Theme Parks Looking To Summer Rebound

Today I'm reporting from Disney's [DIS  34.874    0.944  (+2.78%)   ] California Adventure, where the park is unveiling "World of Color," a water and light show, part of a billion dollar renovation of the park. Some 1,600 people are expected to turn out tonight for the unveiling of the Disney-themed show, which is said to put the Bellagio's fountains in Las Vegas to shame.

This summer Disney is phasing out discounts and counting on new attractions like this one to drive attenance. So far it's working: last week Bob Iger said Disneyland and Disneyworld hotel bookings continue to improve.

Disney isn't the only one investing in new attractions- theme parks around the country are investing millions in new attractions. Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando is introducing a new Harry Potter attraction.

Six Flags, which emerged from bankruptcy in May is adding more roller coasters. And Sea World, which is owned by Blackstone Group, is featuring new high tech shows.

What's the potential return? The 400 amusement parks in the U.S. generate some $12 billion in annual revenue from more than 300 million annual visitors. Last year North American parks saw a one percent decline in attendance, but discounting prevented attendance from falling off further.

This summer the mood is more upbeat: parks are bringing back normal prices and the industry is expecting an uptick in attendance this season. The head of the International Association of Amusement Parks, David Mandt tells me that an increase in corporate business and advance bookings is a positive sign.

Cedar Fair ,[FUN  13.035    0.365  (+2.88%)   ] which operates a dozen amusement and water parks around the country, including Knott's Berry Farm and King's Dominion, is on track for an uptick in sales this summer, after suffering an 8 percent decline in sales and an 11 percent decline in 

Geauga Lake Amusement Park Ohio Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and Roller Coaster POV

Geauga Lake Amusement Park Ohio Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and Roller Coaster POV - Filmed and edited by Robb Alvey - www.targetseo.org

World's Most Popular Amusement Parks

Sixty-foot vertical drops and $45 admission tickets are old news. Today, the steepest thing in the amusement industry is the growth of spending in Asia.

The U.S. theme park industry, once a rocketing roller coaster, is looking more and more like a lazy turn on the Ferris wheel. Amusement park sales in the U.S. are forecast to grow from $10.8 billion to $12.9 billion between 2005 and 2009, according to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. That's an average annual growth rate of 3.9%--sluggish compared to the 5.5% the industry experienced between 1999 and 2000.

Meanwhile, the Asia/Pacific theme park market will balloon from $6.1 billion to $8.1 billion, an average annual growth rate of 5.7%. And the amusement industry in Europe, the Middle East and Africa combined will grow about 5% per year, reaching $5 billion by 2009.

Palisades Amusement Park 1928 Skyrocket, 1935 fire, 1960's Cyclone roller coasters

This is some edited clips of the Skyrocket roller coaster in 1928 at Palisades Amusement Park in Cliffside, NJ. Also edited in a few seconds of Cyclone clips from the 1960's to complete the circuit. Then you will see some clips of the 1935 fire that destroyed part of the park. The huge Safety Coaster can be seen in the background. I reversed the clip to show it again, hence the man running backwards. Incredible footage. Enjoy.

AT THE PARK

Amusement park in running for socks-on-line world record

t starts at the entrance and goes past the attractions and all the way along the walkways,” said a proud spokeswoman at the Tripsdrill Amusement Park near Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg.

The washing line, with socks pegged on all the way along, runs for 2,324.08 metres which should easily beat the official record of 2,013.75 metres.

Visitors to the park have been asked to bring socks to contribute – or give up the ones they were wearing – with more than 10,000 pairs having been donated.

“Most are in good condition, but there are also some with holes. It’s very colourful here,” said the spokeswoman.

The exact number of socks will be counted on Monday while the park’s managers hope for official confirmation of the record from a representative of the Guinness Book of Records.

The spokeswoman did not say why they decided on the socks-on-line record.

Epcot – Orlando, US

Epcot is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. The park is dedicated to international culture and technological innovation. In 2007 Epcot hosted approximately 10.93 million guests, ranking it the third-most visited amusement park in the United States, and sixth-most visited in the world.

Future World focuses on emerging technologies while World Showcase features pavilions devoted to a rainbow of nations. From the start, the Disney theme parks have married technology and storytelling to whisk guests away to fantastic places. Mission: SPACE, the new, groundbreaking, awe-inspiring attraction at Epcot delivers sensations unlike any of you have ever felt (unless you’re an astronaut) and replicates space travel with an astonishing degree of reality

http://www.cedarpoint.com/

Cedar Point – Ohio, US

Cedar Point, the second oldest amusement park in the United States, sits at the end of a slender strip of land, at the edge of Lake Erie.

Cedar Point today is a fun place to visit for the entire family. It has beautifully landscaped gardens, lake views, a museum, an ice-skating show, plenty of shops and food outlets as well as water rides, four children’s areas, a classic merry-go-round, and, of course, the roller coasters.

Amusement Park Ride Seats

Summer vacations, state fairs, and tourist regions are known for their fast food and their fast rides. This is a great time for those not weight challenged. Just the thought of going on such an adventure can cause kids to scream with excitement, while their fat friends and relatives scream in horror of the thought of being turned away from the ride. One time I remember getting in a ride car with one of those metal lap bars that comes down for the restraint and having the attendant ask to raise my arms, cross my legs and suck in my gut while he pushed and even sat on the bar until it locked into position. That was not fun, but at least I was able to go on the ride.

