PartyCenterSoftware.com/Blog

October 29, 2010

By this time next year, we expect to have been inside the gates of Legoland Florida, the under-construction attraction where Cypress Gardens theme park once stood.
But don’t look for special Halloween events there in 2011. General manager Adrian Jones said last week that because the park would be new, holiday-based programming would be delayed until 2012.

California’s Legoland has been running a Brick-or-Treat promotion this month. Specific areas of the park are open after hours for treat-or-treating, costume contests, a dance party and a light show.

Legoland Florida, set to open next October, is already selling one-day tickets and annual passes at a pre-opening rate through Dec. 31. Annual passes for adults and children go for $99. During the special offer, one-day tickets will be $65 for adults, $55 for ages 3-12. (One-day tickets will be $10 more after Dec. 31.)

After years of research and analysis, the Incredible Pizza Company chose to add laser tag to their corporate sites and partnered with Creative Works to design and build their arenas.

Incredible Pizza Laser Tag Arena

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WINTER HAVEN — Not one plastic block is in position at Legoland Florida, but the theme park has started selling tickets for admission once it opens late next year.

An annual pass that will sell for $99 through Dec. 31will allow entry from the day the park officially opens in October 2011 through all of 2012, park executives announced Thursday. Single-day tickets sold through Dec. 31 are $65 for general admission and $55 for ages 3-12 and ages 60 and older.

Future guests can buy tickets on the park’s website, LegolandFloridaResort.com.

Once Legoland opens, the public will have access to 50 rides and attractions geared to children as well as minature scenes created out of Lego‘s famed plastic building blocks.

Among the Florida scenes to be portrayed: Kennedy Space Center, Daytona International Speedway, Key West‘s Mallory Square, antebellum mansions of the Panhandle, and Polk County‘s own Bok Tower, the park announced during a site tour Thursday. The region’s other theme parks will not be represented.

General Manager Adrian Jones described different areas of the Winter Haven park, including a medieval-themed segment called Castle Hill. “There’s a perception in Central Florida that you have to build a castle in order to have a successful theme park,” Jones said. “So we built one.”

The centerpiece of Castle Hill will be a new indoor-outdoor roller coaster called The Dragon.

The demographic focus of Legoland theme parks, owned and operated by Merlin Entertainments Group, are 2- to 12-year-olds.

“We don’t do white-knuckle roller coasters, but we do pink-knuckle roller coasters,” Jones said before introducing the XTreme area, which features the Lego Technic Test Track coaster and a water-carousel ride.

Legoland Florida will be constructed where Cypress Gardens operated from 1936 to 2009. Some of the site’s old rides will be repurposed for the new park: the Swamp Thing suspended coaster, for example, will become Flight School in the Lego City area, and the Triple Hurricane wooden roller coaster will be reborn as Coastersaurus in the Land of Adventure.

Cypress Gardens’ famed ski show will be revived as a water-stunt show, and the Island in the Sky attraction will be rethemed as the Flying Island, on which guests will be elevated for views of Lake Eloise and the entire park.

“It will be a focal point of our attraction,” Jones said.

The park is primarily in a demolition phase right now. About 100 designers are working on miniature Lego scenes in six or seven countries, said John Jakobsen, managing director of Legoland Parks Operating Group.

Merlin is investing at least $100 million on the site’s transformation, he said. Having Cypress Gardens’ infrastructure in place is expected to keep the company’s costs down.

“That was a big benefit for us,” Jakobsen said.

About 1,000 people are expected to work at Legoland once it’s open; most of them will be hired in the six months leading up to opening day.

Dewayne Bevil can be reached at 407-420-5477 or dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. Read the Theme Park Rangers Blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/TPR.

Legoland Florida executives revealed admission prices and other details about the Winter Haven theme park, set to open in October 2011.

Single-day tickets and annual passes are now available on the park’s website (http://www.legolandfloridaresort.com. A special pre-opening annual pass offer for $99 will be available through Dec. 31, and will allow admittance for after the park opens next October and through all of 2012.

Single-day tickets are now on sale for $65 general, $55 for ages 3-12. That offer is also available through Dec. 31.

A lifetime pass is sold for $2,500.

