School Picnics -- A way to add more productive days to parks.

One of the things that keeps parks like KW so profitable even with reasonable prices are the mumerous school picnics. Schools set a day aside to visit the park and in return get discounted admission. This results in an extra month of daily operation at KW compared to what would otherwise be possible and the advance sales also help insulate the park from weather concerns.

One of the biggest problems that many parks have is the need to curtail the season because of school being in during certain periods withh have suitable weather. This is most heavily felt in May and August. Such a deal could convert some days in these months into productive days and increase annual attendance without the need to enlarge the park. Since most colleges are off during this time, a suitable pool of workers is generally available.

Actually, this idea is an old one that many other parks used to follow and a few (Knoebels being another example) still do. This might be of greatest value to the small to mid-sized parks that are constantly looking for ways to boost their annual attendance.

That is what kept Rocky Glen going, and when it closed it displaced a lot of orginizations. Most companies in NEPA now have picnics at Knoebels, as it is the only affordable option for families. I know Proctor and Gamble does a large company day there each fall, right after school begins. The park is usally packed, and I can only imaginge what revenu that generates.