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Last Remaining External Fuel Tank to be Mated With Space Shuttle Endeavour at California Science Center

Joe Kleiman
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Last Remaining External Fuel Tank to be Mated With Space Shuttle Endeavour at California Science Center

Los Angeles, CA, USA – The California Science Center Foundation has announced the next phase of “Mission 26” with the acquisition and planned move of the only flight-qualified External Tank (ET-94) in existence from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the Science Center in Los Angeles. The donation of this never-used artifact from NASA is significant, and allows the Science Center to fulfill its vision of building a full stack for Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final display in the launch position in the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

This will mark the only time an ET has traveled through urban streets and will evoke memories of when Endeavour traveled 12-miles from the Los Angeles International Airport to the Science Center and was cheered on by a crowd of 1.5 million in 2012. The ET-94 move is expected to take place sometime from the end of 2015 to early 2016, depending on weather conditions and the progress of cosmetic restorations.

The ET’s journey to the California Science Center and its subsequent attachment to the Orbiter will be historic. Following NASA’s customary transport methods for an External Tank, ET-94 will be shipped by barge. It will travel from the Michoud Assembly Facility through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles, then on through city streets to its final destination at the California Science Center’s Samuel Oschin Pavilion. The entire journey will take six to eight weeks.

NASA_Terry Zaperach

Larger and longer than Endeavour, the ET was the Orbiter’s massive “gas tank” and contained the propellants used by the Space Shuttle Main Engines (though ET-94 is empty). The tank, the only major, non-reusable part of the space shuttle, is neither as wide as Endeavour (32 feet versus 78 feet) nor as high (35 feet versus 56 feet). Because of this, fewer utilities will be impacted and no trees will be removed along ET’s route from the coast to Exposition Park, though some trimming may be necessary. The path it will take through the streets is currently being planned with city officials, utilities and community groups.

“With this gift from NASA, we will have the ability to preserve and display an entire stack of flight hardware, making the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center an even more compelling educational experience.  It will allow future generations to experience and understand the science and engineering of the space shuttle,” notes California Science Center President Jeffrey N. Rudolph.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti adds that, “We are thrilled that NASA has gifted the California Science Center and the city of Los Angeles with the last surviving flight-qualified space shuttle external tank (ET) in the world. The city plans to work with the Science Center to make this a great welcome and celebration as it did with Endeavour two and a half years ago. As it makes its journey, from the coast to the Science Center, it will inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, contributing to LA’s trajectory of becoming a hub of technological innovation and the Science Center’s mission as a leader in science learning.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price adds that, “This is just the beginning of increased economic vitality and interest in science learning in this district, sparked by the California Science Center’s Mission 26. The Science Center has experienced a major increase in tourism since the arrival of Endeavour. We now expect to attract even more visitors from across the nation and around the world as the Science Center continues to build the full stack with the ET and later the Solid Rocket Boosters for the final launch display at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. I am thrilled that another historic journey through the streets of Los Angeles will unite our community again in a welcoming celebration.”

VIDEO: Syfy’s Sharknado 3 Attacks Universal Studios Florida

Joe Kleiman
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VIDEO: Syfy’s Sharknado 3 Attacks Universal Studios Florida

Orlando, FL, USA (June 5, 2015) —In this first promo trailer released yesterday for the latest installment of the campy killer sharks caught in a tornado franchise, scenes shot at Universal Orlando Resort make an appearance, including the Rip Ride Rockit coaster, which will play a prominent role in this television film as the theme park finds itself under attack.  Both Universal Orlando and Syfy are properties of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast.

Medialon’s Overture to Make US Debut at InfoComm 2015

Joe Kleiman
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Medialon’s Overture to Make US Debut at InfoComm 2015

Coral Gables, FL, USA (June 4, 2014) — The Overture facility-wide AV Management system will be introduced to the U.S. market by Medialon at the upcoming InfoComm 2015 June 17–19 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.

Medialon’s Overture was met with critical reception after its international ISE debut in January, resulting in the AV management system being integrated into a multitude of places including a conference center and a theme park.

