Do Seasonal Parks Have An Advantage?

you ain't getting squat chris.....not until after I collect on that Intamin I was promised.....even while I'm waiting for delivery, my "Intamintrest" is COMPOUNDING....

bill, wondering whether he's getting a S:RoS or an Impulse...I'd take either....:)

But then why does it take a whole year for SFMM to reach attendance numbers like PKI and CP reach in 6 months of seasonal operation? I think that puts some seasonal parks so much further ahead in an advantage that operating in the off-season isn't much of a necessity. Those two parks are more of the exception though.

I just don't think I could stand working for a year round operation. Most people who work for seasonal parks will tell you that they value the off season very much. It's a time to relax and take a breath. Maybe at the year round parks things don't seem as urgent or rushed for them, so they don't need that break; I like it when we're open, but it's nice to have some quiet maintenance time, too.

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"When I was growing up, we were taught something called manners. You'd understand that if you weren't such an idiot." - Jack Handey

WDW does its annual maintenance on rides needing it during the off season. For example, every year, Space Mountain goes down for a month during the winter so that they can do extensive work on the track which is quite tough during the middle of summer (ride opens at 8 am with early entry for resort guests, while its closed at 1 am the night before!) since they have to work on the 31 trains of the ride!

Some rides will get huge "rehabs" (the term used when a ride is down for a while due to maintenance). Like, Maelstrom at EPCOT closed in july and just reopened last saturday. They also take that opportunity to do adjustements in the show (theming for other parks, lol).

Regarding year round employees, you'll be surprised to see the age of some Cast members at Disney! Usually, these CM tend to staff "quieter rides", while leaving the agressive rides to the younger casts. For some CM, its a past time after they retired from their job!

"But then why does it take a whole year for SFMM to reach attendance numbers like PKI and CP reach in 6 months of seasonal operation"?

It's called, Universal, two Disney parks, Knott's Berry Farm and Legoland all within 70 minutes of SFMM. Neither CP or PKI have competition anywhere near as intense. It's astonishing that SFMM manages to rake in 3+million every year with so many other options in the area.

How do they do it? By not being afraid to offer something different. They encourage teenagers and young adults with big, loud rollercoasters, while leaving the family stuff to the parks that do that type of thing much better. It's a stategy that would that seems to work for them.

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"Escuse me, can you tell me where the heck the Mystery Lodge is"?

*** This post was edited by OutKast on 10/23/2002. ***

To compare working at a seasonal vs. year round park, you have to look at full time positions.

A full timer at a seasonal park probably works from April to at least September or October on the season schedule. This is likely 6 days a week and 10+ hours per day. During the "off-season", the employee probably gets to enjoy a more normal Mon-Fri schedule.

A full timer at a year 'round park probably works five days per week. Now the two days off most likely are not Saturday and Sunday.

Given those two options, the year 'round park is more appealing to me. The seasonal park takes a lot out of you and these days, with Octoberfests and Halloween events the seasons seem to be stretching longer.

Guess it's safe to say that both have their advantages and disadvantages....;). Year-round parks have year-rpund cash flow, but also have to do everything in front of guests and keeping an eye on guest safety. Seasonal parks have two completely different seasons, *operating* and *maintenance/installation*...Overall, I'd work for either, but they definitely pose different challenges....

Thanks OutKast, I agree with a lot of what you said, but I'm thinking it could be a little more than that. Maybe people are just disappointed in something the first time and don't come back again as much or any. Since they're the only major scream park in that area (KBF is semi-thrilled), I just thought they would get a lot more repeat visits over time. When people always tell me how there's long lines all the time, I was just wondering where the people were coming from to cause the lines to be that long. Maybe it's just slow ops or one train op, but I don't know the park.

From the construction view point. The people, traffic, safety factors involved in construction with a year round park open are a pain. But at a seasonal park you have to do all of your construction during the wrong season.

I just shiver every time I look at the pictures of topping off Millenium Force. You're cold. You're numb. You can barely move. The wind is howling. And, you're 300 feet up.