The Long View – Scottish FEC goes green to the extreme.

Even though The Bubbles Factory in Carluke, Scotland (population 19,000), might be the greenest family entertainment center (FEC) on the planet, Martin Hannah doesn’t consider himself a staunch environmentalist. Rather, the 50-year-old owner describes himself as a “canny Scotsman,” to use the local vernacular.

“It means to be wise and cautious with your purchases,” he explains.

Hannah decided to follow a 20-year business plan for his tiny 5,000-square-foot, £1.1 million (US$1.7 million) facility. With time on his side, he opted to go green in virtually every way. Hannah knew he would spend additional money up front, but in the end it would be more profitable—and much better for the environment.

The brainstorm for The Bubbles Factory came in 2005 when he took his wife and niece to a nearby soft play center. Between the plastic garden furniture and overwhelming smell of French fries (which stuck to your clothes when you left the place, he says), the facility offered little in terms of quality to area families. “We could do it so much better,” Hannah recalls thinking.

Over the next four years, he researched, negotiated, researched some more, and acquired financing. Construction began in September 2009 on the site of an old, decrepit building in the town center; doors opened in November 2010. From concept to delivery, Hannah, who still also owns a billboard advertising company, played a major role in every part of the process—hard work that has already paid off.

People travel as far as 80 miles to visit The Bubbles Factory, which recently won the Play Providers Association’s competition for the best new indoor soft play and café in the United Kingdom.

The mix of diligent planning and use of high-end, environmentally conscious equipment, technology, and materials prove to be his magic formula for business success.

“I think it’s the clever way of doing things,” he says. “There’s a long-lasting benefit.”

Building Construction
Hannah excavated the site into a hill, removing 1,600 tons of soil that was then reused elsewhere in the community. The back of the building is actually about 15 feet underground (more on that below.)

For the construction, Hannah relied on recyclable materials, including steel beams, wall panels, flooring, the slate roof, and insulation.

Heating and Cooling
In the café area, heated water radiates in pipes under the floor and comes up to guests’ feet. Rather than a conventional radiator, this setup creates a more even distribution of heat throughout the room and uses less energy, Hannah says.

For cooling the facility, he installed a passive ventilation system. Between the structure and the hill there’s a maintenance area that doesn’t get any sunlight and contains a well of cold air all year long. A low-level vent from this well is wired to other high-level vents. So when the soft play center reaches a certain temperature, the vents automatically open incrementally and warm air naturally releases outside at the high level and draws the cool air in at the low level. This system creates gentle air movement throughout the building.

“You let nature work for you rather than against you,” Hannah notes.

Food
Hannah purchases most food from inside the town. “We try to support the local economy and local jobs,” he says, adding “low-mileage goods” result in less fuel costs and food waste. Since most items are on his doorstep, he doesn’t have to carry a huge stockpile. “We can just go down the road and pick up what we need as we need it.” Plus, fresher ingredients mean higher-quality eats, always made to order.

Kitchen
While staff in The Bubbles Factory kitchen focus on cooking top-notch food, the appliances work to save energy (and money).

Hannah owns two ovens that required a higher capital outlay but now have lower running costs. The staff uses only the one smaller oven during the slower times; when business picks up, they have greater flexibility: One oven can roast, while the other can steam. Also, the ovens automatically detect the type and size of food to determine the most appropriate cooking temperature.

The eco-friendly refrigeration unit indentifies the quantities in the fridge and freezer and adjusts its chilling accordingly. And the fryer automatically uses internal pumps to filter the oil, leading to less cross-contamination of flavors and extending the oil life by 100 percent. In addition, Hannah recycles the oil.

Lighting and Electricity
Hannah uses low-wattage lighting exclusively, and all florescent lights are zoned and dimmable. This allows output to better suit daily requirements. Also, a smart meter takes an electricity reading every 30 minutes, letting Hannah analyze usage throughout the day.

Bathroom
About 20 minutes after someone leaves the bathroom, all lights and fans turn off. They automatically flick back on when a guest opens the door. The backs of the urinals sport a flag in a golf hole emblem, giving men something to aim for. This simple trick cuts down on the “overspill” mess, Hannah says, which frees up staff maintenance time and cuts down on cleaning supplies.

The Future
With tongue firmly in cheek, Hannah has some keen ideas on ways to tap into all the busy energy of his young guests. “If someone invents a giant hamster wheel for the kids to run in, I’ll be the first to connect a dynamo to it to run the lights!” he jokes.

Contact Contributing Editor Mike Bederka at mbederka@IAAPA.org.

The Monkey’s Treehouse is under new ownership.  Jamie Ladd, Holly Pring and Leslie Carpenter became the new owners on Thursday, January 19th.  We loved The Monkey’s Treehouse so much that we bought both locations!  We are so excited to be a part of something our children love and we are so thankful to Natalie McMullen for creating such a wonderful, fun place to work and play!  We plan to make a great place even better!

