Bemusement - The Attractions Industry Blog

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 "And the bigger one is called a Giant Leonopterix" : Theme Park Designers on the Disney / Avatar News    Yesterday saw news that Walt Disney Parks will collaborate with filmmaker James Cameron and Fox Filmed Entertainment to bring the world of AVATAR to life at Disney parks. What does this development mean for Disney, for the theme park business, will it be a good (or logical) fit into Animal Kingdom and will Disney's HR team soon be looking for 9ft tall blue skinned applicants? We spoke to some leading theme park designers...
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Tuesday, July 12, 2011 Themed Entertainment: TEA’s Mr. Mission Control – Buzz Price (1921 – 2010)    It’s been nearly a year (August 15, 2010) since Buzz Price passed away and since then I’ve had numerous opportunities to talk with friends and colleagues about dad. Everyone that knew dad had a favorite story. ...View more

Tuesday, July 05, 2011 Themed Entertainment: We make the magic at SATE 2011 in Amsterdam    The SATE (Storytelling/Architecture/Technology/Experience) conference 2011 in Amsterdam was like a rollercoaster ride of ideas, sage advice, discussion and inspiration. 78 year old Marty ‘We make the magic’ Sklar was the keynote speaker at the conference - with his wealth of experience he remains an inspiration for many people in the business. ...View more

Friday, April 01, 2011 Tokyo Disneyland, DisneySea, "The Parks are ready to reopen"    Tokyo Disney Resort® announced attendance figures for Tokyo Disneyland® Park and Tokyo DisneySea® Park of 25.4 million visitors for the year to March 31, 2011.
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Wednesday, February 09, 2011 Theme Parks:OLC up forecast to 27m visitors for 2011 - Creating Happiness at Tokyo Disney    In a world where we are bombarded with strategies to help us achieve personal happiness OLC, a company whose mission is literally to “create happiness and contentment” need no advice, having just announced exceptional third quarter results and an upward revision of their full year forecast. Blooloop looks at how OLC have mastered the “Art of Happiness”....View more

Friday, January 21, 2011 Theme Park Design and why Steve Alcorn’s Time Portal won’t get made    "If a theme park attraction were a kitchen it would be pretty crowded, and not just with cooks." I thought I had a good working idea of what went on behind the scenes at a major theme park, I really did. Turns out I didn’t and were it not for Steve Alcorn’s new book I’d still be none the wiser......View more

Friday, January 14, 2011 Pigs in Pythons: Capex at Disney and Universal    I came across a quote from Jay Rasulo (Senior Executive Vice President and CFO of The Walt Disney Company) recently which conjures up a vivid image. When describing where the company is in its capex cycle he said Disney’s theme parks and resorts are at “kind of a pig in the python in terms of our normal activity”.
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Monday, October 18, 2010 American Family Travellers: Optimistic but Looking for Value    A survey of American family travel patterns shows higher income travellers are optimistic about the future, internet savvy, keen for a bargain and interested in multigenerational staycations, timeshares and cruises.
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Friday, October 08, 2010 EuroDisney’s Strategy to 2030: Doubling Capacity and Eco Tourism    Euro Disney SCA’s* Amendment to the Main Agreement with the French Public Parties, signed September 14th, allows the pursuit of a strategy for the continued development of Euro Disneyland to 2030. Key elements of the strategy include doubling theme park capacity by adding a third park, and the creation of an eco tourism village. (Update 11/10 - 25% of debt to be paid back by 2013.)
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Wednesday, September 22, 2010 OLC's 2013 Strategic Plan: Bringing Happiness    Oriental Land Co. Ltd celebrated its 50th birthday in 2010 by launching a 3 year strategic plan to grow sustainable corporate value.
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Tuesday, July 13, 2010 The Business of Nostalgia    Nostalgia can be a powerful sales tool and no one in the amusement industry does it better than Disney. Indeed, at its very core, much of the company is centered on the nostalgic reminders of its namesake Walter Elias Disney.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Themed design: GKTW ‘s Serendipity sets sail…    While exhibitors remain on tenterhooks as to whether they might actually be able to make it to the DEAL show in Dubai later this week – frustratingly Iceland’s’ volcanoes haven't provided an itinerary, nor do they subscribe to the Marquess of Queensberry's rules - and British school kids test their teacher’s resolve with the novel excuse of volcanic ash, it seemed a good time to show some rather cheery pics of “Serendipity”, a vessel we first caught sight of last month…...View more

Thursday, November 12, 2009 Attractions Business: Meet me in Las Vegas (IAAPA booth 4524)    We at Blooloop want to meet you in Las Vegas during the IAAPA Attractions Expo Nov 17-20. Please stop by our booth for a chat (# 4524). Blooloop will be podcasting and blogging live from the show, so bring along some witty remarks and observations, too, and you might get interviewed or otherwise included in our coverage! We will also have our signature giveaways: some Blooloop pens (soon to be in much demand on eBay) and our genuine clotted-cream Devon fudge......View more

Saturday, September 19, 2009 Themed Attractions: Talking Pirates Today    Why are pirates so fascinating? They just arrrrr! An old joke of course but appropriate as today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day* in the US. My little boy did all the Orlando parks and attractions last Autumn, saw Spider-man, Shamu, Mickey and a host of other magical characters......View more

Tuesday, September 01, 2009 Amusement Parks: Marvelous News?    Today's announcement that Disney is to acquire Marvel may be giving Spider-Man pause for thought. With the Friendly neighbourhood webslinger's Amazing Adventures thoroughly ensconced at Universal's Islands of Adventure it should be interesting to see where this current development takes him...
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Thursday, April 30, 2009 Amusement Parks: Let's talk about Marty Sklar    Marty Sklar has been with Disney for 53 years. Five decades. Half a century. Longer than I've been alive...
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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 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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Monday, June 16, 2008 Amusement Parks: Growth of the Amusement Industry in India    Investments to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore are likely to flow into the domestic amusement park and leisure sector by 2020 with about 500 new amusement parks are expected to come up across the country by then, an industry body has said....View more

Tuesday, April 08, 2008 Amusement parks: It's a Small World Rumours and Bristol's New Aquarium    In the news today, the science based attraction in Bristol, "@Bristol" is adding an aquarium and the weekend saw Disney's Imagineering quash various rumours flying around the revamping of its iconic and much loved "It's a Small World" ride.
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Amusement Parks: Thursday's Big Announcement by Busch Entertainment?    Scheduled announcement ; what's it to be? International expansion say the analysts......View more

Thursday, November 08, 2007 Amusement parks; Disney's New Theme Park in Malaysia?    View the post