CLIP N CLIMB IS LAUNCHING THE NEW ASCENDOR CHALLENGE

BY GABRIELLE

Clip n Climb, the innovative climbing-based concept for leisure and activity sites across the UK, is introducing an exciting new challenge.

The Ascendor is a three-dimensional ladder, which, due to its vibrant colour and being easy to climb, is especially attractive to young children and beginners.

This dual challenge features two different climbing difficulties. One side of the ladder features steps that are closer together and therefore easier to climb, and the other side has steps that are further apart, increasing the difficulty of the climb.

The dual aspect makes Ascendor a great challenge for families with siblings of different ages, or for parents to climb alongside their youngsters.

With an extremely small footprint area, Ascendor can be installed with ease into leisure centres and attraction sites that have limited space.

REPORT UNDERLINES UK THEME PARKS’ HIGH LEVELS OF SAFETY

BY GABRIELLE

A study by Britain’s leading trade association for the leisure and entertainment industry highlights the high levels of safety recorded at the nation’s theme parks.

The research was carried out by BALPPA, the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions (BALPPA), a non-profit trade association, which represents the interests of owners, managers, suppliers and developers in the UK’s leisure parks and other family entertainment attractions.

The objective of BALPPA’s report is to provide an accurate assessment of the industry’s ride safety standards in order to provide members with a benchmarking facility and to continue to improve safety standards further within the industry.

Paul Kelly, BALPPA’s chief executive, spoke about the purpose and findings of the report.

“Our members operate within a series of strictly regulated and incredibly comprehensive safety protocols.

“We welcome this high level of regulation, which is among the most rigorous worldwide and regularly work with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) in continuing to advance safety practices.

“However, our members also feel there is a lack of industry-wide data specific to ride safety which, combined with a very small number of high profile incidents, is having a damaging effect upon the industry’s reputation and the perceived standards of safety.

“Until now the statistical data available nationally to support our stance on safety is based upon Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) data held by the HSE.

“We believe this data can easily be misinterpreted in the context of ride safety as the numbers are for attractions as a whole and also include non-ride related slips, trips and falls, as well as incidents which occur within hotels, children’s playgrounds etc.

“The number of RIDDOR incidents also do not take into account the number of visitors to our attractions,” Kelly added.

In 2017, BALPPA commissioned a confidential safety survey of its members that operate amusement rides. The survey was intended to provide an accurate appraisal of ride safety in Britain’s entertainment attractions.

In 2018, 40 theme parks in the UK participated in the survey. It found that 63 injury incidents took place involving members of the public, an average of 1.6 per attraction. Less than half of these incidents were ride related.

“As an industry we take every single incident extremely seriously and continue to work tirelessly to further reduce risk wherever possible,” Kelly commented.

“This survey in no way aims to undermine or minimise the impact on those affected by the very few incidents that occur, however we do hope it will help to more accurately reflect the extremely high levels of safety within the industry and how it compares to other activities,” he added.

BUSCH GARDENS UNVEILS NEW, RECORD-BREAKING ROLLERCOASTER FOR 2020

BY GABRIELLE

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Virginia, has unveiled details about a new, record-breaking, multi-launch rollercoaster that’s set to open at the 383-acre theme park in 2020.

Pantheon will feature four launches and will reach a maximum speed of 72.5mph, making it the United State’s fastest multi-launch coaster.

Combining the strength of five Roman gods, Pantheon propels guests in backward and forward launches. The ride also features two inversions and a 95-degree drop.

Larry Giles, senior director of design and engineering at Busch Gardens, commented on the park’s new rollercoaster.

“Pantheon is going to be non-stop action for riders.  We’ve designed it so that the experience is changing all the time and will keep riders wondering what’s next.

“Multiple launches, speed changes, a sharp drop and backwards acceleration are just a few of Pantheon’s one-of-a kind traits,” added Giles.

The Pantheon will be located in the Festa Italia Village area of Busch Gardens.

The arrival of Pantheon will be the fourth consecutive year Busch Gardens Williamsburg has introduced new attractions.

2019 saw the opening of the popular Finnegan’s Flyer, Virginia’s only ‘Screamin’ Swing.’

