Zamperla has partnered the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to supply a 21-ride theme park in a new US$241m tourism complex in Foley, Alabama. The ride firm also unveiled its new VR ride concept.

Zamperla revealed it is working on the Owa development, which will include the theme park, a 150-room Marriott Town Place Suites hotel, F&B and retail, all centred around a large lake. It’s predicted the development will draw 1 million more visitors a year to the area and generate 3,500 direct and indirect jobs for the community.

“The park at Owa is a 14-acre amusement park currently under construction as part of a much larger development put together by CIEDA, the Creek Indian Econcomic Development Association,” said Michael Coleman, sales manager, Zamperla. “With 21 Zamperla rides, this first phase will open on Memorial Day 2017. It’s a family focused park, but not forgetting the thrill factor, we are installing a 803-feet Thunderbolt-style ride.”

Zamperla also announced the launch of a “park-oriented” VR system developed for its rides. The plug and play system, available on either Samsung or Oculus platforms, has been developed with wifi technology so there is no external installation required and no need for sensors, making it simple to use for operators.

The Italian ridemaker has concurrently developed a comprehensive dashboard for park operators designed to show real-time statistics about rides in the park, helping manage park operations from the office.

Zamperla is celebrating its 50 th anniversary at IAAPA this year. Read our

interview with CEO Alberto Zamperla from the latest issue.