Available for use in a range of locations including museums, concert venues, and sport stadiums, Overture makes it easy to control company-wide technology using one dynamic, innovative software.

“Overture was designed to be an AV Control System for the IT world. It is built on technologies that IT Managers and CIOs know and trust, and the response from the market has been fantastic!” said Eric Cantrell, Senior Sales Manager, Medialon.

Medialon develops user-friendly management solutions for monitoring and integrating audiovisual resources, information technology, and building systems for an overall better user experience.

Created by seasoned AV veterans for IT departments, Overture eliminates old, bulky hardware and programming by creating easy-to-use interfaces through simple configuration. Medialon also eliminates the need to bring in outside specialized programmers or hold extensive employee training sessions as well.

In addition to system-wide control, Overture has many other benefits including eliminating unnecessary hardware in every room by centralizing AV control and management to software that runs on virtual machines on existing server hardware. It detects and can alert staff about equipment errors and can automatically power down equipment when not in use, extending the useful life of AV gear and saving energy.

Stop by Medialon’s booth (4855) to learn more about its diverse customer base and already active control systems worldwide. Visit http://medialon.youcanbook.me to reserve a meeting time.

PBS Documentary Leads to Los Angeles Emmy Nomination for BRC Imagination Arts

Joe Kleiman
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PBS Documentary Leads to Los Angeles Emmy Nomination for BRC Imagination Arts

Los Angeles, CA, (June 4, 2015) – BRC Imagination Arts has been nominated for a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award in the category of PUBLIC, MUNICIPAL AND OPERATOR PRODUCED CABLE for “The Wedge: Dynasty, Tragedy, Legacy” which originally aired on PBS SoCaL.

The show was created by a team at BRC Imagination Arts. The four producers sharing this nomination are long time BRC collaborator and segment producer for Southern California Public Radio, R. H. Greene (who also directed), plus three BRC producers Emily Heller, Stephen Rebori and Bob Rogers.

“This is very unexpected and a complete thrill,” said BRC’s Chief Creative Officer, Bob Rogers who is also the on-camera host for the show. “BRC Imagination Arts is best known as an experience design agency that turns brands and subjects into destinations. Normally BRC conceives, designs, and makes emotionally evocative destinations for corporate visitor centers, museums and entertainment attractions. This was BRC’s very first venture into television. An LA Area Emmy nomination is very encouraging.” Rogers added, “We are very grateful and thankful for the collaboration and support from PBS SoCaL in making this possible.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE WEDGE TRAILER

“This was a true collaboration. Everyone on our team was deeply moved by this historical tragedy of a great man laid low and his courageous response to adversity. We wanted to communicate this emotional connection to this remarkable true story…” stated R.H. Greene, one of the producers on the project.

“The Wedge: Dynasty, Tragedy, Legacy” tells the story of a young heir to a dynasty, who makes a tragic mistake that forever changes a family, a community and the sport of surfing. This historic family tragedy indirectly created one of California’s most notorious surfing spots, The Wedge, in Newport Beach.

The winners will be announced at the 67th Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards presentation on Saturday evening, July 25th, 2015 at the Skirball Cultural Center. There is a total of 156 nominations across 46 categories. Los Angeles Area nominees were selected by national active and Los Angeles Area Peer Group active members within the Television Academy.

For upcoming air dates of “The Wedge; Dynasty, Tragedy, Legacy”, check the PBS SoCaL schedule at:
http://www.pbssocal.org/tv/schedule/#page=schedule&day=20150604&provider=Broadcast

The Selig Experience brings Milwaukee baseball history to life

Martin Palicki
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The Selig Experience brings Milwaukee baseball history to life

Nestled in a corner of the Loge Level at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI, The Selig Experience brings together the worlds of destination-based themed entertainment and sports history. The attraction is a journey through one man’s life: Alan H. (Bud) Selig. Credited with bringing major league baseball back to Milwaukee, Selig is a former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and Commissioner Emeritus of Major League Baseball.

