Funworld March 2011

PEOPLE

FIRST PARTNER: Legoland Florida reached a multiyear agreement with Pepsi Beverages Company (PBC) that makes PBC the first partner of the new theme park, set to open in October. The deal establishes PBC as the official beverage supplier of the 150-acre park, and PBC will provide significant marketing funds to help promote Legoland in many regional promotion campaigns. In addition to PBC’s namesake drink, Pepsi, Legoland will offer guests the company’s other beverages, including Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Sierra Mist, Tropicana Lemonade, and Aquafina bottled water.

ACQUISITIONS: The troubled Xanadu entertainment and retail complex in Meadowlands, New Jersey, will soon have a new owner. Triple Five, the developer of North America’s largest mall, the West Edmonton Mall in Canada, and the largest mall in the United States, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, has signed a letter of intent to purchase The massive 2.3million-square-foot complex, which has such attractions as an indoor ski slope, a 17-theater cinema complex with an Imax, a live entertainment theater, and several amusement attractions.. Officials hope the complex can be completed for an official grand opening in 2014.

Merlin Entertainments Group has announced an agreement to acquire the Sydney Attractions Group and Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World from Village Roadshow. The deal marks Merlin Entertainments’ entry into the Australian and New Zealand markets and includes Sydney’s top three tourist attractions: the Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Wildlife World, and the Sydney Tower Observatory and Skywalk. Merlin has committed to a multimillion- dollar investment plan in which it will rebrand many of the attractions. The aquarium will operate as a Sea Life, and the Sydney Tower Observatory will operate under the Eye brand, its first use outside of United Kingdom. There are also plans to add a Legoland Discovery Center to the market, as well as a Madame Tussauds, which could include wax figures of Australian stars like Kylie Minogue.

CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: The Lowry Park Zoo announced the launch of its $10 million “New Horizon Campaign” to provide support for expanding the facility’s animal science and conservation programs. About $4.7 million of the $10 million goal has been pledged. In addition to an animal care complex and a renovation of its Florida Boardwalk, the campaign will provide new exhibits and visitor amenities to the zoo.

CONGRATULATIONS: In recognition of a more than 30 percent reduction in its power consumption, Roaring Springs Waterpark in Boise, Idaho, was honored with the Better Bricks Award by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, which is supported by local electric utilities. Last spring the waterpark installed Variable Frequency Drives on nine of its pump motors, allowing park operators to slow down the speed of the motors depending upon the water flow needed for the attractions. This will result in a savings of 822,000 kilowatt hours each year, translating to a $65,000 annual savings on the waterpark’s power bills. Idaho Power’s Customer Efficiency Program covered 70 percent of the project’s $108,000 cost.

PRODUCTS

SplashTacular Inc. rolled out its new Splash Tacular Enhancements series of products, intended to not only increase the visual appeal of water slides for both riders and spectators, but to also boost the fun factor as well. HydroStyling allows for customizing the appearance of water slides with colorful rings, shapes, and icons; HydroLighting provides preprogrammed lighting effects inside water slides; and Splash Challenge allows riders to score points by touching colorful targets inside the slide while racing for the fastest time. www.splashtacular.com

Coin Tech’s new debit card reader, Xperience, is designed as the most attractive and functional debit card reader on the market by being eye catching in appearance and offering captivating content. It allows operators to choose the color and style of the reader and to upload high-quality videos, images, graphics, advertisements, sponsors, presentations, bonus games, and educational quizzes. www.coin-tech.com

GameALERT introduced the first real-time business information system for token-based family entertainment centers. By using the web-based, low-cost system, operators can track revenue, game performance, and potential problems remotely—and in real time. The system tracks activity, the number of tokens received, and the tickets paid out to provide an accurate picture of the performance of individual games. Games can also be monitored with text alerts for low or jammed tickets and game inactivity. GameALERT also monitors changers and reports the amount of money received, the number of tokens dispensed, and token-hopper and bill-cassette levels. www.game-alert.com