PG48-49 Ride Guide Final 3/26/07 2:36 PM Page 48
Ride Guide
Products and services for parks and attractions
DINNER IN THE SKY BY THE FUN GROUP
Eye-catching in the extreme, Dinner in the Sky is a 22-seater table with affixed seating
that offers diners a meal experience like no other. Following successful trials in
Brussels and throughout the Benelux, it is now available for hire or purchase from the
Fun Group of Belgium, whose varied services include bungee attractions, party
equipment and limousine hire.
Once guests take their places, the table is hoisted 50-metes high above the local
surroundings using a crane. Diners are strapped in and buckled up similar to a
passenger in a racing car, but their legs hang free and the seats are free to rotate
through 180 degrees. There is room in the middle for a chef, waiter and entertainer,
and facilities exist for preparing and heating up food, or it can readied in advance.
Dinner in the Sky can be used at product launches, corporate functions, race
tracks, parks, attractions or anywhere there isn't too much of a breeze! “The table in
itself is a great crowd puller, but operators/sponsors can increase their visibility by
adding banners, logos etc to underneath the seats,” says Frits Assmann from the Fun
Group.
But one question remains: What happens when diners need to pay a visit to the
bathroom? “We lower the table down between courses,” adds Assman.
The original Dinner in the Sky table is hired out on an event by event basis by the Fun Group, but now there are plans to locate a unit
permanently in Dubai, where a hotel operator intends to site it on the roof of their property.
CRAZY SURF BY ZAMPERLA
SHOOTING CARS
BY AIR JOE
Zamperla's newest family flat-ride is
a progression of the same
manufacturer's Crazy Bus, adding
a new gondola and resembling a
'Miami' type attraction.
In the new 12-passenger seating
arrangement, riders experience
airtime as they reach a maximum
height of 5.4 metres (18ftt) in an
up and down 'Magic Carpet' style
motion. Lively colours and endless
backdrop theming possibilities are
available.
The Crazy Bus, meanwhile, has The bumper car just got interactive. Air-Joe,
enjoyed 15 successful years, with from Germany, is now marketing a new range
deliveries to more than 400 of cars with integrated ball or laser cannons.
satisfied customers. The cars, which are manufactured in China
and then adapted by Air Joe in Europe, are
available as single-seater, double-seater or
bumper boat versions. They can also be
SMART KIOSK BY PDC
supplied coin-operated.
Each of the laser cars has a target on the
Precision Dynamics Corporation (PDC) is now offering its back and, when it is hit, starts to vibrate and the
Smart Kiosk cashless point-of-sale system complete with an steering is locked, sending the driver into a spin.
integrated Cashflow SC bill acceptor. Smart Kiosks are used The soft ball cars require a net around the
at parks and resorts along with Smart Band RFID (radio outside track to operate, but as the balls are soft
frequency identification) wristbands to enable guests to pay and squishy apparently do not clog up the track.
for items without carrying around cash, credit cards or keys. The cannons have a range of 10-15 metres.
They simply add funds to their wristbands by going to one of Previous attempts as laser-shooting cars never
the Smart Kiosks located throughout the facility. All really took of and whether Air Joe can really
information on the wristband is encrypted, ensuring security. reinvent the wheel with the soft ball version
remains to be seen, but the company insists trials
at a fun centre in Austria have been a success.
48 APRIL 2007