Merlin Entertainment is Europe's largest entertainment company with over 140 attractions in 20 countries. Merlin Entertainments operates attractions such as: Thorpe Park, LEGOLAND®, London Eye and many more; they also create and deliver memorable experiences for over 60 million guests worldwide.
Visitor safety remains paramount for amusement park operators who are faced with the challenge of amplifying customer experiences, as well as complying with rigorous health and safety regulations and legislation. The changeable British summer often means blue skies can convert to high winds, rain and thunderstorms within a few minutes. Severe weather planning is crucial to ensure visitor and park safety and Skyview Systems has installed weather monitoring solutions for various sites across the UK and Europe.
Thorpe Park
After various site surveys and detailed discussions with Thorpe Park to discuss their main requirements, we installed bespoke solutions centred around a web-based SCADA system wirelessly linked to wind sensors and alarm units on various rides. This provided a robust and dependable fully automatic solution to measure, record and display wind speeds, alarm conditions and alarm status across the park.
We also developed and installed a traffic light alarm system to allow the team to receive appropriate and timely warnings. This flexible system enables each ride to have its own safety operating limits (wind speed and temperature) which are predefined by the park and ride manufacturers. On clear, still days - the system will display a green light. The system’s amber light alerts the site and ride operators to take caution. The red light and accompanying audible alarm alerts the operators to stop the ride with immediate effect.
The London Eye
Our collaboration with the London Eye started in 2001; this project required a bespoke wind alarm system to ensure safety on this soon-to-be iconic landmark. Standing at 135m, a 3-sensor solution was agreed with the then owners, British Airways, Marks Barfield, and the Tussauds Group.
The design of the weather system had to address a range of technical challenges and measurement considerations, all while being aesthetically sympathetic to the impressive structure. The London Eye required multiple monitoring points, necessitating the installation of unique sensor mountings, along with real-time data output and an alert system to notify staff of any hazardous conditions.
Visitor attractions must adhere to the stringent safety legislation, HSG175 - The Health & Safety Executive guidance on safe practice around the importance of dynamic weather monitoring for attractions and amusement parks, and this highlighted the importance of an alarm-based solution. Our solution needed to be fail-safe: ensuring the reliable monitoring of many variables, trusted data recording and, critically, the instantaneous alarm to onsite engineers.
Heide Park
At Heide Park, one of Germany’s largest theme parks, we implemented a robust weather monitoring solution to enhance safety and streamline operations across the park. In 2017, we installed a system comprising 4 strategically placed weather sensors, 6 clusters, and 10 alarm boxes. These are all connected to a SCADA-based traffic light system, which includes buzzers to alert staff in the event of severe weather conditions, mainly high winds.
The traffic light system provides a simple yet effective visual and audible signal for ride operators. As conditions change and wind increases, the system automatically adjusts based on predefined weather thresholds, ensuring that rides can continue to operate safely or be paused as required. Real-time monitoring allows management to stay informed of current weather conditions across the park, improving response times and decision-making to ensure visitor safety is always the top priority.
Our Solution
Each of our approaches involved developing a bespoke weather-monitoring solution tailored to meet the unique requirements of each attraction and park, ensuring scalability and safety. We conducted dedicated surveys to evaluate the specific needs of each ride and attraction, allowing us to address stringent legislation and monitor critical weather parameters effectively. These systems included early warning capabilities to provide timely alerts, enhancing attraction safety and response time. To centralise information, we implemented a web-based platform allowing park management to monitor conditions in real time from a single interface. These comprehensive, bespoke solutions ensure Merlin Entertainments operates their attractions in a safety-conscious manner.
