Funworld May 2009

Micropolix: Having Fun Playing Real Life

A VERY CREATIVE THEME PARK FOR KIDS, where learning how to earn and manage money is as important as having fun, opened recently in Madrid, Spain. Called Micropolix, the 100,000-square-foot indoor complex is a miniature version of an actual city, with streets, squares, shops, buildings, cars, and even its own currency.

The leisure and education park is the first of its kind in Europe, targeting children between the ages of 5 and 13. When kids arrive at the park, they must first go to the bank and wait in line to get some “startup money” to launch them on their adventures. But if they want more money—and they will—they have to go to an employment office to get a job. Occupations run the gamut, ranging from gas station attendant to doctor to fashion model. They can work in a hospital, a broadcast studio, or an airport, trading their work time for a paycheck.

The money allows them to pay for things like simulated driving lessons (accomplished via video game) and the ensuing driver’s license, car insurance, and gas. Or if they want to take to the skies, so to speak, they can learn to fly an airplane.

“What they learn is that they need to work in order to get money, and they need to work in order to understand how the society functions in Micropolix,” said CEO Manuel Lagares, “so at the end of the day, what they do is what their parents do in normal life, but with a very important thing: They need to play!”

Micropolix opened with 30 activities for children and will add new ones, eventually offering 54 themed spaces and more than 100 different “jobs.” The park’s educational activities are designed to complement the content and goals of children’s primary education, so it works with local schools through specially prepared teaching materials.

Micropolix invested 20 million euros (US$25 million) in the park, with an expected eventual staff of nearly 200 people, 80 percent of whom will be leisure, education, and entertainment professionals. Micropolix’ entrance fee is 22 euros (US$28) for kids 5 to 13, and 11 euros (US$14) for 3- to 4-year-olds. Special prices are available for large groups, families with three or more children, and school groups. www.micropolix.com

More Cruise Lines Adding Attractions

SEVERAL CRUISE LINES ARE LAUNCHING NEW SHIPS this year that include some new and exciting amusement attractions. September will see the launch of Carnival Cruise Lines’ 130,000-ton Carnival Dream, with a passenger capacity of 3,652. The ship will feature a large waterpark called Waterworks that will boast a couple of slides worthy of dry-land attractions.

“One slide is called the ‘DrainPipe’ and is 104 feet long, consisting of a giant funnel attached to an enclosed spiral waterslide,” said Aly Bello- Cabreriza, public relations spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines. “‘Waterworks’ also features a four-deckhigh, 303-foot-long enclosed corkscrew waterslide, the longest slide on any cruise ship, and twin dual-lane 80-footlong racing slides.” Bello-Cabreriza also noted the waterpark will have a “Splash Zone” featuring a dumping bucket.

By December, Royal Caribbean International’s gigantic 220,000-ton Oasis of the Seas will introduce the first zip line at sea, 82 feet long and suspended nine decks above the ship’s Boardwalk area. Said Lyan Sierra-Caro, a senior account executive at Royal Caribbean, “We recently installed a zip line on our private island of Labadee and have found that our guests truly enjoy this experience. We thought the next step would be to put it onboard one of our ships.”

The vessel will also feature two FlowRiders, a mini-golf course, two rock-climbing walls, an H20 Zone aquapark for kids, and the industry’s first amphitheater—called the Aquatheater— featuring theatrical diving performances and water and light shows.

Finally, Costa Cruises of Genoa, Italy, will launch the 92,700-ton Luminosa in June. The craft will debut an entertainment facility that will include in-line skating and a golf simulator featuring 37 virtual courses.

FEC Aggressively Responds to Economic Downturn

DESPITE THE CURRENT SHAKY ECONOMIC CON - DITIONS, America’s Incredible Pizza Company, headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, is forging ahead with expansion plans and will open three new locations in 2009.

The 16-restaurant franchise was started in 2002 by company owners Rick and Cheryl Barsness. The facilities, ranging from 35,000 to 70,000 square feet, feature an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, salad bar, and dessert section, and allow guests to choose among four themed dining areas. After their meal, guests can play mini-golf, go mini-bowling, ride bumper cars, or play more than 100 video games.

The locations opening this year will be in Des Moines, Iowa; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Phoenix, Arizona. Chris Brewer, the company’s vice president of marketing, told FUNWORLD why the company is expanding: “Our [comparative] sales are even with last year, and in these depressed economic times, it’s actually a great time to expand. Construction costs are way down, there are tremendous deals on property and leases, and when things turn around, we’re going to be in a tremendous position to capitalize. Sometimes you just have to go back to being an entrepreneur.” www.incrediblepizza.com

Sensory Substitution: Wonderment Without Sight

FOURTEEN VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS proved they could enjoy a trip to the zoo as much as sighted guests during a recent visit to the Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon.

The students, part of the Columbia Regional Program, were afforded a close encounter—very close—with a 400- pound Amur tiger. They got to touch the anesthetized tiger at the zoo’s veterinary hospital during the animal’s annual physical. The kids were also allowed to touch a snake—one of the zoo’s contact animals—and when the tactile experiences were over, they toured the zoo.

The zoo has invited kids from the program for such tactile encounters for the past 12 years, and spokesman Bill LaMarche said it’s worth the effort. “A lot of times when kids with disabilities visit, their experience is limited to what they hear or smell. So when they have the opportunity to experience something tactilely, it really moves them,” he said. “When you see their faces light up and their parents’, too, it’s clear they have had an experience they will treasure forever.” www.oregonzoo.org

Virginia Aquarium Not Restless About New Expansion

AS PART OF A NEW $25 MILLION EXPANSION opening May 23, 2009, the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach is doubling its number of animals in its collection from 6,000 to 12,000, which will more than double the number of species from 300 to 700.

The renovation of the facility’s 20-year-old exhibits involves the debut of “Restless Planet,” a 12,000-square-foot venue that explores Virginia’s distant past through four new immersive habitats—Malaysian Peat Swamps, Coastal Sahara Desert, Red Sea, and Indonesia’s Flores Islands—two science “shacks,” a conservation station, and a reflections gallery.

Linda Candler, the aquarium’s marketing director, said a couple of things make the new exhibits unusual and distinctive: “First of all is the immersive quality. Not only will people see these environments; they’ll smell them. In other words, when you walk into the Malaysian peat swamp, it’s steamy, the floor is spongy, and it smells of vegetation.”

Candler said another unusual aspect of the renovation is in the approach the aquarium took, tying Virginia’s own geological and environmental history to remote locations around the world to promote conservation of not just the places, but the animals that live there. “For example, representing the Malaysian peat swamp, there’s a tomistoma, the rarest crocodilian in the world,” she said. “Even if you traveled to Indonesia, you might never see one of these animals in the wild, and this might inspire you to contribute to preserving the habitat of the animal.”

Candler noted that because the aquarium itself is located on wetlands, the facility couldn’t add a new building, so instead went back to the original building it opened in 1986 and merged all of the new exhibits into that structure.
www.virginiaaquarium.com.