[BRIEF NOTE] Rainbow Valley
May. 10th, 2005 01:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonaldThis news item makes me sad:
Fellow Islanders will certainly remember the Rainbow Valley amusement park, located in Cavendish. Myself, I strongly associate it with the end-of-year trips made by my classes at L.M. Montgomery Elementary School. It might be a small park by global standards, and perhaps mildly cheesy, and I've not been there for years. But still, Rainbow Valley's fun. I mean, swan boat rides, people, and flumes, and the haunted cave, and the flying saucer-cum-gift shop, and the talking owl. C'mon, people.
Jim Day's recent article in The Guardian suggests that the park's owner, Bart Bourne, is trying to keep the park open by making economic arguments.
Given how this is Prince Edward Island, appeals to the tourism dollar might actually work. Here's hoping.
Rainbow Valley, a Cavendish tourist attraction that's given memories to most Island children, and thousands more tourists, has been sold to Parks Canada.
This will be the last summer that visitors will have a chance to ride the attractions and play on the waterslides.
The purchase was announced at a news conference on Tuesday morning. David Lipton, who works with Parks Canada, said the owner of the amusement park was planning to retire and approached the federal government about buying the 39 acre property.
However, Lipton said P.E.I. National Park isn't getting into the amusement business.
Fellow Islanders will certainly remember the Rainbow Valley amusement park, located in Cavendish. Myself, I strongly associate it with the end-of-year trips made by my classes at L.M. Montgomery Elementary School. It might be a small park by global standards, and perhaps mildly cheesy, and I've not been there for years. But still, Rainbow Valley's fun. I mean, swan boat rides, people, and flumes, and the haunted cave, and the flying saucer-cum-gift shop, and the talking owl. C'mon, people.
Jim Day's recent article in The Guardian suggests that the park's owner, Bart Bourne, is trying to keep the park open by making economic arguments.
Bourne said Rainbow Valley, complete with water slides, monorail, paddle boats, midway and petting zoo, is a driving force for Cavendish tourism. He estimates the proposed dramatic shift in use of the site from amusement park to eco-tourism will result in a drop of between 10 and 30 per cent in visitation to P.E.I. every year.
He noted in a visitor’s survey conducted in 1988, 7.2 per cent of respondents cited visiting Rainbow Valley as a specific reason for coming to the province.
“The Island is already experiencing substantial decreases in visitations and this (death of the popular theme park) will escalate the trend and make recovery impossible,’’ he said.
“It’s probably the biggest industry story on P.E.I. this year.’’
Given how this is Prince Edward Island, appeals to the tourism dollar might actually work. Here's hoping.
