I LOVE Cedar Point in the Fall!   Autumn in Northeastern Ohio is a beautiful time of year, jacket weather.  Crisp, but not too cold, with clear blue skies and turning leaves.  I always plan at least one visit to the park this time of year and arrange my stay to be there on a Halloweekends Sunday. 

The park is completely decked out in Halloween decorations and is totally transformed during this time of year.  One of my favorite parts is the tombstones around the park with names of staff members.  Lots of inside jokes abound. 

If you are into the ghouls and Haunted Houses, you need to go on Friday or Saturday.  You will be in good company, Halloweekend Fridays and Saturdays are some of the most popular days to visit. 

But if you want to ride the rides, lots and lots of rides, Halloweekends Sundays rock.  You can ride every coaster in the park, some twice, if you are determined to do so.  The lines are short and sweet.   

Our favorite family trip is to go on Saturday night to enjoy all the "frights" in the park with the kids and the crowds, then we stay overnight at the Breakers, one of the on site resorts.  On Sunday we get up and ride and ride and ride to our heart's content.  The park closes at 8 p.m., but who cares, I've been able to do anything and everything by then, and I can get the kids home in time for school tomorrow!

Related: OLC Q3 2011 results and forecast: Creating Happiness and Exceeding Expectations/ Blooloop Facts  /  Singapore : The Lion City roars in 2010 / “A unique theme park among Disney offerings” – Tokyo DisneySea : - story & slideshow /  ZED: Juggling Fire at Tokyo Disneyland / Tracy's Vital Statistics : Tokyo Disney

With the first 25 years of the OLC’s history devoted to land reclamation and attracting Disney theme parks, and the second 25 seeing the development of the Tokyo Disney Resort, the third quarter century is about sustainable growth starting with a medium term plan for cash generation and investment.

OLC benefits from considerable assets, including 500 acres of land 6 miles from Tokyo and, although there is no capital relationship between Disney and OLC, OLC holds the licence to operate Tokyo Disney Resort until 2046.   However, with Japan’s declining and ageing population demographic, OLC will be challenged to find continued growth.  Over 97% of the 26 million visitors in 2010 were from Japan, with the proportion of guests aged 40+ currently accounting for 18% and rising.

Cash generation:

OLC has a target to generate ¥120 billion free cash flow over the three years to 2014 by creation of new value, market development and efficiencies.   Key elements of the strategy include:

• Attraction of overseas visitors, particularly from China.
• Promotion of value-added vacation packages including hotel accommodation and access to both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.  Significantly, these will be targeted at the “post-family” over 40 segment.
• Efficient investment: Of the ¥200 billion to be invested to 2021, investment in new products will be concentrated in the period to 2016, whilst between 2017 to 2021 the focus will be on renewals and improvements.

Investment in sustainable growth:

Uses of the cash generated are prioritised as follows:

1.    Investments with IRR of 8% or more - development of new businesses that enhance value and divestment of non-core/ poorly performing investments

2.    Stockholder returns –
•    stock repurchase - target to increase ROI from 6.9% (March 2010) to 8%
•    dividends - dividend policy: >35% of consolidated net income

3.    Reduction of interest-bearing debt –
•    current debt at ¥173 billion and debt/equity at 0.47x
•    repayments of ¥105 billion scheduled between 2011 and 2014

And finally:

President and COO, Kyoichiro Uenishi says:  “we are determined to remain focused on innovation and “bring happiness” not only to our guests, but to … our investors as well”.

Note: Updated figures and commentary available Feb 2011

Source: OLC Group Investor Relations:  2013 Medium-term Plan & Message from President

Related: Total Immersion - The Goal of Interactive Gaming / Attractions: The Future of Out-of-Home Entertainment /Getting In the Game. What The Experiential Design Industry Can Learn from Today’s Gamer Culture

It seems incredible that we will have games that can recognise us as individuals and interpret our emotions, however a recent article in the Observer sets out even more amazing advances that are just around the corner.  Challenges and opportunities lie ahead for out of home entertainment…..

Whilst 3D cinema, TV and gaming and 5D attractions are currently enjoying a surge of popularity, the stumbling block to world domination has been the need to wear 3D glasses.  This is set to change, however, with  Nintendo due to launch a glasses-free DS console in 2011.  Underway are the creation of 3D holograms that can interact physically with the user;  Sony have already exhibited a demonstration model of a 3D hologram which responds to viewers hand movements.  Researchers at Tokyo University are taking the next step: by using ultrasonic waves users are able to feel 3D holographic characters running on their hands or touch raindrops.

As we move to deeper physical immersion in gaming, advances are already being made in mental interaction.  NeuroSky’s current NeuroBoy game uses electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor and interpret brainwave patterns via a headset.  This allows users to levitate on screen objects by relaxing, or to set them on fire by concentrating hard!  Future developments will maximise the individual’s enjoyment of the gaming experience by reading thoughts and biometric signs and tailor the action accordingly.

