Vol. X, No. 4, June-July 2010
Adventure sports
A nascent out-of-home family recreation concept that is appearing in different entertainment centers and tourist attractions is known as adventure sports. Although there are many forms of adventure sports, often also called extreme sports, these activities are designed to be safe and enjoyable by the general public. The two we are seeing the most are zip-lines and ropes courses. They are being incorporated into family entertainment centers (FEC), agritainment attractions and vacation venues.
Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee recently opened the world’s largest ropes course, named Adventure Mountain, at a cost of $6.0 million. The course includes Camp Teachittoomee, a scaled-down course for young children. Adventure Mountain was installed at Dollywood after the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation that manages the park had success with a ropes course named SkyHike at Stone Mountain in Atlanta, which they also manage. The new Playnation Magic Planet FEC at Mirdiff City Centre in Dubai includes a ropes course.
Adventure Mountain ropes course at Dollywood
For years, zip-lines have been a feature of eco-tourism. Now they are appearing at all types of out-of-home entertainment locations, including farms with agritourism and family vacation destinations. Bigfoot Zipline Tours has opened what they claim is “the nation’s largest zip-line course” in the Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, a popular family destination. Soar and Explore at Myrtle Beach features a 3-story ropes course and a 1,000-foot zip-line that is under construction.
