Sea Life Abenteuer Park

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PORTRAIT
The new park entrance
also contains the Legoland
Discovery Centre
When in 1996 Europe’s largest
shopping centre, the CentrO,
opened in Oberhausen, a small
park with a number of offers for
children saw the light of day for
the first time. This “park for strol-
Sea Life Abenteuer Park
lers” was thought up to serve as
a diversion and recreational area
near the actual shopping centre
and gastronomy line.
I
n those days the park was maintained by the
obvious that it would be a difficult undertaking to
CentrO.-Betreibergesellschaft, however the com-
establish a typical all-day amusement park, next to
Text:
Stefan Peck
pany very soon wanted to concentrate completely
a shopping mall, as in principle visitors were not
Photos:
Heiko Schimanzik
on the business and gastronomy area, and search-
travelling to the “Neue Mitte Oberhausen” to visit a
ed for the relevant new operator for the park. In
middle sized amusement park, but because of a
2001 showman Oskar Bruch Junior took over the
shopping experience. With that, a complete day
helm. He entered into a lease agreement and re-
price for an amusement park visit didn’t come into
built the park into a real amusement park, in that he
question – besides that offers for day trips in the
installed a number of ride constructions at CentrO
Ruhr district – among them Movie Park Germany
Park.
were substantially more attractive. Oskar Bruch
“Pinguine! Abenteuer Antarktis”
For ten years he attempted to make the park into a
terminated the lease at the end of 2010 for all these
comes from abc rides
profitable business. All the same very soon it was
reasons.
The new water attraction
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When the Sea Life Centre opened in 2004, it was
Sea Life Centre also includes a visit to neighbour-
exactly the right combination in harmony with
ing parks and there are also kombi-tickets to enable
metres long, 14 metres high
visitors to a shopping mile: the aquarium offered a
visitors to enjoy all three attractions. And so a resort
and has a capacity of
relatively entertaining experience, which could be
came into being with three different recreational
685 passengers per hour
very well combined with a visit to a shopping mall.
possibilities, leading to a lot of synergy effects in
(with the use of 8 boats with
With this Sea Life Centre, the worldwide Merlin
marketing and operation.
maximum persons each)
Entertainments Group provided the first destination
At the new Adventure Park a new and large main
in the Ruhr area; four years later a second mainstay
attraction has come into being, combining a ride
came into being in Duisburg, the world’s first
with an animal experience. This classic water ride
Legoland Discovery Centre.
from abc rides is located directly near the new
Whilst during the last two years there was no
entrance area, in order to be an “eye catcher” for
amusement park at CentrO any more, in 2012 the
guests at the gastronomy area.
announcement came that together with Merlin
The water attraction is 250
Also constructively interesting: the water attraction only
requires one main support
Entertainments, a new user of the area had been
found. Besides the discussions about the takeover
of the park, talks in relation to the further use of the
remaining ride constructions and attractions were
not successful, so Oskar Bruch Junior dismantled
the ride constructions – with the exception of the
available tractor attraction and the park’s railway
from Metallbau Emmeln – and could partly sell them
to Scandinavia. During the past year the Merlin
Entertainments Group announced the extension of
the shopping mall Sea Life Centre into the Sea Life
Abenteuer Park, and to relocate the Lego Discovery
Centre from Duisburg to Oberhausen for around 15
million Euro.
A new building came into being directly on the
earlier entrance to the previous CentrO, which is the
entrance to the Sea Life Abenteuer Park, and
simultaneously harbours the Lego Discovery
Centre – and as new indoor attraction there is to be
a “Magic Bike” from Zamperla added this year.
The Sea Life Centre by the way remained on its old
location and with that has no direct connection to
the new park. All the same, the entrance fee to the
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Right next door a new home has been erected for
There are two other ride attractions in the rest of the
leads through the penguin
15 Gentoo penguins: an Antarctic world with large
park area. The earlier existing tractor ride has
building / Photo left shows the
visible pools for the animals that not only offer a
received the name “Jeep Safari”, and has been
view of non participants in the
themed experience for children and adults, but a
equipped with the corresponding jeeps. The tech-
building, of the penguin pool
water ride also travels through a part of the new
nology has been improved in order to increase the
and the course through the
animal habitat. Something extra special here is that
speed. And there is the “Shanghai Express” travell-
water attraction
the water canal leads through a glass tunnel under
ing around the Chinese slide tower, without any
the penguin pool, offering a completely different
really notable changes. Additionally the play-
perspective.
grounds, the hedge labyrinth, the trampoline and
Naturally the whole attraction is supported by a nice
the gastronomy buildings have been retained as
story: the attraction prepares the park guests for an
they were during the time of CentrO. Park. The land-
Antarctic expedition. In the so-called “Briefing
scape garden architecture has naturally not been
Station” they are primed up for the cold and wind,
changed, as the area has grown beautifully in the
to then plunge for a short period into the Antarctic
meantime, and offers a special note of relaxation.
or rather the penguin enclosure. The whole thing is
There is a so-called master plan for Life Abenteuer
underlined by fitting decoration and sound effects.
Park for up to 2017, containing further investment.
At the end naturally a typical drop is waiting – very
New attractions are being considered that always
considerately located directly at the gastronomy
have a connection to the animal world, and various
line – and prepares the ride guests for a nice piece
continents as theme worlds. A closer choice will be
of adrenalin. “Pinguine! Abenteuer Antarktis” is a
crocodiles and a small type of hippopotamus,
Manager Lego Discovery Centre
special experience that one is used to from Merlin,
which apparently will be linked to a track attraction
Oberhausen) and Jörg Meyer
and the combination of ride attraction with animals
similar to a coaster. All this depends on just how
(Park Operations Supervisor
is very successful.
successful this new concept will be. The past has
A small part of the course
Werner Novotny (General
Sea Life Abenteuer Park)
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shown just how quickly the Ruhr region can
Nevertheless the earlier Centro Park has found a
Nature has conquered a
condemn a project: visitors are drawn to the new
good partner in the Merlin Entertainments Group,
large part of the park – a very
park, naturally also by the new location of the
and one can wait eagerly to see which direction the
special relaxing charm
Legoland Discovery Centre; on the other hand
future will take – also and particularly because the
many already know the Sea Life Centre that has al-
Zoom-Erlebniswelt in Gelsenkirchen as well as the
ready existed for years. Visitors have access to the
Duisburg Zoo are hard competitors in the Ruhr area
park in combination with the centre, which doesn’t
in the matter of animal presentation, and could
have all that much new on offer in order to market
stand in the way.
■
it as an individual product. Those visitors who only
wish to use the park, which in principle comprises
only of the new water attraction, will be disappointed. The grapevine in the populous Ruhr area functions excellently and has already managed to bag
Warner Bros. Movie World that had opened early,
and which was at that time actually an excellent
park. And the Ruhr prattlers hardly ever forgive.
Even these days, the park has the reputation that
not all attractions have been opened and are only
half finished, just as it had been presented in the
first months after opening. So something could may
well happen to the new attraction at Oberhausen, if
it’s not immediately obvious that it’s an extension to
the Sea Life Centre.
A large part of the park
still looks the same as earlier,
but almost without any rides
BREEZING IN?
ust a ticket for the new Sea
J
Life Abenteuer Park alone
is not possible, but available
always in connection with the
Sea Life Aquarium. An admittance ticket costs 23 Euro
– for both adults and children! And unbelievable: children under the age of 15 years
cannot enter unless accom■
panied by an adult.
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