Other details revealed Thursday include some of the Florida icons to be constructed from Lego blocks in the park’s Miniland U.S.A. Guests will see representations of the Daytona International Speedway, Kennedy Space Center and more — but not other theme parks.

Legoland water park gets prestigious industry award
By Lori Weisberg

Monday, October 11, 2010 at 7:51 p.m.

Legoland’s new $12 million water park, which debuted earlier this year, has landed the Carlsbad theme park a major industry award, presented by an association of water attraction professionals.

The park was chosen for the Industry Innovation Award, which recognizes how well an organization sets itself apart from others in its ability to move the industry “to a new or higher plane.”

“The Worldwater Park Board of Directors considers new services, techniques and attractions and how those offerings help advance the industry in some way to keep it fresh and inspired,” said Gina Kellogg, of the World Waterpark Association.

The 5.5-acre water park, which opened in May, includes a number of features, including four slides that branch from a 45-toot-tall tower, and the Orange Rush slide, which allows four people in a raft to glide down a 312-foot-long tube.

Geared for families with children ages 2 to 12, the park also has a wading pool for toddlers and a “lazy river” where people can build rafts and lounge while getting sprayed by life-size Lego “friends.”

“The fact that our Water Park is Lego-themed and geared toward young children and their families is what truly separates Legoland Water Park from any other water park in the world,” said Peter Ronchetti, general manager of Legoland California Resort. “I’m glad to say the reaction has been very positive and despite the rather untraditional summer weather and continuing economic stress in the market, we have had a very strong season and will be once again reporting record attendance numbers this year.”

By Kimberly Schilling – Facilitator of FUN
Dated: Oct 01, 2010

Creative Works’ Theme Factory recently installed their first laser tag arena in the country of Mexico. They
added a 3,600 square foot arena to a new family entertainment center in Guadalajara, Mexico’s second
largest city.

Creative Works’ Theme Factory recently installed their first laser tag arena in the country of Mexico. They
added a 3,600 square foot arena to a new family entertainment center in Guadalajara, Mexico’s second
largest city also known as the Land of Tequila and Mariachi Bands. It’s fitting that a city famous for
extraordinary vacations now houses an extraordinary laser tag experience at Laser Zone Fun Center. The
space themed arena is sure to capture everyone’s attention as it’s the only one of its kind in the entire
country of Mexico. With cosmic interplanetary murals and futuristic glowing barriers, the arena has the
look and feel of something out of this galaxy!
Paul Wagner and John Lines, the owners of the new center, found Creative Works at the International
Laser Tag Association trade show this past April in Las Vegas, Nevada. These gentlemen had seen other
themed arenas by Creative Works and knew that they wanted to add CW to their team of vendors. Known
as the Laser Tag Experts when it comes to designing and building these attractions, Creative Works was
able to create a high-tech space themed two-level arena with vivid colors and shapes to deliver the “Wow
Effect”.
The city and its people were excellent hosts to the Creative Works team that travelled across the border for
this project. “We were delighted to work with such great people and build a site that will entertain and
create memories for years to come,” said Jeff Schilling, the Chief Architect of Experience at Creative
Works. “Although our cultures are different, the game of laser tag and its appeal is worldwide.” The
owners were ecstatic at the end results of the themed arena. “We were impressed with the professionalism
of the Creative Works team. They did a great job from beginning to end and we’re looking forward to
continuing our relationship in the future,” said Paul Wagner.
Laser Zone is sure to leave an impression in the cultural center of Western Mexico when it opens later this
month.

Creative Works Theme Factory builds and designs attractions for family entertainment centers. We provide
laser tag arenas, black light miniature golf, our Lazer Frenzy laser maze attraction and theming in general.

www.thewoweffect.com
Category Entertainment, Games, Tourism

By Gary White
THE LEDGER

Published: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 5:26 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 5:26 p.m.

Adrian Jones, 39, an Englishman, was hired in early August as general manager of Legoland Florida.

Jones sat down with The Ledger earlier this week to discuss the progress of the theme park, scheduled to open next fall at the former Cypress Gardens property in Winter Haven.

Q: What can you tell us about the construction and renovation work going on at the property?

