Posted
Some Monticello business owners and former employees of Indiana Beach — including relatives of Tom Spackman, the late, longtime park owner — aren't sure about the future of the park. They tell of layoffs of non-seasonal employees inside the park, utilities shut off for lack of payment and souring relationships between the park and Monticello-area businesses. Across the country, other Morgan RV-owned parks and facilities have been sold or fallen into foreclosure, raising local anxieties even further.
Read more from AP via The Herald Bulletin.
I went this past summer for the second time ever (both times since Morgan bought them) and operations went from bad on my first trip several years ago (2009 I think) to worse this year. Rides closed, shops closed, most employees completely indifferent about their jobs, etc.
I love the uniqueness of this park, and I think it obviously has tons of potential that the current owners are completely failing to live up to.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
CP Chris said:
I love the uniqueness of this park, and I think it obviously has tons of potential that the current owners are completely failing to live up to.
We weren't talking about Michigan's Adventure, though. We were talking about Indiana Beach.
13 Boomerang, 9 SLC, and 8 B-TR clones
Is anyone really surprised by this news? They bought the park, repainted and moved a few rides, added 2 attractions, and called it good. While they almost trippled the admission price, and prices on everything else, banking that loyal customers would continue to come. (the same thinking cedar fair has with MA)
They obviously made mistakes that people didn't like, from day one. The fact that their other properties are failing, should not be a surprise either, as those resorts are based on the sale of resort lots. Where similar resorts are not doing well either, due to a bad economy, and the price of gas.
I think if they are in serious shape, I think it would be wise for them to sell the park, and it might be to the buyers advantage to push a sale. But, unless the new owners, (or the current ones) do something exciting with the park, I don't think it's going to have a huge comeback.
If the park fails, the resorts and campgrounds around it will fail as well. So, I am surprised that the businesses in Montecello would have a problem with the park. If anything they should be thanking whomever owns it for it being there. Seriously, would anyone go to Monticello if it wasn't there?
It would be like going to Sandusky with no Cedar Point. Who would want to do that? If Cedar Point left, that town would turn into a hotel ghost town.
I didn't do it! I swear!!
(Knowing it will fall on deaf ears, but unable to stop himself, slithernoggin goes in.....)
Since Michigan's Adventure has repeatedly been described as the most profitable park Cedar Fair owns, "banking that loyal customers...continue to come" seems to have worked out quite well for Cedar Fair.
Who would go to Monticello if Indiana Beach wasn't there anymore? People who enjoy boating, fishing, beaches.... Sure, tourism would take a hit. But the city wouldn't become a ghost town.
T-R, is it even physically possible for you to post in a topic that's NOT about MA without mentioning MA? Jeez...
The amusement park rises bold and stark..kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
http://support.gktw.org/site/TR/CoastingForKids/General?px=1248054&...fr_id=1372
Don't forget all the convention business Kalahari pulls in, full of people who often times don't even know CP is there. I remember seeing a large group of suits at Steak n Shake once who were from Vancouver and had no idea the "best amusement park in the world" was two miles away.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
And if 300,000 people fit those categories, CP would be responsible for "only" 90% of the tourists in the Sandusky area. If 1m people fit that category, CP would be responsible for "only" 75% of the tourist trade.
Even if Indiana Beach is responsible for "only" 50% of the area's tourism, its closure would cut the tourist trade by half.
This Isn't A Hospital--It's An Insane Asylum!
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