PW June 07 P28-32.qxd 5/21/07 11:26 am Page 30
Park Profile
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Above and below: SpongeBob Using eight 4-seater boats themed as New York taxi attendance tracking is showing exactly what we want –
Splash Bash by 3DBA cabs, the ride accommodates 720 passengers an hour. A we are getting a lot more families, and we are
surfeit of theming throughout the 500 square metre pool penetrating that Dutch market. So far, so good, but
means riders never quite know what’s around the corner, it’s real early in the game!”
just that they are going to get wet. Together the two new areas have upped overall
Interaction between riders and spectators is at an all park capacity. In Santa Monica Pier this has been
time high. There are a total of 28 water cannons in the achieved by replacing a single rollercoaster, Cop Car
ride – four per boat, seven around the outside, plus six Chase, with five new attractions around a lake.
interactive objects and 11 fountains or sprays. Chasing the cops out of town wasn’t a difficult
Other attractions in Nickland, most of which have been decision to make: “We would spend on average
rethemed and repatriated from other parts of the park, €300,000 a year on repair and maintenance on that
include Nick Racers, a set of Formula K go-karts; Teenage ride and this year [inspection body] TÜV came to us
Robot Roundabout, a Zamperla Crazy Bus; and said if you don’t replace the loop and about
Backyardigans Hip Hopper, a mini Zamperla tower ride; 300ft of track we are not going to let you open it,”
Dora’s Adventure Express, a train ride; and Danny explains Muirhead. “So I thought about the amount of
Phantom Ghost Zone, a Mack tea cup ride now money, I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t have to do the
undercover and in the dark. same again in the future, and said ‘screw it, tear the
damn thing down’.”
Fresh and fun The ride, an old dual track coaster by Intamin, has
Muirhead likes Nickelodeon because its output is fresh now been scrapped for steel. Removing it opens up a
and quirky. “It is a very good children’s brand and unlike section of the park that was previously a dead end.
Warner Bros is quite new. There’s nothing wrong with Now guests can flow through freely and the lake has
Looney Tunes, but they really haven’t kept up with the become something of a focal point, with many taking
times. Nickelodeon is very strong in Holland, pretty good time out to dwell there.
in Belgium, not so much yet in Germany, but they’ve just “We found out from out from or research that
purchased two TV stations and are putting a lot of time people really wanted water in the park, particularly
and money into raising their profile here. The fact is that when it was hot, and we’ve had one or two hot
we are on the same mission; we are both trying to build summers now here in Germany,” highlights
our brand equity.” Muirhead. “The theme we didn’t actually do a lot of
As well as extending an olive branch to families, the research on, it came from our internal discussions,
new licence has also succeeded in bringing them back we said ‘let’s do a boardwalk, a nice USA-style open
over the border from Holland, where the park shed area.’ If you saw the first day we opened it, everyone
over 80,000 guests in recent years. just kind of dispersed through there; so we’ve added
“This past holiday, Queen’s Day, we did almost that water element that people really enjoy and we
8,000 people. More than half came from Holland. filled it with a bunch of rides that the whole family
The weather’s been perfect but the early season can do together.”
30 JUNE 2007
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