For 2012 the German company Gerstlauer is opening many projects worldwide, including three in North America.  Across the continent they are opening a SkyFly ride at Nick Universe in the Mall of America, new coaster trains at Hersheypark, and a Euro-Fighter at Landry’s new Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier.

“It is another busy year for us,” said Siegfried Gerstlauer, Gerstlauer Amusement Rides’ Managing Director.  “We are opening three of our new SkyFly rides worldwide and roller coasters of all sizes around the world.  We have worked to offer our clients new and unique ways to thrill their guests, and this is why we see parks coming back to us for more innovative attractions.”

The SkyFly at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America will be the park’s 3^rd Gerstlauer ride.  “It something we are very proud of,” said Adam Sandy, Director of Sales for the Ride Entertainment Group, which sells for Gerstlauer.  “In 2004 we opened our prototype Spinning Coaster at the property, 2008 saw a Euro-Fighter installed as the keystone attraction for the Nickelodeon rebranding, and this year we are letting park-goers become pilots in the SkyFly.”

Nick Universe has branded the ride “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Shell Shock”.  After passing through an elaborately-themed queue each guest will board their own ride vehicle, which features detailed theming.  Once the ride starts, the giant arm rotates, taking guests from ground level to 72 feet above the floor with each rotation.  During the experience riders are also free to flip their ride arm so they can do barrel rolls in the sky.  What makes the ride unique is that each guest creates their own experience.

Hersheypark wanted to update their classic Schwarzkopf coaster, 1977’s “SooperDooperLooper” with new trains.  Gerstlauer has designed a new roller coaster vehicle that offers updated comfort, but retained the classic lap bar-style restraint.  With a 42-inch height requirement the “SooperDooper”looper” is an attraction that many kids along the Eastern Seaboard ride as their first looping coaster.  Upgrades like this one allow this steel coaster to continue to thrill families for decades to come and Gerstlauer is excited to be providing trains for this seventies classic.

Gerstlauer’s largest North American project will open this year at the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier in Galveston, Texas.  Dubbed the “Iron Shark”, Gerstlauer’s newest Euro-Fighter will stand 100 feet tall and feature 4 inversions.  Siegfried Gerstlauer, who designed the ride, noted that, “It packs a lot of ride in a compact footprint.  I believe that riders will be surprised when they fly through this web of steel”.

Instead of using traditional concrete foundations a majority of the ride will rest upon a steel base frame designed and delivered by Gerstlauer.  This frame was created to handle hurricane-force winds, but required no penetration into the pier deck, which saved Landry’s considerable construction costs.  Another unique feature of the ride is the updated restraints.  This will be Gerstlauer’s first eight-passenger Euro-Fighter car to feature lap bars.  “Our lap bars worked extremely well 2011’s ‘Dare Devil Dive’ Euro-Fighter and we expect them to be a great fit on ’Iron Shark’”, said Sandy.

From coasters to crazy flat rides, 2012 will be another banner year for Gerstlauer.

Gerstlauer’s 2012 Installations announced as of press time:

Duinrell (Netherlands)- Family Coaster

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier (United States)- Euro-Fighter

Hersheypark (United States) – Roller Coaster Trains

Legoland Germany (Germany)- SkyFly 12

Liseberg (Sweden)- Polyp

Nick Universe in the Mall of America (United States)- SkyFly 12

Nigloland (France)- SkyFly 12

OK Corral (France) – Junior Shuttle Coaster

I took my daughter to her second amusement park last weekend, not too shabby considering she is only five months old. We went with friends of various ages to Hersheypark’s “Christmas Candylane”. While no coasters were open, it is a very fun time. The great thing about visiting a park with kids, no matter how old, is that they help by adding a new dimension to what I take in. As someone whose livelihood is directly tied to the success of the amusement park, it was good to see people of all ages out at Hershey, enjoying themselves and spending time together.

There are obviously many challenges for amusement parks, but the two most basic are money and time. In today’s economy people have less entertainment money to go around, and folks also have less time available, especially time when the entire family does something as a unit outside of the house. Technology has certainly changed the way people allocate these two resources. For instance, with the way HD now permeates sports, many people prefer to spend Sunday on the couch where they can watch an NFL game, never miss a play, and walk straight into a bathroom during a TV time out. Once considered to be the best way to see the game, now the NFL and others sports need to work to bring people to the field. I am not saying that the NFL is hurting for business, they are the most popular sport in the country, but the dynamic has certainly shifted. It will be interesting to watch how sports work to make their guest experience that much better. While we will probably not have people being satisfied watching roller coaster 3D videos (anyone remember “America’s Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills: In 3d”), the advances in technology demonstrate that it will be a part of the guest experience, we just need to ensure that people are not satisfied staying home to see it.

