ITPS Amusement INdustry News 12.22.09

[Amanda Salusky]



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Tuesday December 22, 2009
Are you IN? - 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 All of us at ITPS would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please click here for our holiday greetings. ITPS Amusement INdustry News will not be published on December 24 and 25 and will return on Monday, December 28.  Thanks for reading!	Click on the above image for more information regarding Ripley's Franchises.
Amusement park industry sees buyouts, bankruptcies in 2009 It's been a roller coaster year for the amusement park industry. Six Flags filed for bankruptcy, a private equity firm acquired the SeaWorld chain and another private equity firm announced plans to acquire Cedar Fair. Click for Article Six Flags set for reorganization plan trial Theme-park operator Six Flags Inc. may have a confirmation hearing for approval of the reorganization plan that will begin March 8 and may continue until March 19, according to a schedule submitted for the bankruptcy court's approval. Click for Article Monorail guide warned of hazard when trains backed up without a spotter Orlando, FL - The manufacturer of Walt Disney World’s monorail trains warned against the kind of reverse driving that contributed to the system’s first fatal crash this past summer, according to documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. Click for Article Cedar Point donates more than $2,700 to local organizations SANDUSKY, Ohio – During this season of giving, Cedar Point has donated all the money found at the park during the summer to a local organization. This year, the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort has recently given nearly $1,900 to the Victory Temple Soup Kitchen in Sandusky. Click for Article Disney World recession cutbacks result in less face time with the characters Orlando, FL - As the lingering national recession continues to cut into Walt Disney World's profits, theme park and resort hotel restaurants are struggling with an executive decision to reduce character face time with guests. Click for Article Free theme park admission “Heroes to Heroes,” a tribute program has provided free admission to SeaWorld and Busch Gardens for more than 4 million members of U.S. and coalition armed forces and their families has been extended through 2010. Click for Article Enchanted Kingdom's magical Christmas ENCHANTED Kingdom (EK), the Philippines' first and only world-class theme park, invites all young and young-at heart to be part of its dazzling Christmas celebration. Click for Article ‘Bands, Brew & BBQ’ lineups set for SeaWorld, Busch Gardens SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens have announced their lineups for their “Bands, Brew & BBQ” events for February. You may remember it as the “Bud & BBQ” promotion, but the parks’ sale by the InBev/Anheuser-Busch set has necessitated a name tweak. I think everyone still gets the idea.   Click for Article	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.
Toledo Port Authority OKs lease for Maritime Museum VERMILION, OH — The Inland Seas Maritime Museum has taken a step closer to finding a new home port. The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority approved a memorandum of understanding with the museum to move to Toledo from Vermilion. Click for Article World’s Largest Auto Museum of Convertibles and Americana Deer Park, CA - When a full plate of entertainment at the Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo or Sea World isn’t feasible, but you want to get out and do something, the “World’s Largest Auto Museum of Convertibles and Americana” at Deer Park Winery fits the bill. Click for Article Back on track: Double JJ Resort restoring four-season status Oceana County, MI - A dogsled ride is but one of many options for visitors who want to go dashing through the snow at West Michigan’s only destination resort nestled in the hills of southern Oceana County. Click for Article	Click on the above image for Today's Ripley Comic!
