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International Theme Park Services, Inc. ("ITPS")
delivers the news you want regarding the amusement and leisure industry on a
daily basis. Nowhere else can you find a greater compilation of news covering
the amusement and leisure industry!
ITPS
has proudly served the leisure industry since 1983. Visit our
website
for more information on how we can assist your needs.
ITPS
has a proven track record in the leisure industry.
For
existing facilities, ITPS can assist in breathing new life into your
facility, develop new attractions, increase revenue, decrease costs, train
staff, develop employee manuals, conduct business valuations and so much
more!
For
new facilities, we can assist from the initial Feasibility Analysis to Grand
Opening and beyond!
Scroll Down for each news category.
Amusement/Theme
Park |
FEC/LBE/Museum
Waterpark |Aquarium/Zoo
Other News
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Click
on the above image for more information regarding Ripley's Franchises.
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Equity firm to
acquire Cedar Fair for $2.4B
"Apollo has always had a strong interest in this industry, in the
theme park business," said consultant Dennis Speigel, head of
International Theme Park Services Inc. in Cincinnati. "It looks like to
me, just running some rough numbers, that this was a decent buy for Apollo if
they wanted to be in the business. They got a good group of regional parks at
a very good price."
Click
for Article
Kinzel says Cedar
Fair headquarters to stay
Sandusky, OH - He’s still the boss, and Sandusky will remain the
headquarters for Cedar Fair’s amusement and water parks, Cedar Fair CEO Dick
Kinzel said. While Cedar Fair’s ownership is about to change, many factors
will stay the same.
Click
for Article
Equity firm to
buy Knott's Berry Farm's parent
Dennis Speigel, president of industry consulting firm International Theme
Park Services Inc., said that by investing in Cedar Fair, Apollo Global
Management has shown it believes theme parks will be profitable in the
future. "It says that [the equity] group feels we have bottomed out as
an industry," he said.
Click
for Article
Dorney Park
parent Cedar Fair sold for $2.4 billion
Dennis Speigel, president of consulting firm International Theme Park
Services in Cincinnati agrees. He was surprised at the low price, given the
quality of parks involved. ''Cedar Fair is a pristine group of parks. They're
in good shape, well-maintained,'' he said. Still, he expects significant
changes at most Cedar Fair parks.
Click
for Article
Amusement park
sale throws industry for a loop
"It all says we're seeing limited growth," said Dennis Spiegel,
a theme-park consultant who is president of Cincinnati-based International
Theme Park Services Inc. "We're still drawing and attracting a lot of
people, but this does say we're a mature industry now."
Click
for Article
It Was FUN While
It Lasted
Wall Street won't have Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) -- home to the coolest
ticker symbol in the amusement-park industry -- to kick around much longer.
The regional operator has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of
private-equity giant Apollo Global Management.
Click
for Article
Voice of
Disneyland's Lincoln takes criticism
Anaheim, CA - The animatronic president is set to debut after getting a
high-tech update. But scholars say his speech, unchanged from when it
appeared decades ago, is not like the real thing.
Click
for Article
Disney's
Electrical Parade returns to park
Anaheim, CA - The Electrical Parade is returning to the park for just two
weeks as part of the holiday season — a regular feature at this time. The
last parade is set for Jan. 3 when the Disneyland Resort’s holiday season
concludes.
Click
for Article
Seattle Center's
Fun Forest rides leaving the city
Seattle, Washington - A remnant of the 1962 World's Fair, the Fun Forest
is a victim of declining revenue and a changing vision for Seattle Center.
Click
for Article
Eleven Reasons
Disneyworld Is Awesome
Whether you're a kid or just a kid at heart, there's so much awesomeness
wrapped up in this package that it's hard to keep it to 11. But for the sake
of consistency ...
Click
for Article
Soft opening for
Funfair Co's Qatar venue
Qatar - Michel Koborsi's dream to bring to the small Arab emirate of
Qatar an indoor theme park that would rival anything else in the highly-competitive
entertainment region has come to fruition.
Click
for Article
Theme Parks See
Potential in Asia
SINGAPORE — The global downturn put some U.S. theme parks into bankruptcy
and upended grand plans for new ones in the Middle East. But in Asia, a
development boomlet is under way, as operators race to roll out parks and add
attractions to draw in the region’s growing middle class.
Click
for Article
Theme park to
come up in Dadumajra
India - The Municipal Corporation went on a foundation stone laying spree
on Thursday, announcing the construction of a community centre, theme park in
Dadumajra and a fountain in Sector 35.
Click
for Article
Disneyland Resort
Paris launches private dinner experiences
France - Disneyland Resort Paris's corporate events arm Business
Solutions has launched 16 private theme-park dinner experiences for groups.
Click
for Article
Celebrities bid
to be first on new rollercoaster
United Kingdom - Marketing Director at the Alton Towers Resort said:
"We've had a lot of interest and enquiries from high profile people into
the availability of 'first rides' TH13TEEN. All the money raised will go to
Merlin's Magic Wand – a charity that provides 'memorable experiences' for
children who are seriously ill, disabled or disadvantaged.
