Potential buyers plan Hard Rock Park overhaul

I met Kause, but didn't know it was him, and I can vouch for the fact the he rocks.

Yeah, but how do we know you have the credentials necessary to determine one's ability to rock? ;)

(insert roll eyes smiley)

I appreciate the nice words, Bear. You rock too!

Why do we have to talk about ME all of the time? I didn't start this. I replied to a nasty comment. Either Mr. Smith is jealous at how much I rock, or it's his way of flirting...lol.

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There are a lot of really good ideas in this thread about what some of the problems may have been with HRP. What reasons could the park have had to overlook these obvious attractions?

LostKause said:
What reasons could the park have had to overlook these obvious attractions?

Overlooking what obvious attractions?

I think you need to look back at this thread where some good comparisons about what HRP is are being made.

Direct your reply to Rideman and Gator too, Gonch. I was just agreeing with them. Who wants to go to a zoo that doesn't have any animals?

I know its a wierd question, but are they planning to keep it a amusement park? I know I was hoping someone would have been able to buy Geauga Lake and reopen it as a amusement park!

LostKause said:
Direct your reply to Rideman and Gator too, Gonch. I was just agreeing with them.

Yeah, that was clear.

And neither of them used the phrase "overlook these obvious attractions" - the only other reference I can find is Dave mentioning a water ride as an afterthought to a more complete and unrelated idea.

So I guess these "obvious attractions" are water rides? If so the park already has two attractions that get you wet - Slippery When Wet and Reggae River Falls.

Not a flume, but still a chance to get wet.

Chitown said:
My take on this:

If a brewing company can successfully run family friendly parks for decades while promoting their products throughout their parks, no reason to think the Hard Rock name is not family friendly.

The thing is though, Busch didn't make you feel like you were at a beer festival all day; Where HRP did make me feel like I was at a concert venue, that just so happened to throw in a few rides that I liked. I did like the themeing, but generally lost interest after about 4 hours, and I took my time going through the park.

They are 1 better coaster away from getting me back there again. Besides, I do need the maximum RPM credit.

HRP didn't fit my definition of a well rounded park. Not just because of the lack of a flume, but the lack of other kinds of attractions that made the park seem like it wasn't complete.

Reggae River Falls seemed out of place in the park. An attraction like needs a few other water park attractions to complement it, imo.

Slippery When Wet might be fun, but it's not a water ride to me, it's a coaster. Those types of coasters aren't very popular from what I've seen. Carowinds just got rid of theirs.

Other than the unique lift, what is the difference between Eagles Life In The Fast Lane?

The park does have a nice selection of flats, and the theming looks very well put together. I'd say the new owners just need to add a few attractions for the park to be well rounded.

I am very happy that the park will reopen. Maybe my opinion will change a little once I visit.

Disclaimer - The above is my perspective and my opinion. Yours may, or definitely will, differ.

Life In The Fastlane is a nonthemed boring mine train.

LostKause said:
I'd say the new owners just need to add a few attractions for the park to be well rounded.

For the park to have a well rounded selection of rides, sure. But I can't think of too many parks that wouldn't be better with another ride - that's why parks keep adding them.

But as I keep saying and no one seems to get is that the park was so much more than rides. The rides were there. There's nothing special about them - all of them pathetically average (with the exception of the dark ride).

If I were just there for the ride or judging the quality of the park on just the rides, I'd have been very disappointed. Luckily, the experience isn't limited to rides. As long as you understand, appreciate, expect and want that, you'll 'get' HRP. If not, you're gonna...well, leave comments like Coasterphan's. :)

When I do eventuality go, I will probably "get" HRP. Maybe the problem is that people are expecting a real ride park experience, and after looking at what they offer, they decide that it's not what they expected.

They still need a Nine Inch Nails themed attraction, you know, to be "well rounded"...lol.

I think that's exactly the problem, LK.

Now that you've caught up, we're all on the same page. ;)

I think the park needs to run like it did last year. The problem is running like that was a spectacular failure. I can't imagine whatever they can do this year being on par with the over the top plans of the original owners/developers.

Glad to see it open again this year, but I don't think I'll be in a hurry to go back. I prefer to remember that naive first year.

LostKause said:

Either Mr. Smith is jealous at how much I rock, or it's his way of flirting...lol.

Eh, if those are the only logical choices, then I must just be jealous. :)

And you have inspired me as well. In honor of your testament to accurate and honest self-reflection, I unveil my own new signature:

I hope they don't change the dark ride. That's probably the main reason I want to go.

Lord Gonchar said:
Yeah, but how do we know you have the credentials necessary to determine one's ability to rock? ;)

It's in the eyes (and ears) of the beholder. Either that, or it's an extremely complicated formula based on logarithms and geometric functions.

I was afraid it was going to come down to logarithms . . .

It would be interesting to find out what kinds of licensing agreements the individual bands have (had?) with the park. Are there covenants that specify that licenses are to be revoked if Hard Rock yanks its licensing? Or were the band licenses provided, in some circumstances, gratis? (I'm thinking here of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which receives donations of guitars, costumes, and other paraphernalia from bands on a regular basis.)

I'm thinking licensing a band's music and likeness costs a pretty penny. No different than any real world situation. Business is business.

follow-up article

Some interesting info straight from the new owners in this one:

• people who bought annual passes last year use them this year at no extra cost
• Improvements for this year include adding three or four children's rides and focusing on keeping the park's four roller coasters open
• Baker said the group also hoped to add more live entertainment
• the single-day ticket price will likely be decreased from $50 to between $35 and $40
• The price of an annual pass would also be reduced from $150 to about $75

And what I find most interesting:

"Overall, people complained about being done with the experience too quickly," Baker said. "If you're charging $50, you really need to provide a three-and-a-half to four-hour stay."

Wow! This guy doesn't see people even staying 4 hours!? And it seems around here that the complaint was that it's only a 4 hour park and that $50 is too much for that. The new owners don't think so, they're lowering the price because they don't think you'll even stay that long.

And then this:

"It's very important to provide a great employee experience, and then the employees will provide a great guest experience," said Baker, who used to work for Disney and Hard Rock International and whose firm has been involved in a dozen theme parks. "I've always said that marketing brings them in, but operations brings them back."

He seems to imply operations weren't that great. If anything, I thought that was something that was every bit as good as the best - the staff was plentiful, friendly, helpful, fun...really one of the best I've come across anywhere.

And finally:

"The previous owners' biggest mistake, Baker said, was its marketing strategy."

Yeah, some of us have been saying that since before the park closed. ;)

As for kid's rides with a rock tem, how about something based around Weird Al?

Either that or a "We Built This City," playground. Funky song, but harmless lyrics.