Funworld November/December 2010

PEOPLE

CONGRATULATIONS: Brunswick Bowling & Billiards was recently recognized as one of the 10 best birthday party destinations by Parents magazine. The magazine said that Brunswick has “a fun atmosphere” where kids can be a little loud and it’s no big deal. It also singled out Brunswick for its food, activities, party favors, and reasonable prices compared to other party chains. Parents said it particularly liked Brunswick’s bowling-pin-shaped water bottles. There are 93 Brunswick Zone and Brunswick Zone XL locations throughout North America, all of which offer birthday parties.

HONORABLE RECOGNITION: President and Chief Creative Officer Cecil Magpuri of Orlando-based Falcon’s Treehouse has been awarded the 2010 Asian Heritage Award for Innovation and Technology. The Asian Heritage Awards recognize individuals and organizations that are dedicated to the betterment of humanity. Magpuri’s creative projects span the globe, and his work in Asia includes the Thea-Award-winning “Dragon’s Treasure” in the City of Dreams Casino in Macau, and the “Inspiration of Flight” 4-D dark ride at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

SUCCESSOR TABBED: With longtime president and CEO of the Liseberg Group Mats Wedin planning to retire in early 2011, Andreas Andersen has been named as his successor, effective February 1. Andersen held several leadership posts at Tivoli Gardens from 2001 to 2008 and since 2008 led the IAAPA Europe office in Brussels as executive director.

PROMOTIONS: Jay Thomas has left his position as park president of Six Flags Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor for a post in the Six Flags corporate office in Dallas. Thomas has 22 years of experience working for theme parks, with 15 of those years being in executive roles. He will be succeeded by Bonnie Rabjohn, who most recently served as director of worldwide marketing for Warner Bros.’ consumer products division following more than 25 years in marketing, promotions, sales, communications, and retail for Six Flags, including a stint at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

DISTRIBUTOR NAMED: Alpha-Omega Sales Inc., a provider of sales and service to the amusement and leisure industry, has formed a partnership with Comfy Ware Ltd. to become the exclusive distributor of the Comfyland Experience in the United States. The Comfyland Experience is designed to provide an education-oriented play area for children up to 5 years old. It won the Impact Award at the 2007 IAAPA Attractions Expo, as well as one of the Best New Product Awards.

MERGER ANNOUNCED: Embed, a provider of debit card, redemption management, and point-of-sale systems for the amusement industry, and Playsafe Monitoring, a creator of gaming machine management and monitoring systems in the United Kingdom, have announced an agreement to merge the two companies. Under the agreement, Embed will conduct all of its business in Europe through Playsafe, which will become part of Embed International Group and be rebranded as “Embed Playsafe.”

DONATION: The National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives (NRCMA) recently received a $25,000 donation toward its building fund. Gary and Linda Hays, owners of Cliff’s Amusement Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, provided the money to help the NRCMA improve its newly built archiving facility in Plainview, Texas. An official presentation will be made during IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010 in Orlando.

PRODUCTS

Citing recent studies that have associated chemicals that are commonly used to disinfect pool water with serious health risks, Aquionics is offering its nonchemical ultraviolet light (UV) system as a safe, clean way to disinfect pool water. The UV light is absorbed by the DNA of the unwanted microorganisms in the pool and causes permanent, irreparable inactivation of the microorganisms, according to Aquionics. The company says that chlorine is still necessary for total disinfection, but pools using the UV system require up to 90 percent less of it.

Betson Enterprises, exclusive selling agent for Play Mechanix, announced the game developer’s latest arcades shooters, “Terminator Salvation 32” and “Terminator Salvation Super Deluxe.” “Terminator Salvation 32” offers the same hi-definition graphics and action as the 42-inch version, but in a smaller and more transportable cabinet and is targeted for bars, arcades, and movie theaters. “Terminator Salvation Super Deluxe” brings all of the action of the 32-inch and 42-inch cabinet models to a massive 6-foot by 8-foot projection screen, where life-size T-600 machines battle for dominance against humans.

Lamar Lighting is now offering its Occu-smart series of motion sensor controlled bi-level lighting with factory- installed Green Light Savers self-illuminating phosphorescent devices. Occu-smart fixtures are widely used in stairwells and other seldom-occupied areas to provide energy savings and safety during occupied periods, and the addition of the glow-in-the-dark phosphorescent modules will now provide several hours of supplemental light in the event of a power outage. However, they are not intended to replace emergency lighting, which is also available in most Occusmart models.