Everyone knows someone who was told they were too fat to go on a ride and most fat people can laugh about it as long as it’s not them. Having a pimply faced teenager send a fat person away would bring much sadness to a fat person. They would most likely eat an enormous amount of fried food to help with the pain because as we all know…food makes it all better.

There are two signs for fat folk to look for when hitting the amusement parks. They are weight limits, and waist limits. Sometimes it’s not the weight of the person but the size of the gut. Can the safety bar lock in place or does ones lard belly bumper prevent it from locking? When looking for the appropriate signage be sure that you can read through the lines. Amusement parks will try and make it politically correct by saying “guests of exceptional size.” This may confuse the uneducated fat person.

Here’s a sample from an amusement parks website:

“Guests of exceptional size may not be accommodated on some of our rides. This may apply, but not be limited to, men who exceed 6’2″, or those who exceed 225 pounds, have a 40″ waistline or 52″ chest or females who exceed 200 pounds or wear size 18 or larger. Each person has different body proportions so it is not possible to list exact size and weight.”

Really someone needs to make the ultimate Fat friendly amusement park, and just design the rides for the likes of baby elephants as this would ensure plenty of room for the fatty’s. I’m thinking more like reinforced inflatable rides for large adults. We can also replace the child’s ball pit with perhaps a large pool of barbequed ribs. Really who wants to go on thrill rides when you can eat yourself out of a pool of ribs?

Theme Park World My Idea of a Sick Ride

Adventure Island,Visit Adventure Island

Sprawling over an area of 62 acres in North West Delhi, it has been made with the venture of Unitech Ltd and Internatiuonal Amusement Ltd. All the rides which are here in the Amusement Park are imported and are well maintained. Its a 164 crore project with a water park and Planet Pogo.
There are 26 rides in all and all of them have been imported - supplied by leading European manufacturers such as Intamin, Moser and Zamperla, who supply rides to Disney, Universal Studios and Six Flags. The park is especially popular amongst children and teenagers. The entire Island consists of world class amusement Park, an adventure island and a water park. Retail Environment - Metro Walk (Delhi) is spread across 2.21 lakh sq ft and is anchored to the park. It overlooks a large lake which acts as a separator between the mall and the park. The Park has 26 rides spreading in an area of 3.5acres.




Visit Adventure Island!

The Adventure Island Park has a fairy tale look with bright yellow walls , brightly painted clock towers, bridges, imposing gateways, fantasy theme lands, seascape, jungle, mountains and gardens. It also features the lazy river, fountains, a wave pool and water slides. Its a great place too be in. The rides are fast and are not meamentnt for the melowers and the cosy hearts. Z Force, Sidewinder and Cyclone Rider are the famous rides. But then the safety measures are also stringent - and the staff smart.

Then there is a bridge resembling the San Francisco's Golden Gate - separating the island from a plush mall. The Metro Walk - that is what this two tier shopping complex is called - is a array place to fill your bags with all the goody stuff. This retail development has both a fun / amusement / impulse driven retail mix as well as convenience shopping options for an extended catchment area. It overlooks a large lake which acts as the separator between the mall building and the park. park.InIn addition to the rides there is a whole range of world class coffee house and shopping houses like Costa Coffee and Benetton. KFC, Punjabi by Nature, Fast Trax, Spoon the Food Court, Pizza Hut, Yo China, Nirula's, Pind Balluchi, Flaming Wok, Gola Sizzler, Baskin Robins, Ruby Tuesday, Barista, Costa Coffee, McDonald's, Cafe Coffee Day - all have found place for themselves in this mall. But as you move around don' t spoil the grounds - the staff moves with dust pans - lest you throw something outside the dustbins.

Veegaland Park , Amusement Park

The Park
Its a beautiful park and the amazing architecture of the park speaks of nothing else than the beautiful and ethnic Kerala and South India. Sitting at a height of 300ft above the sea level, it has the flashes of the oriental village architecture. It has excellent assortment of rides, sparkling blue water pools, thrilling shows, and six restaurants to sway you off. And there is round - the - clock assistance to assist you in each and every step so that you are at ease while in Veegaland.

And then there is the seven story Castle, which is the wonder of the Veegaland. The sprawling lawns here add to the beauty of the Veegaland Park. In the Veegaland there is a 40-foot high and 1,150-foot long roller-coaster ride inside the fairy castle, a 35-foot fall from the revolving cave in a water splash boat, a 14,000-sq foot wave pool which produces giant waves from 10 lakh litres of water. Another major attraction is the 500-seater theatre with a modern musical fountain that leaps in rhythm with popular film songs The Veegaland Park has a capacity for around 400 people at a time.

Funs and Rides



Situated at Pallikkara, this state of art Amusement Park is just 14kms away from Kochi/Cochin.Spread over a whooping 24 acres of land, its 7 storey high Vintage Castle and Caterpillar Village give a Fairy Tale atmosphere. The musical Fountains, flower gardens, water pool and water slides add to the attraction of the Veegaland Amusement Park.