Theme Park Insider

New HD video of Cedar Point's Millennium Force

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Cedar Point has released its official, high definition, point-of-view video of its Intamin Giga roller coaster, Millennium Force:

Update: I just updated the Raptor and Top Thrill Dragster pages with new POV videos from Cedar Point.

Vote of the week: Holiday traditions and cranberry sauce

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:30:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Next week brings the Thanksgiving holiday to the United States. More than any other time of year, it seems, the holiday period between Thanksgiving and New Year's causes people to fall back into family and personal traditions.

One tradition now seems to be jumping the gun. Most theme parks that remain open for the holiday season already have put up their Christmas trees and holiday lights. But no one seems to mind. Crowds pack the parks during the holiday season, encouraging some regional parks to reopen for these weeks, such as Busch Gardens Williamsburg, which will run its Christmastown event this season.

Individuals have their traditions, too. One for me is a particular reader vote that I run every year on the Friday before Thanksgiving. (Long-time readers will recognize it, I am sure.) This tradition is so old that, this year, it has outlived the publication where I began it. Denver's Rocky Mountain News, on whose website I worked in the late 1990s, folded last winter. (If you hail from the Denver area and are missing the more popular Thanksgiving tradition from that newspaper, here's a link to Gene Amole's stuffing recipe.)

So here it is:

poll by twiigs.com

From a can, or from the stove top? You tell me, in the comments.

By the way, notice something missing from this picture?

Consider this an escalation of my campaign to persuade Holiday World to add cranberry sauce to the turkey meals at Plymouth Rock Cafe. Whether you prefer cranberries from the can or the bag, I hope you'll agree that cranberry sauce makes a great addition to a Thanksgiving meal.

Have a great weekend, and I'm thankful for you reading Theme Park Insider!

Update: Holiday World tweets: "Sorry, dear, you're in the minority on that one. Haven't offered cranberry sauce since '07. Just didn't move. Happy Thanksgiving!"

Nooooo! I need a black-market source for cranberry sauce next time I'm in Santa Claus, then. Help!

Disney Legends recall Walt Disney and the 'Yes, if....' way of management

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:53:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: LAS VEGAS - Walt Disney didn't create or build the theme park industry, contrary to what some folks have claimed over the years. What he did, veteran attraction designer Bob Rogers said, was to create and manage the team that built the theme park industry.

With that, Rogers introduced a panel of five Disney legends who were part of that team: Sculptor Blaine Gibson, Engineer Bob Gurr, Consultant Harrison "Buzz" Price, Composer Richard Sherman and Imagineer Marty Sklar.

From left, Marty Sklar, Blaine Gibson, Bob Gurr, Richard Sherman, Buzz Price and Bob Rogers

Combined, these five men possess more than a quarter millennium of experience and wisdom in the theme park industry, Rogers said. Rogers, founder and CEO of BRC Imagination Arts and a former THEA Lifetime Achievement Award winner, brought together these colleagues of Walt Disney at the 2009 IAAPA Attractions Expo to talk about what made Walt's management style so effective, and what today's managers might learn from the way Walt did it.

Working with Walt, Gurr said, "you're going to leave the room more inspired than when you came in it. To me, that's leadership."

Walt hated negativity, Sherman added. He was a very positive man who focused on making improvements, rather than laying blame. Sherman told of one Disney co-worker who criticized a gag in a film the group was working on.

Walt erupted.

"'I don't care if you don't like it,' Walt said. 'Tell me what we can do to make it better'," Sherman recalled.

What an amazing statement. I've worked for my share of graduates of the Marquis de Sade School of Management. (I'm sure that some of you have, too.) These sadists seem to think that managing demands laying blame for every slip-up or missed opportunity - as if the threat of criticism alone will inspire employees to work better.

Walt found a way to push improvement without laying blame. Take a look at what he said - he's not glossing over a problem with the gag. He implicitly acknowledges it could be better. But rather than indulge an employee's criticism of another worker, he demands a positive, forward-thinking attitude - "what we can do to make it better."

