Famous News (Jan 1981)

Pyramid Place: Continued from page 7 presented on Canada’s largest indoor motion picture screen. The Canadian-invented IMAX projection system uses the world’s most advanced film projection and sound technology. IMAX projects a crystal clear image on the huge movie screen, six stories tall and 85-feet wide. The IMAX movie innovation gives viewers the sensation of actually being ‘‘inside’’ the picture. The first two seasons featured the award-winning 27-minute film “To Fly’’, a breathtaking cinema adventure tracing man’s conquest of flight, which premiered at the Smithsonian Institute’s Air & Space Museum in 1976. The 1981 season will feature another thrilling IMAX film sensation. Pyramid Place features several other exciting family attractions in a 2-storey entertainment centre — a remodelled factory building (formerly the Niagara Wire Weaving Company). The ‘‘Good Times Jamboree’’, a comical toe-tapping, hand-clapping musical performance stars five delightful animated characters who perform musical selections from the ‘‘Fabulous Fifties’’. ‘‘The Great White Water Niagara Picture Show’’, another family style show, takes a breathtaking and comical look at the beauty and folklore of Niagara Falls ina spectacular multi-media presentation. Kid’s Place, the newest addition to Pyramid Place, is an imaginative playground, featuring more than a dozen play experiences for children aged 4 through 13. Kid’s Place was designed by Eric McMillan, a Toronto designer who pioneered many of the concepts of child play for ‘‘Children’s Village’’ at Ontario Place in 1972. Since then, McMillan has designed several other play areas at major recreation complexes throughout North America. In addition to great family attractions, Pyramid Place features an exciting games area, including video arcades, games of skill, electronic boats and an electronic shooting gallery. Specialty shops, restaurants and strolling entertainers complete the complex. & 8 Premiere Issue, January 1981 mT A model of Gatlinburg Place, a $10 million family entertainment centre which opened this summer. Gatlinburg Place Opens Amidst Smokies e Gatlinburg Place, a $10 million family entertainment centre, opened in June, 1980 in the resort community of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The Great Smoky Mountains’ newest family entertainment showcase is Famous Players’ second family entertainment project. Gatlinburg Place is a joint venture of Famous Players Ltd. and the Le Conte Corporation, a Tennesseebased development consortium. Gatlinburg Place features exciting attractions, restaurants and specialty shops. The feature attractions are the IMAX Entertainment Centre, the ‘‘Backwoods Bear Jamboree’’, and ‘‘Pop Goes America’’, a lively musical production. Gatlinburg Place is open year-round, weekends in the winter and daily in spring, summer and fall. The IMAX Entertainment Centre includes a spectacular cinema experience on one of the world’s largest movie screens, 7 stories high and 94 feet wide. Coupled with a 6-track stereophonic sound system, the projection format provides nearly 700 viewers with a breathtaking experience and the sensation of being ‘‘in’? the action. The Feature Film presentation is ‘‘To Fly’’, a thrilling 27-minute cinema experience tracing the history of man’s most spectacular accomplishments in flight. The ‘*Backwoods Bear Jamboree’, a foot-stomping country music hoedown, stars a zany cast of five animated bears that sing and entertain to hand-clapping mountain music. ‘“‘Pop Goes America’’ thrills audiences with a high energy musical stage production featuring highlights of American music ranging from country to pop to patriotic tunes. The youthful Gatlinburg Place Singers and a live band perform from an elevated stage in the IMAX Entertainment Centre. Gatlinburg Place also features outstanding dining facilities, specialty shopping and challenging amusement games. The Gatlinburg Place Washboard Band entertains guests with selections of country and bluegrass tunes. Architecturally, Gatlinburg Place reflects the rustic setting characteristic of Southern Appalachia. The IMAX Entertainment Centre is covered by a striking copper roof and finished in native stone and wood. *