Amusement Park News

On Tuesday, June 11, Representative Pingree proposed an amendment for H-2B cap relieve that was successfully included by voice vote in the FY20 House DHS Appropriations bill. Pingree's amendment requires DHS to release up to 69,320 additional H-2B visas in FY2020 if the demand exceeds the current supply of 66,000 visas. Shown below is an illustration of the process of how this amendment becomes law. The Senate is running behind the House on its Appropriations bills. It is likely we will encourage the introduction of the same amendment at the Senate DHS Appropriations markup.  If this language becomes a law, it will serve as a placeholder for permanent cap relief. This amendment is a one year fix, but it is still an excellent sign the amendment was adopted. It shows important Democratic support of the H-2B program. The path to obtaining permanent cap relief in the House will require negotiation with the House Judiciary Committee members, our Democratic ...   [read more]

Dutch ride manufacturer KMG announced delivery of a custom themed Freak Out to Matt and Kelly McDonagh's Big Rock Amusements, themed “The Beast”.  The ride is the 58th Freak Out produced by the company and is the first Freak Out to sport the unique theme. At KMG's facility in the Netherlands, crews are busy manufacturing a Speed for Ocala, Florida based Michael Parks' Paradise Amusements.  The new ride is named “Speed XXL” and will have a full backwall and platform decoration with a super hero theme.  The ride will be decked with extra LED light panels on the sweeps, tower, and logos.  The Speed XXL will be the first KMG piece owned by the company and is slated for delivery during the end of July.Otterbacher Shows of Riverview will be the first US showman to take delivery of KMG's latest attraction, the “Surf Ride” which will be re-themed as “Crazy Surf”.  The ride is loaded with extras including full backwall ...   [read more]