Rainbow's End gets first new ride in years

Chris Deere doesn't yet want to reveal the details of the new ride but says it won't be a white-knuckle one. Photo / Greg Bowker

Rainbow's End owner New Zealand Experience is hoping to breathe new life into the park through a multimillion-dollar revamp.

The 28-year-old park based in Manukau is to get its first new ride in five years next month and a facelift has begun to rejuvenate the area around the ride with new animated scenery on the log flume ride and a new seating and food area.

Chris Deere, Rainbow's End general manager, said last year had been one of the toughest in its history.

Visitor numbers dropped 13 per cent and the park had to raise prices to remain viable.

"It was a big drop although total revenue only reduced 6 per cent. It was a tough year because in years like that you have to focus on costs and that means wage costs have to be watched carefully."

Deere said the fall in numbers had initially been driven by bad weather in July, August and September, at the start of its financial year. Then the corporate market had fallen off with the recession.

"We had 11 wet weekends in a row. There were a couple of days where we closed the park totally."

Deere said the lead-up to Christmas was usually busy for corporate business with companies using the park for conferences and parties but it had been quiet as businesses had held conferences at the office and Christmas parties were toned down or cancelled.

Deere believed it had also been harder to attract repeat business from locals because it had been some time since the park introduced a new ride.

The Power Surge was the last ride it installed, in 2004.

The park usually aims to introduce a new ride every three years.

The company had planned to bring in a new ride last year but that was put on hold after Manukau City Council told the park it wanted to take back one of the 23 acres Rainbow's End leases to extend the local court.

Deere said negotiations with the council had been prolonged but were close to being completed and the company had decided to forge ahead with its new ride on the current lease which did not expire until 2019.

However the park has had to carve out a bank to fit in the new ride, because of the lease changes.

The new ride will span more than 80m and cost $2.5 million to transport from Italy and install.

It is due to leave Italy on September 15 and will travel in a 40ft open top container. It is expected to arrive in the last week of October and three engineers will come from Italy to install it.

Excavation work has already begun on the site and once the new ride arrives it is expected to be up and running within three weeks.

Deere doesn't yet want to reveal the details of the new ride but said the closest one was in San Francisco. It was chosen to appeal to the whole family without being a white-knuckle ride.

The company is hoping it will boost visitors by 15,000 people a year to 270,000.

Deere said the year was already looking up and visitor numbers for the first three months of the financial year were up on last year.

New Zealand Experience yesterday closed at 26c a share.