Click
for Article
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Some of ITPS'
Projects include:
- Hopi Hari
Theme Park - Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Lotte World-
Seoul, Korea
- Newport
Aquarium, Newport Kentucky
- Cincinnati
Zoo, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Time Warner - Six Flags
- Beijing Amusement Park - Beijing, China
- ORA Istanbul Theme Park - Istanbul, Turkey
- Fort Worth
Zoo - Fort Worth, Texas
- Enchanted
Kingdom, Manila, Philippines
- Bronx Zoo
- Bronx, New York
- Wells Dairy -
LeMars, Iowa
- Reino Aventura - Mexico City, Mexico
- La
Feria Chapultepec Magico - Mexico City, Mexico
- Madison Square Gardens / Paramount Parks
- Haw Par Villa - Singapore
- Lake
Compounce - Bristol, Connecticut
- Playcenter
- Brazil
Click here
for more information on ITPS' projects.
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Mall of America’s
winter wonderland takes a lot of planning
Minneapolis, MN - Long before winter blew into town, visual designer Brett
Beaudette began ruminating on how to transform the common areas at the Mall
of America into a “festive wonderland” for the 2009 holiday season.
Click
for Article
Pittsburgh model
railroad museums showcase holiday displays
Pittsburgh, PA - Most of us take trains for granted, considering them a
nuisance, in fact, because of their deafening noise and disruption of
traffic. Others of us, though, still marvel at engines, coaches,
freight cars and their ilk as miracles of engineering. They live to hear the
horns and park next to tracks and wait for trains to roar by them. Then they
go home and turn on their Lionels.
Click
for Article
Lehigh Valley
Mall's Chuck E. Cheese's brings a mixture of pain and joy to first-time uncle
Lehigh Valley, PA - It was about five minutes into the program when Chuck E.
made a poor error in judgment. He approached my niece from behind and tried
to crown her with an inflatable birthday hat. My niece, whose awareness of
her surroundings rivals that of many well-trained CIA agents, turned around
just before he did the deed
Click
for Article
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Click
on the above image for Today's Ripley Comic!
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Splashtacular
Entertainment Receives ‘outstanding Customer’ Award
SplashTacular® Entertainment, the largest U.S.-based waterslide
manufacturer, today announced it has been recognized as “Outstanding
Customer” by partner company JRL ventures. The recent award is validation of
SplashTacular Entertainment’s cutting-edge technology, standout product ideas
and continued commitment to overall professional excellence.
Click
for Article
Frontier Lodge in
foreclosure
La Salle, Illinois - Frontier Lodge, the water park and resort under
construction in La Salle, might soon become “Frontier subdivision.”
Frontier’s lenders have filed foreclosure proceedings in La Salle County
Circuit Court, claiming nearly $5 million in unpaid loans.
Click
for Article
Storm Lake
borrowing $3M to cover resort shortfalls
STORM LAKE, Iowa -- The city of Storm Lake is borrowing $3 million in the
form of bonds and an extended line of credit to cover past and potential
future operating deficits faced by the city's hotel and water park.
Click for
Article
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Clearwater Marine
Aquarium gets $1 million gift
CLEARWATER, FL — Winter, the most famous dolphin since Flipper, should have
new digs soon, thanks to a $1 million donation to the Clearwater Marine
Aquarium.
Click
for Article
Seahorse Symphony
exhibit opens at the Living Planet Aquarium
SANDY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - A newly expanded seahorse exhibit called
"Seahorse Symphony" is opening at the Living Planet Aquarium in
Sandy.
Click
for Article
Orphaned,
disabled sea lion thriving at Denver Zoo
Denver, CO - Bismarck the California sea lion is recovering nicely at the
Denver Zoo after a rough start along the Pacific coast. The orphaned pup was
missing his rear flippers when he was discovered next to a Newport Beach pier
in March.
Click for Article
Lawsuit over L.A.
Zoo's elephants moves closer to trial
Los Angeles, CA - Animal welfare advocates who have been battling the Los
Angeles Zoo over its elephant-keeping practices got one step closer to their
day in court today. The California Supreme Court has denied a petition by the
city of Los Angeles to review a Court of Appeal’s decision in September
allowing the animal welfare suit to go to trial.
Click
for Article
Zoo reveals terms
of panda deal with China
Atlanta, GA - Zoo Atlanta's newly negotiated panda loan with the Chinese
government will cost it nearly half of what it has paid over the past decade,
and frees the Atlanta attraction to finally pursue major improvements for the
care and display of other animals.
Click
for Article
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For over 10 years, ITPS has been providing news updates to the industry.
We continually strive to improve our offering and have made some changes to
the news, beginning this week. We hope you find the changes beneficial and
make it easier for you the reader to quickly find the news you want to read.
Please email us for your
feedback and suggestions. Thanks for reading!
To UNSUBSCRIBE
or SUBSCRIBE, Change
Email Address, delivery issues or to send attraction,
facility press releases or job openings to the daily mailing, please email
Shawn.
ITPS Amusement INdustry News now has advertising space
available. ITPS News is the longest continuous email newsletter for the
Leisure Industry. ITPS Amusement INdustry News is read by the Industry's
leaders, decision makers, owners and senior management. Contact Shawn
for advertising details and reasonable rates.
Past editions of the news are available on our website. Click here for
previous daily news updates. To search the archives of ITPS
Amusement News, click here.
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Shawn M. Haas
Vice President of Retail, Operations and Information Technology
International Theme Park Services, Inc
2195 Victory Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45206
513-381-6131 Phone
513-381-2756 Fax
Email Shawn
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