Wood Entertainment’s A
Remembering Roswell? /
nniversaries By Dan J. Zapata
Trying Times ichael’s “ride upgrades” were not relegated to the kiddie seg- ment of rides plus the Magnum. Several seasons before, Michael ac- quired a Wisdom Starship 3000. Wisdom Industries commenced this ride as the “Gravitron.” It altered the ride’s theme to include interstellar travel by chang- ing the name to Starship 2000. Clearly, the model that Michael purchased was the ride’s subsequent generation. Upon the other hand, Michael had in mind a way in which to modernize the ma- chine further still. He had it worked on during the winter off-season that was subsequent to the 2011 tour. Michael chose the moniker “Area 51” so that his model would stand out from every other Starship around America. The change of the flash from traditional fluores- cence to contemporarily popular LEDs distinguished the device even more. Wherever Michael contracted Area 51, the attraction was well received. So, Wisdom dropped the “Starship” desig- nation completely; they now call these gravity-defying amusements “Alien Abduction.” The scenery and the switch over to LEDs that adorn Alien Abduction are similar to how Michael had his ver- sion re-done. As the aforenoted, and venerated, Charles Leonard Martin once observed, accidents will, inevitably, eventuate whenever people and ma- chines come together. Michael Wood underwent that education during the “California” portion of his 2011 Season in Del Mar. To be precise and on June 21, the company’s “spec” known as the “Techno Power” unanticipatingly began moving after having been stopped at the end of a ride cycle. In doing so, a teen- age passenger, plus Ride Boy Michael Culver, were injured. Fortunately, both
16 OABA ShowTime Magazine | NOVEMBER 2022
individuals suffered non-life-threatening injuries and recovered. According to MCW, “Wood said that when an accident ...happens, you go into ‘battle mode’ and revert to your training. His NAARSO experience trained him to assess who was injured and who wasn’t, attend to the injured parties first and preserve the (accident) scene.” Undoubtedly, his late patriarch, “Red” Wood, would have done no less. Michael entirely cooperated with pertinent officials, including a represen- tative of Tivoli, which manufactures the Techno. As a result, the likely culprit of an electro-mechanical nature was identi- fied. Alterations were effected so as to negate the possibility of the unexpected start reoccurring. As MCW reported, “... (Testing) of the ride (began.) Wood ran the ride for 12 hours and couldn’t rep- licate the incident. Then they spent an additional 4-5 hours testing the changes followed by another 12 hours running the ride, the equivalent of an estimated 575 ride cycles.” Seven days afterwards, the machine was cleared to reopen.
PART III OF IV
Nevertheless, and with safety, under- standably at the forefront of his mental- ity, Michael felt the sting of the accident personally. As he told MCW, “...(There) are questions that run through your head and the feeling of dread and guilt for an accident having happened on a piece of equipment that you own. The (following) questions arise — ‘What hap- pened?’, ‘What can I do differently?’ and, most importantly, ‘How can I keep this from happening in the future?’ I’m in the business of putting smiles on people’s faces, not hurting them,’” said Wood. To be sure, this self-analysis, though caused by the near tragedy, is a natu- ral “constant” in Michael’s approach to his overall operation; he’s consistently reviewing his method of operation to improve and improvise what he does and how he does what he does with respect to his business. Michael then revealed his philosophy regarding how he views this downside of the outdoor amusement industry. Still citing MCW, “Wood said an
accident...reinforces why
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32
