Family Entertainment Center

My wife and I are in the beginning stages of building a family entertainment center. Can any of you guys and gals tell us what resources would be the best to use in starting a FEC??? I have seen a hundred site on the web, and just thought maybe we could get some help and ideas from you guys!

Thanks

You missed a great opportunity at the IAAPA trade show (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions). I'd be willing to be a giant percentage of exhibitors were there to talk to people like you. Try the IAAPA site for starters, I would think there would be something there.

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"

Having worked in both theme parks and FEC's some advice...

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!"

Please don't clone a Chuck-E-Cheese, those ball pits are the nastiest things in the world!

Best of luck! Can you tell us where it might be?

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CP! Still the coaster capital of the world in 2002!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
WoodenCoaster.com

baddboy couldn't have hit the nail any harder. Employees are the best asset in any company (save the one I work for...LOL). Hiring, promoting, and retaining the appropriate people is CRITICAL. And I hate to admit it, but he's even right about DDR. Why kids like these things is beyond me, don't people dance with each other anymore? Best of luck, and remember what we learned at Boomer's - a nice wooden coaster on the Interstate will bring them in by the billions! (Sure, nobody ever seems to ride DBH, but just try and squeeze through the throngs in their arcade)...
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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

Thanks for all the great advice. Hiring employees has been a concern of mine. Kids these days don't want to work, they want to talk! And they want to get paid to talk. Are there any magazines or trade magazines that would help us with the process? Thanks again for all the info, and if you've got anymore, please feel free to reply!

Timmyk31

There are some trade magazines out there.
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CP! Still the coaster capital of the world in 2002!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
WoodenCoaster.com

Let me know if you need a manager!
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Beer, My Baby, and Coasters. Is this a great country or what? ;)

Here is a pretty good link for all sorts of rides and games for a family center.

http://www.casbox.com/Casbox.html

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Stoogemanmoe, would you be willing to move to Indiana?

Supermandel, thanks for the sight.....Very, Very Helpful!

If you guys know of anything else, please fell free to tell me!

Hmm. . . well, I worked for a local FEC for over 3 years.

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.

Where in Indiana are you thinking about? I live at the tip of Lake Michigan. I'm too young to really do anything, just interested though.

Don't forget an indoor coaster, used "wildcats" are pretty cheap as far as a new one costs.
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CP! Still the coaster capital of the world in 2002!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
WoodenCoaster.com

If you are going all out and building rides I'd suggest looking into the used rides available.There are some dealers listed on the americacoasterenthusiasts.org site under the links category. and there are plenty of rollercoasters out there too like the Thunder Eagle in Pigeon Forge that are standing but not operating and could probably be gotten cheap

Just don't charge the 5 to 10 dollars a ride that some places do please

Number one, I know nothing about FEC's. But, I know what makes a good business run rite.

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.

Here on the west side of Cleveland we've had Swings-n-Things forever. I honestly don't remember when it first opened, but I was young, so it has been more than a decade. I seem to remember that they bought a lot of radio time and some TV time early on. Combine decent marketing with a nice facility and I think people will come back to you.

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"

timmyk, what might your budget be for rides? (not games, or attractions, but actual park model flat rides)

Used rides go for very cheap.

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CP! Still the coaster capital of the world in 2002!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
WoodenCoaster.com

I wanna see how the FEC flys before I commit to rides! If it is not going to well in the first 2 years or so, I am not going to add rides, unless there is a sure fire way to bring people in. But that too is a long shot! I would love to build this FEC and is make me lots of money, and bring in alot of repeat customers to be able to build a coaster and to add flat rides( and bigkirby, indoor coasters have been a thought of mine to keep business going in the winter) So it is a wait and see! We are currently looking for land anywhere from Greenwood to Seymour Indiana. This is anywhere between 10 miles and 50 miles south of Indy! The closer to Indy the better but land prices can be very expensive. I would say if everything goes well we could look at about a million dollar budget for rides and attractions! Does this help you any?

Thanks for all the great advice!

Timmyk31