Amusement Parks

Los Angeles' new year-round schools may be a learning experience for Southern California's tourist attractions. "It certainly won't help us during the summer," said Stuart Zanville, a spokesman for Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. Noting that the park's 3.5-million annual attendance depends largely on the weather, he said: "We don't know whether people will automatically come in the wintertime."

Two men were apparently electrocuted in a pond at Kings Island amusement park, and a woman fell to her death from a ride the same night. The two men who died, one of them a park employee, apparently were trying to rescue another man in a pond near a beer garden. The third man also was believed to have been shocked, but survived, a park spokeswoman said. Officials were not sure of the source of the electricity.

Some experts on amusement park rides called this weekend for adopting recommendations to train park workers to shut down rides immediately after an accident and stay with any injured person. In addition, the experts at a national conference in San Diego called lap bars a mostly psychological safety device that do little to physically restrain riders.

Mickey Mouse and Snoopy were a little lonelier this year as attendance at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm declined for the second consecutive year, Amusement Business magazine said. But the number of visitors to three other Southern California amusement parks remained essentially the same, according to the magazine, which is considered authoritative in the industry.

Orange County's two new Democratic legislators said Tuesday that they favor state oversight of amusement parks, but other local lawmakers say regulation is unneeded and would not prevent deaths. Concern about California's lack of regulation over permanent amusement attractions has been heightened since a Christmas Eve accident at Disneyland killed one person and severely injured two others.

Knott's Berry Farm has submitted concepts for developing the entertainment and amusement park portion of what would be the world's largest mall in a suburb of Minneapolis. If an agreement is reached between Knott's and the mall's developer, it would mark Knott's first venture outside California.

Walt Disney Co., which is expected to announce plans for a second amusement park here soon, has paid $30 million for a 23-acre tract and is shopping for more property. According to real estate records, Disney paid top dollar--$1.3 million an acre--for the 23-acre parcel on Katella Avenue south of the park. And the entertainment giant has been negotiating to lease 58 acres nearby.

A bill sponsored by Knott's Berry Farm that would make it tougher for guests to win injury lawsuits against amusement parks won unanimous approval Wednesday from an Assembly committee. The Judiciary Committee voted 9 to 0 for the bill introduced by Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) whose district includes Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. It now moves on to the Appropriations Committee.

In the wake of a fatal Christmas Eve accident at Disneyland, a state assemblyman said he hopes to revive a bill requiring safety inspections at the state's amusement parks. Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), who spearheaded that bill after a teenage girl died in a 1997 water-slide collapse at Waterworld in Contra Costa County, said the legislation failed in the face of opposition from the amusement-park industry.

Knott's Berry Farm promises that its newest attraction will elicit "the primal scream" from thrill seekers, while Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia vows to provide "the most frightening ride on earth!" Behold, the battle of the monster roller coasters. Early next month, both amusement parks will unveil their latest roller coasters in announcements timed to coincide with the beginning of spring breaks for California schools.