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Titel: "Brand verwüstet Teile vom Gatorland"     Vorheriger Beitrag | Nächster Beitrag
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Foren-Gruppen Zoos & Tierparks Beitrag Nr. 130
Beitrag Nr. 130
Rufus

 
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Brand verwüstet Teile vom Gatorland
07-Nov-06, 00:10 Uhr ()
Fire burns Gatorland; 2 snakes, 2 crocs likely killed

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- A fire early Monday destroyed a section of the venerable Gatorland tourist attraction, likely killing four animals. Among the charred areas was its main entrance, a huge concrete alligator mouth.

The blaze, reported at 5:55 a.m., badly damaged the gift shop, entrance and ticket booth.

Gatorland's alligators were believed to have hidden safely in a lake, but the fire may have claimed two crocodiles and two 8-foot pythons kept in a pen near the gift shop, said Tim Williams, the park's director of media production.

The park opened in 1949 and attracts about 400,000 tourists each year. It features people wrestling gators, a "jumparoo" show where the big reptiles leap for food, and up-close encounters where guests can hold snakes, scorpions, spiders and birds. In all, Gatorland has a few thousand animals, Williams estimated.

"This park is like an old alligator. Gators fight, they get scarred up, they get beat up, they tear each other up, but they're resilient," Williams said. "This park's been here for 57 years. We're not going anywhere."

The giant concrete gator head that serves as the main entrance was charred, its formerly white teeth blackened with soot, its mouth full of debris. The mural facade around it, which had just been given a fresh coat of paint in a $1.5 million overhaul, was torn and burned.

Fire crews were still extinguishing the smoldering three-alarm blaze late Monday morning, but park officials said they hoped to be back in operation as quickly as possible.

Williams said it would be months before everything was back to normal. The park was working on plans to get guests back in. The shows could still be staged, he said.

Quelle: CNN
Ich denke, es passt wohl eher in dieses Forum

Gruß,
Patric
Dive once you're crazy. Dive twice you're an animal!

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  Gatorland öffnet wieder am 24 November, Rufus, 16-Nov-06, 13:30 Uhr, (1)
  3 Wochen nach dem Brand: Gatorland öffnet wieder fürs Publikum, Rufus, 25-Nov-06, 16:57 Uhr, (2)

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Rufus

 
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1. Gatorland öffnet wieder am 24 November
16-Nov-06, 13:30 Uhr ()
Als Antwort auf Beitrag Nr. 0
 
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Gatorland, the 57-year-old attraction damaged by fire, is expected to open Nov. 24, two days later than originally expected, park officials said.

Guests will use an alternate entrance rather than the park's trademark giant alligator mouth entrance that was charred in the three-alarm fire Nov 6.

"The construction would've been completed, but in order to handle our guests safely and efficiently from the new entrance, I believe we needed another day to work out our operations," said Gatorland President and Chief Executive Officer Mark McHugh.

A crocodile and two pythons were killed in the blaze, but no people were injured. The fire ruined Gatorland's 7,000-square-foot gift shop and some administrative offices, but did not damage food service or stage areas.

A faulty reptile heating device caused the fire, investigators said.

The park is one of Central Florida's oldest attractions. It features alligator wrestling shows and exhibitions where visitors can touch and hold reptiles and snakes.

Quelle: Local6

Gruß,
Patric
Dive once you're crazy. Dive twice you're an animal!

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Rufus

 
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2. 3 Wochen nach dem Brand: Gatorland öffnet wieder fürs Publikum
25-Nov-06, 16:57 Uhr ()
Als Antwort auf Beitrag Nr. 0
 
3 Weeks After Fire, Gatorland Reopens To Public

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Gatorland is back in business, less than three weeks after a major fire roared through the popular Central Florida attraction.

The park reopened Friday morning, and by noon, there was a line snaking out of its temporary entrance, WESH 2 News reported.

A fire destroyed the park's gift shop and badly burned its trademark alligator mouth entrance, but inside, guests found the Gatorland they all know and love.

Park officials used a small alligator to cut the ribbon to officially reopen the park on Friday. Excited employees clapped, hugged and jumped up and down.

"This is wonderful," said employee Anne Good. "The outpouring of love from everybody here has just been wonderful."

Fans of the park were heartbroken when the accidental fire ripped through the park on Nov. 6.

"You take a lot of things for granted. We grew up with this. We thought it would always be here. What's going to hurt an alligator?" one visitor said.

With a lot of fast work, Gatorland has built a new, temporary entrance. With the exception of the burned out gift shop, guests shouldn't notice much of a difference.

"The inside of our park is the same as it's always been," said Gatorland CEO Mark McHugh. "We took the opportunity to give ourselves a real nice facelift. We did a lot of painting, a lot of new landscaping over the last 2 1/2 weeks, so the park really looks great."

The park said one visitors' favorite traditions is also still available. Guests are allowed to sit on the back of a 135-pound, 7-foot-long gator, with its mouth taped, of course. But be warned, the rangers have a sense of humor, which WESH 2's Amanda Ober learned the hard way.

As Ober sat on the gator's back for the cameras, a staff member tapped the gator's tail, which caused it to start crawling away and give Ober a scare.

If you're not up for wrestling a gator, there's plenty to see, including birds, snakes, crocodiles and the stars of the park -- the alligators.

Even as visitors poured into the park on Friday, employees were still finishing up new painting jobs and other touch-ups. Officials said the landmark alligator entrance was saved. Restorations are planned for the near future.

To thank all of the firefighters who helped save the 57-year-old theme park, Gatorland is donating the proceeds from its opening day to the Children's Burn Foundation of Florida.

Quelle: WESH News

Gruß,
Patric
Dive once you're crazy. Dive twice you're an animal!

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