Family Entertainment Center
Great opportunity if you're in the right market... good luck!
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"
CHOOSE YOUR EMPLOYEES CAREFULLY!
Nothing is harder than working with stubborn people. The better the worker, the better the guest experience, the better the financial returns.
Oh also, dont forget to put in a Dance Dance Revolution 4th Mix!
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"ok everyone go ahead and pull down on your shoulder restraint so you feel nice and stuck!"
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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!
Timmyk31
http://www.casbox.com/Casbox.html
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Like everyone's mentioned, your employees are so important. Obviously, I had an interest in being there, but none of the 80 or so people I worked with shared that interest. That leads to a few problems, like disrespect for the guest, as well as staff and equipment.
That sort of disrespect very quickly lead to a poorly operated and maintained FEC. Our rides broke down frequently, since nobody was really cared how they were supposed to operate, as did our video games. In the 3 years I worked there, I taught myself how to repair nearly everything in the building, including the Tilt-A-Whirl, Bumper Cars, Lasertron arena, and even an iWERKS Turbo Theater system.
On that same thread - appreciate your employees. I loved my job, but despite all of the work I learned to do for them, they only payed me $5.75/hr. As I got older, I couldn't stay around because I needed more money.
As for the facilities themselves -
I always suggest that they follow some theme. My FEC had none, and was very boring and bland because of it. A cohesive, well done theme can really make someone's experience a lot more enjoyable.
The flat rides were portable models, and they were only changed every 1.5 years or so. Similarly, we would run iWERKS movies for 8-12 months at a time. This meant that there were few repeat visitors.
Hmm . . I can already sense that this is going to be a very long reply, and I'm not sure you're even interested in hearing it. If you're interested, please, let me know, and I'll be more than happy to share my vast knowledge :) I've got the experience of an FEC visitor, employee, manager, and mechanic, in addition to my interest in themed entertainment design - so, I know a bit about how things run :)
Anyway. .
~ Michael, who's had the dubious pleasure of riding "Superstition" over 1000 times.
Just don't charge the 5 to 10 dollars a ride that some places do please
First find a FEC that is popular and is successful, and then take note of every detail of that business. I would go to every FEC in your state and even other states until you find one that is popular and successful, your role model. Then copy this FEC in every way, there is no sense in reinventing the wheel.
There are also some franchise opportunities that, in the right market, might do well. I think, but I'm not positive, that Malibu Grand Prix is a franchised operation. Pirate's Cove mini-golf is not, I just found. There are a couple of laser tag outfits that franchise as well.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"
Thanks for all the great advice!
Timmyk31
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