This dovetails with the fact that amusement parks need to remember what sets them apart from the competition- service. Guests expect a high level of service wherever they go today, even at an amusement park. If they are not happy they will take their entertainment dollar somewhere else. In the past people used to reserve this ready cash for an annual amusement park visit, but this is no longer the case. Movie theaters have state-of-the-art sound and moving seats, zoos have 4D theaters, and some municipal pools look like waterparks. What once was earmarked “amusement park money” is now “money to entertain”. Recently Merlin’s Nick Varney had an interesting analysis in Park World and demonstrated how he feels that the cost per-hour for a family at an amusement park is one of the best values people can encounter and that we may be pricing the entrance gate fee too low. I believe Nick is onto something, and as an industry we need to remember that giving away the gate is a short-term solution that just creates a long-term problem. Parks have to get guests through the front gate, but giving away the gate annually does not necessarily provide the cash needed to provide repeating guest visits. Things like staffing, staff morale and park cleanliness are sure to suffer when the cash flow gets tight. Of course when looking at expenses, why not also follow the lead of parks like Holiday World where they roll parking fees, soda, and sunscreen all into the front gate, guests don’t mind paying more if they also take out their wallets less (http://www.holidayworld.com/visit/ticket-prices-discounts)? Will Koch certainly had some great ideas making his property different from the corporate competition a few hours away.

Some things to think about as our industry heads into the New Year. Tis the season for a brief industry analysis- happy holidays to you and yours.

I am on the plane heading back from IAAPA. A few months of build-up for what resulted in four days of business with a blur. This is my 11th show, in some ways it feels like I have been attending these much longer. Things have changed a lot, both for me and the industry. I started at Amusement Business about one week before 9/11. Even though we knew that this event would impact the industry, I do not think any of us comprehended knew that the next decade would see so much change in general, both throughout the world (mortgage and financial issues, wars on several continents, Arab Spring) or the industry (exponential growth in China, the sale of a family-owned icon like Kennywood to a corporate group, parks across the globe communicating with guests through their phones and email on an almost daily basis).

For this year our announcement about the new branding partnership with Hot Wheels certainly has turned a lot of heads, as have our line of hard products. The Gerstlauer line has remained strong, in addition to the corporate parks we find ourselves talking to a lot of the smaller properties. People that would have “gone Italian” are looking to spend a little more on what they realize is a long-term investment. Canobie Lake Park is just the first of many Gerstlauer small-park installations. Ropes Courses, Inc. continues to draw a lot of attention with its product. It is well-built and affordable; something that resonates with owners of parks of all sizes. Selling for people you can trust is important, and we are very lucky to have people that stand behind their work. Obviously it is important when we essentially sell entertainment machines, as one of our friends said amusement parks are “factories that move people”. He wasn’t trying to be contrite, but pointing out that as much fun as a 200-foot coaster is, at the end of the day it does not care about its guests- the manufacturer’s engineering and fabrication and the park’s diligent maintenance are what keep people safe, year-in and year-out.

While the IAAPA experience has changed, it is still a combination of fun and exhaustion. I don’t get to see as much of the floor as I used to, now it is mostly the conference rooms of 3 booths. However, that means we’re busy and I won’t complain. I will just have to see the latest and greatest when the seasonal properties open their doors next spring and we do it all over again. I hope I will be still visiting Florida for at least another eleven shows. At that time my daughter will be ten. I hope she can come down to Orlando and ride Tower of Terror with me.

The Ride Entertainment Group’s role will involve the coordination of all details; from branded attraction design and development to implementing licensed branding. In addition, they will work with both ride suppliers and the parks to ensure that requirements related to timelines, theming and overall design concept are met and executed.

Park guests will be put directly into the driver’s seat as they experience Hot Wheels® branded amusement park attractions. From family-friendly experiences to extreme racing coasters that simulate the feeling of racing through an actual Hot Wheels® track complete with high-speed banks, loops and other exciting elements.

The Ride Entertainment Group is the largest sales agency for branded attractions in the amusement industry and is thrilled to be working with Mattel in bringing the excitement and popularity of Hot Wheels® to life in theme parks around the world.

Mattel and Hot Wheels are represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

CAA is the world’s leading entertainment and sports agency, representing many of the most successful professionals working in film, television, music, video games, theatre, fashion, and the Internet, and provides a range of strategic marketing and consulting services to corporate clients. CAA is also a leader in sports, representing more than 650 of the world’s top athletes in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, and golf, and works in the areas of broadcast rights, corporate marketing initiatives, licensing, and sports properties for sales/sponsorship opportunities.

