If you’re a regular reader of InterPark, you will know that the past 12 months have been an exciting time for theme parks and attractions across the globe. The post COVID industry has bounced back brighter than ever, and with that comes brand-new rides, innovative technologies, milestone anniversaries and more from some of the biggest players in the game.
Looking back over the past year, what stands out the most is the desire and need for immersive theme parks and attractions. Getting back to a sense of ‘normality’ post COVID has, at times, felt completely impossible, but the welcoming parks filled with their illuminated neon rides and comforting scent of fried donuts has been craved by those looking for a sense of nostalgia, as well as those wanting to create lasting family moments.
Kicking things off, we saw Disney celebrate a milestone 100 years in 2023. The company, which was set up in the October of 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy O Disney, has gone on to be not only a global leader in the animation field, but also in the theme park industry. To celebrate its anniversary, the company’s Disneyland Anaheim resort introduced the brand-new attraction ‘Mickey’s Toontown’.
The first ride that opened, ‘Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway’, is a family-friendly attraction like what you’ll find in Disney World’s Hollywood Studios. On the ride, visitors jump aboard a train driven by Disney star Goofy as they’re transported to the animated world of Mickey Mouse. The rest of the attraction opened in early March 2023 and now serves as a spot for families with younger children to play together.
Another recognisable theme park, Legoland South Korea, welcomed the Lego Factory Adventure Ride this year, a turnkey attraction created by Holovis. The unique ride utilises Holovis’ DeepSmarts and HoloTrac platforms to identify and analyse different characteristics of each guest in the AGV ride vehicle, accurately tracking and replicating their hand and upper-body movements.
This is achieved by the HoloTrac sensor arrays hidden in the scenic elements off-board the ride system and throughout the attraction. These sensor arrays integrate with the HoloTrac’s Computer Vision and AI systems, transforming guests into life-sized LEGO Minifigures.
As this attraction used the very latest computer vision and AI systems within the HoloTrac platform, there was an intensive development and testing period on a like-for-like ride testing rig at Holovis HQ. This allowed the team to configure the unique sensor arrays and develop the on-board processing systems required to deliver the highly challenging and complex attribute recognition solution (hairstyle, gender, shirt colour, glasses etc) and ensure system accuracy.
Over at Legoland New York, WhiteWater worked on the brand-new Lego City Water Playground with four fun water slides, 95 play features, and a 318-gallon tipping bucket. The highly themed AquaPlay 1050 is a Lego fantasy come true. Additionally, WhiteWater launched the new, large-scale Island Waterpark at Showboat, Atlantic City in New Jersey.
With 100,000sqft of indoor space, Island Waterpark at Showboat is a $100m investment that’s the world’s largest indoor beachfront water park – and the largest indoor water park in North America under a single retractable roof. The interior recreates the shops, amusements, and vibe of the famous boardwalk.
Together with aquatic thrills and plenty of space to relax and socialise, this water park is a destination with multi-generational appeal. It has children-friendly attractions and, at the same time, allows adults to enjoy unique leisure activities in Atlantic City that are different from the offerings of a casino. To capture a wide audience, WhiteWater was selected to provide a mix of aquatic attractions, with 11 water slides, two aquatic play structures, and a FlowRider Double.
At San Diego’s Sea World in the USA, Intamin has completed the launch of Arctic Rescue, a family-friendly thrill coaster with three launches. Passengers on the ride race through the ‘Arctic’ and each of the three exhilarating launches is faster than the one before with a top speed of around 65km/h (40mph). The snowmobiles allow for an exciting ride experience for each rider as they lean into banks and turns and whizz along a total of over 850-metres (2,800ft) of track.
Over at Sea World Abu Dhabi, Zamperla has implemented four new rides across the past year, including; WindstarZ, Rocking Tug, Junior Coaster, and Jumpin’ Tower. The company combined technology and art through high-quality ‘thematisation’, pushing the boundaries of creativity and immersive experiences in order to captivate families and fans.
Sticking with the world of water-themed attractions, ADG has opened a huge, two-acre waterpark amenity Adventure Cove at Meridiana, a residential community in Iowa Colony. Adventure Cove features a wave pool, tidal river, fitness centre, large pavilion, food truck park and more. ADG played the role of design/builder on the project, as well as supplying all specialty wave equipment for the property. The new Tidal River is 550ft in length and dispatches waves up to 2.5ft tall every five seconds. The river channel is an average width of 16ft and includes a zero-depth beach entry.