All the panelists told stories about how Walt kept employees engaged and contributing by not shooting down suggestions, but instead steering employees toward improving their ideas.

Price described Walt's approach to suggestions as the difference between responding "'Yes, if...' or 'No, because...'."

Harrison 'Buzz' Price

Nor did Walt offer his employees empty praise.

"There were no 'attaboys' from Walt," Gurr said.

"All we ever heard was "'Hmm. That'll work'," Sherman said.

But that didn't mean Walt couldn't be effusive with praise. He'd walk down the hall and gush about an employee's ideas to co-workers, who'd then head back up the hall to see what that employee was doing and to congratulate him, Gurr said.

"You had to get [praise] second-hand," Gurr said. "That way, no one got a puffy head."

"He knew how to use one employee's word to stimulate another," Gibson added.

"Walt was the greatest casting director who ever lived," Sklar said. "He knew not to pigeon-hole anyone. You never know what you might find when you give someone an opportunity."

Marty Sklar, left, and Blaine Gibson

Indeed, Sklar joined the company as a UCLA journalism student in 1955, hired to write a tabloid newspaper for Main Street U.S.A. He went on to write for Walt for 10 years, and eventually ended up as president of Walt Disney Imagineering. Gibson joined the movie studio as an animator and ended up as the lead sculptor for WDI. Bob Gurr holds a degree not in engineering, but in design.

"Bob never engineered anything... except everything at Disneyland," Sklar quipped.

To drive home the point, Rogers turned to the audience and asked for a show of hands: "Think back to what you studied in school. Now, how many of you are doing something fundamentally different?"

The majority of the audience raised their hands.

The key to sticking with Walt was never to tell him 'no,' but instead find a way to rise to the challenges that he gave you, Sherman said.

Gurr told about being hired to design the shells of Disneyland's Autopia cars, then being asked by Walt to design the rest of the cars, too. When the ride opened, it ran 40 cars. By the end of its first week, only two still worked, Gurr said.

"That was a pretty good invitation that you needed to learn more," Gurr said of his experience. He said that Walt asked him what he needed to make the cars work more reliably.

"Well, a couple of mechanics to work here and keep the cars repaired," Gurr replied. Within hours, workers showed up at the Autopia site to build a garage.

"Walt could see a need and fix it," Gurr said. "But he didn't criticize the situation you found yourself in."

"Enthusiasm was one of [Walt's] greatest assets in teaching," Gibson said.

Ultimately, that enthusiasm paid off.

"One thing that [Walt] never let is forget was it is all about the audience," Sklar said. "Do something that people would like."

Something theme park audiences have loved over the years has been the music of the Sherman Brothers. Richard Sherman closed the session by spending 10 minutes on the piano, recalling the circumstances under which he and his brother wrote some of the Disney theme parks' most beloved music, including "In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room," "There's a Great, Big Beautiful Tomorrow" and, of course, "It's a Small World."

Richard Sherman

My audio recording of Sherman's performance is available at this link.

From the show floor at the 2009 IAAPA Attractions Expo

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:34:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: LAS VEGAS - [*Updated throughout with photos and additional detail.] Scenes from the 2009 IAAPA Attractions Expo:

I bumped into Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro this morning, and he's trying to manage expectations for Magic Mountain's new roller coaster. We've known it will be a family coaster, bur Shapiro said to think even smaller than that.

Terminator Jr., anyone?

Six Flags' bigger news, which I didn't get to ask Shapiro about, is that the chain will install an attraction from 5D International in Spring 2011. No word yet on which park, but I talked with the folks at 5D and the tech seems impressive. (Think 4D show inside a ride.)

If you're mourning the loss of Big Bad Wolf and other suspended coasters, keep your eyes open for the new Free Fly Coaster from S & S. It's two four-seat verticle benches, swinging freely on either side of a coaster track. It reminds me of a milder version of X2, with a suspended coaster feel.

A prototype ran this summer in Sweden, and an S & S rep boasted that it didn't suffer any downtime. Yet she said that while several US parks have expressed interest, the economy seems to be stronger in Europe, prompting more serious interest there.

