The title of this email was intended to catch your attention. With such a sue happy world we MUST do everything we can to protect and insulate ourselves from those “particular” types of attorneys. Most operators would agree that music is a key component to creating the atmosphere and experience we want our customers to have. Using high energy and popular music helps keep people entertained and keep them spending money at our locations.   I know for myself, before the internet radio became popular, we used Sirius Satellite radio, the personal version, to play music at our location. Our customers could choose whatever station they liked in their private areas although we had ones we would not allow to play as there is NO filter on those stations so the words and content were often questionable.

Interesting fact, one of our customers is friends with Right Said Fred out of the UK. You may recall they had the hit song “I’m too sexy”. While the song was a mega hit internationally and in 1992 hit big on the US charts the internet and smart phones were not even in our normal vocabulary. Once smart phones, and the iPhone in particular, hit the scene, the popularity of custom song ring tones exploded. As you can imagine the hook of the I’m Too Sexy song was just too much for the consumer to resist.   Now Right Said Fred makes more in royalties from the ring tone royalties than off the songs rotation when it was popular in the US (according to our source).

Now on to the heart of this email. Being SUED… I’m sure many of you know that artists and musicians make their livings mostly off of royalties from when their songs are played on the radio or on TV.   As consumers we can listen to the radio, play our CD or iPods and even play music off the internet for personal use. The businesses that provide those tunes for us to listen to are the ones who are responsible for the royalties. The key to this entire equation, and why so many people are getting sued, is that if you are using a CD, iPod, Internet Radio, Satellite radio (Personal or home subscription) or playing the local radio station in your facility you are BREAKING THE LAW. You are not allowed to play any song or portion of a song requiring a royalty payment in a commercial setting without paying the appropriate organization like ASCAP or BMI. While the chances of someone coming into your center and suing you is remote, it is happening all over the country in other industries. Larger franchise locations or chain stores are being hit with lawsuits for playing local radio stations or using cd or iPods. Some people say “But I paid for the CD or I paid for the song online”. Even if you purchase the CD or music online this does not exempt you from paying a royalty when playing it in your facility in a commercial setting. The reason is that you are granted personal use of that song and can listen in your personal office or car but not in a commercial setting. You need to first check with your attorney on what your government regulations are and then find a service that will pay those royalties for you.

How to protect you and your business….

One such product I found is called ControlPLAY (http://www.ControlPLAY.com). They are also known as Bowling Music Network for those in the bowling business. One of the best features or functions that they have is not just to play the music or music videos for you, but they offer “PARENT APPROVED” stations so that all questionable language and video content is edited out. This is to assure that you can play the hottest music without coming under fire from the parents concerned about the content of the music. Later in the night, you can switch to the regular station when the younger crowd is gone.

Obviously ControlPLAY and the other commercially available music or music video systems will pay any and all royalties that occur while using their service. This allows you a care free and potentially lawsuit free existence when it comes to playing music and music videos in your facility.

The biggest feature that comes in the ControlPLAY suite actually has nothing to do with royalty payments at all. This feature is the personalized marketing feature. You can set audio or even full video marketing commercials inside your own personal radio station. That means you can promote upcoming events or even when a meal time hits you can suggest that they get a mouthwatering burger with gourmet French fries… The customers have no clue they are listening to a personalized station except that all the commercial breaks are focused solely on promoting sales within your own company.

The reason for this article was not to scare you but just to make you aware that you might possibly be violating the law and putting yourself in a situation that is not necessary. Find a solution that will pay your royalties and one that will help you filter the content of what you are delivering to your customers. This will release a burden off of your plate while allowing you to create an amazing atmosphere for your customers.

FYI Similar laws also apply to television and sports games shown in your faciilty.   Some people try to save a few dollars by paying for TV or Satellite TV as if they were a home or personal account as often the commercial TV accounts are two times higher than a personal account. Why are they higher? They get charged more and have to pay different royalties when being rebroadcast in a commercial setting.

So I don’t get sued…..I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. This is an opinion and I do not claim any of the above information to be factual or without error. Consult your own attorney and local government for the rules and regulations you must follow in regards to paying royalties or using a service that will pay the royalties for you…

No this is not a joke… Gift cards are DANGEROUS! Why you ask? At the IAAPA FEC Summit earlier this year, Gregg Borman, Senior VP Palace Entertainment, warned the audience about how unused gift cards or gift certificates will soon be seized by our desperate and over reaching state governments. The first state to try this move was New Jersey. Last year their law makers approved the seizure of any unused gift card or travels checks that had went unused for more than two or three years. While a federal court blocked their bid to seize these assets from businesses, it is only a matter of time before they are allowed to take your unused gift card or gift certificate funds. New Jersey is attempting to balance their out of control budget by taking the estimated $80 million in unused gift cards in the state. The fiscal ramifications to the businesses that lose these cash reserves will be catastrophic and the short-sided view by the state government will send shock waves through the already hostile business environment.

