montezooma

Of course I looked into the King Cobra situation and there are always two sides to every story...but from what I understand, Polin delivered their slides on time and to ASTM standards. The delays may have been due to permits and foundations not being ready. As far as the single tubes verss double tubes, again that may be a Six Flags corporate blanket (one rule applied to many different situations) policy. I rode the King Cobra many times both in a single tube and double tube and found the double tube to be a much better, yet more intense. I think we all know that when things get a little “too intense" Six Flags has a way of “neutering” attractions at the expense of capacity.

I think these two companies are equally spread out throughout the world and are equally great. I worked with Proslide quite a bit when I was with Paramount Parks and think they make an excellent product. The concept of Cowabunga Bay came to me when I visited Hersheypark with my kids, and rather than riding coasters we spent the entire day on the play structure. At the time they were the pretty much the only game in town when it came to play structures so this allowed me the opportunity to get up close and personal with White Water. They make an excellent product and I love everything that they do! I think it comes down to this: Proslide seems a little more innovative to me where as White Water lets other develop a concept and then they buy them or license the idea.

I am so pleased to see such interest in our Las Vegas project. Needless to say I am “over the moon” thrilled about the park. Our park in Draper has been a HUGE success and I like to credit much of that success on they way it is ran. As a huge theme park fan I am well away or “guest experience” and every day that I open the park I run it as if I were the guest. We will take that same concept and apply it to our Las Vegas project but on a much bigger scale. We will be making an official announcement soon so I can’t give away all the details but I will try to answer some of your questions in a vague kind of way. First of all we have been well aware of the Wet’n’Wild project for years. As a matter of fact, before Wet’n’Wild came on board we met with the Bulloch brothers and discussed a partnership. At they time I was interested in developing our smaller park concept so we passed on partnering. Also, I was not comfortable with the location. Fast forward a couple of years. I am still very interested in the Vegas market when approached by a group of developers that are working on the Henderson project. The location is dynamite, the developers are a perfect fit (family park guys rather than corporate) and we are more than ready to develop a second Cowabunga Bay. Everything seemed to fit. I am a HUGE fan of White Water West and love everything that they do, but because we came into the project a little late in the game the original partners had already been working with Polin. I had seen them at many trade shows and knew of them but very unfamiliar with their product. To make sure we were making the right decision I travelled to Turkey and toured their factory, inspected their manufacturing process and then traveled to several of their installations and rode and rode and rode. After becoming very water logged I was convinced that they were a quality company with a great product. They were looking for a major US install and they are a group of great guys that are innovative and approach “ride experience” in the same way that I do so they seemed to be a perfect fit. And yes, they are providing us with a “one of a kind, first in the world” water slide attraction! The play structure is a big part of what Cowabunga Bay is...and the one in Vegas will be the same. It will not be a duplicate as it will be manufactured by a different company. But you can expect that it will be different for the better...and yes, the splash will be HUGE! I am currently finalizing all the themeing of the park, which will set us apart from the other guys Expect to see some awesome stuff!!! Also, since we own the food rights to the Jay Ward characters you can expect to see Rocky and Bullwinkle incorporated into the park. I’ve said too much.

Below is a little snippet from the Polin newsletter that mentions our new park and the existing slides coming to Vegas. http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=5oe6g7cab&v=0011iPQ44Hokkp_oXUMAGQnDYmhNGG92RrOKU9Qp_Hen5xD51FbcRV1_wUodX6RYi4tTVzkJZGLdKeXTrfIJK3cOZklxeJGi9F1h8lnJgDs00SxTYbgyTj8EHvWDoeiV-n7B2RnMI8iPYUOW4ODhP6o_Dz05z9LPbw2uKoAS0QWVvBoogHInZiDFsIFyMjnjSDgx_yrL7yDYtpDeOIYsay5Hg%3D%3D Dear All, We wanted to send a short note to thank you for visiting our booth at the WWA convention. It was so wonderful to meet you in person. We truly appreciate your interest. We also wanted to share some exciting announcements from the show, in case you didn't hear about them: 1) A New Waterpark in Las Vegas Featuring a Thrilling, First-of-Its-Kind Ride From Polin! We are so excited to be part of the development and the waterpark supplier of this new 22-acre park. Cowabunga Bay Las Vegas will open next May in Henderson, Nev., with easy access at I-95 and Galleria Drive. It will be a fantastic place to take the family with a wide variety of family-focused attractions. Plus what is most exciting is the new ride we are creating for the park. The details of the new attraction are to be announced. We can only tell you that it will be unique and thrilling and again themed. But we won't keep you in the dark for long, because you can get details at... 2) The IAAPA Debut of Our Newest Waterpark Attraction! If you are coming to IAAPA next month, then please make sure to visit our booth, #2257, for the unveiling of the new ride and learn all the details! It will set awe-inspiring new standards for heart-pounding waterpark excitement!

