What park is next?

When thinking of the parks near me, I can come up with three in no particular order.

1. Darien Lake. In Erie I hear little to nothing about it advertising wise and reports I hear are not very good. However, I do hear that more rides are open regularly, a new coaster added, and the park seems to care about the state of their coasters in reguards to Predator rehab. Therefore, I don't think PARC has given up.

2. Dorney. This is my Geauga Lake of the group. It has solid to above average coasters, and a decent waterpark. However, where are the crowds? The demographics are smaller that Geauga's, so statistically the park will suffer attracting people.

3. Kentucky Kingdom. Smaller "large" park that seems to be one of the better ones of the Six Flags parks from reports I hear. Along with that, I know someone of a significant position at the park, and they keep telling me how well the park is doing. However, hearing that a section of the park is closing down for money saving reasons sounds pretty desperate.

After saying all that, my vote is KK. Shutting down a section of the park is a desperate act hinting that the park is bleeding money.

Kinzel on CF's second quarter numbers: "...we continue to see strength in the Toronto market, along with the Washington, D.C., Charlotte and San Francisco markets. These stronger markets have helped to balance some of the early-season softness we experienced from the Detroit, Cleveland and Minneapolis-St. Paul markets where several of our legacy parks operate."

Obviously he's preparing us for the imminent closings of Valleyfair and the Point. :)

Slight hijack:

Gaaah! If the Charlotte market is so strong, WHEN will Carowinds get its own, brand-new coaster? Yeah, hand-me-downs are at least *something*, but I'm feeling kinda left out here.

Back on topic, I hope the dire predictions are wrong about Hard Rock Park. I really want to go there, but money is TIGHT right now, so it'll be a while before I get a chance. Probably at least a year.

Me, I'm paranoid about something happening to Kennywood or Idlewild. The recent sale of those parks doesn't help my paranoia any! :( (Though, AFAIK, there's no evidence to support my fears-- whew!)

CatPurrson

Usually they build big attractions to boost sluggish performance or at least maintain the status quo. So if Carowinds is doing well without the additions, I wouldn't get my hopes up for something new.

I bet Disneyland (Anaheim) goes next. That place is like a ghost town. Nobody ever goes there, it seems. And they don't seem to do a whole lot of marketing or advertising. A real fly by night operation, that one.

Errr, what? This isn't opposite day?

Okay. This is kind of a hard question, because there's a fine line between a slightly larger park like SFKK and a slightly smaller one like Canobie.

I suspect Kennywood and Idlewild are safe for the foreseeable future. PR has only this year begun marketing Idlewild in the Cleveland market (gosh, wonder what sparked that move?) Both parks seem to be doing well, and PR has already proven itself to be a well-meaning, patient corporate custodian.

I'd have to say, Indiana Beach may be moving up the list of threatened parks. From the sounds of it, the new owners have decimated ride operation, full time management, food operations, etc. This is one park that needs to turn itself back around or it might not have many years left.

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Ensign Smith said:
PR has only this year begun marketing Idlewild in the Cleveland market (gosh, wonder what sparked that move?)

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Kennywood has been marketing in the Cleveland area for the past 2 to 3 years...And it's working!!!

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Ensign Smith said:I suspect Kennywood and Idlewild are safe for the foreseeable future. PR has only this year begun marketing Idlewild in the Cleveland market (gosh, wonder what sparked that move?) Both parks seem to be doing well, and PR has already proven itself to be a well-meaning, patient corporate custodian.

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Huh?

Reunidos bought the park way after the marketing budget was set, and yes, the parks have been marketing more in Cleveland and other Ohio markets for a few years now.

PR has proven nothing. You haven't seen anything done based on their decisions, and you won't until next year.

^^You certainly know INFINITELY more about KW and PR than most of us....but the notion of a "patient custodian" is something that seems reasonable considering what's been going on in Monticello, IN. It could easily be said that PR and Morgan RV have held these parks for a very short period and that they've had no chance to make changes regarding infrastructure or new ride purchases....but they've clearly had time to change up maintenance and operations. Based solely on REPORTS (since I haven't been to either park this year thus far) - it sounds like PR has "stayed the course" by NOT changing things up too much until they've at least had a chance to learn the proverbial landscape that KW operates in.....while Morgan RV when ahead and tore up the place without even getting a feel for what made IB profitable in the first place.

Then again, maybe it should be noted that PR had some experience in the industry and potentially knew better than to disrupt that which had been working well for decades...while Morgan RV thought they knew better than the people who had SO successfully run that park for SO long.

Just throwing some stuff out there... :)

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kpjb said:

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Ensign Smith said:I suspect Kennywood and Idlewild are safe for the foreseeable future. PR has only this year begun marketing Idlewild in the Cleveland market (gosh, wonder what sparked that move?) Both parks seem to be doing well, and PR has already proven itself to be a well-meaning, patient corporate custodian.

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Huh?

Reunidos bought the park way after the marketing budget was set, and yes, the parks have been marketing more in Cleveland and other Ohio markets for a few years now.

PR has proven nothing. You haven't seen anything done based on their decisions, and you won't until next year.

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I should have specified that I was referring to PR's record with its European parks, none of which have been closed and (apparently) all of which have been permitted to maintain their own unique, distinct qualities.

That's what I assumed you meant. Of course it's too early to comment on PR's impact on Kennywood, Idlewild and Lake Compounce. I imagine any decisions they make will become visible next year at the very earliest, and if we want to get a "sneak peak", we should look to the European properties. Any European enthusiasts familiar with a local park before and after PR? Any ideas of what we can expect here in the U.S.?

Darien Lake could be a definite candidate for shutdown. When I first came on the site, I was sort of reprimanded for stating that people want more thrill rides rather than flat rides and a family oriented experience. However, I think that if you look at a park like Darien Lake, it is a beautiful park with not a whole lot of thrill rides, and people aren't coming. I would be willing to bet that the only long lines there are on the coasters. Maybe the average parkgoer to places like this ARE more of thrill seekers, and if that is the case, the park is going to continue to not attract visitors. I would hate to see Darien Lake go the way of Geuga. I was really impressed the last time I went there (mind you, it was over 10 years ago).

Mayble I'm just a bit jaded by comparing Canobie to CP. Well, I guess if another park shut down, Canobie could by one of it's coasters.

How about Ghost Town! I hate to say this but also Cypress Gardens.. They need to close SFA!!

I hate to see parks go!

Time sure seem to suck lately. Either it's just me getting older or the economy is really as bad as everyone is saying.

How is Arnold's Park doing this year?

That is always one park that I am afraid is going to close in the near future