WHAT CAN I DO? Borman in a recent meeting with Party Center Software suggests that each facility contact their attorney to find out how to protect their funds from being seized. Borman says his in-house counsel had suggested the first step is to completely remove the word GIFT from the product name. They will most likely be going to a more generic “play card” or “game card” name. The theory behind this move is that if they can show that the monies paid were for the purchase of a “play card” then the fund were fully used and allocated to the play card and most likely will not be subject to the unredeemed gift card laws. On the accounting side you will need to verify and check with your accountant as this may change how you account for those cards and the value on them within your books. You may be requiring to show them no longer as a liability but now as an asset which can change your tax implications.

An additional step is to provide a policy for those play cards and have that policy printed on the back of the card as well as posted on your website and on location. This policy may include details about how the card value can be exchanged for other goods and services and also to put on an expiration date for the card. Under certain state laws, such as California, if you issue physical gift certificates as opposed to gift cards, they may never expire and are consider identical to cash. This makes is difficult to balance your books with years of unredeemed gift certificates. All in all the actual Gift Card is not dangerous but the fact that a state can, by the barrel of a political gun aka threat of prison, seize your hard earned cash right from your bank account makes them a huge liability. So this is just a warning to those of you who still issue gift cards or gift certificates. Get with your attorney and find out how you can start to transition your gift card program to a play card or other system and start protecting the hard earned revenue from the hands of often over reaching government.



Water wars are taking shape in greater Northeast Tarrant County.The city-owned NRH {-2}O in North Richland Hills is adding a $1.7 million ride, and construction is ongoing at the soon-to-open $10 million Hawaiian Falls in Roanoke.And not too far away, in Grapevine, construction continues on a water park that is expected to open this summer for resort guests at the Gaylord Texan.The battle for water park patrons is on.Roanoke City Manager Jimmy Stathatos said that despite the number of local water parks, Roanoke should have no problem drawing big crowds, considering its location on the Denton-Tarrant county border. The city has already established itself as a dining destination.”Hawaiian Falls will have one of the largest water features in North America in terms of the amount of people it will hold — more than 2,000 at one time,” he said. “I think everyone’s lucky there are so many choices.”The main reason water parks are popular is simple.”Mainly because it’s hot,” said Aleatha Ezra, spokeswoman for the World Waterpark Association.That’s especially true in North Texas, where we eclipsed 100 degrees 21 times last summer.Ezra said attendance at North America’s roughly 1,000 water parks is in the neighborhood of 80 million.

The Viper NRH {-2}O puts an average of $4 million a year into North Richland Hills’ coffers, city spokeswoman Stephanie Hee said. The city adds an attraction every other year or so to help ensure that the park keeps bringing in about 250,000 guests each summer.This year, it’s a doozy. The Viper is a family-oriented thrill ride, Hee said.”It takes four riders instead of two, and you’re all facing one another so you can see the excitement on their faces while you’re riding,” she said.Hee said the Viper is a 430-foot slide that’s 43.2 feet high and ends with a 20-foot-wide “mega tube” where the rafts slosh back and forth before they slip out across a pool. It should be finished before the park opens next month, Hee said.The Viper will be the first one in North America, said Lesley Baker, senior marketing manager with WhiteWater West Industries. Other Vipers are being built in China and Dubai.The slide will be the first major addition to the park since 2009, when Beachside Bay opened with a white-sand beach, sand volleyball court and pool. The balance of $2.1 million borrowed last year for NRH {-2}O improvements is destined for a two-story food services building with a covered pavilion and an observation deck overlooking the wave pool and volleyball games.”So far we’re doing good,” Hee said. “Hopefully we won’t have inclement weather to delay construction.”

