July 2010 - Amusement Today

July 2010 AMUSEMENT TODAY 19WATERPARKSwww.AmusementToday.comAQUATIC CENTERS INDOOR FACILITIES RESORTS REVENUESUPPLIERSBRIEFParc Managementrolls as new rewardsprogram launchesParc Rewards, an innovativenew rewards programwill be making its wayacross the country to six ParcManagement theme andwaterparks. Parc Rewardsis designed to acknowledgeguests as well as Parc teammembers for their supportand dedication to the parkand to the community.The program waslaunched this spring at WildWaves, Federal Way, Wash.“We are making history hereat Wild Waves as well asfive other Parc Managementparks,” said Parc ManagementCEO and President,Randy Drew. “This programhas many more levels in theworks and will continue toplease our guests and teammembers as additional functionalityis rolled out.”“Overall, our goal is forincreased guest and teammember satisfaction,” saidWild Waves General Manager,John Riggleman. “Thisprogram allows us the opportunityto provide thatplus an enhanced engagementexperience for bothour team members andguests”Along with WildWaves, the parks participatingin Parc Rewards thisyear include Darien LakeResort (N.Y.), Elitch Gardens(Colo.), Frontier City(Okla.), SplashTown Houston(Texas), and White WaterBay (Okla).Don’t forget torenew yoursubscription toAmusement Today.Call (817) 460-7220to renew.Record setting ride delivered by ProSlideHoliday World’s Wildebeest proves to be a huge hitTim BaldwinAmusement TodayLori Gogel, director ofSplashin’ Safari was the firstto ride the waterpark’s newestattraction — Wildbeest. “I wasscared,” confided Gogel. “Irode with a guy from ProSlide.It was just the unknown.” Aftercompleting the journey, shefelt as she does today. “I decidedit was definitely a winningride.”Holiday World andSplashin’ Safari guests wouldagree. Even with its highthroughput of more than 700guests an hour, people are stilllining up close to 90 minutesto experience what is beingmarketed as the world’s longestwater coaster. Even afterhealthy queues, riders arecoming off exclaiming it wasworth the wait.The hourly capacity ofWildebeest is quite impressivefor a waterpark attraction.With a moving conveyorloading system, guests haveample time to board the boats.Even better, the conveyor systemautomatically dispatchesboats within 15 seconds. Comparedto some roller coasterswith four-person cars, this watercoaster has a greater ridership.Maximum capacity forthe water coaster is 720 ridersper hour, and Holiday Worldis most likely meeting that.Part of this is due to a singlerider line incorporated intothe queuing.“Based on our experiencewith single rider lines in HolidayWorld, it only made sensefor us to look into utilizing onein Splashin’ Safari for Wildebeest,”says Mike Kamp, generalmanager of guest experience.“The Wildebeest boatseach have four seats. We wantto fill them efficiently.” Andefficiently they do. Prior toloading, guests are arrangedin groups of four. Groups ofthree, as well as couples thatcan’t be paired leave openspaces. At that point, slide attendantspull from the singlerider line to fill each boat andkeep the queue moving. “Thesingle rider line is workingvery well and we’re sendingout full boats. The lines atWildebeest are still the longestin Splashin’ Safari, butthey move much faster thanthey would if we didn’t haveClockwise from top, Wildebeest’s curvaceous layoutsprawls on more than two acres of Splashin’ Safari, aconveyor system begins the rider’s experience instead ofstairs, and one of many drops gives a true roller coasterfeel to the attraction.AT PHOTOS/TIM BALDWINHAVE WATERPARKS NEWS OF INTEREST? EMAIL IT TO US AT: GSLADE@AMUSEMENTTODAY.COMthe single rider line in place,”comments Kamp. “Knowinghow popular a ride marketedas ‘the world’s longest watercoaster’ would be this summer,we wanted to plan formaximum capacity. “The Wildebeest projectopened right on time forguests this spring. “We startedthe ride so early and we finishedearly,” says Gober. Thisfeat is not credited to goodwinter weather, which wasn’tthe case, but having severalpeople involved in addition tothe early start. “I think it wasbecause we had so much planningbeforehand.”ProSlide has had a long relationshipwith Splashin’ Safa-4See WILDEBEEST, page 22