French history recreation theme park Puy du Fou has won the biannual Applause Award at IAAPA 2014, pipping China's Chimelong Paradise and Spain's Portaventura to the post to claim the prestigeous prize, also confirming to
AM2 there are plans for projects in China and beyond.
Considered to be the 'Academy Award' of the amusement park industry, the Applause Award is given out every two years to the amusement park whose "management, operations and creative accomplishments have inspired the industry with their foresight, originality and sound business development." Previous winners include Disney's Magic Kingdom, Europa Park and Universal's Islands of Adventure among others.
Upon receiving the award, Puy Du Fou owner Philippe de Villiers told
AM2 that Puy du Fou won because of its uniqueness compared with the rest of the attractions sector.
"It's not an attraction park based on rides, its history theme park - it's a unique concept," he said. "The success of the park is rooted in the live show and this tells the story, the history of France with stunning visuals and cutting-edge technology."
De Villiers also confirmed plans for a Puy du Fou in China, confirming future developments beyond that are also in the works for the company after current ones in the UK and in Russia.
"It is the same concept for all parks in development. It will be based on the history of the country it is located in," he continued. "We are planning something close to the Great Wall of China, though at the moment we're still formulating those plans.
"We have other projects in development but we want to focus on one park at each time. We will open the theme park in England, the theme park in Russia and then we will open the park in China before focusing on future projects."
Attractions Management and AM2 are both on hand for IAAPA 2014 in Orlando to provide live coverage throughout the week. Check back here for all the latest breaking news, which is sure to excite the attractions sector from some of the industry's biggest and brightest names.
