MBA students study failure of 1960's Space City USA theme park

I want a study by Kent State on the failure of Geauga Lake. I still say conspiracy, dangit!

I wonder if the Kentucky Kingdom fair board can get advice from this guy or at least his input on feasability of proposals submitted.

If only the park had built all of the thrill rides that enthusiasts had demanded....

There were enthusiasts back then? ;)

If there had been a demand, it would have been built already. ;)

Mike Gallagher said:

There were enthusiasts back then? ;)

http://www.colourbox.com/preview/2041194-945989-.jpg

That entire project basically can be summed up with Jeff Foxworthy's "Huntsville, Alabama and Space Program" should not be in the same phrase. its tough for many Americans to make the connection.

To actually build a thrill complex themed to space-experiences may work at Kennedy Space Center on a larger scale, although now what they have is operated by a third party. Not much money in education. My last cruise stopped at Port Canaveral, and without any live action, I am not sure what is so big about the VAB and the rest of the place. Its neat-o once, but what will really change until the next program gets any Obama money and astronauts are training, and not selling freeze-dried ice cream from a kiosk next to a Saturn V rocket.

Alabama, for some reason, along with that region of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missisippi cannot support a full fledged theme park. The whole gulf region just never had a major park. Now, Busch Gardens Tampa is lively, but not until 1980 or so, and once Pontchartrain Beach closed in 1983, its been a hot bed for traveling shows, but never a gated park.

Its a shame, since the region needs a strong park, giving opportunity for seasonal jobs, vendor opportunities, etc, but locking into that single theme is the death of many parks. And the space program just doesn't change a whole lot.

Agent Johnson said:

That entire project basically can be summed up with Jeff Foxworthy's "Huntsville, Alabama and Space Program" should not be in the same phrase. its tough for many Americans to make the connection.

Really? Having lived in Huntsville and now in Northern Ohio, most people I have met here know that Huntsville is home to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and Space Camp. Throw in NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Center, and Huntsville is widely known as a key in the US space program.

The problem with an amusement park working in that part of the county is a lack of a major population base. They just don't have enough people living within a reasonable distance to make a park work. See Visionland, then Alabama Adventure and now Splash Adventure.

They should have had them practice with an easier case study, like say, Hard Rock Park.

The thesis for HRP's demise would be exactly four words long: Marketing Really Does Matter.

If you build it, they won't necessarily come?