Welcome all ECC members and other amusement park enthusiasts around the globe. In 2004 I bought some land by the busy highway in Central Finland. In 2005 I started to build my very own amusement park on the lot and continued last summer. I have a short diary about the project on these pages, but the main purpose is to SEEK HELP from you whenever I have a problem I can't figure out by myself. Constructing an amusement park is a huge job, and I know there are many issues you can help me.
OUR MISSION
To found and small roadside amusement park by a busy highway on a shoestring budged.
LOCATION
By the highway E63, in the city of Laukaa, 20 kilometers east of Jyväskylä City,
Finland, Europe.
Thanks CIA for this map. If you are planning to send hitmen to collect your royalites, please
ask them to
shoot neighbour's dogs at the same time!
BUSINESS PLAN
PROJECT STATUS
Work stopped in the park on 3'rd of January due to winter. Threre will be about 3 month winter
break until we can continue. Meanwhile, desk work, planning and some ride maintenance continues indoors.
At the moment there are 429 items on the work list. Each and every one has to be done before opening
day. It's going to be extremely hectic spring!
03.01.2007: Toilet interiors ready. Winter break at the park until spring
21.12.2006: Kiosk interior finished
18.12.2006: Kiosk and WC plumbing finished
13.12.2006: WC roof finally installed
30.11.2006: Plumber arrived and started to install pipes, basins, toilet seats etc.
29.11.2006: All the christmas lights were stolen on the station buildings at night
27.11.2006: Some vandals had cut young trees in the park during the weekend
24.11.2006: Christmas lights rigged on Ferris Wheel and station buildings
10.11.2006: Carpenters had their last day on the site. Only me and one handyman will remain as long as weather permits
08.11.2006: The first test ride of Miami
07.11.2006: Miami, kiddie Ferris Wheel and rest of the Octopus parts arrived from Estonia
08.10.2006: Power connected to WC building
25.09.2006: Concrete poured into Miami's platform
19.09.2006: The Octopus frame arrived from Estonia
15.09.2006: Sky Fighter parts and payboxes sandblasted and primed
06.09.2006: Station canopy ready. Work continued with WC building
30.08.2006: Pavilion roof ready
29.08.2006: Work started with station canopy
27.08.2006: Bought three rides from Estonia: Kiddie octopus, Kiddie ferris wheel and a full size Miami!!!
25.08.2006: Pavilion frame finished
21.08.2006: Park's own billbord plates installed
18.08.2006: World championship rally in Finland. One special stage went right by the park. People everywhere
16.08.2006: Work started with pavilion frame
15.08.2006: WC frame finished
03.08.2006: The first ever passenger in Round Up. The carpenters wanted to ride too...
02.08.2006: New hydraulic motor installed to Round Up. The whole ride worked perfectly!
31.07.2006: Work started with WC frame
27.07.2006: Round Up testing started. Rotation motors worked fine but hydraulic motor broke down
26.07.2006: Round Up assembled. Sky Fighter brought from warehouse to park
21.07.2006: Round Up trailer towed on platform. Assembly started immediately
14.07.2006: Round Up and Paratrooper platforms poured
06.07.2006: Signal box ready. Some finishing still required later
27.06.2006: Kioks roof modified
21.06.2006: Billboards ready enough for advertisement plates
17.06.2006: Fountain arrived
12.06.2006: Carpenters started to make billboards
09.06.2006: Concrete poured on WC floor
05.06.2006: Cast iron gates arrived
03.06.2006: Visited bankrupt amusement park in Estonia to buy more rides
30.05.2006: Roof installed on signal box
29.05.2006: Plumber installed water and sewage pipes into WC building's foundation
19.05.2006: The very first passenger in Ferris Wheel
18.05.2006: Huge load of plants arrived from nursery. Seats installed into Ferris Wheel
12.05.2006: Kiosk assembled in one day using wall elements
08.05.2006: Old telephone boxes arrived from UK as payboxes
05.05.2006: WC / staff quarters building started
03.05.2006: Signal box started
28.04.2006: Concrete poured to several foundations
20.04.2006: Carpenters started to construct building foundations
19.04.2006: Work started! Old billboards were removed first
07.04.2006: Estimation from the construction firm: Work will begin in three weeks!!!