Be sure to visit us on Facebook and tell all your friends to Like us!  Birthday parties are booking up fast, so call today or book online through our website www.themonkeystreehouse.com!

A $5 million indoor entertainment center under construction north of Dayton and expected to open this spring is being described as the largest in the nation.

Scene75 Entertainment Center, one exit south of the Interstate 70/75 interchange, will feature 124,000 square feet of indoor attractions, coupled with seasonal outdoor offerings.

The attractions include a full service-restaurant; two indoor bars with 70-inch HD TVs and live sports tickers; an outdoor patio with food and beverage service; an indoor electric go-kart track; a multi-level laser tag arena; an indoor bouncing inflatable arena; a redemption and video arcade; an interactive gaming theater with giant screens; two 4D theaters; four mini-bowling lanes; a 10-car bumper car system; three outdoor sand volleyball courts (with plans to expand to nine courts); two outdoor bocce courts; live fantasy sports leagues; a concession stand; eight private party rooms; and a banquet hall.

Jim “Radar” Martin, who has been the general manager at Tank’s Bar & Grill in Dayton for 25 years, will serve as the venue’s food and beverage manager and will operate the restaurant, Radar’s Bar & Grill. It will serve pretzels, nachos, burgers, pizzas and other American grill fare.

Set to open in late spring, possibly mid- to late April, Scene75 will be at 6196 Poe Ave., in a former furniture warehouse across the highway from the restaurants and motels on Miller Lane, according to Jonah Sandler. The Cincinnati native and Sycamore High School graduate, now a Dayton resident, co-owns the venue with a group of investors.

“We felt that there is a significant void in the market for something of this nature,” he said. “We felt that this was a very good opportunity with significant potential that hasn’t been accomplished within this area or even in the industry.”

Sandler, who opened Putters Par-adise at Englewood Fun Center, a miniature golf course that he designed, and the Chaos Room in Centerville, an interactive gaming theater that will have its second outpost at Scene75, said he traveled the country touring existing entertainment facilities and believes Scene75 will be the largest in the country. Industry data seem to support that claim. David Mandt, spokesperson for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), an international trade association for permanently situated amusement facilities, said Scene75 would quality as what the industry calls a “family entertainment center” (FEC), which refers to any center with a variety or collection of attractions. Mandt said there are approximately 1,500 FECs in the U.S.; based on the IAAPA’s State of the Industry Survey for Family Entertainment Centers, facility sizes range from 5,000 square feet to 20 acres (factoring in both indoor and outdoor facilities), but the average size for an indoor FEC is 23,911 square feet, Mandt said.

“This is certainly a very, very large center by industry standards,” he said of Scene75’s proposed 124,000 square feet of indoor attractions.

Ben Jones, IAAPA’s FEC specialist, agreed, noting that many centers are larger than 124,000 square feet when both indoor and outdoor attractions are included; however, he said he doesn’t know of any centers with indoor offerings in that size range. By comparison, Dave & Buster’s centers tend to be in the 50,000-60,000-square-foot range, he said.

Sandler said Scene75 will cater to all ages, but it was designed with adults in mind. Patrons won’t pay an admission fee but instead will load a card with currency, which will be deducted as they use the attractions.

“We have tried to appeal to the adult audience with the belief that if we can get the adults, the kids will come,” he said. “With the amount of attractions we’re offering, we’ll be able to appeal to all audiences … whether someone is looking for a date night idea, a birthday party for kids or a corporate event.”

“We anticipate being able to attract people from 75 miles away,” he added. “With 11 or so motels across the street and 30 or so restaurants, there’s a lot of traffic in the area.”

For updates, visit the venue’s Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/Scene75.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120125/ENT/301230167/Entertainment-center-open-near-Dayton?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

Submit Photos of Your Facility to IAAPA and Your Attraction Could be Featured on the IAAPA WebSite!

Dear IAAPA Members,

Please consider submitting photos of your facility to us to post on our website. Your pictures may be featured as one of the rotating images on the homepage, at the top

of one of our web sections, or in various IAAPA marketing materials.

If your facility’s picture is chosen, the name and location of the facility will be listed with the picture. This will be our way of saying “thank you” as we publicize your facility to thousands of people who view our web pages each week.

Your pictures must be 750 pixels wide by 200 pixels high, 75dpi resolution in JPG format (panoramic view) in order to be considered for placement. If you’re interested in participating, please complete the online form and upload pictures of your facility.

Thanks for your consideration and we look forward to seeing your photos! If you have questions, please contact webmaster@IAAPA.org for more information.

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Waterpark coming to Norman next year

By Joy HamptonThe Norman Transcript

Jumping soon to a mall near you

Jump A Roos, set to open this July in the Southland Mall in Cutler Bay, says it will be Miami’s largest indoor inflatable play area.

LEDWINS@MIAMIHERALD.COM

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.