In Roanoke, Hawaiian Falls, which already has water parks in Mansfield, Garland and The Colony, will operate the Roanoke-owned park under a 40-year lease.Officials expect the park to generate $200,000 in sales tax revenue in its first year, said Debra Wallace, assistant city manager and chief financial officer.Hawaiian Falls spokesman David Alvey said the park will include “the biggest and the best, the world’s largest water playground.”Mega WaterWorld will be six stories tall and have a dozen slides coming off it, Alvey said.”We designed it for families to be able to play together on it,” he said.The lowest level is designed for toddlers, Alvey said.”This ground-floor level also has water wheels and interactive features,” he said. “The first level has small slides for preschoolers to slide down with their siblings or parents. As you venture higher up into the play structure, the slides and features are meant to appeal to older kids and their parents.”The park will also have a 16,000-square-foot wave pool and lazy river, Alvey said. But he expects people to line up for two “dumping buckets” that send 500 to 1,000 gallons at a time cascading onto them.

Private Parks, While NRH {-2}O is expanding and Hawaiian Falls is coming, other privately owned parks will certainly draw their share of water lovers.Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine was built as an indoor water park resort and features nine huge slides, six pools, a water fort and a lazy river that are ensconced in the 80,000-square-foot Bear Track Landing. Resort guests are protected from the weather year-round in an environment that’s kept at 84 degrees, and the water is heated as well. Summer guests may also enjoy the 84,000-square-foot Raccoon Lagoon outdoor water park.Just down the street is the Gaylord Texan, which plans to opens its water park for clients this summer, spokeswoman Stacey Rendelman said. Attractions include a 10-acre pool with a 600-foot lazy river and a water tower that spills from 200 feet in the air. Resort guests also enjoy a 6,000-square-foot lagoon, a 27-foot-tall winding water slide, a two-person zip line, three horseshoe hot pools and sun decks with seating for 1,200.Arlington’s Hurricane Harbor is still the granddaddy of water parks and has dozens of slides and other features that attract so many people on hot days that — from cars zipping by on Interstate 20 — the towers and pools look like stirred-up fire ant mounds.But its challengers are gaining on it.This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.Terry Evans, 817-390-7620

Read more:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/04/12/2996021/new-dfw-water-attractions-aim.html#ixzz1JWbVMEtd

The founders of the Blake, Kymberly and George Rapier Charitable Trust donated $2 million on Friday to Morgan’s Wonderland, the largest gift from an individual or family made to the theme park to date.
George and Kym Rapier had planned to contribute a check for $1 million to Morgan’s Wonderland, a park designed for families with special-needs children and adults. However, Kym Rapier pulled out a pen and crossed out the $1 million and wrote in the new amount for $2 million, much to the surprise of Morgan’s Wonderland founder Gordon Hartman.

To commemorate the donation, Hartman renamed the park’s 575-seat amphitheater the Rapier Starlight Amphitheater.
“We owe Dr. and Mrs. Rapier our deepest gratitude for their incredibly generous gift to Morgan’s Wonderland,” Hartman says. “This will enable us to expand programs and services for those with special needs in a safe, inclusive, uplifting environment. We look forward to many, many performances and special events at the Rapier Starlight Amphitheater.”
The Rapiers established the Blake, Kymberly and George Rapier Charitable Trust in 2006. Since then, the trust has donated a $1 million or more annually to causes promoting education, stay-in-school initiatives, homeless pets, needy animals and seniors. In 2011 alone, the trust donated more than $17 million to San Antonio causes.

George Rapier is the founder WellMed Medical Management Inc., a San Antonio-based company that provides health care to seniors. WellMed was bought out by UnitedHealthcare.

Full Article Here

The new standards, which were set in 2004 to give builders time to plan, affect amusement parks, movie theaters, event venues, hotel rooms and other facilities.

Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times

MURRIETA––The wading pool and plastic slide can stay stored in the garage this summer with a water park set to open by late May.

Construction for the first phase of the new water park going in at Mulligan Family Fun Center began Tuesday, March 1.

The project is set to be completed in five phases. This first phase, costing $1.5 million, consists of a 104-foot wide water play area, containing five slides, multi-level platforms, interactive aquatic controls, vibrant colors, spray nozzles and a Big Splash Pumping Station. Mulligan’s hopes to have it open by Memorial Day weekend.

Below the structure, however, will be a water run-off zone rather than a pool. The area will have a full staff of water attendants.

The structure will replace their Blaster Boat attraction, which is now closed indefinitely. However, none of the other attractions are going to be affected, and remain open, assured Scott Agajanian, group sales and marketing manager at Mulligan’s Family Fun Center.

Phase one also includes the addition of bathrooms with showers and locker rooms. This gives guests a place to get cleaned and dried off, especially if they want to enjoy other attractions after playing in the water.

