Bemusement - The Attractions Industry Blog

Greg Van Gompel

Greg Van Gompel has been Legal Counsel to the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) since 1990.

Besides his current work for NAPHA, Greg is also staff attorney for West, a Thomson Reuters business and counsel to the non-profit entities of the Savage Arts Council and the Suburban Home-Based Business Association. In the past, Greg has been in-house General Counsel responsible for a transportation company’s safety and environmental compliance together with its insurance procurement. He has also directed its employee benefit program, collected and sued on its delinquent accounts receivable and coordinated replevin of leased equipment.

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Thursday, October 06, 2011 A Whale’s Tale: SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment LLC vs. Marineland of Canada Inc. 2011 ONCA 616    This case, providing the public a rare glimpse of the marine mammal entertainment industry, pits parties that have had a mutually beneficial working relationship for almost 30 years.
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Monday, June 13, 2011 A theme park may be liable in negligence for allowing head-on collisions on a bumper car    When can an operator be negligent for allowing a bumper car to bump into another car? Possibly when it is a head-on collision says the Sixth Appellate District of the Court of Appeals for the State of California in the case of Nalwa v. Cedar Fair, L.P. The court reversed the district court that dismissed the lawsuit on summary judgment....View more

Wednesday, April 06, 2011 New rides rules issued for the Canadian province of Alberta    Last week, the Canadian province of Alberta announced it was implementing new rules to further enhance amusement ride safety within the province presumably for both permanent and mobile rides. The new rules were developed as a result of the province’s investigation into a Scorpion ride accident on July 16, 2010, at the Calgary Stampede....View more

Thursday, February 24, 2011 California: Requesting Zip Code information from Amusement Park guests gets more complicated    Picture this familiar scene at an amusement park near you. A customer steps up to the entrance booth to purchase admission to the attraction and pulls out a credit card to pay.
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Friday, December 31, 2010 Anticipated Legal Issues in the Amusement Industry for 2011    As we close out of the calendar year of 2010, it is a good time to look forward into the New Year that is upon us. I have listed some things I think are worth following in the amusement industry in 2011 and hope to keep you updated on them as we experience the New Year. Here’s wishing you a prosperous and Happy New Year....View more

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 Favourite ride unavailable? Refunds recommended in Taiwan.    Imagine what you’d do if your facility had to meet these Taiwan regulations....View more

Friday, October 01, 2010 Waterparks: Security in changing rooms – How vulnerable is your facility?    Back in the earlier days of public bathhouses and changing rooms, the buildings were built from cement blocks and facilities used attendants near the entrance of the women’s area and the men’s area to ensure that individuals of the proper sex entered the respective areas.
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Monday, September 20, 2010 Amusement Rides: Operator of Extreme World SCAD charged with felony    33 year old Wisconsin man charged with one count of first-degree reckless injury following recent incident.
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Saturday, August 07, 2010 Happy Eating at Dutch Amusement Parks    A recent article in the DagjeWeg stated that since the food safety records for eight amusement parks in the Netherlands was so outstanding, the nVWA (Food Safety Authority) would only visit them once every three years instead of the Authority’s annual inspection......View more

Monday, June 21, 2010 Waterparks and the Breast-Feeding Controversy    Here is an issue that, for park operators in the US, has all the ingredients of a made-for-TV news story - for all the wrong reasons. Mom comes to your waterpark with toddler either alone or with friends or family. She breastfeeds her baby in public. Some of your other visitors are offended and complain. What do you do?...View more

Friday, June 11, 2010 What is enough time to build a Casino?    In 2006, Philadelphia Entertainment and Development Partners, L.P. (PEDP), consisting of the Foxwoods group won in a five-way bidding for two slots licenses for the city. The Foxwoods investors include the Mashantucket Pequot tribe of Connecticut, as well as the charitable interests of three prominent local entrepreneurs: Center City developer Ron Rubin, New Jersey lawyer Lewis Katz, and Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider....
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Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Are amusement rides part of the real property?    The Feb 22 story in Crain’s New York reporting that Kentucky officials are suing bankrupt theme park operator Six Flags Inc. over ownership of rides and equipment at a shuttered amusement park in Louisville was something I expected to see after public comments made by the Kentucky State Fair Board officials and the people at Six Flags....View more

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 “Busted” at Mall of America – a Lesson in Amusement Park Security    I’m a person who takes a camera wherever I go. As Legal Counsel for the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA), I never know when I'll be at a location that has a link to the amusement industry, however passing or remote....View more

Friday, January 22, 2010 Theme parks & resorts : Pondering safety and legal liability    Over the past 2 months, I have traveled to several different cities and enjoyed the sights. My travels required me to stay several nights at various hotels and motels. And it seems to me that, given the times we live in, even with a reasonable duty of care that innkeepers legally have to their patrons obvious safety measures seemed to be lacking....View more

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 Theme Parks: Paultons Park gets approval for Cobra    A separate application to retain the Cobra steel rollercoaster at Paulton's Park was approved this morning at the NPA's headquarters.   The approval means the Gerstlauer customer coaster, complete with its control building, catering kiosk and photography booth, can stay in its current location and does not have to be scrapped or moved.
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009 Amusement Parks: Paulton's Park pickle - update    It appears that Paulton's Park may try to get clearance from the NPA for the Cobra roller coaster as it may be the quieter of the 2 rides and did not garner near as much criticism by the park's opposition as did the newly installed Edge Disk-O coaster. Besides, the Edge is probably the easier ride to relocate of the two......View more

Thursday, October 29, 2009 Amusement Parks: Paulton's Park pickle underscores the importance of prior planning approval for new rides or attractions    Business owners at times forget the control local and regional governments have over the development of their business or real property......View more

Monday, June 22, 2009 Waterparks: Chemicals and Safety    With all the water safety instruction supplied by such institutions as the International Association of Amusement Park and Attractions, World Waterpark Association......View more

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 Amusement Parks: Between a Rock and a Hard Rock...    As a followup to the (Hard Rock Park) story, Judge Carey made a decision yesterday via a telephone conference saying that he would not finalize the sale as requested by the park's new buyers......View more

Friday, March 27, 2009 Amusement Parks: What do you mean we don’t have all the rights in the former Hard Rock Park?    An interesting legal question is being discussed in the federal bankruptcy court in Delaware today. The park’s former CEO and two other founders of the park formed an entity called H.R.P. Creative Services Co., LLC in Florida......View more

Monday, March 16, 2009 Amusement Law: There’s more than bad guys lurking around the corner at a Wild West Show    If you enjoy amusement parks, you have probably experienced those funny and sometimes scary Wild West Shows. Wild West themed areas in amusement parks can be found throughout the world.
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