Telling the Story

IMG_4594To tell the story, the Brewers engaged BRC Imagination Arts to develop a ten minute show and experience that captured Selig’s story, which is also the story of Milwaukee baseball.

Inside the theater, three benches seat 35 guests that face three screens, which show baseball cards from the Brewers’ past. The film touches on how Selig grew up loving baseball and eventually fought to bring the Brewers to Milwaukee, when hope for a major league team had faded. Selig’s next major achievement was when he convinced state officials to build Miller Park, one of the most advanced stadiums in the country. Finally, the film looks at Selig’s impact to the larger game of baseball as Commissioner.

At the end, one screen raises and Bud appears, standing in a life-size recreation of his old office, extolling the virtues of baseball. The effect is a simple one, and while many refer to Bud as a hologram, BRC’s Bob Rogers characterizes it as a “significant digital improvement on Pepper’s Ghost effect.”

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Selig’s office is on display after the show. The curtains hide the technology that makes Bud appear in the office during the show.

Following the show, guests are led into the Bud’s office, with its trademark piles of papers and a smoking cigar in an ashtray. From there, guests enter a small room with Selig memorabilia on the walls, as the next group is ushered into the theater.

Placing the experience into a category is challenging. Officials refer to it as a multimedia presentation but it is much more than that. The best description comes from BRC’s Christian Lachel, who calls the experience an “emotional souvenir,” a gift to the fans of the Brewers.

BRC’s Rich Procter, who wrote the script for the show, wanted people to understand at the end that “I’m in this beautiful stadium tonight because of Bud Selig.” He credits the success of the show to the Brewers’ motivation, which was purely to do something nice for Bud and the fans. “It’s a wonderful place to start a project from,” said Procter.

The BRC Team at the grand opening of The Selig Experience
The BRC Team at the grand opening of The Selig Experience

Brad Shelton, BRC’s Creative Director on the project, agrees that the story behind the project is what drives its success. “All the technology is meaningless without a great story – and what a great story this is,” said Shelton.

“When I watched the film it was really emotional,” said Selig. “What you see here is a little boy’s dream that came true.”

Building the Show

In addition to the story being fascinating, the work that went into the space that houses the experience is noteworthy in its own right. In order to isolate the theater space from all the noise and vibrations 40,000 fans make during a game, the theater is built within a larger room. Two ceilings, and two sets of walls, with an air gap between, eliminate noise and vibrations. Nat Stein of Uihlein-Wilson Architects explained that resilient connections in the ductwork and piping absorb any vibrations and is kept separate from the main building structure.

Brewers Owner Mark Attanasio, Bud Selig and BRC's BRad Shelton
Brewers Owner Mark Attanasio, Bud Selig and BRC’s Brad Shelton

Tech MD created a projector stabilizing system that keeps the projectors from moving when the floors shake (presumably after a home run).

QSC’s Q-Sys controls A/V systems while ETC’s Mosaic provides overall show control. An Alcorn McBride BinLoop runs the show video.

Architectural Credits:

Architect: Uihlein Wilson Architects, Inc.

General Contractor: Hunzinger

Acoustics:  Talaske

Electrical: Czarnecki Engineering

Mechanical: Thunderbird Engineering

Structural: Graef

 

Alcorn McBride Brings Horror to Life at Walibi Holland’s X-Press: Platform 13

Joe Kleiman
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Alcorn McBride Brings Horror to Life at Walibi Holland’s X-Press: Platform 13

Orlando, FL, USA (June 3, 2015) – Taking a cue from its successful Halloween haunts, Walibi Holland theme park in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands has reimagined its steel roller coaster as “X-Press: Platform 13,” with an entirely new look and feel to the ride.  The newly revised attraction adds a mysterious backstory, which unfolds in the queue to extend the guest experience.

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Guests entering the queue watch vintage-style news reports describing an infamous subway train crash and the many mysterious events that followed. As guests wind their way through the queue, they are immersed in the an eerie atmosphere of piercing train headlights, blaring horns, squealing brakes and PA announcements.

