Theme Park Rip-offs!

---

supermandl said:
"by your your way more people come but what about land do they buy more out of coaster budget or parking budget. ***"

---

You still don't get it.

Okay, let me make this clear.

Park Alpha (the one with a parking fee), works like this in the accoutning department:

- Every time a car passes through the tollplaza, $7 is collected and placed in the Parking Lot Budget. Any expenses related to the parking lot come out of the parking Lot Budget. If at the end of the fiscal year, there is a budget surplus, it goes into the general fund.

Park Beta (which does not charge for parking, yet still offers the same guest ammenities) works like this in the accounting department:

Every time a guest buys a ticket, $40.00 is deposited into the general fund, and $3.50 into the Parking Lot Budget. Parking lot expenses come out of the parking lot budget, and if there is a surplus, the surplus will be refunded to the general fund.

In short, the SAME exact thing is happening as far as budgets go, its just a matter of collecting the money at a toll plaza or the ticket booth. I already demonstrated how a per person fee can raise more for the park than a per car fee.

So no the park isn't paying for land tax and parking lot upkeep out of the coaster budget, it is still coming out of the parking budget, its just that the revenue is being collected in a different manner.




-------------
----
David Bowers
Mayor, Coasterville

The topic is theme park rip off's what you suggest is just that. Why would I not go to the cheaper park with parking,If I have a family of 4 I'm paying $14 extra $7 more than parking. Now the park is ripping me off when they could just collect the $7 for parking instead of pulling a fast one. Where does it come from also if they go over budget.

PS sorry for calling you coastervilledan earlier.
-------------
Army rangers lead the way


*** This post was edited by supermandl on 4/24/2001. *** *** This post was edited by supermandl on 4/24/2001. ***

You busted me!

No where did I say this was going to be any cheaper to the park patron. Maybe I should have posted this in a new thread titled "Alternatives to charging a parking fee - Business Case"

Theme park parking and admission fall into my NIHYWIWY category (Now I Have You Where I Want You). By the time you and your family shows up to my ticket booth, unless you have strong willpower, and an inodrinate amount of patitence, there is no way you are going to tell you wife and kids "Sorry Gang! Daddy can't afford Park Beta" Especially after traveling a distance to the park, and having your kids worked up and exicted about it for a week. Besides it damages the ego.

What I am suggesting is to change the method in collecting the parking, and if it happens to create more revenue, so be it, a nice little side effect.

At Park Alpha, you haven't even gotten to my ticket booth yet, and before you can even park your car and wind down from the car ride, I already have a staff member, palm outstretced, demaning money from you. Not a great situation to put a customer that hasn't paid the gate fee yet into, especially as you have waited 20 minutes in bumper to bumper traffic as the parking toll collectors collect tolls as fast as possible while making change, dealing with people who havent even gotten their purse or wallet out yet, people who think my toll plaza is an information center, etc. Yes customers will gripe about the parking fee, just look on this forum, if you think WE are griping about it, just imagine the normal amusement park visitor. Then you hit my ticket window at Park Alpha and BAM I'm hitting you up for more money.

Now at Park Beta, I have my advertising department buying all sorts of billboards, newspaper ads, radio and television spots, all proclaiming loud and proud that "Park Beta offers FREE PARKING" (I also have the word of mouth from folks used to paying parking fees, about the free parking) You arive at Park Beta, and instead of waiting in a car park line for 10-20 minutes, you are crusing right into my lot, my greeter showing you to a space, my tram whisks you to my front gate, all before you pay me one penny. You're likely to notice and comment to your friends about how wonderful my parking lot was. Then you hit my ticket booth, and yeah the admission price is a bit higher than you expected but NIHYWIWY. Your pride and ego taking over, you buy the tickets. It's a necessary evil, parks are out to make money, but now I have reduced the times I have asked you for money from twice to once.

If you REALLY want to get to the bottom of the parking fee issue, think about this:

If the park charges $7 to park, and parks 10,000 cars per day, and is open 120 days, they have collected $8,400,000 in parking fees. I challenge you to justify a parking lot costing a park $8,400,000 per season. I'm not talking slushing the parking fee money over to another budget, I'm talking line item expenses related to the parking lot. If you really want to remove this "theme park ripoff" then parks need to look at how much that lot is costing them, add a reasonable cushion for unexpected expenses (say 10% of budgeted costs), and divide that over the average number of cars they park in a season. I doubt it would exceed $2 per car.

But that just ain't gonna happen, as I said in my first post, parks see their lots as giant green dollar signs.



-------------
----
David Bowers
Mayor, Coasterville

Your whole basis is on 2 exact park's with one charging $7 for parking and the other charging $3.50 a head more. Now you know this ahead of time, I dont just go to a park without knowing how much it costs, along with most people they want to know before they go. I travel in a group of 4. Ive got the option now that I know what both parks charge and if both are the same I can do math at the alpha park I spend less. Also about the no lines at parking booth you just move all them people foward to your ticket line 10 min wait longer there since they won't be broken up and slowed down in the parking line, you will have double the line. Now ive saved $7 at alpha park between the 4 of us now i take that $7 add it to $21 and we can get 4 soda's LOL. I like how we can talk about this without yelling or name calling I hope some of the younger members take notice, you can have diffrent opinions and be civilized.
-------------
Army rangers lead the way


*** This post was edited by supermandl on 4/25/2001. *** *** This post was edited by supermandl on 4/25/2001. ***

---

Jeff said:
"I'm on vacation at the parks, I'm not that interested in worrying about my finances. "

---

DITTO!

-------------
It's still not tall enough!!!!!