Theme park impact on property values uncertain

We've seen a ton of NIMBY stories in the last 17 years here, but the article is correct that there is no clear precedent. I'm about 2 miles from Cinderella Castle, and in three years, my property value is up at least 10%. The real estate listings all mention the nightly fireworks, not pretend they don't exist.

When you look at Google Earth, it's interesting that immediately to the north and east of the MK, there are several housing communities almost adjacent to the park. Jeff, are the fireworks and noise from the park that big of a deal?

It's 18 minutes (formerly 12) that I'm pretty sure I can deal with every night. During the day you hear train whistles and boat horns now and then, which feel like vacation. Sometimes those compete with the sound of air conditioning units, since there is always one running somewhere nearby in the summer.

I'd think when buying a home close to an amusement park it's expected to have to deal with the noise, traffic, etc that come along with that. It shouldn't have any effect on their property value because it's expected. As Jeff said, It's disclosed when the property is listed on the market. Pretty much common sense in my book.

In the context of the story, people want to know because there is no park near them yet. But people can be completely irrational assholes about this sort of thing. The new high school in my area will not have its football stadium onsite, and it'll be down the road because the neighbors were freaking out. Remember, that's six home games per year. People are idiots.

In the Polaris neighborhood north of Columbus people complained for years about the amphitheater noise, even when their homes and other development followed the construction of the venue.
So their prayers were answered and the amphitheater closed and was razed. Now they're looking over their fences at the big blue box that is IKEA. They ain't happy about that either.

Parks have struggled with the community complaint issue for decades, from Kennywood to Alton Towers. I personally wouldn't mind having either for a neighbor.

While not familiar with the specific location in New York State, I would point those folks towards Legoland California.

It's in a VERY upscale portion of northern San Diego County, where the park has managed to flourish with minimal local objections. Also, the very nature of a Legoland park is different than say a Six Flags/Cedar Fair style park, or even Disney's America. While the NIMBY crowd could still be a factor, I would think that compared to any other type of theme park development, a Legoland installation would have the best odds of overcoming locals' objections