A: People who’ve driven past the site have probably seen a lot of demolition and removal of rides that didn’t necessarily fit our portfolio. There’s a lot of fenced-off areas and there’s still a bit of demolition going on to kind of change the flow of the park, but I would say 75 percent of the infrastructure is there in terms of the buildings we’re going to be reusing and redeveloping.

Q: What is the time line for future construction plans?

A: From the beginning of January, there’s going to be a lot more construction teams on site … so you’ll see things start to appear above the fence line in certain areas of the park. … The hope is to have construction completed around June, July, August time, and then we’ve got two or three months lead time into the opening to make sure the systems are checked, we’ve trained the staff and we’re fully prepared to go.

A: We’ve got about 35 people on site at the moment. We’ve got a rides manager, a maintenance director. We’ve got gardeners and we’ve got landscapers, carpenters. … The biggest team we have in administration is marketing at the moment. We’re starting to get out into the community a lot more and really put the plans together, reaching out to trade partners, suppliers, potential sponsors and also people who are going to be providing things like ride photography and the games.

Q: What is the schedule for future hiring?

A: The next big surge of hiring starts in the new year. My (operations) team will probably be fully in place by the end of February, March, depending on what recruitment’s like. But then the big push will be for seasonal staff around July time, possibly June.

Q: Miniland, with its miniature replicas of famous places constructed from Lego bricks, is the highlight of every Legoland park. What can you say about the Miniland being planned for Legoland Florida?

A: One thing I will say is we will be including a Florida section because you have to take on the face of the place. … And one thing I will say is that after seeing most of the Minilands in the world, this Miniland for me is going to have the most beautiful view out of any of the Legoland parks in the world.

Q: Who is working on the creation of Miniland?

A: Miniland as a project is huge, as you can imagine. There are millions and millions of bricks that go into (it). … There are elements of it that are being built in California, there are elements of it that are being built in Billund (Denmark), and I believe there are elements that are being built in Windsor (England), as well. They started on it a long time ago.

Q: When will you offer the media or the public a glimpse of the work being done at the property?
A: People have to understand that we will give them as much information as we can give them because there are still things that are changing. And the reason we’re not really being up-front is because we don’t want to mislead them � because things are subject to change still. We have to understand that is a construction site, so it’s for people’s safety that we try to keep out of those areas as best we can. And the main reason is we don’t want the project to be delayed.
Read More…

WEBWIRE – Monday, September 27, 2010

America’s Incredible Pizza Company announced today it will open its second Memphis location at the Hickory Ridge Mall at 6075 Winchester Road. The grand opening date is set for Thursday, October 7th. The huge indoor family fun center will hire over 100 full and part time employees. Rick Barsness, CEO had this to say about the company’s latest location, “I’m delighted to open our second location at the Hickory Ridge Mall; our family fun center is part of the long-term plan for the mall. Millions of dollars have been put into renovations since the 2008 tornado. World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church Inc., has done a fantastic job in revitalizing the area by bringing in our family-friendly entertainment product.”

The nostalgic 1950s-themed facility features an all-you can eat buffet including pizza, pasta, salad, home-style food and dessert bars along with an extensive family themed games and attractions center.
The new 38,000 square-foot family entertainment center located in the Hickory Ridge Mall will be all-indoor, smoke and alcohol free, and offers seating for hundreds of people. There are four 50s-themed dining rooms with private rooms available for birthday parties, corporate meetings and other group events. The fairgrounds game room will contain attractions like Mini-Bowling, Mini-Golf, Bumper Cars and over 100 video and redemption games.

Birthday party guests and honorees at the new fun center will enjoy private party rooms, activities, food, party gift bags and game play. Parents can leave the set-up, cleanup, and entertainment to the staff. Incredible Pizza does all the work, so parents can spend their time enjoying the party with the children.

Additional information may be found online at: www.incrediblepizza.com

Cameron Park, Ca., August 24, 2010 –Scott Drummond, President of Agile Software and Marketing, received notification that their product PartyCenterSoftware.com, is a finalist for the “Innovation of the year” award presented by the Play Providers Association (PPA), arguably the UK’s most influential association for the fun industry.  “It was great to see our PartyCenterSoftware.com program be recognized for the contributions it is making to help the fun industry.  As a previous operator I understand the struggles that our customers go through and we have found a solution to help make both their lives and their profit better!”