Launch Coasters appear to be a dime a dozen these days.  Every manufacturer has one, so many do not stand out.  However, there are some concepts that break the mold- the most notable of which is the Launched Euro-Fighter from Gerstlauer.  I had the pleasure of riding their first version of this, at Hansa Park in Germany, this summer.  Called “Fluch von Novgorod” the experience is fantastic from start to finish.

Of course, you can’t talk about this ride without first mentioning the theming.  FVN has a queue that uses the topography fantastically and guests are sucked into the experience.  Walking down into the castle you would never know that below grade to your right are the ride’s launch section and brake run, which sit parallel to one-another.  After walking through great theming you enter the boarding area which is dark, feels confined, and has a chandelier that flickers.

After getting in the car the lights dim and the ride is dispatched into a few show rooms.  In the last one it is dark, doors open in front of you and the car rolls down a ten-foot drop.  The butterflies in the stomach turn to a healthy dose of positive g’s as the LSM system grabs a hold of the car and launches it to over 60 mph (100 kmh).  The vehicle turns to the right and bursts out into sunlight.  From there, it flies over a great airtime hill, which is quickly followed by another hill where guests are tiled to the side just under 90 degrees.  What follows is reminiscent of Magnum XL-200, a pretzel turn-around.  After that the ride speeds through a heartline roll, and then is mysteriously slowed.

Here is where the experience gets even more interesting.  The ride vehicle is picked up on Gerstlauer’s now-infamous vertical lift and slowly brought to the top.  Using the variable-speed drive motor to its fullest, the car “creaks” to the top and slowly rolls into the beyond-vertical drop.  In pitch black guests fly down the hill, into an Immelman turn, and then speed through the brake run.

The coaster’s exit is almost as crazy as the Euro-Fighter experience.  Guests have to walk through a maze in order to get out of the ride.  It truly is one of those “never in America” moments at an amusement park.  All-in-all the “Fluch von Novgorod” is a ride experience unlike any other and one not to be missed.  Of course, this ride simply set the stage for the even bigger Launched Euro-Fighter that opened at Japan’s Fuji-Q Highlands this year.

Sandy and Rosenzweig were donating their time to raise money for Give Kids the World (www.gktw.org), a non-profit that offers children with life-threatening illnesses and their families a cost-free visit to Florida’s amusement attractions.  Ride Entertainment sold the park “Untamed”, its newest roller coaster, which opened in June of 2011.  Given the grizzly bear theme of the vehicles and the Adirondack look of the station and queue, they felt it was only appropriate to work the park in bear outfits.

“We enjoyed working at Canobie for the night, it really gave us a new appreciation for the park,” said Rosenzweig.  “Canobie is a fantastic traditional amusement park, but to get to see it from the inside out was a lot of fun.  Walking around scaring people in bear outfits was an added bonus,” he said.

To do its part Canobie put a collection point at the exit to “Untamed” where guests could drop a few dollars in as they walked by, matched all donations, had their props and makeup team help Sandy and Rosenzweig with their costumes, and provided them with a guide for the evening.  In addition to raising money at the park, the Ride Entertainment team solicited donations from amusement industry friends and family members.  Throughout the night the pair could be seen roaming the park, raising money at the new coaster, and even working as “scare-achters” late into the night.

“We were happy to raise over $2,476 for Give Kids the World,” said Sandy.  “It really is a great cause and we were thrilled to be a part of it.  Knowing that the money is going to a cause that allows kids to be kids and forget about an illness they have, if just for a little while, is a great feeling.”

This Saturday Mark Rosenzweig and Adam Sandy will be getting “untamed” at Canobie Lake Park.  To celebrate the end of Canobie’s first season with Untamed, one of Gerstlauer’s “Euro-Fighter” roller coasters, they will be donning bear costumes and “working” at the park on Saturday, October 22.  They will be collecting money for Give Kids the World (http://www.gktw.org/).  Give Kids the World is a “non-profit organization that exists only to fulfill the wishes of all children with life-threatening illnesses and their families from around the world to experience a memorable, joyful, cost-free visit to the Central Florida attractions”.  As parents, both Mark and Adam appreciate what GKTW does for families and wanted to contribute in their own small way.  They invite everyone to stop by the Untamed roller coaster, contribute, and enjoy the park’s Screemfest and Oktoberfest events.  For those in the region, Canobie Lake Park (www.canobie.com) is easy to get to from anywhere in New England.  If you can’t make it to the park this weekend, and would like to help, please send a check made out to “Give Kids a World” to:

Untamed Charity Event
c/o Ride Entertainment Group
114 Log Canoe Circle
Stevensville, MD  21666

The Ride Entertainment Group will pull the donations together and send them to Give Kids the World.  With the event being this just around the corner we will wait until the end of next week before sending all of the checks to Florida.  See you in New Hampshire!

