Iceland's new FEC

www.parkworld-online.comPark NewsPax seeks wheelpartnersThe Russian ride manufacturerPax Design is offering to partnerwith developers keen to buildan observation wheel butwithout the funds to do so. Paxwill supply the ride if the partnersupplies the land andinfrastructure. Revenue will besplit 50:50.The company says it canbuild wheels varying from 40 to180-metres in height. A 140-metre construction will open in2012 in a Russian city to beconfirmed.Separately, Pax has announced that it plans to stopproduction of rollercoasters, concentrating on rides for its ownpark at the All Russia Exhibition Centre in Moscow.Technical Spark!There’s a new ride on the horizon from the Italianmanufacturer Technical Park. Wild Spark promises family funwith plenty of bounce, and the ride pattern will be familiar toanyone who has seen similar attractions in action on theSpanish “Feria” circuit.The 16-metre diameter ride features 14 three-seater cars,providing a total passenger capacity of 42. In response tocustomer requests, Technical Park is supplying the ride withover-the-shoulder restraints so that it is accessible to a broadrange of riders. The ride’s integral pneumatic system hasbeen sourced from Spain.The first unit will be a trailer-mounted version scheduledfor autumn delivery to Germany pending TÜV certification.Park models are also available, together with fiberglass propsand theming.KernelsJapan’s Tokyo Disney Resort will open ToyStory Mania! this summer. The ride, which hasalready been a hit at Disney’s parks in the States,will feature as part of Toyville Trolley Park, a newarea of Tokyo DisneySea themed as an oldfashionedamusement park.After road-testing a temporary version of itswaxworks attraction in Tokyo, MerlinEntertainments it is to open a permanent MadameTussauds in the Japanese capital. The full sizeMadame Tussauds Tokyo will join Merlin’sLegoland Discovery Centre at the Decks TokyoBeach Mall when it opens in spring 2013.A Huss Enterprise and a Fabbri drop tower willappear as part of the line-up for 2012 atPleasurewood Hills in England. The Enterprisewas acquired from Henk Bembon at LoudounCastle in Scotland, while the 40-metre tower ridewas formerly travelled by showman MichaelWallis. Located near the town of Lowestoft,Pleasurewood Hills sold last year to from oneFrench operator to another, Looping Holdingtaking control after Compagnie des Alpes decidedto dispose of some its smaller parks acrossEurope.Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort, WisconsinDells, Wisconsin, has opened an indoor NorthernLights Sky Ropes Course from Ropes Courses Inc.New York’s Darien Lake has named BobMontgomery as its new vice-president and generalmanager. Montgomery has been employed byHerschend Family Entertainment (HFE), the park’snew management company, for over a decade,and also boasts experience at Legoland, Toronto'sCN Tower and Canada's Wonderland. Workingwith Montgomery will be assistant generalmanager Chris Thorpe. Darien Lake also gets anew director of marketing in the shape of SteveHallowell.Cassandra Weber has been named GeneralManager of Legoland Discovery CenterChicago. Opened in 2008, the attraction wasthe first LDC outlet from Merlin Entertainments inNorth America. Relocating from Bloomington,Minnesota, Weber joins the LDC Chicago after 11years with Merlin’s Sea Life Minnesota Aquariumin the Mall of America.Rich Hill, who joined Sally Corporation 12years ago as an artist, has been promoted to theposition of senior designer. Hill works directly withDrew Hunter, vice-president of creative design, onall aspects of conceptualisation and design for thecompany’s interactive dark rides, animatronics,and exhibits.Bombay Amusement Rides (BAL) recentlycompleted a Sky Swinger (wave swinger) for JawaTimur park in Indonesia, and also has four SkyKopter rides on order, for customers in the USA(3) and India.The North American ride manufacturer Larsonhas sold two Flying Scooters, one each in the USAand Canada. A Jumping Jumbo, a Super Shotand a Fireball are also on order. A flea market inHouston, Texas, has ordered a Star Dancerobservation tower. Larson is also finishing work ontwo trains for Knoebel's new Flying Turns inPennsylvania, while five rides are in forrefurbishment.As well as a Loop Fighter for a British showman,Technical Park will also supply a version of the ridein 2012 for the Finnish amusement parkTykimäkki.Former director of engineering at PARCManagement, Jeff Glinter has joined PremierRides in the same capacity. Glinter, who startedhis career with General Motors, also providedengineering expertise and constructionmanagement for Six Flags, as well as serving assenior project engineer on EPCOT’s Test Track.The British train builder and people-movingspecialist Severn Lamb currently has five trainsin production. Ranging from 32 to 144 passengercapacity, they are on order for customers in SouthKorea, India, Indonesia (2) and Qatar.The first TapeMyDay video capture system lookslikely to go into operation during 2012 at a snowdome in the Netherlands. Talks are also ongoingwith several Dutch theme parks.Lo-Q has extended its contract with Six Flagsand will continue to supply its Q-bot virtualqueuing system under the guise of ‘Flash Pass’ to11 parks in North America. Following a successfultial at Six Flags White Water waterpark in Atlantalast summer, Lo-Q will also install its Q-bandsystem at seven other waterpark sites across theUnited States as quickly as possible. The Q-banduses a waterproof RFID wristband.WhiteWater has introduced the industry’s first10-year warranty against waterslide fading and“chalking,” offering superior gloss retention,increased durability and very low maintenance.TAA Industries is to complete somesupplementary theming for the Krake (Octopus)coaster at Heide Park in Germany. Elsewhere inEurope there is work planned at Hansa Park in thenorth of Germany, Conny Land in Switzerland,Studio 100/Plopsaland in Belgium and CenterParcs’ new Aquariuz resort in the French Alps.”Right now though,” notes TAA president UdoWeisenburger, “2013 is actually looking muchbusier than 2013. A lot of parks seem to beleaving things to the last minute for the comingseason.”Magic Memories, the New Zealand-basedtourism photography company, is to beginoperations in the USA. The company offersattraction visitors a detailed account of their day ina booklet, online and via social media withouteven having to bring a camera. Led by StuartNorris and John Wikstrom, Magic Memories nowhas some 70 operations in mainland Europe,South Africa, New Zealand and Australia,partnering with operators including MerlinEntertainments. Its new US general manager isJustin Ward, while The Kreisler Group will assistwith marketing.FEBRUARY 201217