Sharpio Visits SFEG

What parks HAS he visited that we know about thus far?

I think he has been to SFOT, SFFT, SFMM, SFSL, SFKK, SFOG, SFGAm., SFGAdv., SFEG and The Great Escape (probably the waterparks located by these parks also).

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It does say a lot though when part of your customer base is willing to go hungry, or walk down to Wendy's to eat.

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We've been over this before, but in most amusement parks, this just isn't what happens. Look around next time you are there, and you'll find plenty of families buying lunch in the park.

It costs me $20 to take my family to Wendy's. It costs about $30 to feed 'em at an amusement park. The $10 difference just doesn't matter if I spent $160 to get the four of us in in the first place.

I'm not trapped in an amusement park any more than I'm trapped anywhere else I take the kids. That's just what happens when you're the parent of small kids.

You might not spend the extra few bucks to eat in the park, and that's fine. But, what Shapiro and company are saying is, they don't really mind if you don't come back, because you aren't paying the bills.

*** Edited 2/11/2006 2:46:44 AM UTC by Brian Noble***

I don't think the problem has ever been that the food in these parks doesn't sell. It's the lack of choice/options. If every food stall is selling basically the same Pizza or hamburger, your not maxing your potential profit.

Add a Starbucks, Chipotle, Jason's Deli, In and Out and Krispy Kreme, then you'll get repeat purchases at several different places out of the same customer. And Brian is right, most people will buy it because it's a recognizable brand, convenient, and it's not worth leaving the park to save $10.00. *** Edited 2/11/2006 6:09:23 AM UTC by DWeaver***

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DBJ said:
I think in general families who are going to eat dinner out will choose to do it somewhere else. And if a family is trapped by incovenience at the park as you suggest, then get a expensive yet bad meal, the park loses a possible return customer.

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Yet it rarely plays out that way for two reasons.

One, when a kid says "I'm hungry" it's about the same as "I've got to go to the bathroom." Toddlers can't grasp the concept of time. You can't ask a kid if they can hold it long enough to wait to head out of the park just to find cheaper eats. Especially since a family is likely to be there through at least one daypart (lunch or dinner -- if not both) where it's just not feasible. That's why the snacking kiosks help but ultimately a real meal is going to have to be purchased.

Two, a teen with a season pass is going to have a different concept of the value proposition. A teen may have no beef with walking down and up the hilly Magic Mountain entrance -- taking an hour or so out of the day -- to hit the Wendy's at the corner to save $3-4. That's just a ludicrous concept for a family with one-day passes. Even when you factor in that they would be saving $10-$15 that way for a family of four, they spent $160 to get in, another $15 to park -- so they're already tagging a value of $20 an hour to be at the park for 8-9 hours (to say nothing of the gas to get there, the added fatigue, and if they're out of towners the $100 a night at the Hilton Garden Inn or any other of the hotels down the hill).

Even if they did have season passes and live nearby, parents at the park are also likely to be making $6-8 an hour so they value their time greater.

Kids change everything. If I am at a park solo I will drag myself through the lines and eat the cheapest eats with iced tap water as my beverage of choice. If I'm there with my kids it's Q-Bot at Six Flags (and VIP at SFGAd -- even though I see it's now up to $150-$200 a head this year), on-site resorts without flinching at the premium, and never -- ever -- interrupting a day at the park for the sake of saving a few bucks for the sake of a 99-cent Wendy's double stack.

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DBJ said:

I hope they stick with the actual Looney Tunes & WB characters to draw in the family audience. Going with characters from a sub-par animated, mild box office peformer as the focus of any marketing effort would be a mistake.

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Do keep in mind that "Hoodwinked" isn't the only animated flick coming out of Stan and Harvey Weinstein's new studio. Later this month it's "Doogal" which -- at least from the trailer -- looks to have a better shot at mainstream success than the first episode (well, at least the characters are more original than the Hoodwinked spoofed ones).

Bugs and his WB buddies should make up most of the characters in the park (the themed areas aren't going to change) but Six Flags is also opening itself up to things like Doogal being a hit.

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DBJ said:My prediction is that families will not eat in the parks either just as the teens have learned, instead snacking their way, and then spend the same or less money elsewhere for better food. One ray of light is the possible Papa John's deal which certainly would make the pizza concessions a huge improvement.

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I too am a parent, but we frequent Cedar Point and are season pass holders. Three kids with one in a stroller. The food is generally good at CP, but quite costly. However, snacks ain't gonna cut it, and I can't waste 1-2 hours outside the park to save 10-15 bucks. We don't even like to leave to eat lunch at the car. I can feed my family on a concession meal on $20-30 in CP or $15-20 outside at fast food. This is not worth the time wasted in traffic rather than quality time with the kids, not to mention finding the car and then another parking spot. You ever strap a hungry toddler in a car seat and tell him it will only be another half hour. Families, even season pass holders, will spend more at the park, including the resorts, than most teens. I know, I was a penny pinching teen, then a college student, then grad student, not to long ago and I was pretty good at not spending money in the park. I could barely afford the ticket to get in. Between the passes, park food and staying at the resorts 3 times a year, CP gets a good chunk of change from us. Now with the senior and Junior $9.95 ticket prices, a lot of grandparents with healthy nest eggs are going to drop a lot of cash on kids in the park.

Nice to see the parents stepping up and explaining things. I'd just be repeating to add my take.

It's a solid approach (attracting the families over the penny pinching teens) that's long overdue in the SF chain.

If even half of what the guys are propsing happens or pans out this season, SF is in for some big improvements. I'm cautiously optimistic at this point. :)

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The food is generally good at CP, but quite costly.

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Well, it's certainly expensive, but it's not really that good. Last summer, it occurred to me that I typically spend more on a counter service meal at CP than I do at WDW, and the latter has much better food.