Use of the water area will be included in a day pass, so guests have the option to enjoy all of the attractions. “There’s nothing more fun than going on the go-carts soaking wet, especially on a hot day,” said Agajanian.

Lounge chairs will be set up around the structure for guests who want to relax in the sun; cabanas will also be available for those who prefer to lounge in the shade. Plans to move concessions closer to the water area are in progress, and this area will allow for parties and events.

The play area is ultimately designed for children ages 3 to 13, but Agajanian says he is excited to go on the slides too. A water park Advertisement

DMM Note Investors ]gives another option for a family outing, which is needed in the growing area.

Comments left on different online articles about the water park, on other local news websites, show that residents are excited about the addition, especially for their families.

Summers in Murrieta, according to the Weather Channel website, average around 92 degrees in June, go to 98 degrees in July and August, and then back down to 93 in September.

It is not uncommon, however, for temperatures to go past 100 degrees. This climate not only requires a water park, according Agajanian, it also provides a long season for a water park since weather is warm almost year round. The water attractions would be closed during the winter months he added.

In past years a water park was planned to open in Temecula. Clearwater Waterpark Development of Orange County was behind the proposed park, Splash Canyon.

There are water parks in neighboring counties and in Palm Springs, but none that serve Southwest Riverside County.

Mulligan Family Fun Center can put in the park quickly, said Agajanian. Currently with the economy many amusement parks are not expanding, but Mulligan’s feels it can provide the anticipated park.

The timeline for the park’s completion is estimated at five years. The finished project will include more slides and a lazy river, a round pool of continuously moving water guests can float around in on inner tubes.

The only change that is being thought about is downsizing from two mini-golf courses to one course.

The center will keep all its other activities, and the inside area will remain untouched, said Agajanian. They will just have a water park too.

Eventually though, it is possible guests will be able to pay for admission to either the Family Fun Center or the water park, after it becomes a place one can spend an entire day at, said Agajanian.

Merlin Entertainments (Thailand), a leading UKbased operator of amusement parks and other attractions, is looking for investment opportunities in Bangkok



The company, which opened Madame Tussauds Bangkok in December, expects to operate three attractions in Bangkok within two years, which will be packaged together into a “cluster” to generate economies of scale.

The company will spend between Bt400 million and Bt500 million to develop one new attraction. It also plans to take over at least one other facility.

Paul Williams, the company director and general manager of Madame Tussauds Bangkok, said the company is looking for empty space in Bangkok to develop a “Lego Land Discovery Centre”.

He said that in London, the company runs clusters of entertainment attractions, including the London Eye, London Aquarium, and London Dungeon.

“In Bangkok, there is also the possibility of putting two or three attractions together so they can be sold in one package to customers,” said Williams.

He added that with the cluster system, the company would be able to manage several attractions at a low cost, as it will require just one marketing manager and one operations manager to handle all the facilities.

Merlin Entertainments last Thursday officially opened Madame Tussauds waxwork museum in Bangkok. Located in Siam Discovery Centre, the 3,000squaremetre museum is expected to attract about 500,000 visitors in the first year, of which at least 80 per cent will be Thais.

Williams said that following the soft opening on December 4, Madame Tussauds had received very positive feedback from its customers.

Madame Tussauds Bangkok features 80 waxworks of popular movie stars and celebrities, including Theeradej “Ken” Wongpuapan, Ann Thongprasom, Khemanit “Pancake” Jamikorn, Tata Young, Yuenyong “Aed Carabao” Opakul, Johnny Depp, Nicole Kidman and US President Barack Obama.

The museum will launch waxworks of Spiderman in March, Sukrit “Bie” Wisetkaew in April and popular Japanese cartoon character Doraemon in May.

In October, the museum will launch a 300squaremetre “Horror Maze”. It will also open a 200seat fourdimensional cinema in the next two years with an investment of Bt50 million.

Williams said Bangkok was a promising market with plenty of welleducated young people who enjoy a monthly income of between Bt20,000 and Bt25,000. They can’t afford to visit the Madame Tussauds museums in London and New York.

He said about 80 per cent of the Bangkok attraction’s customers are young people aged between 16 and 35.

Merlin Entertainments Group operates 62 attractions and six hotels in 13 countries around the world.

The company has Madame Tussauds wax museums in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The company will open a new Madame Tussauds in Vienna next month.

The Bangkok attraction is the first Madame Tussauds in Southeast Asia.

