In a little while and then the time has come: the Tilburg fair starts. Recently it has been wrong a few times or almost went wrong with fairground attractions. In April a girl in Hilversum fell from a fair attraction of a Tilburg operator. That is why operator Willy Ordemans might be extra careful on Thursday when building his new fairground attraction, the Phantom.
In eight o’clock it is completely built up, the Phantom, in which visitors are waved hard from left to right at an altitude of 45 meters. The thing came from the factory two months ago. “He is new, modern and therefore very safe,” says owner Willy.
On Wednesday he was at another fair and the next day he and his team are already building the attraction for the first time at the largest fair in the Benelux. But that happens safely.
In the factory, Willy even enjoyed training to build and break the Phantom well and safely. “The attraction consists of three cars that are linked to each other,” Willy explains enthusiastically. “And there are masts, gondolas, computers and engines on those cars.”
The attraction even has its own tap and pulls itself up as it were. This ensures that the Phantom does not need extra space to be built up.
“Adrenaline junkies are our audience.”
“Adrenaline junkies are our audience,” he knows. “Fortunately, they are enough this week, otherwise we are building him up for nothing. But the most important thing remains safety.” The shock of every fairground operator is of course that something goes wrong. That is why the theme of safety is also more important than ever. “
“The requirements have become stricter in recent years,” says Willy, who has been in the business for years. “After six years I am selling my attraction again, but then it is not yet written off. If I buy a new one, then the requirements have already become stricter. And that is a good thing.”
In the past, for example, you were allowed to weigh 150 kilos if you wanted in the attraction. But now the requirement is 100 kilos. “Sometimes people don’t fit in the attraction and then they are angry. But safety first.” And also during construction, for example, when welding, it was constantly taken into account whether the items have been made good and safe. And you don’t have to worry about all the screws either. “Someone screws them, someone else checks them and then the chef still looks at it.”
“At an amusement park there are points where no employees come for years.”
That it is so new, keeps him and his crew sharp. “At an amusement park there are points where no employees come for years. We have the parts in our hand every month during the breaking. So everything is also checked every month when building and breaking down.”
So you don’t have to worry, says Willy. “Unfortunately, something goes wrong sometimes. But you can’t pay a whole industry on it. Aircraft and bus accidents also happen.”
When the fair was successful for Willy? “Actually on Friday at the first round,” says Willy proudly. “Then we have performed to have the attraction ready for the public on time. And the icing on the cake is when we have been able to break it down safely and we have turned financially nicely,” the fairground operator concludes.
And that’s how it looks from Friday at the Willy attraction in Tilburg:
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