The Gravity Group was showing off its new Timberliner train cars, which will be installed on The Voyage at Holiday World this spring.

If you're going to ride a kiddie car ride, why not ride in style?

Chance Morgan was showing off this Ferrari ride vehicle, which will be features at the new Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi next year. Middle Eastern parks are a bit beyond my radar, but Arthur Levine has been keeping track of what will be in the new park.

Mack has blended the Splash Battle and the classic Teacup spinner in its new Twist 'N' Splash shoot-'em-up soaker:

Finally, because I knew someone would ask, here is the Bolliger & Mabillard booth. Not much action in the coaster leader's exhibit this year, but they did bring along a B & M Mega coaster car:

Later today, I will post a write-up of the afternoon session with five Disney theme park legends: Blaine Gibson, Bob Gurr, Harrison "Buzz" Price, Richard Sherman and Marty Sklar.

The IAAPA Attractions Expo isn't held for theme park fans. It's an industry gig, where you can find vendors hawking everything from greaseless frying machines to light-up cotton candy cones.

Need thatching for a tiki hut? Non-skid surface material for walkways or rubbery pebble material for playgrounds? Tons and tons of carnival prize plush, at low wholesale prices? Someone on the IAAPA show floor can hook you up.

I enjoyed checking out the new trends in food options. Based on what I saw on the floor, look for crepes to make a bigger presence in theme parks in the year ahead. I also was intrigued by potato chips on a stick.

But the wildest food exhibit has to be one that Bob Rogers tipped to me: A vendor who combined a restaurant lobster tank with a carnival "claw" prize game. For $2 a pull, you can try to extract a live lobster from the tank.

One one hand... ewww. On the other, how did it take someone this long to combine those concepts?

Yeah, that's the IAAPA show floor.

Disney's Victoria & Albert's awarded AAA's 5 Diamond rating 10th year in a row

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:30:00 GMT

By Scott Joseph: Walt Disney World's Victoria & Albert's restaurant has been awarded AAA's coveted 5 Diamond rating for the 10th consecutive year. Only 52 restaurants out of 60,000 rated in North America achieve the ultimate rating. Read more about the guidelines at http://tinyurl.com/yfnb3bc

On the road to Las Vegas

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:57:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: I am on the road to Las Vegas this morning, for the annual IAAPA Attractions Expo. I'll be posting to Twitter while I am there, as well as trying to make a couple posts here to the Blog Flume.

A full write-up will follow here on the Flume, either later tonight or tomorrow (depending upon when I get back in LA).

Have a great day, and... Vegas, baby, Vegas!

Christmas gifts for theme park fans: 'Buzz' Price's memoir about the founders of the theme park industry

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:54:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: If someone you know has any interest in the topic of how the world's top theme parks came to be, you've got to get them this book - Walt's Revolution!: By the Numbers by Harrison "Buzz" Price. I was given a copy of this book last year by Buzz's friend Bob Rogers, and couldn't put it down once I started.

I wrote a bit about this book earlier this month in a post about Walt Disney's Mineral King ski resort, which the company abandoned after Walt's death. Price was the consultant who helped select the site for Mineral King, as well as for Disneyland, Walt Disney World and many other popular theme parks.

Yeah, I'm a stats geek in addition to being a theme park fan. So I found fascinating Buzz's look into the numbers behind the decisions to build and expand theme parks. Although there's a fair amount of data in the book, at its heart, it is a personal story, with dozens of vignettes about working with Walt, as well as with SeaWorld's George Millay, Six Flags' Angus Wynne and Universal's Lew Wasserman.

The book's not easy to find - generally unavailable in bookstore. But it is on Amazon from several resellers. I can't recommend it enough.

On a related note, tomorrow I will be at the IAAPA [International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions] Expo in Las Vegas. (Industry insiders, if you're there and see me, please say hi!) During the day, I'm planning on attending what sounds like a dream panel with Bob and Buzz, as well as Disney's Marty Sklar and Richard Sherman. I'll post updates throughout the day to Theme Park Insider's Twitter feed, then post a write-up here on the Blog Flume.

