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Small News From The Theme Park Industry

SeaWorld Entertainment announced it will change its name to United Parks & Resorts Inc., effective Feb. 12, 2024. The Company's stock ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange will change from SEAS to PRKS, with trading as PRKS to begin Feb. 13, 2024. The same day the company’s main website will change to unitedparks.com.
The name change only affects the name of the parent company – SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. The Company's portfolio of parks – SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove, Sesame Place, Water Country USA, Adventure Island, and Aquatica – retain their respective park names. Source
 
Merlin have been in operating Cadbury World for a few years now and they will be adding a trackless dark ride this year named Cadbury Chocolate Quest.
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Due to open in Spring 2024, this trackless dark ride will combine three dimensional physical sets, virtual screens and interactive lasers to collect the ingredients needed to make a bar of Cadbury’s iconic Dairy Milk. The ride will replace the attraction’s current dark ride, Cadabra, which opened 27 years ago – since its doors opened in 1997.

The new ride for Cadbury World is part of an £8m investment for Cadbury World that will also see improvements across the attraction. Enhancements to the Have A Go Zone of the attraction, a completely revamped Bournville Experience and an upgraded Advertising Avenue are also expected as part of this wider revamp for the attraction. On top of this, the chocolate making demonstrations and 4D Chocolate Adventure cinema will continue to have a presence at the attraction!

Source:
 
According to various spanish media sources, there are plans going forward to install a new alpine coaster in the ski resort of Panticosa, in the region of Aragón in Spain. It is planned to be the longest alpine coaster in Europe and the world, surpassing Tobotronc in Naturland, Andorra, that has held the record since 2007. It is being funded by the regional government of Aragón, and construction works are expected to start at the end of 2024.

Stats are the following:
  • Length: 5.5 km in total (18,044 ft)
  • Elevation change: 720 m (2,362 ft)
  • Altitude of the highest point: 1,870 m (6,135 ft)
  • Cost: 4,245,000 euros
Sources (in spanish): Diario Vasco / Diario del Alto Aragón
 
According to various spanish media sources, there are plans going forward to install a new alpine coaster in the ski resort of Panticosa, in the region of Aragón in Spain. It is planned to be the longest alpine coaster in Europe and the world, surpassing Tobotronc in Naturland, Andorra, that has held the record since 2007. It is being funded by the regional government of Aragón, and construction works are expected to start at the end of 2024.

Stats are the following:
  • Length: 5.5 km in total (18,044 ft)
  • Elevation change: 720 m (2,362 ft)
  • Altitude of the highest point: 1,870 m (6,135 ft)
  • Cost: 4,245,000 euros
Sources (in spanish): Diario Vasco / Diario del Alto Aragón
Might aswell cancel Falcons Flight then ;)
 
Walibi Belgium will be investing over a million euros in renovating their acclaimed shooting dark ride Challenge of Tutankhamon over the off-season. Some of the more significant investments will include updating the ride vehicles with new chassis and guiding technology by ETF Ride Systems, replacing much of the Sally tech which the ride had been using since it opened in 2003. Many of the components the ride opened with aren’t being manufactured anymore, hence the need for the upgrade. A widened loading platform is also being implemented, and cosmetic changes are expected throughout the ride.

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I am so happy (and grateful) that I can reply to this news! Yesterday I was invited to visit the backstages of Walibi Belgium and get an exclusive look around the backstages of the park.

Here is the link to the backstage walkthrough of the Challenge of Tutankhamon, pictures will come around some time later since, I haven't had the time to edit them yet :), but once they're ready I will also share it with you guys!

Anything else new in Walibi Belgium?
Hint: Flashback (logflume) is much more visible now than it ever was... Let's say some trees went missing :).
 
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Something ‘bad happened’ in testing with Velocicoaster apparently and is closed for the foreseeable.
 
