative to companies supplying the theme park industry around the world. This weekly report covers topics such as corporate announcements, ...
Our Industry Roundup is a summary of the latest major news related to the theme park industry worldwide. We report news specifically on operators, owners, trade associations and related organizations, including trends, attendance...