March 2007
Looking Back... March 2007
7 March 2007 - 7:52am
Top o' Bakuli!
It's not quite time for fake Irish accents, but nonetheless we'll wish each other, "Top o' Bakuli!" this afternoon.
We've invited the media to come by at 1 pm CT, as we lift high the final piece of Bakuli. (Well, not actually "we" ... a 100+ foot crane will do the heavy lifting.)
The height difference from the top of Bakuli to the splash pool below is 73 feet. That's seven stories.
If you'd like to watch, take a look on our webcam.
2 March 2007 - 2:49pm
Swinging 'glass
It's been a little too windy for this sort of work the past few days, but on Monday morning there was a whole lotta swingin' going on down in Splashin' Safari.
It's a painstaking process, getting that piece of fiberglass to fit perfectly onto the rest of the slide.
Bakuli, as you may recall, starts seven stories up.
Not sure why the sky disappeared from the above photo. When I compressed the file, the blue sky vanished. Weird.
Thankfully, the sky returned in this next shot.
Here's the other end of the ride. Remember, "bakuli" is the Swahili word for "bowl." Bakuli starts as an in-the-dark water slide and then drops the riders into this 60-foot-wide bowl.
Around and around you'll go. And where you stop...
...is right here, which will eventually be a pool.
Put it all together and you get this gigantic flying saucer.
Let's widen that shot and put Bakuli in perspective.
That's The Voyage in the background and Monsoon Lagoon in the front-right corner. There's Bahari River in the middle.
Just don't anybody come up with the brilliant idea that our new water ride looks like a snake.
We know.
We're in denial.
Surely you remember the Queen of de Nile ... she wasn't much of a snake lover, either.
1 March 2007 - 2:22pm
Food for thought
Once a week, we have a staff meeting.
All the park directors meet with Will for an hour or so.
The final item on each week's agenda is a round-the-table status report.
Each director gives a little update. It's sometimes amusing and always informative.
Here's a sample from this week.
Mike (Director of Maintenance & Safety): I'm working on '08 Capital.
(Translation: I know top-secret stuff about what ride(s) Will is looking to maybe/possibly add for the 2008 season.)
Wayne (Director of Food Services): I'm working on '06 Capital.
(Translation: When push came to shove last season, construction of The Voyage took
priority over the Plymouth Rock Cafe. But we'll get 'er open this year!)
We've received some emails asking about the menu for the new restaurant. Wayne is getting close, but it's not quite ready.
We'll be sure to let you know as soon as we have the menu posted on our Restaurants & Food Outlets page. Meanwhile, here are some interior shots of what the PRC will look like:
The new restaurant will be cafeteria-style, with a selection of Thanksgiving goodies.
No doubt these fellows are working up an appetite.
Can't you just imagine the lovely aromas wafting from this building in just a few months?
Just like grandma's kitchen around the holidays.
1 March 2007 - 12:02pm
Digest this
Anyone out there get this magazine?
Can't wait to read the America's Top Amusement Parks article.