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Arriving at Platform 13, an out of control train races past, its brakes squealing. Then their own train approaches. Once onboard, guests are launched, accelerating to 94.3 km/h in just 2.9 seconds. Entering the final tunnel, passengers see the safety light blinking red, but their train is not stopping.  The train seems to slide on the track, and a final pyro effect concludes this heart-stopping ride.

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Nightlife Productions provided creative design, programmed the lighting, installed the attraction and hired Frank Ruisch from AV Syncworks, who designed the sound effects.

Ruisch chose to use only real elements to capture the ghostly atmosphere. Cars rumble on the street overhead as daylight quivers through a manhole cover. While crossing a bridge over a construction zone, guests hear a roar and see the headlights of a subway train racing toward them, and stopping just in time.

IMG_6832Alcorn McBride equipment provides the elaborate video, audio and lighting synchronization throughout the attraction. “Alcorn McBride products are the only ones I work with,” says Ruisch.  “They are reliable, reliable, reliable.”

Alcorn McBride’s V4 Pro frame-accurate controller manages the entire show.  The status of projectors and other show elements can be monitored using Alcorn McBride’s ShowTouch interface running on an Apple iPad.

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A DMX Machine and a LightCue create synchronous lighting effects, and control 30 LED fixtures for the phantom subway train approach.  An A/V Binloop HD drives projectors for spooky visual displays and creates the out of control train. An AM4 Digital Audio Machine provides audio effects for the finale. And a ProTraXX is the main audio source for the queue.

Ruisch gives kudos to ProTraXX for its extensive use in “X-press: Platform 13.”  “ProTraXX is by far the best multi-channel MP3 player there is.  It’s lightning fast and has professional balanced outputs.  It even announces the correct time every five minutes.  An amazing machine from an amazing company.  I couldn’t do my job without it!”

Morgan’s Wonderland Awarded TripAdvisor Certificate for Fourth Consecutive Year

Joe Kleiman
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Morgan’s Wonderland Awarded TripAdvisor Certificate for Fourth Consecutive Year

San Antonio, TX, USA (June 3, 2015) – Morgan’s Wonderland theme park has earned a certificate of excellence from TripAdvisor , the world’s largest travel website, for “earning exceptional traveler ratings over the past year.”  This marks the fourth consecutive year the park has received this award.

This recognition places Morgan’s Wonderland in the top-performing 10 percent of all businesses worldwide on TripAdvisor, said Stephen Kaufer, TripAdvisor president and CEO.  To qualify for the award, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor, and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

Morgan’s Wonderland, a safe, affordable and completely wheelchair-accessible park, will be open daily through mid-August with the exception of Mondays.  And just like last summer, the park will open at 9 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday to take advantage of milder morning temperatures for guest comfort and enjoyment.

Late last year, TripAdvisor affiliate VacationHomeRentals.com named Morgan’s Wonderland the “best family attraction” in Texas.  The top family attraction in each state can be found at www.vacationhomerentals.com/blog/best-family-attraction-every-state-usa/.  

Offering more than 25 attractions including rides, playgrounds and gardens for everyone’s enjoyment, Morgan’s Wonderland is the center of a family fun destination known as Wonderland, Texas, said Ron Morander, general manager.  Wonderland, Texas also includes  the 8,000-seat home of the San Antonio Scorpions pro soccer team, 2014 North American Soccer League champs;  the STAR (South Texas Area Regional) Soccer Complex, with 13 first-class fields for league and tournament play; and  Monarch Academy at Morgan’s Wonderland, a school for students with special needs ages 12 to 24.

Falcon’s Treehouse Honors the Begining of Space Flight with KSC’s Heroes and Legends Exhibit

Joe Kleiman
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Falcon’s Treehouse Honors the Begining of Space Flight with KSC’s Heroes and Legends Exhibit

Orlando, FL, USA (June 2, 2015) — Falcon’s Creative Group announces Heroes and Legends, featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, its most recent collaboration with Delaware North and NASA.