MOSCOW’S DREAM ISLAND ON TRACK TO OPEN THIS YEAR

BY GABRIELLE

Dream Island, Moscow’s new indoor theme park, appears to be on track to open later in 2019, with the installation of the park’s ‘Smurfs Village.’

The themed zone area will feature a playground, five rides, a sweet shop named ‘Sweets from Smurfetta,’ a café, and the ‘House of the Pope Smurf’ gift shop.

The rides include a carousel known as the ‘Crazy Master’s Invention,’ which has 16 seats, all of which resemble some type of dessert.

The Surfs themed area is one of the most environmentally friendly areas of the theme park.

Ivon Scholl, technical director at Dream Island, described the new themed zone.

“The zone is focused mainly on children. There are no extreme rides here, they are all quite calm and accessible for children from 1 to 1.1 meters tall.

“Smurfs Village is themed according to the cartoon story, the characters will live in mushroom houses, each attraction also has its own unique style – it is either a mushroom, or storks hovering over the village, or the mysterious Gargamel Tower that hides a secret lab for the preparation of magic potions,” Scholl added.

The first phase of construction for the theme park began in early 2018. The venue will be home to 40 attractions, including a dark ride rollercoaster that can reach speeds of 80 kmph.

Another key attraction of Dream Island is a flying theatre known as ‘Flight into the World of Dinosaurs.’

SUNAC PARTICIPATES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANNING CULTURAL AND TOURISM CITY

BY GABRIELLE

Sunac, a leading property developer in China, has joined several third parties to set up a company designed to assist in the development of the Anning Cultural and Tourism City in Yunnan, China.

What’s known as Yunnan Zhonghe Sunac Industrial Co. Ltd., now has have three institutional shareholders – Zhonghe Lianyu Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., Kunming Ronghan Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Kunming Sunac Company, and Yunnan Dianzhong Industrial Development Group.

In May this year, Zhonghe Lianyu and Dianzhong Industrial Development Group signed an investment agreement with Anning municipal government for the development and construction of an international healthcare tourism city in Taiping, Anning.

Sunac will participate in the development of the tourism City project through the newly formed company.

If the project is successfully delivered, it will become the second cultural and tourism city project that Sunac has helped establish in Kunming in the Yunnan province.

£10M BELFAST AQUARIUM POISED TO BRING ADDITIONAL 300,000 VISITORS PER ANNUM TO NORTHERN IRELAND

BY GABRIELLE

A state-of-the-art aquarium attraction that’s planned to built in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, could attract as many as 300,000 additional visitors a year to Northern Ireland.

ReefLIVE will own the new, £10 million aquarium, which will create around 40 jobs during the construction phase.

The entertainment and educational attraction will be located behind the Titanic Hotel and will be centred on the conversation of marine life, telling the story of how “our seas are All One Ocean.”

Marine life from around the world will be housed in the new site, which is set to be the largest ocean visitor attraction on Ireland.

ReefLIVE commented on the Belfast-based aquarium.

“ReefLIVE’s Belfast Aquarium has been designed as an aquarium for the 21st century and will place the visitor at the heart of the marine environment to give them a unique insight into the amazing stories of life beneath the waves.”

Brian Kelly, director of Turley, the project’s planning consultants, said:

“Turley is very excited to be part of this innovative project and we look forward to seeing the ReefLIVE Aquarium situated in the great company of neighbouring attractions as a best-in-class education landmark.

“This substantial investment will support the ongoing development of the area as a distinguished tourism destination.”

The ReefLIVE Aquarium is due to open in the spring of 2021, subject to planning approval.

WINE THEME PARK OPENS IN FRANCE

BY GABRIELLE

The wine-loving nation France has taken its enthusiasm for its favourite beverage to new heights with the opening of its first wine theme park.

Located in one of the country’s principle wine-growing hubs, Bordeaux, La Cite du Vin – City of Wine –  is a huge museum and themed park dedicated to wine.

Visitors can immerse themselves in the country’s long and colourful heritage of wine producing. Local experts at the wine theme park give talks and presentations, alongside wine tours. Guests can also enjoy wine tasting sessions.

