Podcast; Markets that could support a park but don't have one yet?

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The problem with Phoenix is the climate. Too hot during the main park season when school is normally out. The two possible solutions are: an indoor park similar to the Park at MOA but larger or a park in the Flagstaff area. Flagstaff has the right climate for a summer seasonal park and is also a gateway to the Grand Canyon, drawing many tourists. Many people for Phoenix go there during the summer to escape the heat. *** Edited 2/12/2007 11:43:13 PM UTC by Arthur Bahl***

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I do agree with you about the climate. When I visited my cousin in August a few years ago I was pretty scared to go outside. However, they didnt seem to mind the heat to much, I guess it is all about what you are used to.

The Flagstaff idea is very interesting indeed. While I have never been to Flagstaff I have been to the Northern Arizona general area (Prescott) and the summer was definatley much milder, and much more pleasant for me :) Its also a pretty managable drive if i recall, about two hours if i recall.

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X Factor said:

N/S Dakota - I doubt there's enough local population that will support a park. But Idaho's Silverwood seems to prove that theory wrong.

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Silverwood doesn't prove anything. It is located less than an hour away from Spokane. Spokane county has an estimated population of about 440,000. Sure that's not huge, but couple that with the tourist attraction and summer hangout that is Coeur D'Alene and you have a large enough population to keep a park the size of Silverwood in business.

Just outside the 150 mile radius method applied by Gonch (at 185 miles) would be Missoula, MT with another 100,000 people. I would like to add that in an area so devoid of amusement parks the driving distance for a day trip could be extended a little bit. ;) Also remember they have higher speed limits out west compared to what most of us are used to.

I think you will be hard pressed to find anywhere in the Dakotas that would have that kind of population base to draw on other than the south eastern portion of South Dakota. Which wouldn't need it's own park if Omaha got one. :)

So I agree with you that the Dakotas probably wouldn't be able to support a park, but I dissagree with your use of Silverwood. :)

Washington D.C. would be a bad location for a park, especially when SFA is in such close proximity. I don't even know where you would start looking for property since D.C. is so congested.

As it is they're tearing down (or have already destroyed) Nation Nightclub (a monster-size warehourse) in D.C. to put up the new baseball stadium for the Nationals.

Maybe someday down the line Adventure Park U.S.A. in Frederick, MD will expand beyond the bounds of just being an F.E.C. and add some big-kid flats and a woodie the size of Kentucky Rumber, for example. The original talk was that a waterpark would be added after a few years.

They've already got the former Wildcat (Schwarzkopf) from Williams Grove if they could just get the go-ahead to operate it. By the way, does anyone have any updated information on that situation?

I know that the park is in possession of one of the Schwarzakopf Wildcat cars that was first displayed at IAAPA (or whatever the show was called at the time) when the Wildcat first debuted in the late 60's. They are going to restore it and give it to ACE for the Roller Coaster Museum.

New Hampshire does have a decent sized park, Canobie Lake.

Portland OR has Oaks but could use a bigger park. Overall the Pacific NW is underserved with only a few small parks. It needs a big one. Bill Gates might be the one to do it so that the people in the area don't have to fly to California so often for the big thrills. Suprisingly, in spite of this region's rainy reputation, the summers are quite dry.

Philadelphia has Clementon in the local area but Dorney is also considered a "local" park by many in tha area. DP is too big of a park to just depend upon Allentown-Bethlehem.

The Black Hills could use a park similar to SDC or DW with a Western theme. Herschend should consider putting a park here.

Calgary might be able to support a decent sized park because of all the tourists that visit the Canadian Rockies. The park would draw people from Edmondton and Saskatchawan as well.

Hawaii could use either of two types of parks. One would be a traditional park primarily to serve the locals but also to priovide an additional diversion for beachgoing tourists. The other possibility might be a true theme park with Hawaii as its theme. This latter type of park could appeal more to the tourists. Sure, real estate is expensive here but the traffic could bear the higher prices needed as a result of this because there are no other parks for almost 2000 miles in any direction.

A small indoor park would be ideal for Anchorage. Combine it with an indoor waterpark since Anchorage is too cold even in summer for an outdoor waterpark.

Alabama Adventure is about the right size for its market but needs to provide attractions with broader appeal. This park appears to be developing in a manner similar to Lake Compounce but has not been as successful. This park should promote itself as an affordable alternative to SFOG just as LC is such an alternative to SFNE. It should also market itself in Mobile now that Miracle Strip and SFNO are gone.

Houston can support a BIG theme park. Kemahs is just a drop in the bucket compared to what a KI or SFOT sized park could draw in this area.

Detroit could use a family park possibly near Ann Arbor. This type of park would not attract the undesirable element that is so strongly associated with Detroit and would not have to compete head-on with CP.

The Jersey Meadowlands might be a place for a park if the wetlands concerns can be overcome. The main concern here is to prevent the park from becoming a teen and gang hangout, possibly by having multiday tickets instead of season passes. A park here could provide some sorely needed thrill ride and coaster competition for SFGAdv which is so overpriced and poorly operated.

The area from Raleigh to Winston-Salem, NC lacks parks. A park in this area should be planned to be different from KD and Carowinds, possibly with more emphasis on family atractions.

What about Miami? Maybe some kind of traditional park would be possible in this area. For that matter, Florida needs a thrill ride oriented park to compliment the numerous theme parks in the state. Use Cedar Point as a model for doing it right. .

Whatever happened to Xanadu, the *proposed* park-type attraction within the Meadowlands complex? IIRC, there was an Intamin coaster "planned" not TOO unlike the one that's now being discussed with regards to Coney...

Xanadu has turned into a complete mess. The old developer (I think it was Mills) either went bankrupt or close to it and another developer (maybe Mack-Cali) took over the project. It's now looking like Xanadu is going to be a glorified mall, as most of the more exciting elements are gone or have been severely scaled back (like the indoor ski slope). Since NOTHING is ever said of the roller coaster or Ferris wheel, I assume they are no longer part of the picture. Right now Xanadu is under construction but I don't think anyone knows exactly what to do with it.

The Meadowlands should get very interesting soon with Xanadu, the Devils leaving the Continental Airlines Arena for a new arena in downtown Newark and construction of a new stadium for the Giants and Jets.