“We are beyond thrilled to further collaborate with Delaware North and NASA at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in developing this inspiring new experience,” says President and Chief Creative Officer, Cecil D. Magpuri. “We also are excited to be a part of yet another milestone in NASA’s rich history.”

This new attraction will bring guests to the center stage for a unique experience in which they will be immersed in the enthralling stories of NASA’s legendary astronauts. Heroes and Legends will be an homage to the service of the brave pioneers of our generation who forever changed the trajectory of the world.

On May 29th, 2015, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex held a groundbreaking ceremony to unveil this latest attraction, which will mirror the turning point in NASA’s future space exploration initiatives. In addition to commemorating the opening of the newest attraction, the groundbreaking ceremony will mark the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Falcon’s scope of services for Heroes and Legends will include concept design, schematic design, design development, media production and executive production. Heroes and Legends is scheduled to be open in 2016.

TEA/AECOM 2014 Theme and Museum Indexes Released, Available for Download Here

Joe Kleiman
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TEA/AECOM 2014 Theme and Museum Indexes Released, Available for Download Here

[quote]The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is pleased to collaborate with AECOM to present the TEA/AECOM 2014 Theme Index and Museum Index.  The 2014 edition represents the 9th time that TEA and AECOM have joined forces on this annual study. It is an essential resource for charting growth, increasing awareness, and celebrating excellence in the visitor attractions industry.” -TEA president Steve Birket[/quote]

Click here to download the TEA/AECOM 2014 Theme Index and Museum Index.

Los Angeles, CA, USA (June 3, 2015) — The TEA/AECOM Theme Index and Museum Index identifies industry trends and calendar-year visitation numbers for theme parks, water parks, museums and the top theme park group operators.  It is considered the definitive global attendance study by the economics practice at AECOM. .

“The industry continued its post-recession attendance growth at a healthy rate of 4 percent for the top theme parks globally,” said John Robinett, AECOM senior vice president, economics, Americas. “That growth reflects a post-recession rebound in all regions: Europe at 3 percent, the Americas at 2 percent and Asia at 5 percent.”

Attendance growth at the top museums worldwide came in at just under 2 percent.

In theme parks and waterparks, worldwide trends to watch include Asia growth, Middle East resurgence, resort-style development, and the initiatives of the large, established operators.

A Chinese language print edition of the TEA/AECOM 2014 Theme Index and Museum Index will be available at the IAAPA Asian Attractions Expo in Hong Kong June 16-19.

Worldwide growth:

4 percent for theme parks, 3 percent for waterparks, 2 percent for museum

“The industry continued its post-recession attendance growth at a healthy rate of 4 percent for the top theme parks globally,” said John Robinett, AECOM senior vice president, economics, Americas. “That growth reflects a post-recession rebound in all regions: Europe at 3 percent, the Americas at 2 percent and Asia at 5 percent.”

Waterparks showed similar global growth of around 3 percent. “The waterparks sector continues to expand in Latin America and Asia, with great potential in the Middle East,” said Robinett. “This year’s study also includes European waterparks for the first time, revealing a significant market in Germany.”

In theme parks and waterparks, worldwide trends to watch include Asia growth, Middle East resurgence, resort-style development, and the initiatives of the large, established operators. “Asia will keep growing and raising the bar for quality,” said Robinett. “The Middle East is making a comeback. Universal parks showed double-digit increases due to new Wizarding World of Harry Potter attractions, and there are more to come. And there is tremendous anticipation for the 2016 opening of Disney Shanghai.”

Attendance growth at the world’s top museums in 2014 was considered a bit slow at under 2 percent, in comparison to the performance of parks and waterparks. “Museum attendance worldwide is very sensitive to the schedules of blockbuster traveling exhibitions,” said Robinett.

The Americas:

Top operators stay on top, museums reinvest and reinvent

“Growth at U.S. theme parks was concentrated in the top nine parks — all Disney and Universal properties — underscoring the growing dominance of the major operators,” said Brian Sands, AECOM vice president, economics, Americas. With little fluctuation in ranking from the previous year, the top six North American parks are all Disney parks, with The Magic Kingdom at Disney Orlando Resort in the number one position. The 7th through 9th positions are held by Universal Studios parks.