Drummond will be exhibiting at the Leisure International Week in Birmingham, UK in late September and along with 9 other finalist will display his PartyCenterSoftware.com product to be voted on by members of the PPA.  He hopes to bring home top prize for his newly released version of his online party booking and facility management software. “This will be our first year exhibiting at LIW so I am very excited to meet many of our customers in person and if we can bring home the award it will make for one great trip!  I’m just thankful for our customers and all they do to help us grow as a business”, said Drummond.

Read more…

3:06 PM Thu, Aug 12, 2010
Deborah Fleck/News Assistant Read Here

LEGOLAND Discovery CenterA tractor dumped out its unusual contents–thousands of colorful LEGO bricks.
Then, Grapevine Mayor William D. Tate, Sen. Jane Nelson, Russell Barnes of Merlin Entertainments Group and Peggy Weaver of Grapevine Mills took up shovels and dug into the pile.

A “Turning of the LEGO Bricks” ceremony this morning marked the construction launch for a new LEGOLAND Discovery Center at Grapevine Mills Mall. The center, only the second one in the United States and fifth one worldwide, is scheduled to open in April, 2011. The 35,000-square-foot playland will offer rides, a 4D cinema, party rooms, interactive features and even a MINILAND that will feature landmark North Texas buildings–including a Cowboys Stadium made out of LEGOs.

Merlin officials said they love the location–near the airport, in a growing area and in a city that works hard to draw tourists. Irving officials are also happy–they will have something else to promote nearby and draw visitors to their hotels as well.

I’m anxious to see that Cowboys Stadium made of LEGOs!
Lego three (Small).jpg

SANDUSKY
By Tom Jackson

As amusement park companies go, Cedar Fair is the industry’s juggernaut — it owns 11 amusement parks and six water parks throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Even in Sandusky, home of Cedar Point amusement park, news coverage in recent months has concentrated on Cedar Fair as it mulled an acquisition by New York private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

The deal fell through, leaving Cedar Fair to battle the recession and debt problems.

Which leaves everyone wondering: How is Cedar Point doing? Read more…

Lego Builders At Work

By Channel NewsAsia Malaysia Bureau Chief Melissa Goh | Posted: 09 July 2010 2035 hrs

NUSAJAYA, Malaysia : Asia’s first Legoland targets to attract 1.5 million visitors when it opens its doors at the end of 2012.

Located in Nusa Cermelang industrial park, within the Iskandar New Economic Region, the theme park will boast the tallest lego model in the world.

The backgrounds of the 22 young Malaysians – pioneer model builders for Legoland Malaysia – are diverse, coming from engineering, architecture, and fine arts.

They beat over 800 other job seekers at a recent hiring contest.

In the first round, contestants were given 25 minutes to copy a model of a seahorse.

“It was not difficult to find the people. We were amazed. What we really looking for is creativity obviously, but more so it’s teamwork, it’s the passion and the attitude that the people bring in to their role. That’s what we’re really looking for,” said Tim Burnell, Production Director, Merlin Entertainment. Read more…

By Justin McClelland, Staff Writer
1:56 PM Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Becky Fusco her son, Bobby, and husband Jeff, ride the log ride on Wednesday, July 7, 2010, at Kings Island in Mason. The Columbus family came to park as part of A Kid Again day, where sick children and their families were provided free admittance to the park. Bobby has MPPH Syndrome. Staff photo by Apryl Pilolli

MASON —Concerned about her son’s safety, Becky Fusco researched each ride at Kings Island before her family attended the amusement park.

Bobby Fusco, 5, has MPPH Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes seizures, mental retardation, and confines him to a wheelchair.

But, as Fusco and her husband, Jeff, entered the park on Wednesday, July 7, they threw caution to the wind and boarded the water log flume ride, carrying their son. A few minutes later, they emerged, dripping with water and all smiles.

“It was terrific,” Fusco said.

The Fuscos were invited to Kings Island at no cost as part of A Kid Again day at the park.

A Kid Again is a non-profit organization that helps children with life threatening illnesses and their families by providing group oriented “adventure” activities, like outings to sports games, parties, and the annual trip to Kings Island at no cost to the family.

“Events like this get us out of the house,” Becky Fusco said. “Seeing other wheelchairs and Read more…