So please follow TPI on Twitter if you haven't already and keep reading the Flume for more features from the show.

Disney releases video of new Lincoln animatronic

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:47:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Disney today released a new promotional video, providing a first look at the most life-like facial expressions yet created for a Disney animatronic. It's the new Abraham Lincoln for the soon-to-reopen Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland.

The close-up of the new Lincoln's face is at the end of the video. Wow.

Is Mickey Mouse a Red Sox fan?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:16:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Or does he just not like A-Rod?

TH Creative, do you have inside info on Mickey's thoughts on sports? :-)

How to save money for your theme park family vacation: An interview with Liz Pulliam Weston

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:17:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Guest Q & A: Early November might be the most important time of the year for theme park fans.

Huh? I hear you asking. Most parks are closed for the winter. Even the year-round parks are having their lowest attendance of the year. Most parks already have announced their new ride for the 2010. How can this time of year be so important?

Because it is the time of year that can make or break your financial ability to go on the theme park vacation you want next year. Spend foolishly now, and holiday bills will sap your bank account throughout 2010, leaving you unable to afford the vacation you want.

But save wisely now, and you'll be enjoying a stress-free theme park visit in 2010 - paid for by money in the bank.

How can you make that happen? I've enlisted the help of the Web's premier personal finance expert, Liz Pulliam Weston, who joins us on Theme Park Insider for our Guest Q & A today.

I worked with Liz for a short time when we were both at the Los Angeles Times. She, of course, went on to bigger and better things. Today, Liz Pulliam Weston is the Internet's most-read personal finance columnist and the author of "Your Credit Score: Your Money and What's at Stake." You can find her online at MSN as well as on her personal finance blog.

Robert: We've long advised our readers to save in advance for their vacations, rather than borrowing the money by paying with credit cards. (Cards are okay, especially if you are earning points, but only if you pay the balance immediately.) But *how* should people save? Their regular bank account? A special account? A jar in the kitchen? (Hey, seeing that jar everyday would provide motivation....)

Liz: Indeed it would, although I�m thinking of that sequence in the movie �Up� where they keep breaking into their jar to pay for life�s various setbacks! Any time you put money aside, you�ll be tempted to spend it, especially if it�s right under your nose.

So set up the jar for the occasional small family contributions. But also set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to a savings account. I�m a big fan of online banks� savings accounts. They tend not to have minimum account balances or monthly fees, so your money is left alone to grow. It�s really easy to set up a transfer from your regular checking account, and it�s a little bit �out of sight, out of mind,� since you�re not seeing the balance every time you check your regular bank accounts.

Robert: What are a few, relatively simple things that readers can do to save a few extra bucks each day, money that they can then save for a vacation, or whatever other goals we have?

Liz: There are lots of things you can do to trim your budget, including stuff that you might not want to do forever, but you can do for a short time because you know it�s getting you closer to your goal.

The typical family spends thousands of dollars a year on eating out. Anything you can do to trim that bill will help. We�re all busy, so one of the easy ways to cut the food bill is to make double portions when you cook and freeze the excess for a later meal. Also, shop using the weekly ads. The items featured on the first page are often the store�s loss leaders. Plan your meals around those cheaper items, have one meatless meal a week, pack lunches, snacks and drinks and you�ll save a ton of cash. Sites like CouponMom.com can help alert you to the really big sales and show you which coupons to use to get the maximum discounts.

You can save a small fortune by giving up a habit. Some are easier to shed than others. If your family drinks a lot of soda, switch to tap water. If you�re a drinker of alcoholic beverages, cut back there. If you�re a smoker, ditto. Keep a picture that represents your vacation on your fridge so you can remind yourself why you�re making this sacrifice.

What we're saving for in the Niles household....

Another big money-sucker is your television. Most people pay for cable or satellite and many pay for extras, such as premium channels and movies on demand. But unplugging the tube for a few months can save you money in other ways, since you�re not constantly bombarded with ads that are expertly crafted to make you want to buy more stuff you don�t need.

