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Send us your news and pictures. E-mail Keith Miller at kmiller@IAAPA.org.
 Dazzling Coaster Debut to Benefit Charity
When Quassy Amusement Park celebrates the debut of its new roller coaster, the “Wooden Warrior,” with a spectacular nighttime laser light show on May 27 and 28, guests won’t be the only ones who benefit from the high-tech event. Admission to the lawn area of the park to watch the show will be canned food donations, which will go to the Connecticut Food Bank. The park is working with Lasertainment to produce the two-night, full-color laser show, all choreographed to popular music. www.quassy.com
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 4-D Theater Earns Accolades
Global Immersion won the award for 2011 EMEA Most InAVative Leisure and Entertainment Project for its 4-D theater installation at Our Dynamic Earth science center in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was recognized for its high level of technical innovation, its cost-effective special effects seating solution, and its custom software.
www.globalimmersion.com
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Pleasure Beach Fondly Remembered
A new book details the rich history of Pleasure Beach Blackpool, with many neverbefore- seen images from the park’s archives. “Blackpool Pleasure Beach—More Than Just an Amusement Park,” is a 144- page oversized book with recollections from the renowned designers who worked at the facility, as well as the park’s award-winning shows and historic roller coasters. www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com
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Fans Can Finally Enter World of Doctor Who
 Sarner Ltd. has created the first immersive “Doctor Who” attraction at the Olympia exhibition center in London. “The Doctor Who Experience” was unveiled Feb. 20 and invites guests to be a part of their own Who-venture. The attraction consists of two elements: an immersive dark-walk show and a freeflow exhibition. The immersive walk show places guests in their very own “Doctor Who” episode, where they encounter some of the most popular and frightening creatures from the BBC TV series and witness a spectacular 3-D finale. After the show, guests enjoy an exhibition containing memorabilia from the series. www.sarner.com
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Zipping over Treacherous Waters
 Ziplines are all the rage these days as facilities like theme parks, waterparks, extreme sports parks, and FECs worldwide invest in them to give riders the thrill of sailing high above land and water. But by June one facility will give “flyers” quite a thrill—zipping over crocodiles and alligators. Gatorland in Orlando, Florida, is installing a $1.5 million attraction that will take guests across 1,200 feet of zipline at speeds up to 30 miles per hour.
“You’ll actually zip over alligators and crocodiles, and also the jumping Cuban crocodiles, on the first and second legs,” says Michelle Harris, Gatorland’s marketing director, “and then the next leg takes you over the biggest alligators and the Nile crocodiles. The fourth leg takes you over the breeding marshes with about 150 alligators.” Gatorland worked with the U.S. and Florida fish and wildlife commissions to ensure the zip - line plans were safe. The ride’s $69.99 cost includes admission to Gatorland. www.gatorland.com
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Flying High Down Under
“Giant Redback,” manufactured by Zamperla, made its debut over the Easter holiday in April at Aussie World on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. It seats 24 guests, stands 53 feet tall, and provides clockwise and counter-clockwise circular rotations, with all of the seats facing outward. It is the first of two rides the park is opening in 2011 at a cost of AU$2 million (US$2.02 million), with the second one set to open later this year. www.ausieworld.com.au
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Ready to Chill with Its Kind
Thumbelina, a 3-year-old African penguin, laid the egg from which this tiny chick recently hatched at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida. African Penguins are an endangered species, and this chick was the first successful penguin hatching in the zoo’s history. www.lowryparkzoo.com
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