Designing a new Theme Park

How much do you think it would cost to open an amusement park? Also where would someone go to get a park designed? What types of rides should go in for kids,familys,and thrill seekers?

Thanks,

Jake

Hmm, a little vague there...depends on what audience your going for. You could open a small family amusement park for about $100 million. A park on the lines of a Disney or Universal park can cost upwards of $500 million.

Why, got a few million laying around?

^Steve, with the traditional smart@$$ response. ;)

Which is why you see small, family owned amusment parks evolve from small FECs, Race Track Centers, and waterparks. They are a bit cheaper, and as you start making money after getting things paid off, you can add some flats, then maybe a small mouse and Wacky Worm, then a small woodie, and before ya know it, you have a Holiday World, Big Cheifs, or Six Flags America...:)

I think if you were serious and could raise the capital, a well placed FEC with room to grow is certainly the way to go.

Well before you ever get to the cost of plopping a few dozen rides here and there, there's the cost of land, feasibility and marketing studies, and a need to determine financial backing before you even start planning. If you have land, you'll need to consult with someone whether it's feasible to use as a park, and whether the area it's in can generate demand.

Then there's the plan approval process itself. In PA at least, you have to deal with a local municipality (township, borough, or city), county, and state. There'll be environmental studies (any endangered species on your property?), traffic studies, impact studies, zoning regulations, soil conservation plans, possibly archaeological and historical issues (any native Americans once live on your site? or did Washington once sleep there?), zoning issues, and blah, blah, blah... it goes on.

And inevitably, someone will complain that your presence is going to ruin their lives, devalue their property, put too many cars down their road, suck all the water out of their well... So you'll probably end up with some grass roots organization fighting you every step of the way. Of course, they're the same people who usually complain there are no jobs or nothing to do in their area.

After a few years, you might finally get approval and blessing from everyone, and you can actually start moving ground. Of course, during that time, you're paying interest on the land, attorney, engineering and other professional fees-- all this long before you ever get to make a penny off the site.

Good luck.

you also want to make sure that you have additional money to cover at least 5 years ahead-because many start up attractions and businesses will suffer losses the first few years until they gain a fanbase, market niche, etc...