04.04.2006: I was offered more kiddie rides with reasonable price tag. I'll buy them if my budget permits
24.03.2006: Sent all the plans, drawings and construction licence applications to town hall, FINALLY
24.03.2006: Started to order parts, materials and accessories for the construction site after tedious planning and numerous price inquiries
13.03.2006: Submitted two job openings for the summer (a gardener and construction worker). I'll be an employer soon...
24.02.2006: Received soft ice cream machine. Thanks to club member Pete Myers for great tip
12.02.2006: Bought one more major ride for my park. I'll reveal details later!
24.01.2006: Received popcorn and cotton candy machines
09.11.2005: I was offered a ghost train, but unfortunately it was in very poor condition. No deal.
22.10.2005: Ferris wheel complete after two weekend's of work
14.10.2005: Construction of Ferris Wheel started
13.09.2005: Metal crack and fatigue inspections carried out for Round Up and Ferris Wheel
19.08.2005: Eli Bridge #5 Ferris Wheel arrived from the USA
18.08.2005: A sea container of three kiddie rides arrived
03.08.2005: Huge media coverage: two newspaper articles and one radio interview of my park appeared on the same day
18.07.2005: Water posts and irrigation lines installed
08.06.2005: Hedge maze, trees and hedgerows planted
03.06.2005: Power lines connected
28.05.2005: Roadbeds finished
20.05.2005: Underground power cables installed
19.05.2005: Water and sewage lines ready
13.05.2005: I bought a 12-seat Eli 5 Ferris Wheel from USA
10.05.2005: Groundwork started
03.05.2005: Surveyors came and measured/marked the lot
19.04.2005: I managed to buy more land next to the original lot. The total size of the property is
now 2.2 hectares (5.4 acres).
07.04.2005: First article was published on newspaper about project. Huge media coverage soon followed
16.03.2005: My planning permission was granted.
Hedge maze
Ferris Wheel under testing
Kiosk
Pavilion and payboxes
Train station and signal box
WC and staff quarters
Round Up
Sandblasting Sky Fighter
Miami
Park in winter
HELP WANTED
SOFT DRINK SODA DISPENSER
Please keep an eye for the soft drink dispensers with built in refridgeration units
(do not require ice), carbonators and pumps etc. including at least three valves.
My best offer so far is 2600 US dollars for the
brand new unit. Second hand machines are also welcome. Did you know:
Usually soft drink manufacturers lend these dispensers for free, but there is a
flip side of the coin: Syrup costs ridicuously much. Parks pay more for the syrup
than local stores sell bottled drinks. Definitely I am not going to use a brand syrup.
Deadline: I need this machine before May 2006.
COLA AND LIME SYRUP
Contact details of various cola and lime syrup manufacturers. I have seen
some on the web, but more are welcome, specially the European manufacturers / importers. However, any
good contact detail will do fine. Do not mix this with the home dispenser syrups. We are talking about the
large bag-in-the-box retail boxes. Deadline: I need to establish business relations before May 2006.
FONTS
Does anyone know where to get old time freeware / shareware PC fonts for advertising, sign
printing etc. purposes? We are talking about pre WW2 style or even pre WW1 style fonts.
It is a time consuming job to browse through hundreds of font link directories only to
discover that the only decent looking fonts cost much money, even though they were
supposed to be "free".
CAROUSEL ORGAN
I still plan to install a large size band organ to my park on a later
date, probably in 2008 or even sooner if I get it cheap. I'm looking for rich sound with
percussions, something like 60 keys or more. I have seen a very interesting website
selling modular organ parts on
www.alanpell.com.
The idea is to buy all the instrumentation ready as modules, plug them in
and just construct the cart and front by yourself. Does anyone know this company or has
experiences with their sound quality? Full specifications with all the options cost around
10 000 UK pounds. This is quite cheap compared to vintage organs. These modular organs are
played by a computer through Midi which is a huge bonus. Any other ideas where to buy cheap
band organs are also welcome.
FEEDBACK That's all by now folks. Please feel free to mail me your opinions, comments, suggestions etc. Your feedback will be appreciated!
Lauri Vartiainen
