PG12 Park News Final 3/26/07 3:48 PM Page 12
Park News
www.parkworld-online.com
Ridercam for Port Aventura
DVD ride system goes into operation
Europe’s first DVD ride system is due to go into full service this coming This photo, by KumbaK Coasters, shows
season at Port Aventura, Salou, Spain. The popular Mediterranean park
one of the new Stampida trains
will install Ridercam cameras and equipment into two of its major rides –
the wooden coaster Stampida and the as yet unnamed new wing launch Trials of the system were first carried out last summer, winning over the
coaster. support of park management. “We were astonished with the picture
The first to be operational will be on Stampida, a twin track duelling quality,” confirms Port Aventura’s technical services director, Javier
coaster originally supplied by Custom Coasters International but fitted out Almándoz Ríos.
this season with new trains, a new ride control system and magnetic Ridercam, which is based in Oberhausen, Germany, started out in the
brakes by KumbaK Coasters. KumbaK, which recommended the medical business, where its tiny cameras were used to examine patients
Ridercam system to Port Aventura, will fit 48 cameras into each of the internally. Now the company has teamed up with the Dutch AV and show
four new trains – one camera per rider. control specialist Lagotronics to market Ridercam to a wider audience.
The Ridercam experience will begin as guests wait in line and are Lagotronics will also be responsible for the operation of the system, which
shown promotional trailers and clips from previous rides. Then, after at Port Aventura will be on a revenue-share basis.
boarding, every moment of their ride will be caught on camera. Data will The new look Stampida trains are expected to be up and running by
be transmitted wirelessly during the ride to the sales point. The system can Easter, followed by the new launch coaster in May/June. By Intamin, it
even be used after dark, using infrared footage. features a unique seating configuration with riders overhanging the track
Just as with ride photos, guests will be shown their images, albeit on either side. This particular Ridercam installation will include a total of
moving images, as they disembark. After ordering, it will take only a 36 cameras in each of the three trains.
couple of minutes to deliver each finished DVD, and these can be intercut A retail price has yet to be set for the DVDs, but it is expected to be
with stock clips or promos if the park chooses. around the €15 mark.
Viva Reverchon!
Indoor waterparks
planned in Tennessee
Although he’s stepped back from some exhibitions in recent years,
attending the Euro Attractions Show recently in Seville was a bit of a The developers of America’s largest waterpark, Wilderness Resort in
‘no-brainer’ for French bumper car specialist Philippe Reverchon. Wisconsin Dells, will break ground in April on two parcels of land
“I’ve sold 30 to 40 sets of cars to Spain,” he says, making it one of adjacent to the new Sevierville Events Center in Sevierville, Tennessee.
his best markets, ahead of Germany and the UK. One project will be a 236-room, four-story modern mountain hotel
Reverchon International Design’s current production model is the connected to the Events Center via an enclosed corridor. The facility,
Alma, but the French firm is also securing occasional sales for the which is anticipated to become a well-recognised and respected hotel
one-seater Profiler. The younger park or fair-goer can also enjoy the franchise, is slated to include an indoor waterpark of approximately
mini quad you see here, of which Reverchon reckons he’s knocking 20,000 sq ft complete with family raft rides, body slides, an
out about 30 a month. indoor/outdoor hot spa and interactive kids play structure.
Completion by early 2008 is anticipated.
Wilderness developers are also planning to build a second project,
an upscale modern six-story condominium resort on a parcel of land
across from the Events Center, which will also include a 55,000 sq ft
indoor waterpark.
Bonfante Gardens
becomes Gilroy Gardens
Bonfante Gardens, Gilroy, California, has been renamed Gilroy Gardens
Family Theme Park, as new owners Cedar Fair hope to take better
advantage of the garlic-growing city’s name recognition and boost
attendance. Previously the park took the name of its founder, Michael
The Mini Quad is
Bonfante.
one of the latest
Cedar Fair acquired the contract to operate the park as part of its
bumper cars from
2006 acquisition from Paramount of the nearby Great America. Gilroy
Reverchon
Gardens opened for the 2007 season in late March.
12 APRIL 2007