Some exciting stuff happening in Vegas!

WOW, thanks...all these congratulations, it’s like I just got married...I mean, if I could.

Well now I know how Cedar Point, Carowinds and Six Flags St. Louis feel. It is tough to keep things secret in this day and age. We had planned on not announcing this until everything was finalized, but Fox 5 eventually put 2 and 2 together and called us out on the story. Thanks everyone for the congratulations, I am WAY excited to be bringing all the greatness that is Cowabunga Bay to Las Vegas on a MUCH larger scale. Stay tuned! https://www.facebook.com/CowabungaBayLasVegas

They had one a Lagoon for a couple of seasons. Not sure why they took it out. Yeah it was much more impressive to watch than to ride. About the same as a slow scrambler that tilts up about 45 degrees.

Hey TPRer’s. I am adding Shane’s Amusement Attic to Facebook so check it out and like it. Don’t worry, TPR will still be the official home of Shane’s Amusement Attic! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shanes-Amusement-Attic/412595505472065

I have finally gotten around to finishing the 1979 IAAPA Guide & Manual update. You might have to go back a couple of pages to get the full 111 pictures of this book. Back in the day if you needed a new park, midway game, popcorn or even a camera you couldn't go to the internet you had to get out the Guide and find what you needed. It was sort of the Amusement Industry Bible but without Jesus. So,in conclusion:

Wow! Very cool. I'll vote for silver/navy. It was those colors when I first rode it and I still think they look the best on it. I'm really curious who came up with the current train colors. They are very odd and unappealing, dare I say. When I worked at the park in 1995, there was an "upper" staff member wanting to "talk about that" (the current color scheme of white/vomit pink/beige) to the park president and the powers that be/those responsible, at the time. It was a big issue with some people who had say in the park. When I was director of design for Six Flags west coast parks I took it upon myself to shake up the colors of the coasters as well as the trains. They seemed to have all slipped into a state of dull and dreary. I had much success with repainting of rides while at Paramount (other than CGA Vortex which was not my best work but better than the black, green and rust it had been for years) parks including the likes of Carolina Cyclone (yellow, teal, purple trains) Thunder Road (blue, yellow & Grey scheme) Volcano and Carowinds Top Gun (fighting graphics on trains). The Shockwave trains were part of a grand color scheme that unfortunately never was fully realized. Along with the current color of the trains the ride was going to be painted similar to Carowinds Top Gun with royally blue supports and silver track. The trains got the paint job but not the ride. And there’s your answer!

Cool name...hate the logo!

Someone sent me this great bit of Amusement history. I bet you didn’t know before I ventured into the water park biz I dabbled in roller coaster design.

Thanks so much. This thread has been going on for several years and has hundreds of thousands of views. I never thought that it would amount to this. With Season 4 of Cowabunga Bay winding down I am anxious to get more stuff posted shortly. Thanks again everyone who comments and views this thread and makes it one of TPR’s top ten threads!!!! Shane

the radio code is, “There’s a Lady having a baby, HURRY!” and here’s the story. http://www.kutv.com/news/features/local/stories/vid_1294.shtml

Never a dull moment in the water park industry. Today we delivered our very first Cowabunga “BAy-BY” A 10 lb 6 oz beautiful baby boy was delivered at the park today. Congratulations to the happy parents!

