Ride Entertainment Group Explained

Ride Entertainment Group
Industry:	Entertainment
Area Served:	Worldwide
Key People:	Ed Hiller (CEO)
Divisions:	Sales Operations Financial Partnerships Installations SkyCoaster®.

Ride Entertainment is a firm based in the United States specializing in the construction, sales, service, and operation of amusement rides and attractions.

Divisions

Sales

Responsible for the sale of amusement rides, attractions and related products. Companies represented or partnered with Ride Entertainment include:

• Gerstlauer  - all of the company's North American sales are handled by Ride Entertainment. Attractions are manufactured in Munsterhausen, DE in the former factory of noted roller coaster engineer, Anton Schwarzkopf. Notable attractions include Dare Devil Dive, Untamed, FireChaser Express, and TMNT Shellraiser.^{[1] [2]}

• Extreme Engineering  - creators of the mobile rock climbing walls and auto-belay systems, the company created the Cloud Coaster, is known for ziplines, Extreme Air launchers and climbing walls.^[3]
• Funtime  - all of the company's North American installations are handled by Ride Entertainment. The company's portfolio includes Star Flyers and Slingshots, most notably under the SkyScreamer name at Six Flags amusement parks.
• Lagotronics Projects – all of the company's North American sales are handled by Ride Entertainment. The company's portfolio includes indoor / outdoor, immersive “dark ride” experiences with proprietary, interactive game elements.^[4]
• Mettalbau Emmeln (MTB) - began with work on children's playgrounds in the late 1960s. Today, they specialize in custom-themed family attractions.^[5]

• RCI Adventure Products  - Formerly Ropes Courses, Inc. Designers of the Sky Trail ropes course, which uses a small disc inside of a steel track. Ropes courses at Indiana Beach and West Edmonton Mall were sold and installed by Ride Entertainment Group.^[6]
• Skyline Attractions  - based in Orlando, Skyline is best known for their “Strike-U-Up” ride-able games, as well as their Skywarp powered roller coaster models. The company also does significant work with queue line and attraction station design.^[7]
• V&P Rides - starting as an architecture firm, the company shifted to amusement attractions and specifically, flying theaters.^[8]
• KCL Engineering – the company created a proprietary LED lighting system suitable for mounting on roller coaster tracks and other attractions. Notable installations include: Hangtime at Knott's Berry Farm, the Orlando Star Flyer and Lotte World Tower.^[9]
• NewcoUSA - manufacturer of roller coaster and other attraction wheels, this partnership was announced in late 2020.^[10]

Operations

This division operates amusement parks and entertainment facilities at locations in North America, including such prominent locations as Forest Park and Fantasy Forest in New York, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Boston, and the Seaglass Carousel in New York to name a few.^[11]

Financial Partnerships

Ride Entertainment is the attraction industry's largest provider of revenue share attractions, working with amusement parks, zoos, water parks and other facilities.^[12]

Installations

This division installs, maintains and rehabilitates amusement rides from manufacturers around the world. The company has worked with many different park groups, including Six Flags, Cedar Fair and OCT.^[13]

SkyCoaster

SkyCoaster has over 75 locations worldwide and was operated as a wholly owned division of ThrillTime Entertainment International.^[14] In 2005, SkyCoaster, Inc. as well as ThrillTime's other amusement ride, Top Eliminator, were sold to Ride Entertainment.^[15] This was followed in 2006 by a reverse merger transaction where ThrillTime was acquired by Advanced Proteome Therapeutics.^[16]

Notes and References

1. 29 December 2010. Gerstlauer busy in 2011. Park World Magazine. 22 November 2013.
2. Web site: Projects. Ride Entertainment Group. 22 November 2013.
3. Web site: Extreme Engineering. Ride Entertainment.
4. Web site: Lagotronics Projects. Ride Entertainment.
5. Web site: Metallbau Emmeln. 2020-12-24. Ride Entertainment. en-US.
6. Ropes Courses Opens at Indiana Beach and The West Edmonton Mall. 22 November 2013. Ride Entertainment Group.
7. Web site: Skyline Attractions. 2020-12-24. Ride Entertainment. en-US.
8. Web site: V&P Rides. 2020-12-24. Ride Entertainment. en-US.
9. Web site: KCL Engineering. 2020-12-24. Ride Entertainment. en-US.
10. Web site: Ride Entertainment Introduces New Partner. 2020-12-24. Ride Entertainment. en-US.
11. Web site: Specialties. Ride Operations Group. 22 November 2013.
12. Web site: Process. Ride Entertainment.
13. Web site: Ride Installations and Relocations. Ride Entertainment.
14. Waddell. Ray. ThrillTime Entertainment purchases Sky Fun 1; to be named SkyCoaster. Amusement Business. August 3, 1998. 110. 31. 19.
15. Web site: Mike Gutknecht. Ride Entertainment Group of Companies. 22 November 2013.
16. Web site: Company Overview of ThrillTime Entertainment International Inc.. https://archive.today/20131122054256/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=986419. dead. November 22, 2013. Bloomberg Business Week. 22 November 2013.