Two IAAPA Webinars Coming Soon!

IAAPA’s webinars—free to members—are a quick and easy way to gain knowledge, best practices, and cost-effective (and often free) takeaways to implement at your business right away.

Two excellent programs are coming up in the weeks ahead:

Motivating without Money: Budget-Friendly Ideas for FECs & Supervisors
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1 p.m. EDT
Join Ken Whiting, president of Whiting's Foods/Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, for a discussion about motivating and encouraging employees when money is tight. Learn from other participants, and share ideas during this lively brainstorming session.
And to learn more during IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando this year, sign up for Whiting's WAVES for Success all-day Institute program, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Advanced registration required.

First Spanish-language webinar!
Francisco Duncan, safety, maintenance, and operations consultant with Duncan Consultores, will discuss ASTM International and the important role it plays in the attraction industry. Spanish and English descriptions below:

¡La Seguridad es Primero! Introducción a la ASTM Internacional
Martes, 24 de agosto, 1 p.m. EDT
Desarrollar y alcanzar normas y estándares internacionales basados en las mejores prácticas sirve para garantizar la seguridad y un record positivo de la industria. Francisco Duncan, experto en seguridad presentará este seminario para ayudar a los profesionales de los parques de diversiones y atracciones a entender la importancia de la ASTM para cualquier tipo de instalación de entretenimiento. ¡No se lo puede perder!
Expositor: Ing. Francisco Duncan, Consultor de seguridad, mantenimiento y operaciones de Duncan Consultores

Translation:
Safety is First!An Introduction to ASTM International (Presented in Spanish)
Tuesday, August 24, 1 p.m. EDT
Developing and achieving international norms and standards based on best industry practices helps ensure safety and a positive industry record. Safety expert Francisco Duncan will present this Webinar to help amusement park and attractions professionals understand the important role ASTM offers for any type of entertainment facility.This is a conference you can’t miss!
Speaker: Ing. Francisco Duncan, Safety, maintenance and operations Consultant, Duncan Consultores

To register and to learn more about IAAPA's webinars, click here.

FUNWORLD Follow-Up: Madison Children's Museum's New Building

One of my first cover stories for FUNWORLD was the June 2005 issue covering the Madison Children's Museum. The focus of that story was about the facility's green initiatives, which were ahead of their time at that point.

At the end of that story, I mentioned how the museum planned to take its green initiatives to the next level when it eventually moved into its new facility. Well, five years later, MCM hosts its grand opening event for the new building this Saturday.

You can read more about the $16.5 million facility here. Congratulations to the Madison Children's Museum on their new digs!

FUNWORLD Follow-Up: A Photo Tour of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

You'd think an eight-page cover story in FUNWORLD's August issue would've been more than enough room for me to cover everything about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure. But … no!

Here are some photos from our cover shoot that unfortunately didn't make the magazine. They're so good, though, I didn't want them to go unseen—that castle just loves the camera!

All of these photos were taken by our regular Orlando-area collaborator, Brian Pepper of Digital Imaging Direct. And a big thank you to the Universal PR team for allowing us to come in and cover their sparkling new land.

Let's start—where else?—with Hogwarts Castle, which houses the new dark ride "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" …

These winged boars stand watch over the entrance to the castle/queue.

This is the shot we used for our cover, taken from the outdoor portion of the "Dragon Challenge" queue (formerly "Dueling Dragons"). That's "Flight of the Hippogriff" whizzing by on the right (formerly "The Flying Unicorn". The line for "Forbidden Journey" got much, much longer. And if you look closely, just to the right of the boars is the test seat for "Forbidden Journey" (the first of two—there's another right before the boarding platform).

The attention to detail on Hogwarts Castle is amazing.

 Here's a great look at the snowy rooftops of Hogsmeade (100-degree heat or not!), the village nestled at the foot of Hogwarts Castle that serves as the "midway" for the Wizarding World. The large building on the right is the Owlery, the wizards' version of a post office. An owl pops out of the clock tower every 15 minutes, and if you walk underneath you can see animatronic owls up in the rafters. It's also one of the best places in the land to grab a shady seat and watch the wizardly world go by.

 The Hog's Head pub is one of a few spots in Wizarding World where you can purchase Butterbeer (a must for any trip!). 

Butterbeer, you say? This cart out in the thoroughfare is wildly popular, too. 

 This is one of the "living portraits" in the "Forbidden Journey" queue inside Hogwarts. It's textured to look like a real painting, but the figure moves and talks like you'd expect from a video screen.

And as a farewell, here's a look at Hogwarts from yet another angle. This shot is from the wooden bridge that goes over the park's lagoon and connects The Lost Continent with Jurassic Park.


The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be a featured topic at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010. We're hosting a party in the land on Thursday of the show, while Tom Williams, chairman and CEO of Universal Parks and Resorts, will discuss Wizarding World during his keynote speech at the annual General Managers and Owners' Breakfast. Click here for more info on both.