September/October 2010
Features
Waves
16 The Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark – Redefining the Family Vacation Experience
The picturesque and pristine Adirondack Mountain region in upstate New York offers the perfect opportunity for couples and families to get away from daily stress. And in the Lake George area, vacationers will find the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Water Park and the Great Escape Theme Park and Splash Water Kingdom, attractions that are antidotes to the everyday.
Business Strategies
26 Rejuvenate Your Business and Give it Something to Market
To capture the public’s attention and imagination, you do not have to close and re-open under a new name, a common strategy employed in the restaurant industry. All you have to do is make your facility look new and improved, and word of mouth will benefit you in the short and long term.
The Large Park Report
28 How Two Large Parks are Dealing with Today’s Tough Times
The fall months are a good time to look back and consider how some of the industry’s larger parks continue to deal with an economic downturn. We look at two large parks who are using both traditional and fresh operating strategies to create gains.
AZA Report
96 Equal Access – How the Nation’s Zoos and Aquariums Are Serving Guests with Disabilities
Since the federal regulations took hold in 1990, all types of entertainment facilities have been grappling with making their attractions accessible for all guests. Zoos and aquariums around the country have proven that cutting edge exhibit design and operational changes can create an all-inclusive environment.
special sections
Family Entertainment Center Report
Mini-Golf & Go-Kart Report
32 Keeping the Fun Accident Free
Usually, the two most popular activities at a family fun center are miniature golf and go-karts. And, amazingly enough, most insurance claims stem from these two activities. So, how can you work to keep your facility safe while keeping the experience for your guests enjoyable?
Industry Owls
38 Business Systems: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
If you do not have a written set of business operating procedures to use for staff training and development, now is the time to create such a plan. Industry Owl Frank Price tells how businesses that ignore the lessons that can be learned from successful franchise operations, which follow such written plans, do so at their peril.
44 Location Report – Negotiating a Tenant Retail Lease
Going it alone is not an option when it comes to securing a leased location. Instead, use the services of an accountant, attorney, insurance agent and commercial real estate broker before signing on the dotted line.
BPAA Section
50 Countering the Behavior of the Oblivious Customer
All bowling proprietors have seen the customers that ignore safety postings and engage in behavior that puts themselves and others at risk. There are ways to deal with these guests though, so the bowling experience can stay safe and fun for everyone.
Bowling Report
54 Rules of the Game – Inside the Dirty Job of Keeping Bowling Alleys Clean
Keeping a bowling center spotless is more complicated than it sounds or looks. Centers across the country share their strategies for being the cleanest facility around, including the products that they have found get the job done.
RSA Section
62 Better Safe than Sorry: Keeping Staff Safe, Aware and Alert
Not keeping roller skating patrons safe will cost an owner business. Additionally, ignoring the safety needs of staff will cost a center in turnover as employees move on to a job where they do feel secure. Basic steps such as never letting an employee close up alone go a long way toward giving your staff that integral sense of security.
International Laser Tag Association (ILTA) Section
64 A Letter from the ILTA Executive Director
The ILTA was very busy this past summer, as were centers that patrons flocked to in an effort to escape the heat.
66 Laser Tag and Food Service: Something to Chew Over
Quality food is a huge profit generator, and a business segment centers with laser tag cannot afford to ignore. What are you offering customers who are hungry and thirsty between games, and how can you improve the selection and presentation of your food?
Special Sections
Amusement Rental / Inflatable News
100 Safe and Sound – Keeping Inflatables Securely in Place
Keeping inflatables firmly anchored to the ground is an ongoing concern for operators working both indoors and outdoors. Read about the strategies and procedures party rental companies abide by to keep young and older patrons safe.
103 Party Rental News
Street Beat
68 Will That Be Paper or Plastic? – Amusement and Vending Machine Companies Discuss the Benefits of Paper Money versus Cashless Systems
These days, less and less people are walking around with cash-filled wallets. Whereas cash used to be a staple, nowadays, many people prefer swiping a card to handling bills. But although the vending machine and amusement industry seems to be going in that direction, the customers utilizing the machines may be some of the few cash-carriers left.
74 Driving Toward Profits – How to Choose the Right Vehicles for Your Vending Business
In the vending business, thousands of vehicles are driven millions of miles nationwide to fill machines, repair jukeboxes and deliver gaming equipment. Business doesn’t happen without reliable modes of transportation that can help lift and transport heavy machines as well as cases of soda and hand-crafted pool tables. Operators discuss the thinking behind choosing the vehicles that play such an important role in their businesses.
78 Street Beat News Beat
Food Service Spotlight
80 Fast Food and Equipment Report – FECs Turn Up the Heat to Serve Patrons’ Favorite Foods
Hitting on a food menu that is easy to make and turns a fast profit is essential to success for family entertainment centers. These centers rely on fast food prepared with efficient, high quality equipment to reach their earning goals for this crucial revenue stream.
AMA – Food Service Spotlight
84 A Taste of the Past – Food Programs Enjoy Growing Popularity at Living History Museums
Food crosses the generations and ties families and communities together with favorite recipes handed down through the decades. What better way to understand a shared history or a place in time than enjoying foods from the past. Living history museums, which already serve as important resources for teachable moments, are finding a growing interest in their food and cooking programs.
82 Food Service Spotlight Product News
Foundations Entertainment University
104 Foundations Entertainment University is an educational seminar held at locations around the country that offers a blueprint for success, growth and profit in the entertainment industry. The seminar covers topics such as feasibility costs, games and attractions, financing, design, operations, food and beverage and more.
regular features
