Think amusement park and you’ll likely imagine roller coasters, stage shows and junk food. You may also think about overflowing garbage bins and overpriced tchotchkes.
This week, just in time for spring break, Virtuous Traveler Leslie Garrett finds that some amusement parks are looking toward a greener future…
It’s hard to imagine that somewhere amongst the paved walkways, sky-high roller coasters and bulging garbage cans of America’s amusement parks is a green conscience being nudged into action.
But that, insists Beth Robertson, spokesperson for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, is exactly what has been happening across the country and around the world.
“Parks… are looking toward the future,” she says. “In the last ten years, they’ve been moving toward being more eco-friendly.”
While she admits that there is no industry-wide mandate to move toward this greener goal, “it has been discussed within the industry that we need to be eco-friendly. It is certainly a topic of discussion.”
Robertson credits a combination of industry initiative and consumer expectations for fuelling the awareness. And while the results aren’t necessarily the most innovative (recycling seems to top the list of most parks’ movement toward being earth-friendly), there are a few notable exceptions.
Leave it to Disney
Disney is almost as famous for its spectacular fireworks displays as for its mouse ears. But a few years ago, these fireworks at Disneyland, Anaheim got an eco-friendly makeover thanks to a new innovation created by Walt Disney’s Imagineering. The new technology uses compressed air to lift fireworks, rather than the traditional black powder and other materials used to launch pyrotechnics. Not only is this better for the environment, significantly reducing ground level smoke and noise, it’s safer for the pyrotechnicians.
What’s more, Disney is donating the seven new patents it holds to this innovative technology to a non-profit organization that can, in turn, license these patents to other pyrotechnic providers.
Waterless Flush Beats a Full Bowl
Many of us, especially parents, dread the frequent washroom trips in public places, hopeful for a place that’s clean and odor-free. Male visitors to Legoland in Carlsbad, California, or Long Beach Aquarium in California are closer to that goal, thanks to flushless urinals.
The technology will conserve thousands of gallons of water a year (one expert projects a savings of millions of gallons in well-used attractions) thereby helping parks save money on water bills.
How does it work? Each urinal is fitted with a cartridge containing a special biodegradable sealant. The cartridge allows urine to pass through the sealant liquid, helping contain odor and filtering sediment. And each cartridge lasts for roughly 7,000 uses.
Legoland
In addition to those eco-friendly urinals, Legoland now has an in-park recycling program for all bottles, cans, and aluminum. In addition, all of the vegetation is recycled as well to make mulch and compost for landscaping the 128-acre theme park. They also have a water-recycling program in which they use reclaimed water for all of their irrigation and plants, among other things.
Hidden Dragon, Crawling Car
Visitors who drive to Universal Studios in Hollywood, California, help generate the electricity that fuels much of the park. As slow-moving vehicles drive over the Dragon Power Station, the weight of each vehicle initiates a series of actions that engage a generator producing electricity. This electricity can be sent directly to a power grid or stored for future use. The earth-friendly initiative generates clean, renewable energy — and helps make America’s beloved automobile something to celebrate… or at least something useful.
Busch Master
Visitors to the nine Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks can contribute to the more than $2.5 million the company currently earmarks for conservation by purchasing select park merchandise where 15 percent of the proceeds go to a conservation fund.
The Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks also sponsor the National Wildlife Federation’s “Keep the Wild Alive” campaign. Through this campaign, park guests not only learn about some of the world’s most critically endangered species, but they also discover ways to help protect wildlife and habitats in their own backyards.
Reducing Emissions, Working toward World Peace
Further afield, and further ahead in terms of green initiatives is the United Kingdom’s Crealy Adventure Park in Devon. The park has taken the progressive step of developing a sustainable tourism plan, which includes tree planting with the goal of making the business carbon neutral, ongoing improvements in recycling and increased purchasing of local products, including food, gifts and general supplies. The park’s go-carts, England’s first electric racing carts — are emission-free.
“And very popular,” says Angela Wright, managing director of the park. She insists there’s nothing magnanimous in what they do. “Sustainability and the importance of the environment are at the heart of our business, which exists to make the most of the fleeting days of childhood.”
They are, however, championing a new initiative called the Roundabout PlayPumps Project, which was endorsed by the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, and installed at Crealy Adventure Park in 2006. Visitors come upon the roundabout, which, when moved, causes a nearby monitor to play a message about the need for clean water for millions of people around the world. The monitor also shows pumps at work.
Visitors are invited to donate to the project via a nearby ATM (all donations are monitored by agencies including The World Bank and 100% of proceeds go the project). A thank you message is then played.
Wright is optimistic that “by operating in partnership, the Roundabout PlayPumps Project could bring free, clean water to 50 million people all over the world, every day.” Not bad for a day at the park.
Leslie Garrett, The Virtuous Traveler, is an award-winning journalist and author. Visit her at TheVirtuousTraveler.com.
For more Responsible Travel Tips, click here.
Previously by Leslie Garrett on PeterGreenberg.com:
Eco-Oakland: The City You Only Thought You Knew
Chicago: More Green Than Meets the Eye
The Good, The Green and the Downright Crazy Tours
A Convention with Conviction: Greening Your Business Meetings