Notion of water parks saving hotels evaporates A few short years ago, water parks were seen as the growth agent for the suburban hotel/entertainment scene, with parks planned in a half-dozen communities. But with the downturn in the economy and the evaporation of easy credit, a $25 million park attached to a hotel in Arlington Heights is closing and a $135 million water park and resort in Gurnee has filed for bankruptcy reorganization, though it will continue to operate. Click for Article £5 million to bring Time Capsule leisure centre up to date A POPULAR leisure centre is set to undergo a nine month, £5 million upgrade. The Time Capsule, in Coatbridge, is to get an upgraded leisure pool and health suite. And bosses are also splashing out on a new water slide which is set to be the first of its kind in the UK. Click for Article
Detroit Zoo adds seal to Arctic exhibit Royal Oak -- The Detroit Zoo has a new addition: a rescued harp seal. Pequot, named after an American Indian tribe, will live in the zoo's Arctic Ring of Life -- among the largest seal exhibits in the country. Click for Article Oklahoma City Zoo has goat naming contest The Oklahoma City Zoo is hosting a contest to name 12 Nigerian dwarf goats that will be on exhibit in the new Children’s Zoo, set to open March 12. The contest runs through Jan. 13. All submitted names must be names of towns in Oklahoma. All goats are male. Click for Article Maryland Zoo to remain closed through Christmas BALTIMORE (AP) — The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will stay closed through Christmas because of lingering effects of the weekend's snowstorm. Advertisement The zoo is tentatively set to reopen at 10 a.m. on Dec. 26. Click for Article Denver Zoo Expands Amid Recession DENVER, CO (KUNC) - It's almost show time and Denver Zookeeper Ashley Snow is rehearsing with a young sea lion named Nick. The crowd for today's performance is expected to be solid. But the same can't be said for other zoos across the country. Click for Article New arrivals at Taronga Western Plains Zoo Australia - Taronga Western Plains Zoo has great news to share these school holidays. Visitors to the zoo will be treated to the sight of some special new arrivals, including Amala the greater one-horned rhino and zoo babies including a zebra foal and bison calf. Click for Article Visit the Zoo for Free, Help Set a Record Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville is very close to setting an all-time attendance record. Monday Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel announced they are going to open up the zoo for free this Saturday. As of today, attendance stands close to 197,000. So if more than 3,000 people head to the zoo by the end of the year the goal of 200,000 visitors will be shattered! The zoo plans to give the 200,000th person a free tour and they will get a family membership to the zoo. --End Story-- Click for Article Zoo Atlanta banks another $100K for giant pandas ATLANTA (AP) - Zoo Atlanta is another $100,000 closer to its fundraising goal for the giant pandas. Zoo spokeswoman Keisha Hines says the zoo has raised nearly $345,000 since announcing the "Give So They Can Stay" campaign in June. That's a boost from earlier this month when zoo officials announced they were only halfway toward their $500,000 goal. Click for Article Bristol Zoo Garden's reptile house re-opens United Kingdom - Critically endangered species of tortoise and turtle will be among the new arrivals when Bristol Zoo's Reptile House re-opens. The enclosure re-opened last weekend after extensive improvements which will give keepers better control over temperatures inside. Click for Article
New Vegas Mall Shuns Shopping Cliches Las Vegas, NV - Unlike other casino-bound shopping areas in Las Vegas, there are no gimmicks. Fake gondoliers or shooting flames have been replaced by $300 shoes and $150 lunches. Crystals is about high-end shopping, making you feel like you're in Tokyo and not one of the country's foreclosure capitals. Click for Article Travel 2010: Shanghai, Vancouver, Mexico, Orlando Forecasts for 2010 predict that more people will be traveling, but the numbers are still well below what they were before the recession. Still, if you can afford to get away, interesting events will drawing visitors to destinations around the world, from Shanghai to South Africa to Orlando. Click for Article Top-10 CityCenter facts and figures LAS VEGAS -- Of all the facts and figures that have been tossed around regarding CityCenter, there's one number that always jumps right off the page -- $8.5 billion. It signifies the astounding amount of money it cost to build the new development on the Las Vegas Strip and it's a price tag that will be well worth it if CityCenter can help revitalize this great city like most people are hoping it will. Click for Article Hotel rooms in Orlando area still go begging Orlando, FL - Orlando hotels in November were like retail stores this year on Black Friday: They had a few more customers than a year ago, but those customers were spending less. Area hotels managed to increase their average occupancy ever so slightly last month compared with a dismal November 2008, but the gain came with lower room prices. Click for Article Tourist attractions in Singapore gearing up for 2010 SINGAPORE : Tourist attractions in Singapore are pulling out all the stops to draw in visitors this festive season. And they are not stopping there. Many of them said visitors can expect more promotions and events in 2010. Click for Article
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.	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