I stand by my comment- if the chain, which operates MANY amusement parks that would benefit aesthetically from having a REAL carousel, decides to put such a classic attraction up for auction, it's clear they don't care about the ride. If they cared, they would be keeping it.
Zingo said:I guess it is the SFoG Starship going to SFoT instead.
Considering a month ago it was laying in the back lot at SFOG, I have to wonder if its not really the Astroworld one that is going to Over Texas.
I had not heard that the one from SFOG is headed west, but I'll try to find out.
zacharyt.shutterfly.com
PlaceHolder for Castor & Pollux
2012 SFGAm Visits: 26 2012 Season Whizzer Rides: 84 X Flight Rides: 91
What about Z Force from SFMM
"Thanks for alerting me of this sale! I will pass the
info along in order to save it complete. Let's hope
that happens."
He must've forwarded it to the National Carousel Association because I next received an email from their president, Bette Largent stating:
"I am president of the National Carousel Association and Bill Dentzel passed on your email. We have been working with the city of Houston and there are some very positive things being done to save the Dentzel Carousel from the auction. I will place your name on the list to alert if the status should change. I do hope it will be for a very positive notification. In the mean time, every letter to the Mayor of Houston will help our cause.
Mayor Bill White, City of Houston, P.O. Box 1562, Houston, TX 77251
713-247-2200
We found out with saving the B & B Carousel recently at Coney Island that every letter has impact."
*** Edited 12/13/2005 2:06:19 AM UTC by thrillerman1***
I wish them luck on that one! He appears to have "0" interest in amusements or city history! I hope they bark up another tree as a back up plan! He's a REAL GOOD talker!
Rob Ascough said:
No Nate, I said OWNER... as in, the company that owns the park and the carousel. My comment had nothing to do with the way the park cared for the ride- only you would read into it that way.
I'm the ONLY person who would associate "owner" with the park a ride is sitting in? Please. Do we really refer to rides by the companies that actually own them or by the parks they're sitting in?
And if that company didn't care for the ride at all (as you continue to insinuate), then why bother continuing to budget for a carousel shop? Certainly Six Flags had the power to tell SFAW to stop continually refurbishing the ride.
Obviously it all comes down to money. The park stands to make a lot more by selling the ride than by installing it in one of their other parks (most of which already have carousels). Yeah, it'd be nice if it went somewhere in one piece, but business is business.
Meanwhile, keep talking yourself in circles. It's entertaining, at least.
-Nate
You want to talk about business and money? Let's talk about business and money.
Sure, the company is going to make a small amount of change from the sale of the carousel, just like they're going to make a larger chunk of change from the sale of the land the park sits on. That's all well and good, considering how a company that's so far in debt continues to toss itself further and further into that hole. I stand by my old assertion that Six Flags parks don't necessarily need $15 million thrill rides every two years in order to maintain or increase attendance. Between Kingda Krap and El Toro, I doubt that Great Adventure is going to see increases in attendance that provide the kind of short-term return they are hoping for. By the time Great Adventure adds another big, thrilling coaster in 2008 and 2009, the impact of those two rides will have worn off, meaning that any further increases in attendance and profit will be attributed to the next "big thing".
But getting back to Astroworld, the company is selling a profitable park- a park that has remained profitable despite very little yearly investment. The sale of the land will help NOW, but what about the annual profit the park would have made in the next decade or two? What about the fact that Six Flags is more or less abandoning one of the largest markets in the country, leaving it wide open for someone else to come in an make a profit? Closing a dog of a park is understandable, but not one that regularly makes money. Six Flags could sell a lot more parks and erase most, if not ALL, of their debt, but where would that leave them in five or ten years when stockholders want to see some kind of income? Or will the stockholders simply be happy that the company made a healthy profit for a few years before unloading all of its assets so the land could be sold to developers?
Business is business? If Six Flags' practices are your idea of good business, let me know when you're being named the CEO of a company so I know when to sell my stock.
Actually you said owner too, not company. BUT... Since the carousel is up for auction and not being relocated to another park within the same chain (owner), it is understood that "owner" refers to SFI, not the park. It's SFI, not AW, who owns it, and it is SFI, not AW holding the auction.
I guess it's up to me to point out that if this carousel is not saved, we are that much closer to losing yet one more bit of old technology.
You're right, I did say owner, as in, the entity that OWNS the carousel. I don't see how that can be interpreted as anything but a knock against SFI, especially from someone that portrays himself as an "expert" in the industry.
And yes, I do think that the carousel should be relocated within the Six Flags chain. An antique carousel is a rare commodity, one that would do wonders for the atmosphere of a park that currently operates a small fiberglass knock-off. Besides, if the OWNER of the PARK that operated the carousel allowed the operation of a shop to keep the machine in tip-top shape, why give up on it now and allow it to be auctioned off? Wouldn't it make sense to ignore the $2 million (approx.) that could be made from the sale and do something monumental to improve another property?
I know great adventures is older from the 1800's. Used to be steam powered but had to be converted to air .
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