A well-stocked wine bar comprises of a vast array of more than 50 different wines, with 14,000 bottles from 80 wine producing countries.

The new themed park provides visitors with simulated tours around Europe with special effects, where they can learn about the industry’s history in Europe.

One landmark feature of the park is The Belvedere, a 35-metre high tower that offers panoramic views of the park below and surrounding landscape. Wine tasting sessions are available from the top of the tower.

Another key highlight of the City of Wine is the Wine Culture Library.

MALAYSIA’S RESORTS WORLD GENTING’S THEME PARK MAY OPEN AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

BY GABRIELLE

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The new theme park being built at Resorts Wold Genting (RWG) in Malaysia, may open ahead of schedule and could be as soon as the first or second quarter of 2020.

Known as Genting Malaysia, the outdoor theme park was originally planned to open in 2021. However, the Maybank Investment Bank says the theme park could now be open to the public in early 2020.

In a recent report, the Maybank Investment Bank noted the theme park was “95% completed” and that Resorts World Genting had placed a full page of job ads within its theme park division.

“We gather that Resorts World Genting could be opening its outdoor theme park a lot earlier than we expected.

“Our earnings estimates are unchanged, but we remove the 10% discount we previously ascribed to our sum-of-parts (SOP)-based valuation on added certainty that the OTP [outdoor theme park] will finally open,” Maybank Investment Bank wrote in its report.

HERSHEYPARK UNVEILS ITS NEW CANDYMONIUM ROLLERCOASTER

BY GABRIELLE

Hersheypark, the popular family theme park in Hershey, Pennsylvania, has announced it has a new rollercoaster under construction.

Known as the Candymonium, the coaster will be the tallest, longest and fastest ride at the park, with a lift height of 210 feet, a track length of 4,636 feet and the ability to reach speeds of 76 mph.

Candymonium will be part of Hersheypark’s new Chocolatetown expansion. The $150 million new theme park zone expansion will feature restaurants, shops and the highly awaited Candymonium.

Centred on a chocolate theme, Candymonium will have milk chocolate coloured tracks and trains adorned in the candy brands that feature at the park, including Twizzlers, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey’s Kisses.

The new rollercoaster will take riders on a 2-minute-26-second journey in what promises to be Hersheypark’s most immersive rollercoaster to date.

John Lawn, CEO and president of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, referred to Candymonium as “the world’s sweetest coaster”, saying the attraction will “merge fun and iconic Hershey brands to provide a thrilling experience our guests can only get in Hershey.”

“We worked with leading industry manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) to assemble a one-of-a-kind hypercoaster with the most airtime of any coaster in Hersheypark,” Lawn added.

Candymonium is due to open at Hersheypark in the summer of 2020.

WATERPLAY SOLUTIONS APPOINTS NEW REGIONAL SALES MANAGER

BY GABRIELLE

The aquatic play specialists Waterplay has appointed Kyle Siedlik as the company’s new regional sales manager in the United States.

Siedlik, who has more than 20 years of experience in aquatic and dry playground equipment sales, has been called in to strengthen Waterplay’s US sales team.

Siedlik will be responsible for driving sales in the North-eastern and Midwest states and will be based in Omaha, Nebraska.

Waterplay is a world-leader in developing and supplying innovative water play solutions around the world. The appointment of Siedlik is part of the company’s aim to extend the brand to the US.

Siedlik shared his excitement about joining Waterplay, commenting:

“Working for Waterplay is such a great opportunity. Throughout my tenure in this industry, I’ve had the opportunity to experience first-hand the high level of service provided by Waterplay.

“I’m excited to be part of the team, bringing a strong product to market, with an incredible purpose of connecting communities through outstanding water play experiences.

“I look forward to supporting Waterplay’s exciting growth and helping our team and industry partners bring many aquatic play projects to successful completion,” Siedlik added.

Kerrin Smith, vice president of strategic growth and customer experience at Waterplay, commented:

“Kyle is a great fit for this position and we’re looking forward to having him on the ground supporting our distributors in the U.S.

“I am confident that his wealth of experience and knowledge will help cultivate our customer-focused sales model to deliver outstanding service and support—having him in this territory is a win for our customers.”