“Comparing attendance growth at U.S. theme parks and waterparks with that of Latin America shows a stable, mature market versus a dynamic, younger one,” said Sands. The U.S. top 20 theme parks grew 2.2 percent from 2013 to 2014, while the top 20 waterparks came in at 1.6 percent. Latin America’s top 10 theme parks, on the other hand, grew 5.1 percent — helped by double-digit increases at Beto Carrero World (Brazil; 10 percent) and Parque Mundo Aventura (Colombia; 23.5 percent). Even more dynamic was the nearly 6-percent growth of the top 10 Latin American waterparks; double-digit performers were Wet ‘N Wild São Paolo (25.6 percent) and Rio Water Planet (14.3 percent).

Museums in North America also perform as a mature market, and overall showed a slight attendance decrease for 2014, of 2.6 percent. As in other parts of the world, the top attended museums are in the big tourist cities such as Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago. There is a visible wave of reinvestment and technological upgrading taking place that echoes the kind of renewal that helps theme parks build success. “The combined impact of the aging of permanent exhibits with rapid changes in technology and entertainment is sparking a very serious interest among museums of all sizes to reinvest and renew,” said Linda Cheu, AECOM vice president, economics. “We are seeing willingness to look to other industries, including commercial attractions and hospitality, to improve the visitor experience and reach audiences.”

Asia:

Growth, and room to grow more

“The very strong year for theme parks in Asia was propelled by fundamental market growth, particularly in China, based on the increases in wealth and tourism that drive visitation,” said Chris Yoshii, AECOM vice president, economics, Asia-Pacific.

Overall attendance at the top 20 theme parks in the Asian market increased nearly 5 percent from 2013 to 2014, from 116.8 million to 122.5 million. Universal Studios Japan saw a large increase due to the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom posted 5.5 million visits in its first 11 months of operation, and received a TEA Thea Award. “Chimelong has not only raised the quality bar — it raised ticket prices and showed that its visitors will support them,” said Yoshii. Disney Shanghai, opening in 2016, is expected to reinforce these upward trends and draw a significant new surge of visitors, as is Universal Beijing in 2019.

The core shift of industry growth from North America to Asia is also reflected in the top 25 worldwide parks list — American parks on that list decreased in number from 11 to 10, and Asian parks increased by one. “We’ve forecast that Asian parks will overtake American parks in 2020,” said Yoshii. “Asia’s large parks keep getting larger, adding and expanding to leverage a growing market, especially tourists. “China still has quite a ways to grow, as do Southeast and South Asia.”

Museums are also in a growth pattern with a 9.1-percent attendance increase at the top 20 Asia-Pacific museums. A building boom is ongoing, largely fueled by government objectives to increase the number of cultural institutions and, in China and Korea, to have most institutions offer free admission.

EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa):

Museums, theme parks and waterparks all strong

In Europe, cultural destinations drew top attendance. The top 20 EMEA museums attendance for 2014 was well over 75,411,000 while the top 20 theme parks for the region came in at 59,535,000. Paris tops both lists, with visitation numbers very close for the Louvre (9,300,000) and Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris (9,940,000). The Louvre also holds the top attendance spot for museums worldwide.

Large swings in museum attendance are mostly due to the arrival or departure of traveling blockbuster exhibitions — but permanent collections remain significant. “The mix of visitors at the Louvre is 30 percent domestic and 70 percent international, with the former primarily visiting for temporary exhibitions and the latter driven by tourism,” said Cheu. “This emphasizes the importance of generating renewed interest while not forgetting the value of the great masterpieces in the main collection.”

The Vatican Museum posted a 13.2-percent increase from 2013 to 2014. “We think this can be largely attributed to the ‘Francis Effect,’” said Margreet Papamichael, AECOM director, EMEA. “He was elected pope in 2013, and 2014 would have been the first year this effect would have been felt in full.”

