Mickey Mouse à la rescousse ! L'ouverture d'un Disneyland à Hongkong, lundi 12 septembre, représente, à lire la presse locale, l'espoir d'un nouveau souffle pour un territoire qui a du vague à l'âme. Retour dans le giron de la mère patrie en 1997, choc de la crise asiatique quelques mois plus tard, compétition accrue avec les grandes métropoles du continent chinois, taux de chômage en expansion, épidémie de SRAS : les problèmes ont été légion ces dernières années pour l'ancienne colonie britannique.
"Disneyland is our tomorrowland" ("Disneyland est notre pays de demain"), titre joliment le quotidien South China Morning Post, qui remarque dans son éditorial : "Rarement un projet a autant capté l'attention générale du public. Une importante somme d'argent des contribuables a été dépensée. Hongkong a le droit d'exiger que tout aille pour le mieux." Après avoir investi près de 2 milliards d'euros dans le projet, le chef de l'exécutif hongkongais, Donald Tsang, espère que cet "investissement stratégique" en rapportera une quinzaine dans les quarante prochaines années. Venu en personne inaugurer le parc, le vice-président chinois, Zeng Qinghong, s'est félicité de "la réussite de la coopération entre le gouvernement de Hongkong et Walt Disney".
Après une parade d'acrobates effectuant la traditionnelle "danse du lion", le parc a été solennellement déclaré ouvert au son d'une chorale d'enfants qui ont chanté un hymne de bienvenue en chinois, anglais, mandarin, cantonais et français, langues utilisées dans les divers Disneyland de la planète. Mais des voix discordantes s'élèvent déjà contre cette nouvelle américanisation culturelle d'une ville à l'identité mal définie : "La présence de Disney ne va faire qu'accroître notre réputation de grand supermarché de la consommation", déplore Kimburley Choi, une doctorante à l'université de Lingnan. Lee Cheuk-yan, député au Conseil législatif, la mini-Assemblée de Hongkong, s'est élevé contre les règles "inhumaines" du groupe américain : les employés du parc n'ont pas le droit de boire de l'eau devant les visiteurs et ne disposent que d'une pause de quinze minutes toutes les quatre heures...
Dimanche, un groupe de manifestants a instillé une nouvelle fausse note dans l'euphorie ambiante en installant devant le parc une cage emprisonnant une énorme peluche de la célèbre souris. Une manière de symboliser "l'exploitation des travailleurs et la colonisation culturelle" qu'incarne, selon eux, la présence de ce lieu de loisirs, qui va tout de même permettre la création de 36 000 emplois et peut-être augmenter de plus de 3 millions par an le nombre de touristes.
Source : Le Monde
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Arkansas — The X-Coaster, a breathtaking new attraction that will include the highest upside down inversion in the world, will make its North American debut at Magic Springs & Crystal Falls theme park in April 2006, Magic Springs and Maurer Rides GMBH, the manufacturer, announced today.
"The X-Coaster will be the latest thrill ride added to Magic Springs' great lineup of attractions that now includes The Gauntlet, our suspended looping coaster, Plummet Summit, the new spillwater ride in 2005, the highly acclaimed Arkansas Twister wooden coaster, Dr. Dean's Rocket Machine drop tower and others," said Dan Aylward, president and chief operating officer of Themeparks, LLC, which operates the park. "This exciting new ride will feature an upside down inversion at 150 feet, the highest in the world. It extends our program of making significant additions to our attractions that keep Magic Springs at the forefront of theme parks in the Central United States."
The X-Coaster will cost almost $4 million installed, Aylward said, and will bring Themeparks' investment in the park to more than $39 million.
While the name X-Coaster is used by the manufacturer to describe its ride, Magic Springs will conduct a contest to name its exciting new attraction. Details of the contest will be announced in the next few weeks.
The X-Coaster is based on innovative technology developed by the ride's manufacturer, Maurer Rides of Munich, Germany, that makes it possible to experience inverted ride elements without shoulder restraints. This is the second ride of its kind built in the world. The first has been operating outside Munich, Germany.
"The ride features a three-level safety system that will hold the rider in position throughout this high-intensity experience," Horst Ruhe, managing director of Maurer Rides, said. "This ride is definitely not for the faint of heart."
Describing the X-Coaster experience, Aylward said, "When the riders leave the loading platform, they are taken for a vertical ascent of 150 feet, at which point the car performs a thrillingly slow quarter-loop backwards, which has the riders hanging upside-down. Then the riders are sent on a 360-degree corkscrew roll, followed by a plummeting vertical drop at more than 65 miles an hour."
He continued, "At this point it appears that the riders will return to the starting station, but instead they rocket past the station, stop on the lift hill, drop backwards through the station at high speed, stop upside down and rocket forward through the station again." Aylward said. "Then, just when you think you are ready to return to the station, you are picked up on the lift hill and taken over the top for a second time."
"The unique design of this ride guarantees that each row of seats provides a different ride experience," Aylward said. "The slightly elevated back seats in each car give an excellent view and the backwards motion of the train provides additional thrilling experiences."
The single 12-person two-car train can accommodate about 500 people an hour, Aylward said.
The ride, which is being built in Germany, will be transported to Hot Springs in January and February of 2006, and installation will begin immediately upon its arrival. It is expected to be completed in April, Aylward said.
Season tickets for the 2006 season are on sale now via the park's website at www.magicsprings.com, or by contacting the sales department at 501-624-0100. Regular Season passes are currently $39.95 through September 25 and include a free upgrade to a Gold Pass when processed during this operating season. As of September 26, the passes will be $49.95 with the free upgrade through January 1. After January 1, season passes will be priced at $49.95 for regular season passes and $59.95 for the high value Gold Pass. All season passes allow unlimited visits to Magic Springs & Crystal Falls as well as admission to the 2006 summer concert series at the park's Timberwood Amphitheater. Gold Passes include free parking and special value discounts throughout the park.
Magic Springs is located on Highway 70 East in Hot Springs, 45 minutes southwest of Little Rock.
The rides and water park are open Saturday and Sunday through September. On September 30 and October 1, Magic Springs will host the Hot Springs Oktoberfest celebration. On October 2, Magic Springs will introduce its all-new Magic Screams Halloween Festival with a preview showing exclusively for season pass holders. Magic Screams will then be open to the public Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays through the rest of October.
Source : RCDB
AstroWorld theme park in Houston to close
The theme park company said it expects the property will yield a good price and the money from the sale of the 37-year-old park would be used to reduce debt and for general corporate purposes. The sale must be approved by Six Flags' bank lenders.
Kieran Burke, chairman and CEO of Six Flags, said the company decided the best way to enhance shareholder value was to sell the theme park because of the significant increase in real estate values in the Houston market.
"While we continually review our properties in order to determine the best allocation of resources, it is important to note that a unique set of circumstances applies to the AstroWorld property and this action should not be considered indicative of our intentions for any of our other parks," Burke said in a release.
Oklahoma City-based Six Flags said it considered the park's performance in the past several years as well as issues over offsite parking rights related to Reliant Stadium and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.
The closing will affect 119 permanent jobs, but Six Flags said a number of those people may be offered jobs at other Six Flags sites. The park also hires 1,500 people for seasonal jobs. Those will not be affected for the remainder of the 2005 season.
The company plans to move some of its equipment from AstroWorld to the Six Flags SplashTown water park in Houston.
Source : The Associated Press
Design : Hitmaaan
