ITPS Amusement INdustry News 2.17.11

[Shawn Haas]



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Click for more information regarding Ripley's Franchises.	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 can Assist in Improving Business Operations Our clients find comfort in our tried and tested methods of improving their business operations and presenting them with solutions. We provide the highest quality advisory services and offer “alternatives” when it may appear there are none. We have affiliated professionals in investment banking, financing, accounting, law, restructuring, and bankruptcy. ITPS Developing New Parks Attractions In its traditional business - ITPS has the experience to develop, operate, enhance, and more for your new or existing facility. From the initial feasibility study, to design, site selection, to the operational manuals and on-site training, product selection, management, facility audits, and more. Our experience is extremely varied, and we utilize professionals with relevant expertise when necessary, but we always deliver value. We look forward to speaking with you about your individual needs and appreciate your referrals. Call 513-381-6131 for details.
	Thursday February 17, 2011
	Behind the screams: Kennywood in winter PA - Excited shrieks of children have long faded from Kennywood amusement park. The calliope of the carousel has fallen silent. The ski lift chairs used to transport visitors from distant parking lots dangle in the wind. Click for Article Disney recalls watches sold in theme parks Federal regulators and the Walt Disney Co.'s theme-park division on Wednesday recalled roughly 1,200 watches sold in recent months in Disney's U.S. theme parks. Click for Article Build-A-Dino store inside Downtown Disney’s T-Rex is rare find FL - Does your child love going to Build-A-Bear Workshop? If so, maybe a visit to Build-A-Dino would be a happy surprise. There are only a handful of the dinosaur stores across the nation, and one is located inside the T-Rex restaurant at Downtown Disney in Lake Buena Vista. Click for Article Disneyland launches Mardi Gras events Friday CA - Disneyland is kicking off its final theme of a series of weekend events Friday with Mardi Gras celebrations. Click for Article Lake Compounce eagerly awaits spring to unveil new ride CT - SOUTHINGTON — Though snow piles are still prominent around town, Lake Compounce is already planning for warmer weather. Tuesday night the Planning and Zoning Commission approved an application for a new deck at the theme park, which will go along with a new ride the park hopes to unveil at it's opening in May. Click for Article SeaWorld Offers Free Annual Passes to Teachers CA - A (killer) whale of a deal for teachers in the Lemon Grove School District was announced Wednesday by SeaWorld San Diego. The theme park is saluting Southern California K-12 credentialed teachers by offering them unlimited admission for free through the end of the year. Click for Article Disneyland to boost Shanghai's status as world tourism city China - Shanghai will accelerate its efforts to become a world-famous tourist city during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) and plans to invest 40 billion yuan in 13 major tourist projects, including the Disneyland theme park, which will start construction next month. Click for Article Winter Haven: See Legoland, then stay FL - WINTER HAVEN -- Winter Haven wants to be known for more than Legoland. City leaders spent much of Wednesday afternoon telling their economic development consultants what they want to see come to fruition. Click for Article Hengqin "Ocean Kingdom" to open next year China - The "Ocean Kingdom" is regarded as a "super theme park", and a strong competitor to the Ocean Park Hong Kong. It will be opened to tourists in 2012. The area is five times larger than that of its counterpart. Click for Article Large fire destroys part of Talon Falls Halloween theme park GRAVES COUNTY, KY (KFVS) - Traffic is back to normal on Highway 849 in Graves County this morning. The highway was closed for a couple of hours last night as crews battled a huge blaze at the Talon Falls Halloween theme park. Click for Article Smoke, Not Sharks Evacuates SeaWorld Restaurant ORLANDO, Fla. -- A restaurant a SeaWorld Orlando was evacuated Wednesday. Sharks Underwater Grill, the restaurant attached to the Shark Encounter, was evacuated after reports of smoke. Click for Article