Mum’s the word on a new ride slated to join Dorney Park‘s lineup of belly-dropping, giggle-inducing thrillers, and park representatives say enthusiasts will have to wait until summer 2012 to try it out. Dorney Park’s parent corporation, Cedar Fair L.P., submitted a plan to South Whitehall Township for a new 138-foot-high amusement ride. But the plan doesn’t mention what kind of a ride it is, and the park’s general manager, Jason McClure, said his lips are sealed.

“We are keeping our focus on 2011 and all the new things we have in store with Planet Snoopy,” McClure said.

The park’s opening day will reveal the results of an $8 million top-to-bottom makeover of 10-year-old Camp Snoopy, the 3.5-acre children’s area named after the too-cool beagle from Charles Schulz‘s “Peanuts” comic strip. The renovation will bring six new rides, an amphitheater, a souvenir store and a “soda pop shop” featuring root beer floats. Dorney representatives will take questions about the proposed 2012 addition from the South Whitehall Planning Commission on Feb. 17, but even that won’t demystify the new ride. ”The Planning Commission can ask us a variety of questions… but it’s premature to get into a lot of detail,” McClure said.

That hasn’t stopped people from speculating that the incoming ride will be a coaster from California‘s Great America called Invertigo. The coaster happens to be 138 feet tall and is being relocated to another park within Cedar Fair’s amusement park empire, according to a Great America news release issued last week. Invertigo takes riders sitting face to face up a 138-foot-tall tower, then on several loops and twists both forward and backward through three inversions. The rumor of the swap surfaced last week on a theme-park fan site called Screamscape.com, but Dorney spokesman Chuck Hutchison said the rumors are just that — rumors. Invertigo reopened in July almost a year after a mechanical failure left two dozen people trapped 80 feet in the air for at least three hours, according to CNN. All of the trapped riders were rescued and no one was injured.

Under Dorney’s proposal for a new ride, several kiddie rides would be removed, as well as a basketball game, concrete midways and a portion of a paved service drive, affecting about 1.7 acres of the 187-acre property zoned as commercial recreation. Three Dorney rides are listed for sale on Ital International LLC, which dubs itself as the amusement industry’s most comprehensive new and used ride brokerage source. The Antique Cars and Dune Buggy rides are both listed for $18,000, and the Kiddie Merry-Go-Round is listed for $25,000.

The ride is slated for the western portion of the park, just north of Lincoln Avenue and Dorney Park Road and south of the mammoth Steel Force coaster, where the old Laser coaster used to be.

The Laser was removed in 2008 after 22 years of double-loop thrills. The portable coaster, anchored by tanks of water, was originally named Colossus.

The site of the new ride, where Laser stood, is on the edge of a 100-year flood plain. The location caused heated debate at the township level when Dorney sought approval for Laser. It was eventually approved with a host of conditions attached.

If Invertigo greets fans in 2012, it would be the park’s third inverted coaster, making Dorney Park the only amusement park in the country to have three true inverted coasters, according to a post on Screamscape.com.

McClure said the park will release more information on the ride this summer.

STAR WARS™ Miniland Area Planned for March Opening!

The Force was strong at LEGOLAND® California Resort when General Manager Peter Ronchetti announced that a new STAR WARS™ Miniland area will be opening at the family theme park on March 31, 2011. The announcement came when a Jedi Knight – flanked by stormtroopers from the 501st Legion – interrupted the Resort’s annual press conference in a maelstrom of darkness and lasers. Before the interruption, Ronchetti reviewed LEGOLAND California’s 2010 business results and announced the addition of Octopus Garden at SEA LIFE™ Aquarium; Splash Zoo at LEGOLAND Water Park; a LEGO® Hero Factory Experience inside LEGOLAND California and the re-launch of Park favorite Fun Town Fire Academy as Fun Town Police and Fire Academy.

“I am thrilled to be able to report that LEGOLAND California’s stellar growth streak has continued,” said Ronchetti.

“2010 was the most successful year in the history of LEGOLAND California Resort!” 2010 marked the seventh year of continuous growth for LEGOLAND California with double digit percentage growth in attendance over 2009. “Many theme parks across the country have reported difficult trading as a result of the challenging economic climate in recent years. So we feel very fortunate to be able to report that our attendance continues to grow,” Ronchetti continued.

