Iceland's new FEC

Park Newswww.parkworld-online.comMaja on HolidayConstruction has started at Holliday World, Hassloch, Germany, on a new themedarea called Majaland. The €9 million addition to the park follows the introductionlast season of Maja the Bee attractions at sister parks in Belgium operated byStudio 100 under the Plopsa brand.The new land at Holiday Park will cover a 30,000 square metres and feature 11family-focused attractions including Schmetterlingsflug (Butterfly Flight) and Tulpen(Tulip) Splash. A new entrance is also planned for the park featuring Studio 100characters including Wickie the Viking and Tabaluga.Pictured here getting work underway are Plopsa park group managing directorSteven van der Kerkhof (right) with construction manager Luc van der Biest. Thenew land will be available for the start of the season on March 31.Ocean Park marksanniversary withrecord attendanceFresh from clocking up its highest ever attendance,Hong Kong’s home-grown theme park was due tocelebrate its 35th birthday with a special float inCathy Pacific’s Chinese New Year Night Parade onJanuary 23.The float showcased new areas of the parkincluding Polar Adventure and Thrill Mountainalongside signature animals such as the dolphin,harbour seal and giant panda as it wished thepeople of Hong Kong a lucky and prosperousYear of the Dragon.In the fiscal yearending June 30,2011, Ocean Parkrecorded nearly 5.9million guests – a16% increase overthe previous year.Park revenue alsobroke the billiondollar mark for thevery first time,finishing the year atHK1.2 billion.Disney castmember enjoys55 years’ serviceOscar Martinez, who recently celebrated his 55thyear as a “cast member” at Disneyland inCalifornia, has been honoured with a SnowWhite-themed service award.Martinez, a cook at Carnation Café on MainStreet USA, began his Disney career as a busdriver and is the first Walt Disney Parks & Resortsemployee to achieve the 55-year milestone. Overthe last half century, he has trained thousandsmore cast members and has become a favouriteof the many guests who visit him year after year.Merlin identifiestakeover target inAsia-PacificBuilding on its acquisition last year of theSydney Attractions Group, MerlinEntertainments wants to increase its foothold inthe Asia-Pacific region with the proposedacquisition of the Living and Leisure AustraliaGroup (LLA).Subsidiary Merlin Australia has made arecommended takeover offer for the group,which operates nine leisure attractions in theregion including aquariums in Melbourne andthe Gold Coast in Australia, Bangkok,Shanghai and Busan, South Korea. The groupalso boasts a number of winter sports resortsand treetop adventures in Australia plus amanagement contract in Dubai.“The acquisition of LLA would open up newmarkets to us and facilitate the continuing rollout of the Sea Life, Madame Tussauds, Eye andLegoland brands in the Asia Pacific region,”notes Merlin chief executive Nick Varney.livingandleisure.com.au12 FEBRUARY 2012