	Pirate experience takes over show in Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach, SC - A massive lagoon will take center stage, with dueling pirates, hydraulic bridges and more aerial acts, at Dolly Parton's overhauled theater show in Myrtle Beach. Since the beginning of the year, crews have been transforming what was a dirt battleground arena at Dixie Stampede into a water-based atmosphere fit for the new Pirates Voyage show, which will debut June 3. Click for Article Dave & Buster’s Inc. Announces Offering of 12.25% Senior Discount Notes due 2016 DALLAS -- Dave & Buster’s Inc., a leading operator of high volume entertainment/dining complexes, today announced that its indirect parent holding company, Dave & Buster’s Parent, Inc. (“Parent”), intends to offer 12.25% Senior Discount Notes due 2016 (the “Notes”) generating gross proceeds of approximately $100 million. Parent intends to use all of the net proceeds of the offering to pay a dividend to, or repurchase a portion of Parent’s common stock owned by, its stockholders and to pay related fees and expenses. Click for Article EnterTRAINment Junction revamps its 7,000-square-foot maze area into circus-themed attractions. WEST CHESTER TWP. — Starting next month, EnterTRAINment Junction will transform into a circus. On March 1, the train-centric attraction in West Chester Twp. plans to open the “A-Maze-N FunHouse,” replete with all kinds of circus-style attractions. Click for Article
	Batavia: Hotel water park site plans OK'd NY - BATAVIA — The Batavia town Planning Board has given final approval to site plans for a proposed year-round indoor water park at the Clarion Hotel on Park Road. The approval, during the board’s Tuesday night meeting, is based on the project meeting town engineering requirements. Click for Article Dunes' Aquatic Park to Open Memorial Day Weekend CA - Memorial Day Weekend generally signals the start of summer and Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort is making its annual “splash” by opening its popular Aquatic Water Park daily that weekend (weekend only hours will begin in April). Click for Article Where will Agassiz put a water park? Canada - Agassiz may one day have a splash park, similar to those found in communities like Chilliwack and Abbotsford. And next Monday, the public is invited to listen to discussions about where that park could go. An open meeting of the committee of the whole will start at 5 p.m. in the District of Kent's council chambers. Click for Article
	Dolphin exhibit at Georgia Aquarium opening in April GA - After nearly three years of planning and construction and one postponed opening, Georgia Aquarium's $110 million dolphin attraction will open April 2. Click for Article Akron Zoo’s Snow Bowl fundraiser a success DOWNTOWN AKRON, Ohio — The Akron Zoo’s 24th annual fundraiser Snow Bowl, which took place Jan. 29 at Stonehedge Family Fun Center, raised more than $30,000 for the animals at the zoo. Click for Article Zoo Thanks Supporters Of Cocktails For Conservation TN - The Chattanooga Zoo would like to thank the many supporters that attended its semi-annual Cocktails for Conservation fundraiser on Friday. The event drew in more than 200 people, making it one of the most highly attended Cocktails for Conservation. Click for Article Metro visitor venues generate $680 mil; 7,000 local jobs PORTLAND, OR  — A new analysis released last week of the fiscal and economic impacts generated by four Metro-managed venues revealed good news for the Portland metropolitan region’s economy. During the agency’s 2010 fiscal year, nearly 3.4 million people visited the four venues — the Oregon Convention Center, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, the Oregon Zoo and the Expo Center — catalyzing $680 million in direct and induced spending throughout the region. Click for Article
	Foreign tourism bodies gear up to attract Koreans As much as Korea wants to draw foreign tourists to generate income and promote its international image, foreign countries are also making greater efforts to attract Koreans to spend money on their goods and services. Click for Article Las Vegas Rocks Cafe closes at Neonopolis, and we’re surprised … why, exactly? Las Vegas - The rule of the land in VegasVille is, when the mayor warns you about doing business on one of the city’s most famous corners, it’s probably a good idea to heed that warning. Click for Article Lehman Brothers won’t oppose planned Town Square mall foreclosure Las Vegas - Bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. won't be standing in the way of the planned foreclosure of the big Town Square mall and office complex in Las Vegas. Click for Article
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	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. Visit news.interthemepark.com for 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.