I probably have a soft spot in my heart for the SkyTrail® Ropes Course we installed at Nickelodeon Universe because it was our first project in collaboration with our friends at Ropes Courses, Inc.  While not a coaster, the structure is imposing as it looms over the entire park.  It stands 4 stories tall, but it is also set about 13 feet above the midway, which really allows the blue and green structure to make a statement.

Every time I go on this attraction, called “Flying Dutchman Ghostly Gangplank” by the park, I admit that I get a little nervous.  Now, I have climbed on coasters, tower rides, and a lot of vertical structures, but even that does not quite prepare me to scamper across a rope or two while hanging 60 feet in the air.  The crowning jewel of the entire installation is the “plank”.  This was the first time that Ropes Courses, Inc. installed this element and it has proven to be a huge winner.  Guests that climb all the way to the fourth story are greeted by three elements.  There is the plank in the middle, and then on either side is a simple element, one has just two ropes that criss-cross and form an “x” on at the bottom with a simple assistance rope on top, and the other has essentially a rope ladder laid on its side.  These lead out to the plank, which I approached with a little trepidation the first time I climbed, but kids about one-third of my age loved.  Here you walk out on a dead-end, see the bright colors of Nickelodeon Universe all around you, and use both hands to pull the foghorn.  The trick here is that the foghorn only goes if both ropes are pulled, which means you need to completely let go of your harness.  I did it, but it certainly was not easy the first time.  However, every time I visit now I feel like an old pro.

If you are in the neighborhood we recommend you stop by.  There are 3 Ride Entertainment projects in the park, the “Fairly Odd Coaster” (a Gerstlauer Spinning Coaster), SpongeBob Sqaure Pants Rock Bottom Plunge (a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter), and the afore-mentioned SkyTrail® from Ropes Courses, Inc.  All of their ticket information is at: http://www.nickelodeonuniverse.com/ticketpurchasing.html and it is worth the extra price to go for a climb.

We wanted to take a quick moment here and say “thank you” to Ron Toomer, who passed away yesterday.  For those who don’t know, he was a key part of Arrow Dynamics (Arrow Development) for decades, beginning in the 1950’s.  As someone who was part of the growth of the modern steel roller coaster, Toomer was a key reason why the steel coaster did more things in different ways than designers ever thought possible.  Some of his creations, such as “Magnum XL-200” and the “Big Bad Wolf” were groundbreaking attractions, others, such as the “Bat”, had their share of issues.  Regardless, in the 1970’s and 80’s it was Toomer and his team that competed with Germany’s Anton Schwarzkopf as steel coasters got bigger, faster and taller.  Rides like Cedar Point’s “Corkscrew”, which is now an afterthought at that park, were media darlings.  That particular coaster generated attention and lines down the midway, even with three train operation.  Ron’s contributions were honored by the industry.  In 2000, he was inducted to the IAAPA Hall of Fame (http://www.iaapa.org/aboutus/hof/RonToomer.html).

His designs also got people interested in the amusement industry.  Like many people in my thirties who are now in the amusement industry, especially on the supply side, I remember being excited when I saw promo material for “Steel Phantom” (http://youtu.be/Etk9xieGIs4) and “Drachen Fire” (http://youtu.be/EXIjRwDhQJI) in the early 1990’s and was floored by the unique design direction these rides were taken.  A big thank you goes out to Ron and his contribution to the amusement industry, which spanned five decades.

We could not help but be proud as Larry Chickola from Six Flags Engineering and Sharon Parker from Six Flags over Texas were called onto stage. On Saturday, September 19 we were at the Golden Ticket awards, which were being hosted by Holiday World in the tiny town of Santa Claus, Indiana. While the city may be small, this park’s coaster collection is not. It sports three different, fantastic wooden coasters (The Raven, The Legend, and the Voyage) that they added in an eleven year span. Anyway, back to us feeling like parents when their child steals the scene at the school play. At the awards ceremony the New Texas Giant at Six Flags over Texas was chosen as the “Best New Ride”. It is definitely an honor and we enjoyed how happy the park’s representatives were. When you work on something for so long (Gerstlauer was brought into the project in the fall of 2009) you definitely grow attached to it. In Texas, we designed trains from the ground up, which is not done often. To us, the result was award-winning, but we are thrilled that others agree!