Further down the road we’re promised even more all encompassing “gamification”, where reality will be augmented to such an extent that every part of our lives will have an element of gaming.   From shopping to tax returns we’ll be able to transform mundane tasks into dragon slaying adventures. 

By Greg Van Gompel

Related: Pondering safety and legal liability /   Corporate manslaughter laws (UK) and the amusement industry

Charles A. Carnell, a 33-year-old Lake Delton, Wisconsin man who operates “Terminal Velocity” a SCAD freefall attraction at Extreme World in Wisconsin Dells, has been charged with one count of first-degree reckless injury in violation of W.S.A. 940.23(a)(1) and 939.50(d) in connection with a July 30 incident in which a 12-year-old Florida girl, Teagan Marti, of Parkland, Fla., was critically injured on the attraction.

First-degree reckless injury in Wisconsin is a Class D felony and means that Carnell could face up to 25 years in prison and $100,000 in fines if convicted.    A SCAD is a suspended catch air device in which a customer or “diver” ascends about 150 feet in the air either by stairs or a special elevator system.  The diver is fitted into the CFF “Controlled Free Fall” system that guarantees a secure free fall position for a comfortable landing. The operator (a “dive master”) assists the diver into a proper position and releases the cable that suspends the diver.  The diver then drops in an unattached controlled freefall for about 100 feet before being caught in a suspended net attached to airtubes and break suspensions for a soft landing so that the diver feels no impact at all.  A secondary safety system is in place in the form of an inflated air bag onto which the net is lowered.  The air is then released from the bag allowing the diver to return back to the ground. 

According to news reports, on July 30, 2010, Ms. Marti got the opportunity to try the attraction and hopped on the elevator platform with 2 men along with Carnell.  The platform began the ascent but slowed down, presumably to let the air bag fill up.  The elevator stopped again about 100 feet in the air and Carnell assumed he was ready for the dives.  From his vantage point, he could see the net and the air bag below and was to wait for a signal to be given by the ground operator who ensures the net is raised properly and that the air bag is inflated.  Carnell then “blanked out” and placed Teagan in the dive position and released her cable.  Unfortunately, the ground operator never provided the signal and the net and air bag both remained on the ground.  With a thud, Teagan landed on the ground below.  She was alive and subsequently taken to a hospital with serious medical conditions include swelling of the brain, several fractures of the cervical and lumbar segments of her spine, multiple fractures of her pelvis and lacerations to her liver, spleen, intestines and duodenum.

There is an ongoing debate on whether or not Carnell should be charged with a crime and whether the charge would meet success with a jury.  This case seems to have many similarities to the Air Glory incident that happened in Oshkosh, WI in 2007 when a 16 year-old girl fell to her death from a bungee attraction at a Lifest festival after a worker had failed to properly lock a safety device.  No charges were filed in that death.  The District Attorney said that given all the circumstances in that case, while it did appear obvious that negligence was a factor, it didn't rise to the level of criminal negligence.  The attorney who represented the girl’s family in a lawsuit against Air Glory operator and its owner, Gary Ross, said civil actions generally result in more safety improvements than criminal cases and that was true in their case.

Section (1)(a) of W.S.A. 940.23 states: “Whoever recklessly causes great bodily harm to another human being under circumstances which show utter disregard for human life is guilty of a Class D felony.”  According to what appears to be one of the leading cases on the charge, State v. Miller (App. 2009) 772 N.W.2d 188, 320 Wis.2d 724, “utter disregard for human life,” for purposes of the offense of first-degree reckless injury, requires more than a high degree of negligence or recklessness.  To evince “utter disregard for human life”, for purposes of offense of first-degree reckless injury, the mind must not only disregard the safety of another but be devoid of regard for the life of another; a depraved mind lacks a moral sense, an appreciation of life, is unreasonable and lacks judgment. In evaluating whether there is sufficient proof of utter disregard for human life, for purposes of offense of first-degree reckless injury, the court considers many factors, including the type of act, its nature, why the perpetrator acted as he did, the extent of the victim's injuries and the degree of force that was required to cause those injuries, the type of victim, the victim's age, vulnerability, fragility, and relationship to the perpetrator, and finally, whether the totality of the circumstances showed any regard for the victim's life. 

The “utter disregard for human life” element of the offense of first-degree reckless injury can be proven by evidence relating to the defendant's subjective state of mind, by the defendant's statements before, during and after the crime, or by evidence of heightened risk, such as special vulnerabilities of the victim, or evidence of a particularly obvious, potentially lethal danger. State v. Jensen (2000) 613 N.W.2d 170, 236 Wis.2d 521.  While we know that the operator expressed remorse as soon as he heard the result of the fall, as he started hitting himself in the head, “after-the-fact regard for human life”, while it may be considered by the factfinder as a part of the total factual picture, does not negate “utter disregard for human life” otherwise established by the circumstances before and during the crime, and does not preclude a finding of utter disregard in a prosecution for first-degree reckless injury. We have yet to hear from either of the men on the elevator with Carnell and Marti, and the judge has recently ruled that the video of the event is not to be released. 