The new amenity village is also home to a 9,300sqft wave pool powered by ADG’s wave technology. The pool features a gradual beach entry with family-friendly waves for all guests and residents to enjoy. In addition to the two main anchor attractions is a 2,600sqft island adventure pool, which allows guests to swim in the flat water or engage in a game of water basketball with the situated hoops in the corner of the pool. ADG designed the pool to feature in-water sun shelves for guests to tan while still enjoying the water and surrounded the pool with comfortable lounge seating.
In Pandalang, Indonesia, Empex Watertoys recently completed a marine themed spray park in the newly opened Wahoo Waterworld. The management wanted an area that caters to young families, so the marine-style Aquadek climb and slide structure was designed to be the main centre point of the 650sqm area.
The preschool area, which is separate, features a toddler slide, an Aquadome, an Aquabow tunnel producing soft sprays, an Aqualab water play station, an Aquawiggle and an Aquabloom with spiral sprays. Transitioning into the area for older children the pool slopes gently down to 20cm in depth and water features increase in height and activity. Highly interactive, the Tippin’ Whales vessels fill with water and randomly open on the players below. The Aquatee emits a curtain of soft water, while the Aquazig presents lateral laminar sprays for interactive play.
Over in Sweden, Furuvik has introduced a new Vekoma ride – an electrifying launch coaster called Lightning. The biggest attraction in the park’s history, the launch coaster accelerates right from the start and reaches a top speed of 75km/h in just three seconds. What’s more, it takes riders on no less than two laps.
Sandra Wilk, CEO at Furuvik, commented: “We are thrilled to finally have this ride in place and ready for our guests, whom we have been eagerly anticipating. It’s incredibly exciting, and I’m confident it will be loved by both young and old. I’m personally super excited to experience it myself.”
Another company dedicated to providing one-of-a-kind experiences is RWS and this year has been no exception as the company has continued to create unforgettable spring and summer-focused attractions for guests at theme park destinations across the USA. From ideation to completion, RWS’s team of creatives are currently overseeing concept and design, music and media, AV and technical, costume design and build, talent casting and recruitment, show production and operations at Hersheypark, Lost Island Themepark and Waterpark, Legoland New York, Story Land, Idlewild and Soak Zone, Santa’s Village and Typhoon Texas.
RWS Global’s award-winning cruise ship offerings have also greatly expanded this year. For the premiere of MSC Cruises World Europa, RWS and Ted conceived and executed an elevated guest experience by developing two new, immersive performance venues. The venues host a total of seven interactive shows that come to life each night, all completely created by RWS Global’s design and production teams.
The past 12 months have also birthed some word firsts through new collaborations with recognisable industry names. In a first for Sally Dark Rides, the manufacturer launched its ‘Uncharted: The Enigma of Penitence’ dark ride roller coaster at Portaventura World in 2023. The thrilling world first coaster is the result of a collaboration between Sally Dark Rides and Intamin, both renowned manufacturers of theme park attractions. Together the companies developed an all-new chapter for the globally recognised Uncharted brand.
Drawing from Uncharted’s theme of exploration, treasure hunting and adventure, the new attraction features elements never experienced on a roller coaster, including; the world’s first indoor quintuple/fivefold (5x) LSM launch coaster, the world’s first sideways launch, Europe’s first side drop on a coaster, Europe’s first coaster drifting manoeuvres, Spain’s first cliffhanger backward freefall element, Spain’s first backward launch and Spain’s first launched spike element.
Known for its work in interactive technologies, Alterface also worked alongside Sally Dark Rides on another project, Volkanu at the Lost Island in Waterloo in Iowa. The park features realms themed on fire, water, earth, air and spirit. It is in the Mura (fire) realm that explorers will encounter Volkanu and its imposing volcano-like facade. The fully interactive dark ride takes its name from the great god of fire, a legendary bestial of molten rock who lurks inside Lost Island. Guests must locate six statues including the sacred Ora-Tika and return it to the Temple of Fire. Both the shooting technology and the ride’s interactive system were supplied by Alterface.
Another dark ride collaboration came from Triotech and BoldMove Nation this year at Le PAL theme park in France. Champi’Foles is an interactive media-based dark ride that features the cutting-edge Smash & Reload attraction with TooMush themeing. The launch of Champi’Folies marks a significant milestone for Triotech and BoldMove Nation – the collaboration between these two leading firms has resulted in a cutting-edge ride that is a hit with guests of all ages.