This is what I posted last year after our first trip to Cowabunga Bay. We had the day off work today so we took our son (now 3 1/2) to Cowabunga Bay. How could we not? Everyday we drive down I-15 and pass 12300 South he says "I wanna go Cowabunga Bay". Everyday. Rain, shine, sleet, snow... He always wants to go to Cowabunga Bay. Apparently reaching 3 1/2 has his brain thinking more logically, because he decided today to be mostly afraid of the Rainfortress where last year he ripped down everything he could get on. But, he LOVED the Kids Cove! The purple slide there is absolutely perfect for him and we probably rode it 30 times. The only way we could get him out of that area to leave was to literally bribe him. I must say, Shane, that I feel sorry for your lifeguards in that area. They seemed to need to spend most of their time babysitting for lazy parents. What kind of parents leave a 2-year old unattended in a swimming pool? Also, nice work on fighting the recreation center. We were going to register to vote just to vote against it. As Draper residents we thought it was a bit ridiculous. This warms my heart!!! Thanks for this post and please, next time you are at the park stop by our guest service office and ask for me, I would like to meet you! -Shane

Well the good news is “Greeezed L:ightnin” (I would assume) is now up for sale at rock bottom prices. Anyone know of a small park owner who might be interested?

Huge Day today for Cowabunga Bay. First, we celebrated our 3 year Birthday. Yes, just 3 years ago we opened our little park with the World's Biggest Water Play Structure. Second, we opened our new for 2012 "Cowabunga Kid's Cove" today. You know it is a hit when the parents have to drag their screaming children out because the park is closed. And third, two weeks ago I found out that the city we are located in was going to build a $29,000,000 Rec Center which included every attraction that we had; lazy river, water slides and kids play area. Yes, essentially my tax dollars were going to build a water park that was going to compete against me. So I fought City Hall...and Hell to the Yes...I WON! Today that Mayor of Draper announced they are withdrawing their plans to build the Rec Center. http://www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_1021.shtml http://fox13now.com/2012/06/12/draper-city-leaders-to-discuss-alternatives-to-building-rec-center/ Here are some highlights beginning with this unique POV of a bucket dump. [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=Cowabunga_Bay_Bucket_POV_2r8j[/coastertube] A rainbow just as we opened our new attraction Our new water slide "The Squiggler"

Here is more from the IAAPA Guide. Part 3

Thanks and thanks and unfortunately No. I never went to the park and it was a little before my time and so I don’t have any park material on it either.

Yes, there are actually quite a few roller coaster & amusement park special as well as old park commercials all posted within this thread. It may help you to go to page one and go through the index. I have not been the best at keeping it up to date lately but you should be able to find some good viewing under Shane’s Retro VCR section of the index.

Yes, I do have quite the collection. As a kid I was obsessed with any information I could get my hands on that had anything to do with theme parks. I was fortunate my father was somewhat in the business and that afforded me a lot of opportunities to go to trade shows, meet people in the industry and get back stage inside looks at parks. I also have to thank my Mom who was wise enough not to throw away all my boxes when I left home for college. She put them all up in the "attic" knowing someday I would want to look through it all again...Thanks Mom! Here is a continuing look at the IAAPA Manual and Guide.

This has been a season of unique exclusives here in Shane’s Amusement Attic. There was the unique look at San Diego’s proposed AeroWorld park (thank you Meyers Jacobson) a look at another proposed San Diego Theme Park called “Gold Springs” and also some unique proposed projects for Paramount’s Great America. Here is another look at something rare that you might not find anywhere else. The 1979 IAAPA Manual & Guide. This guide has ads from parks, manufacturers and suppliers. Back before the days of internet and web pages this was the only way to get information out. So I am proud to present, in a multi-part series, this very unique and exclusive look at the IAAPA Manual & Guide. -Shane ahhh... I miss this place Hells to the yes on the Zipper!

I love taking trips with TPR and being able to write them off as business expenses. There is something to learn from every park I go to. Can I be you? Like, for a week? You might want to ask Miles or Robb and Elissa what it is like to be with me for a week. It is not all peaches and roses...lol