I’ll continue to follow this important case and keep you updated as it continues.
 

Related: The Vision XS Operator's conference report 2010   /  Nick Farmer's Business Odyssey    /  UK Theme Parks Going Green

I saw a film at the weekend which was an eloquent example of such a less-is-more philosophy. "Dean Spanley" is a low budget production, starring Sam Neil and Peter O'Toole, which despite being thoroughly lacking in CGI, animatronics and special effects (save for  a convincing Edwardian London), manages to concoct a spellbinding and magical supernatural story with nothing but the tried and tested tools of cracking acting and a superb, understated script.

It is as easy in cinema as it with themed attractions and amusement parks to overload a story with theming and to overdesign. The most effective stories can often be created in the mind of the visitor/audience with little more than hints and nudges. Peter Jackon's King Kong, for example, was very much a flawed masterpiece, as although it boasted a number of astounding scenes - the last half hour was beautiful - it was padded out with too much action, too  many dinosaurs; inside the 3 hours lurked a great 90 minute film.

Nick Farmer of Farmer Attractions Development, worked on theming and design at Bewilderwood, a UK attraction based in Norfolk and like Dean Spandley, an object lesson in the art of storytelling.

This unique park - a nature-based attraction aimed at younger children and families - has a theme. The hook is that it is populated by a magical race of pixie-like creatures living in the trees, rowing the boats and shuffling through the undergrowth. Visitors leave Bewilderwood with the distinct impression that they have experienced these creatures all around them. But have they? In fact none are ever actually seen. Tantalisingly, there are unattended cooking pots, tiny tree-houses and many more pointers arranged subtly throughout the park but although they are pictured in the books for sale at the shop (written by Tom Blofeld, the park's owner) the creatures themeslves remain elusive. This was deiberate on Farmer's part; a subtle excercise in the art of smoke and mirrors and testament to the finely tuned skills of the successful designer/story-teller. He'd appreciate Dean Spandley.

 Related :  IAAPA’s Asian Attractions Expo 2010 Sets Attendance and Exhibit Records in Kuala Lumpur  /  Asian Attractions Expo Moves to Singapore in 2011  / Future-Proofing, Elephants and Guinness - TiLEzone  /  Andrew Lee Named Executive Director of IAAPA’s New Office in the Asia-Pacific Region

Whilst this looks like deep, primeval jungle to the untrained eye, it was in fact planted as recently as 1929, revitalsing a landscape which had been denuded through logging activity, the laudable (and far sighted) aim being that of  creating an entire tropical forest ecosystem from scratch. Over 80 years later, It now boasts, as a leaflet explains with refreshing honesty, “over 15,000 species of plants, though for a layman in botanic, all of them look like greeneries.”

Here in the UK, a trend in visitor attractions is that of the woodland/natural play area. The success of Norfolk’s Bewilderwood and of GoApe attest to this and Crealy Great Adventure Park down here in Devon has recently added "Natural realm". FRIM is an important academic facility in its own right but it too markets itself to the visitor, with a number of attractions within the campus such as an insectarium, a herbarium, an arboretum and a small shop. Although the  insectarium is dark and uninspiring (I learned a Malaysian saying :  “Blessed are the cicadas for they have voiceless wives”) - the real show is of course outside in the forest, where a bewildering variety of creatures make their home and where the (male) cicadas create a clattering din.

The major attraction to those not schooled in entomology or dendrology is the park’s canopy walkway. Having walked an hour into the forest, I came across the suspended bridge, sitting 30 meters above the forest floor in four 50 meters sections. There was a tiny cabin at the entrance with bare walls apart from a laminated news clipping - a glowing review from a local paper I assumed. On closer inspection, I found non too reassuring news about a “rope bridge tragedy” earlier in the year; a cautionary tale to encourage proper behavior whilst on the walkway.  I thought of Thornton Wilder’s “The Bridge over San Luis Rey”, one of the great novellas of the last century and undoubtedly the best in the rope-bridge-disaster genre. 

The bridge itself was of decidedly rustic construction: I had been hoping for an impressive feat of precision engineering (German perhaps?) along the lines of The Treetop Walkway at Kew’s Royal Botanic Gardens. “Surely”, I asked myself, as I stepped out onto the first section, and it lurched to the right under my weight, “that isn’t really just a couple of aluminum ladders lashed together with a plank of wood on top”. Familiar with the roller coaster experience - the  illusion of grave danger coupled with certain safety - I was straight out of my comfort zone, gripping the wires on the side with white knuckles and stepping out gingerly into the canopy.  Half way across, there was an outstanding view of the forest below and of the city in the distance.

The return took a more leisurely route down through the formal arboreta and by the living quarters for the many scientists and staff based at the institute. One guy had a cannonball tree on his lawn, which bizarrely grows both spherical fruits and its flowers directly from its trunk. Another had Durian fruit – famous for tasting gorgeous but smelling foul - hanging just outside his front room. His windows were closed.