Starting Your Own Park

I hope someday to start my own park. Besides a lot of money, what kind of stuff has to happen to open your own park?

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3/22/02, The Roller Coaster Collection Site Finally Updated. New Poll, Trip Reports, Photos, RCT, Coaster Company Profiles, Links, and More
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme2/rollercoaster2/index.html

The first step to take when building a park is get a feasibility study done. A feasiblity study can give you a preliminary total of potential guests as well as tell you how large your park should be based on those figures.

X Factor

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SFWoA: An Unofficial Guide
http://sfohio.tripod.com

Im planning on re-opening Chippewa Lake, but first im going to college, then work at hopefully a SF franchise as somewhat of a manager. Then a loan and the skills I learned from the [ast will help me re-open this park!

My guidance counselor said that she would most definately hire me because I have a great knowledge of the industry and I seem very devoted to the park. So thats probaly what you need to do along those lines.

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At least I dont call a vertical loop a "loopdie-loop"!

Also it would help if you have some knowledge of how to run a business....or hire ppl to do it for you ;) (I volunteer) BTW, I like your webpage!

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Sim Simma....who got the keys to ma Beema!!

Thanks for liking our webpage. That's very nice. We just added some Walt Disney MGM pictures tonight

thanks again,

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3/22/02, The Roller Coaster Collection Site Finally Updated. New Poll, Trip Reports, Photos, RCT, Coaster Company Profiles, Links, and More
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme2/rollercoaster2/index.html

Its time consuming, but if you get a chance, try to work your way up in another park. Thats the one best way to learn how to run your own business. After that, do your research, find some investors, the rest would be easy :)

"Time Consuming" is a watered down term. If finding investors who can listen to your bs enough about a business that operates seasonally, and at that can only operate in the black for several weeks, minus poor weather, and God forbid you try to enter the year round market only to be fully assulted by the Mouse that love built, well you may have a chance.

Play the lottery and buy a small park It will save 10 years of your life. And just a bit easier. The best of the best, or so they say, built jazzland, and look at it now. Visionland is a bust (see Never build with public loot 101), Oz in Kansas never left the drawing board, and the Garfield Adventure Park wasn't welcome in Indianapolis for some reason. DCA is still needing fine tuning, and if Universal didn't pull a miracle and fix the parking issues, they would all be selling fruit on the side of I-4.

This is probably the toughest industry to start in for thousands of reasons. Too bad we didn't manage Enron and save some of that retirement money.

rctthemepark36, what's your email address? I would like to talk to you about something.

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Rollercoasters are my life, I think about them more than I think about....wait, thats all I think about :)

Proud Owner of www.coasterkingdom.cjb.net

In the archives of Amusement Business are the name of thousand of parks that never made it off the drawing boards, and hundreds that didn't survive their first season. How many of you long time SoCal people remember Captain Nemo's Secret Harbor? One of many attempts to build a theme attraction that inspite of a tremendous infusion of capitol and research never made it past the draughting table. It was shot down by NIMBYS, enviromentilists, and a goverment agency of two.

Inspite of what many may think, you don't get into this business to get rich. You can usually make more out in "the real world" than in the amusement business. It's like being married, the phrase "for better or worse" comes to mind. You have to really love it. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week,fifty-two weeks a year. It doesn't end the day after Labor Day. That's when you start regrouping for next season, unless you're in the Sunbelt, then it just about never ends (except for maybe during the rainy season).

Now, would I like to have my own operation? You're darn right I would! If you have to ask, then you wouldn't understand.

*** This post was edited by Dutchman on 3/31/2002. ***

I would love to own a park. I have been giving this subject a lot of thought. Personally instead of building from the ground up, buy a park already in existance (for example Jazzland in New Orleans, or Joyland in Witcha, Kansas) and work from there. I know that if I ever have my own park I am not going to be rich from it, but I think it would be a great experience, and I would be doing something I love. Of course there is the fact that I could say I own my very own coaster!

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What do you need to talk about (Glenn)

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3/22/02, The Roller Coaster Collection Site Finally Updated. New Poll, Trip Reports, Photos, RCT, Coaster Company Profiles, Links, and More
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme2/rollercoaster2/index.html

So maybe buying an existing park would be easier than starting your own.

Thank you Dutchman for a much needed dose of reality.

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"I wasn't always this cynical, but then I started kindergarden..."

I'll tell you when I email you....I think it's against TOS to talk about it here.

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Rollercoasters are my life, I think about them more than I think about....wait, thats all I think about :)

Proud Owner of www.coasterkingdom.cjb.net

Ok, routetonowhere@hotmail.com

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3/22/02, The Roller Coaster Collection Site Finally Updated. New Poll, Trip Reports, Photos, RCT, Coaster Company Profiles, Links, and More
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme2/rollercoaster2/index.html

thanks....I'll email you tomorrow...I have a big project due that I didn't start on

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Rollercoasters are my life, I think about them more than I think about....wait, thats all I think about :)

Proud Owner of www.coasterkingdom.cjb.net