With more than 1,000 animals and 31 attractions, Le PAL is based in the heart of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and is recognised as one of the leading theme parks and zoos in France. The addition of Champi’Folies further cements its reputation as a must-visit destination for families. This exciting new attraction combines an immersive and interactive storyline with thrilling action and impressive theming. Guests are taken on an unforgettable journey through a world filled with the hilarious TooMush characters.
The number of new rides hitting parks across the globe over the past 12 months is truly endless, and the structure that appeared back in May this year from Huss Park Attractions is another notable addition. The Giant Frisbee thrill ride at OCT Happy Valley in Nanjing rises to a maximum passenger flying height of 43-metres, meaning that it can be seen right across the park. As visitors get closer, the gondola rushes over their heads, thanks to the elevated podium, for even more excitement.
The Giant Frisbee features a 25-metre-long pendulum that swings 120° to each side. Guests are seated within a gondola at the lower end of the pendulum, in suspended seats and facing the outside. As the pendulum reaches its full swing, riders will enjoy airtimes of -0.5g. Accelerations of +4.5g combined with a maximum speed of around 110 kilometres per hour are parameters normally associated with major roller coasters. This 40-person seating configuration, together with a large loading platform, ensures quick loading resulting in a capacity of 1000 passengers per hour.
Happy Valley Nanjing is the eighth Happy Valley Park from OCT Group and can be found in the Qixia District, next to the Yangtze River. This park is a new and upgraded version of Happy Valley and is home to 41 different rides, set across six engaging themed areas. Other highlights of the Happy Time themed area, where the Giant Frisbee sits, include Rush Hour and the Star of Nanjing.
Another show-stopping attraction landed in Albury this year – the spectacular sound and light experience ‘Aurora’ by Laservision. Located in the picturesque Albury Botanic Gardens, Aurora was hosted between Friday 23 June – Sunday 16 July 2023 and metamorphosed the Botanic Gardens, redefining the natural landscape and unveiling mystical creatures through the use of holograms, lasers, interactive projections, light sculptures, immersive soundscapes, and many other sensory mediums.
Additionally, Binder Park Zoo, located in Battle Creek, Michigan, opened its $2m SkyLark Ridge and Little Larks attractions last summer with the help of RCI Adventure Products. The three-story installation covers 15,000sqft with a height of 36ft at its highest point. The SkyLark attraction includes a variety of custom-branded elements, including the zoo’s very own logo on the Ledgewalk and other elements displaying the names of donors. Additional elements include the Weave Walk, Rolling Log, Walk-the-Plank, five Sky Rail curved zip lines, plus a Sky Tour computer-controlled canopy tour that zips to a tower and back to the main Sky Trail ropes course.
The zoo also added a Little Larks Sky Tykes ropes course, with a Sky Rail zip rail, specifically designed for smaller adventurers under 48ins tall. This attraction uses the same specifically engineered technology as the larger Sky Trail course but scaled down in size for smaller participants. The platforms are positioned three feet off the ground, allowing children to build coordination and confidence while their adult chaperone stays close by to assist.
Rounding off our round-up of park investments with a Christmas themed ride feels criminal in the middle of summer, however I.E. Park’s work on Sky Carousel definitely deserved a mention in our list. The attraction opened in December 2022 at Huis Ten Bosch in Japan to commemorate the season and the park’s 30th anniversary. It comprises 68 characters and vehicles including 22 big horses, 22 medium horses, eight small horses, two pumpkin coaches, four gondolas with roof, two gondolas without roof, four spinning cups and four carriages.
“We are very happy to have had the opportunity to work with both Wing production and Huis Ten Bosch on this magnificent project,” said I.E. Park. “We have enjoyed much success over the years around the world but thanks to this product we can consider ourselves as leaders in the production of carousels. We are sure that it will be a great success for HTB park.”
It’s clear that it has been an incredibly busy 12 months for the theme parks and attractions industry. From world first coasters to 100 years of Disney, there’s been so much to explore at various venues across the globe. As summer passes and some parks close their doors until next season, many manufacturers have more up their sleeves that will be unveiled to eager guests over the next 12 months. As always, you’ll find any further industry news and updates in future issues of InterPark.