Overall, EMEA museum attendance increased .8 percent in 2014 at the top 20 institutions, while EMEA theme parks grew a healthy 3 percent, reflecting continued recovery from recession. “2014 was generally a good year for the European parks,” said Papamichael, noting good numbers from Parque Warner, Futuroscope, Europa-Park, Tivoli and De Efteling. “In 2013, we saw an improvement in the performance of the Northern European parks, and in 2014 it seems that Southern Europe was catching up.”

Waterparks in EMEA appear in the TEA/AECOM Theme Index for the first time in this edition, allowing analysis of the top 20 waterparks across all regions. The 2014 EMEA list shows a cluster in Germany and another in the Middle East, and overall attendance of 8,320,000.

Some key figures from the TEA/AECOM 2014 Theme Index & Museum Index:

  • –392 million visits to attractions run by the top 10 global theme park groups, up 5.1 percent
  • –223 million visits to the top 25 theme/amusement parks worldwide, up 4.1 percent
  • –138 million visits to the top 20 North American theme/amusement parks, up 2.2 percent
  • –123 million visits to the top 20 Asian theme/amusement parks, up 4.9 percent
  • –107 million visits to the top 20 worldwide museums, up 1.6 percent
  • –75 million visits to the top 20 EMEA museums, up 0.8 percent
  • –60 million visits to the top 20 EMEA theme/amusement parks, up 3.0 percent
  • –58 million visits to the top 20 Asian museums, up 9.1 percent
  • –54 million visits to the top 20 North American museums, down 2.6 percent
  • –28 million visits to the top 20 worldwide water parks, up 2.8 percent

The TEA/AECOM Theme Index and Museum Index is a collaboration of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and the economics practice at AECOM, a global provider of infrastructure and management-support services.

Blackstone Selling Center Parcs to Brookfield Property Partners

Joe Kleiman
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Blackstone Selling Center Parcs to Brookfield Property Partners

London, UK (June 2, 2015) – Brookfield Property Partners L.P. announces that a Brookfield-managed fund has agreed to acquire Center Parcs UK for an undisclosed sum from funds managed by Blackstone’s private equity and real estate businesses. The transaction is due to complete by the end of July.

Center Parcs operates five short break destinations across the UK: Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire; Elveden Forest, Suffolk; Longleat Forest, Wiltshire; Whinfell Forest, Cumbria and Woburn Forest, Bedfordshire. In 2015, Center Parcs expects to welcome more than two million guests. The Center Parcs concept originated in Holland in 1967, with Sherwood Forest opening in the UK in 1987. Each Center Parcs is nestled within around 400 acres of protected and enhanced woodland, with the holiday village designed to complement and work with the forest environment. Center Parcs UK is a separate entity to Center Parcs Europe. Center Parcs UK’s occupancy levels have averaged approximately 97% over the last five years.

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Ric Clark, Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Property Group, said: “To date, Brookfield Property Group’s investment activity in the UK has focused primarily on the office and logistics market; however, our global portfolio has always encompassed a broader mix of asset types including property deriving its returns from leisure activities.

“Center Parcs’ villages are high-quality, popular short break destinations for friends and families, with loyal guests and outstanding service. Although these resorts are already producing steady streams of cash flow supported by nearly full occupancy year-round, we see compelling opportunities to grow the business and enhance our investment returns.”

Gerry Murphy, Chairman of The Blackstone Group International Partners LLP, said: “Having bought Center Parcs in 2006 and invested in its growth, it has been an excellent investment for us. We are sure that it will go on to even greater success under new ownership. The management and employees of Center Parcs are outstanding and will take the business onto a new chapter in its story.”

Martin Dalby, Chief Executive of Center Parcs, said: “This announcement marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Center Parcs. From the first time we met, Brookfield has demonstrated a real understanding of our business and I am absolutely convinced that we can work together to achieve our strategic goals. I believe the future of Center Parcs is in very good hands with Brookfield. Under Blackstone’s ownership, Center Parcs has flourished, and I would like to thank them for their support and commitment to our business.”

Rothschild, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley acted as advisors to Blackstone.

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