Whatever expense you trim, it�s really important that you divert the money you save into your savings account. If you don�t, it will just get spent on something else.

Robert: What are the biggest rip-offs in travel expenses these days? (Unnecessary fees and charges that too many people end up paying for?) How can we avoid them?

Liz: We could write a whole book about that, couldn�t we?

People really get clobbered on fees when they�re not prepared. Some don�t realize that most airlines charge for the first checked bag now. Others don�t weigh their luggage before they go and get smacked with overweight fees. Or they think they can still get a drink or a snack on the plane, not realizing they could blow their whole food budget for the day before they ever get to their destination.

My advice these days is to expect to pay for everything (except maybe to use the bathroom, although that may change). Make sure you bring your own meals, snacks, entertainment system and headphones. These items are helpful for any mode of travel, but especially airplanes, which charge for almost everything that used to be free.

And prepare for the worst. I always stash a few Zone bars in my purse and carryon, in addition to whatever food we�re carrying, in case the trip takes longer than we think. If you�ve got a baby, bring four times the number of diapers you think you�ll need. Just think about those folks trapped on airport tarmacs for 9 hours.

The rental car counter is the place where some of the most outrageous fleecing takes place. You can�t do much about the various taxes they pile on (although it�s awful that visitors get tapped to pay for facilities that benefit locals far more, such as stadiums). But if you have a gold or platinum credit card and decent auto insurance, you can waive the add-on insurance. The up-sell can be relentless at the counter, so try to figure out in advance what you need for your trip and resist the efforts to get you to spend more.

Robert: Okay, the flip side: Are there any seemingly extra expenses associated with vacations that many people skip but really shouldn't?

Liz: The whole flying experience has become so grim that sometimes it�s worth paying a few fees to have a better experience. If you�re traveling with family, for example, pay to check your bags. It�s so much better than trying to drag everything through security and then find space on the plane.

Because I travel a lot, I also think it�s worth investing in a pass to an airport lounge. I can use it to get business stuff done when I�m traveling on my own and it provides a little sanctuary when traveling with my family.

I�d also budget for at least one meal out a day, even if you�re making food the rest of the time in your room. Chances are it�s Mom making all those meals, and she could use a break.

Robert: What's the better "bang for the buck"? A single, big vacation during the year, or several, shorter "mini vacations"?

Liz: I�m a big fan of little get-aways, because coordinating more time off is tough with our family schedule. But we still try to get in one longer vacation at least once a year. You need more time to really get relaxed. And I think we should try for one really �big� trip�either a foreign locale or a trip that takes more than two weeks�every few years if we possibly can. Those big trips create lasting memories and can give you a whole new perspective on your life.

Robert: Is there any difference between using a credit card or a debit card on vacation? If so, which should vacationers use?

Liz: The only time I pull out a debit card on vacation is to use it at a bank ATM to get cash for tips and taxis. Everything else goes on the credit card.

A debit card helps keep you from overspending, but it�s tied directly to your checking account. If a bad guy gets hold of the card or the number, your account can be drained in seconds, and it can take days if not weeks to get the money back.

That�s a huge contrast to a credit card. If your credit card is compromised, you don�t have to pay the charges. You�re issued a new card and life goes on.

Also, the credit card serves as a middleman if there are any problems or disputes with what you buy on the card. Things can go wrong on vacation and I like that extra layer of security knowing I have a �court of appeals� if I don�t get what I paid for.

Robert: How can readers motivate their kids to become savers in advance of a family vacation?

Liz: The coin jar/piggy bank approach works really well. I think kids should have an allowance as soon as they understand money buys stuff, and we can encourage them to set a portion of that allowance aside for the trip.

But I�d also encourage them to raise money for their vacations. Have a lemonade stand, walk the neighbor�s dogs, mow lawns, whatever. That gives them experience in being entrepreneurs and shows them that if they want something, they can create the money to get it.