Ronchetti attributed the Park’s success to continued expansion of Resort properties, specifically the addition of LEGOLAND Water Park, which opened in May 2010 and has already received many accolades including the World Waterpark Association’s prestigious Industry Innovation Award. The Industry Innovation Award is judged based on how the organization has set itself apart from others in terms of moving the industry to a new or higher plane

“More than just a year of exciting growth for LEGOLAND California, 2010 marked an exciting year for Merlin Entertainments Group here in the states,” Ronchetti continued. The second SEA LIFE Aquarium in the U.S. opened in Tempe, Arizona in May and it was announced that the second U.S. LEGOLAND Park, LEGOLAND Florida will open in Winterhaven, Florida in October of this year. Additional LEGOLAND Discovery Centers and SEA LIFE Aquariums are also cropping up across the U.S. with openings already planned in Texas and New Jersey.

“We expect continued success in 2011 with a multi-million dollar investment into expansions planned for all three Resort properties,” Ronchetti said as he went on to describe each of the new additions.

On March 31 LEGOLAND California becomes the first of three LEGOLAND Parks to launch a new STAR WARS Miniland area. Guests can enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action STAR WARS movies, as well as a scene from the animated series STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS™  all made out of 1.5 million LEGO bricks and built in 1:20 scale. Guests will be further immersed into the STAR WARS experience as they pose with life-size LEGO models of Chewbacca, R2D2 and Darth Vader. LEGOLAND Billund and LEGOLAND Deutschland will launch the STAR WARS Miniland area later this year.

Following a chronological path through the STAR WARS timeline, LEGOLAND guests retrace the major events of the beloved Saga. Some of the 2,000 LEGO models will be more than 6-feet-tall. Interactive buttons will allow children to activate animations throughout the scenes.

The models for the new STAR WARS area are being developed and built by eight model designers and two animation electricians at our sister park, LEGOLAND Deutschland. It will be up to Master Model Builders at LEGOLAND California to bring the scenes to life with the help of animation electricians, technicians and landscapers all working to ensure the LEGO models appear as realistic as possible with special effects and landscaping.

On February 17, a new LEGO Hero Factory attraction opens in the Imagination Zone. Here, young guests will be able to build and create their own heroes (or villains) and meet and greet their favorite Hero Factory characters. And from Feb. 17 through 27, guests will have the opportunity to build the largest LEGO mosaic to ever be built at LEGOLAND California. The 6-foot-tall, 26-foot-wide mosaic made of 298,368 LEGO bricks will depict an iconic scene from the Hero Factory saga and will be a permanent part of the new Hero Factory experience.

On April 12, one of the most popular rides in the Park – Fun Town Fire Academy – is being re-launched as the Police and Fire Academy. On this classic LEGOLAND ride, families pile into a fire truck and power it by pumping levers up and down as they race other families to put out the “fire”. The first family to make it back wins. Now the fire trucks are being joined by police vehicles and families race to put out fires and stop robbers.

On May 6, SEA LIFE Aquarium Carlsbad launches Octopus Garden, an interactive exhibit introducing families to the amazing world of cephalopods. From octopus and cuttlefish to nautilus, these distinctive creatures have almost supernatural abilities including camouflage, ink clouds and jet propulsion, that will surprise and delight adults and children alike. Octopus Garden replaces the Sharks Revealed exhibit that opened in 2008.

On May 26, Splash Zoo, a brand new area for toddlers, opens inside LEGOLAND Water Park. The DUPLO® Zoo themed area, located next to DUPLO Splash Safari and Kid Creek, features giant DUPLO Zoo animals – including a lion, a giraffe and a zebra – plus interactive spray pads, fountains and a teeter totter, all geared specifically for guests ages 1 to 3.

All of the new guest experiences are included in the cost of admission to LEGOLAND California Resort properties. For ticket prices, operating schedule and additional information, visit www.LEGOLAND.com or www.sealifeus.com or call 760-918-LEGO.

*** STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS GROUP is the leading name in location based, family entertainment, and has seen the most successful and dynamic growth of any company in the sector over the last five years. Europe’s No 1 and the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin has 69 attractions, 6 hotels and two holiday villages in 15 countries, across 4 continents. The company aims to deliver memorable and rewarding experiences to its 38.5 million visitors worldwide, through its iconic global and local brands, and the commitment and passion of its managers and 15,000 employees.

Pieces to Fit Together in New Park, From Bare Dirt

By Gary White
THE LEDGER

UK VAT changes for 4 Jan 2011

Overview

The standard rate of VAT in the UK is changing to 20% on the 4th of January 2011!

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.)

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.