I'm in Orlando now and just saw that yesterday. I'm planning on doing IoA a week from today - could push back to next Friday if necessary - and will be f**king gutted if I get spited.
Pictures of it testing again were all over Reddit about 10 hours ago... So I think, or at the very least hope, you'll be fine by then

And I just went to find them and realised it was a few people being t***s and trolling others... Still... I hope you're fine by then 🤞
 
I wouldn’t worry, @gavin; according to the Universal Orlando app, VelociCoaster is very much open, and on a 90 minute wait!

Thankfully, it would seem that that closure was ultimately a fuss about nothing! At very least, I’m guessing that it was nothing too serious seeing as the ride is back open after only a few days…
 
I wouldn’t worry, @gavin; according to the Universal Orlando app, VelociCoaster is very much open, and on a 90 minute wait!

Thankfully, it would seem that that closure was ultimately a fuss about nothing! At very least, I’m guessing that it was nothing too serious seeing as the ride is back open after only a few days…
Yep! Just been checking myself. Thanks, Matt!
 
Really off-kilter but there was an incident at Jamberoo Action Park in Australia. Interesting to ponder;

Local Islamic organization booked out the park for a men-only “Brothers Day Out” private event. They requested that no females be on duty that day, but management decided that staffing was not at the client’s discretion and instead dressed down their workforce in long sleeves. Several members still harassed and made derogatory comments towards the girls and their male coworkers who came to defend them. Imagine having to send your teenage and college-aged staff home after being called a “slut” and “whore” all day. Now both the park and group are investigating, very unacceptable.

As someone who has worked at a waterpark, it’s ultimately on management’s shoulders to take care of their staff and a smaller park like this will fully understand it. How do you as someone in charge handle a situation like this? Was anything preventable?
 
Really off-kilter but there was an incident at Jamberoo Action Park in Australia. Interesting to ponder;

Local Islamic organization booked out the park for a men-only “Brothers Day Out” private event. They requested that no females be on duty that day, but management decided that staffing was not at the client’s discretion and instead dressed down their workforce in long sleeves. Several members still harassed and made derogatory comments towards the girls and their male coworkers who came to defend them. Imagine having to send your teenage and college-aged staff home after being called a “slut” and “whore” all day. Now both the park and group are investigating, very unacceptable.

As someone who has worked at a waterpark, it’s ultimately on management’s shoulders to take care of their staff and a smaller park like this will fully understand it. How do you as someone in charge handle a situation like this? Was anything preventable?
Immediate and strong action. I'd have shut the event down as soon as the reports started coming in.

Obviously it's a much smaller scale, but I've had to remove large, big spending, groups from my pub for similar reasons several times. Your staff are the single most important asset of your business, they need to feel happy, safe and well looked after at their place of work.
 
Really off-kilter but there was an incident at Jamberoo Action Park in Australia. Interesting to ponder;

Local Islamic organization booked out the park for a men-only “Brothers Day Out” private event. They requested that no females be on duty that day, but management decided that staffing was not at the client’s discretion and instead dressed down their workforce in long sleeves. Several members still harassed and made derogatory comments towards the girls and their male coworkers who came to defend them. Imagine having to send your teenage and college-aged staff home after being called a “slut” and “whore” all day. Now both the park and group are investigating, very unacceptable.

As someone who has worked at a waterpark, it’s ultimately on management’s shoulders to take care of their staff and a smaller park like this will fully understand it. How do you as someone in charge handle a situation like this? Was anything preventable?
Goodness gracious. I hope those poor women are doing okay.
 
Several members still harassed and made derogatory comments towards the girls and their male coworkers who came to defend them. Imagine having to send your teenage and college-aged staff home after being called a “slut” and “whore” all day. Now both the park and group are investigating, very unacceptable.
I've worked Traveller Day - my favourite colleague was spat at and called something very similar.

The little **** would have got corrected if I'd been in earshot...

Now that I think about it, not entirely dissimilar.
 
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