Legal/safety

Thursday, August 12, 2010 Is the UK Government doing enough for Tourism? Many hoped UK attractions would gain a boost from a new administration which would truly recognise the enormous benefits to the country of a vital and thriving tourism sector and look to support it through appropriate legislation. Merlin CEO Nick Varney's response to Prime Minister Cameron's speech today is instructive ...
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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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Friday, April 23, 2010 Corporate manslaughter laws (UK) and the amusement industry What constitutes appropriate punitive measures in case of serious injury or death at a theme park or visitor attraction?...View more

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

Monday, February 15, 2010 Are Farm Animal Attractions and Petting Zoos too dangerous for young children? Following a serious outbreak of E.coli 0157 in the UK, during the latter part of 2009 which saw a number of children hospitalised and several farm attractions closed, Professor Hugh Pennington, Emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that parents should "think hard" before letting children, particularly those under the age of 5, touch animals at petting farms....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

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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Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Amusement Law: Legal Learning at WWA and IAAPA For those interested in legal and regulatory issues, fall is a useful time as it’s the season when some of the industry’s largest associations hold their annual conventions.
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Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Amusement Law : How IALDA Serves the Amusement Park Industry, Legally Speaking Many industries have lawyers who specialize in legal issues that matter most to that particular industry. Fortunately, such a legal group also exists for the amusement industry...
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Tuesday, September 09, 2008 Halloween Risk Management for Amusement Parks: Curbing the Scary Specter of Legal Liability Now that Labor Day has passed, many parks are gearing down for the close of this year’s season. However, a growing trend within the industry has been to keep certain operations going through the Halloween-time....View more

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Amusement Law : Theme Park Trends in Central Florida and the Game of "What-If?" I sat down last weekend to write about local government regulatory issues that have slowed, stalled and even stopped new projects from opening, and which vex a wide variety of operators. Then, a fascinating conversation with an industry insider prompted a quick change in direction ....View more

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Amusement law: Snakes Alive! Amusement Legal and Business Update This week’s column starts out with an update to one of last week’s stories. Word continues to spread that the Busch/World of Discovery parks will be sold once InBev completes its purchase of Anheuser. What’s becoming especially interesting is the list of potential suitors that are popping up in published reports:...View more

Wednesday, August 06, 2008 Amusement Law: As the Summer Season Winds Down… Here in the States, August means that the peak summer amusement park season is beginning to wind down since many states now start their school years well ahead of the Labor Day weekend (though efforts continue to reverse that trend and return school starts to their traditional post-Labor Day spot). With amusement park facilities hopefully wrapping up a successful season, this week’s Update focuses on a series of quick legal and business notes facing the industry these days....View more

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Abandoned Waterparks , the World’s Best Roller Coasters and One Mighty Big Fish tank

This weekend’s Sunday Telegraph carried a neat piece about the roller coaster industry, journalist Rose George travelling to Alton Towers to experience the theme park's famed Nemesis coaster and over to Switzerland (the offices are in “…Monthey, a small, less than beautiful city on a plain between dramatic Alps and more dramatic Alps”) to meet Walter Bolliger of Bolliger & Mabillard ...

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Amusement Law: InBev/Busch Gardens Africa? InBev / Busch Gardens Africa? This week’s Update begins with word that Anheuser-Busch may be selling its chain of theme parks (the Busch Gardens and SeaWorlds, in particular) now that the domestic beer giant has been purchased by, InBev, one of Europe’s largest brewers.
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Wednesday, July 16, 2008 Amusement Law: How the Airline and Amusement Industries are Tied Together With the recent high-profile failures of major U.S. banks and lenders like IndyMac, the troubled domestic airline industry has been given a respite from harrowing headlines. However, that doesn’t mean the threat to their business model has gone away. Indeed, with oil surpassing $145 per barrel (and going higher at a brisk clip), most U.S. commercial airlines are facing bleak prospects in both the short and long terms. So, why does this matter to the amusement park and recreation industry?...View more

Wednesday, July 09, 2008 Amusement Law: Gun Laws and the Amusement Industry Take Center Stage Welcome to the first Blooloop Legal and Regulatory Update. I’ll be writing this on-line column most Wednesdays.
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