Emiroo Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I was thinking about it this weekend and wondered: do you think a 24 hour park theme park would work out? Obviously, a major concern would be staffing. My guess is that rides would have smaller crews after hours. Food & games would probably be minimally available until regular hours. Unfortunately, I'm just not sure if attendance figures would cover the cost to keep the parks open. They're barely covering them as it is in some cases. However, having the run of the park through the night would be awesome. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 No, not feasible. Stupid idea. Amusement parks are a business, if they don't make money they won't exist for long. Having a business open when few customers ae likely to attend is bad for business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyuk200523 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Closest I've ever seen to 24 hour is Blackpool opening till 11pm (sometimes later) during the summer season, then opening again at 10am the following day. Whilst the enthusiast would appreciate a 24 hour theme park, would the public even want this? I cannot imagine my friends saying at 8pm, gee I think we should go to Thorpe Park for the night! Good idea in theory, but not in principle! Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdstrom Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hey, I've always wondered what it would be like at 24 hours amusement parks. It's highly impractical at most parks but this could be a good idea for Disney World and Universal since they get so many visitors. Even at high noon, people barely could move at each parks. Keeping Disney and Universal open for 24 hours at peak season could spread the crowd around the clock. It might even attract club-goers, who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 First off, an even bigger problem would be ticket sales! How would you control how long people are staying, what kind of ticket they had, etc. Tokyo Disney is open for over 24 hours as part of their Countdown Party event over New Years and it's INSANE!!! I can see it working for a few special events or days here and there, but never full time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Wristbands (ala Blackpool) with barcodes that stop working after 24 hours? Who would actually stay up for that long at a themepark though.. I feel dead after standing up in a park for about 6 hours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teacups Make Me Sick Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 What a silly idea...unless you apply the same principles as a casino, I couldn't imagine anybody staying up until 3am riding roller coasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Wristbands (ala Blackpool) with barcodes that stop working after 24 hours? The only way that would work at this time is if it were an RFID barcoded wristband, but that would not be cost effective at all. The only 24 hour business that I would see fit would be a supermarket, considering overnighters are there stocking the shelves anyway, so you might as well let people in the store to shop. That and bars, just because it would always have patrons, but I guess people wouldn't see that as being ethical or a good standard because that means people would be staggering out drunk during rush hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPmaverick Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I would love for that to happen once a year at Cedar Point but I think there's a better chance of a B&M Flyer coming to CP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 and bars, just because it would always have patrons, but I guess people wouldn't see that as being ethical or a good standard because that means people would be staggering out drunk during rush hour. Jay - There is a bar on the Atlantic City boardwalk open 24 hours a day 365 dsys a year. I've never stepped in but it looks like a real "classy" place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero One Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Disney could do it. Magic Kingdom hours during busy seasons are already something crazy like 8am - 2am. They have enough staffing too, to keep people from working too many hours. The only issue would be the lack of overnight maintenance and inspections. I guess they would just have rotating down nights for certain lands or attractions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisZer0 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 A Jack Bauer-themed roller coaster could work, maybe have a chloe-lookalike running the control board... All kidding aside, a 24 hr theme park would cause alot of logisitical issues when it comes to employment, traffic, noise, ect...If ya thought it was bad theres "scream tubes" on the rides at DL/DCA/KBF now (due to the anaheimians complaining about "noise"), try running those parks 24/7, there would be a freaking springfield-sized dome on the places to keep everyone happy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrancew_hod Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Disney could do it. Magic Kingdom hours during busy seasons are already something crazy like 8am - 2am. They do stay open for some special events, such as the Gaydays party in May. I went to one at Disney Studios and in addition to the DJs, Rock-n-Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror was open to party goers. Unfortunately, I would suspect maintenance and attendance issues (and security... people don't know how to act when the sun goes down!) would arise from a park being open late all the time. Keep in mind a 24-hr laundromat still isn't packed at 3am just because it's open all the time. There will have to be something major to sustain people's interests to be up this late. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 First off, an even bigger problem would be ticket sales! How would you control how long people are staying, what kind of ticket they had, etc. Tokyo Disney is open for over 24 hours as part of their Countdown Party event over New Years and it's INSANE!!! I can see it working for a few special events or days here and there, but never full time. I agree with Sharktums on this one. I think that a park could maybe have a event like this at the most (and this would be pushing it) once a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisZer0 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 They do stay open for some special events, such as the Gaydays party in May. I went to one at Disney Studios and in addition to the DJs, Rock-n-Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror was open to party goers. Unfortunately, I would suspect maintenance and attendance issues (and security... people don't know how to act when the sun goes down!) would arise from a park being open late all the time. Keep in mind a 24-hr laundromat still isn't packed at 3am just because it's open all the time. There will have to be something major to sustain people's interests to be up this late. Terry Terry, I used to work at SFoT on the youth weekends (Senior Night/Jeebus Weekend) in the mid-late 90s, I can tell you that its about the same thing, when it gets to be 3am, people start getting angry for some reason and start acting the fool. I witnessed one night where there was like 2-3 fights breaking out within a 10 mins period in the same area. Fellow co-worker got popped in the eye by an angry 17 yr old who he busted for smoking pot ... So yeah, a 24 hour theme park, save Las Vegas, isnt really a good idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Maybe for some sort of special event like New Years. But not on a regular basis. A roller coaster just can't run around the clock without some downtime and maintenance. And there's quite a bit of cleaning that is done in off hours when the midways are empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downunder Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I'm totally in agreeance, 24 hours would only work for special events. Cedar Point was getting close to it in 2003 when Dragster opened, they'd close the line off but wouldn't shut down until everyone in line got to ride. With all the breakdowns, I heard it got pretty late like 2am and later (anyone know the latest they went to?). I got my first ever ride on Dragster at midnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajinaz Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 How late is DL open on Senior Nights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreditCrazy Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 A 24 Theme Park would get everyone thinking: "Oh, let's go at 3am and beat the crowds!" Eventually no one would go to parks at normal times an 3pm would be ERT land. So...I'm up for the idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V2-dude Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 How late is DL open on Senior Nights? When I went, the park closed to the public at 7, opened to seniors at 9, closed at 6am, and reopened to the public at 8am Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Disney was open all night a few years back for a family that had a skin condition for where they could not go out side in the sun. but that was not public and I am sure some parks can do it and some cant. maybe next years new years event at the park at SFMM they will keep it open the rest of the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Cedar Point was getting close to it in 2003 when Dragster opened, they'd close the line off but wouldn't shut down until everyone in line got to ride. With all the breakdowns, I heard it got pretty late like 2am and later (anyone know the latest they went to?). I got my first ever ride on Dragster at midnight. I had that happen to me. I think it was like 1:30-2:00am when I rode. There was an army of street cleaners and trucks scouring the midways when I left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemical_echo Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I worked at Canada's Wonderland when they had a grad night go throughout the night. That was a horrible experience. Like someone already stated, people seem to change when the sun goes down (well, mostly teenagers, but still). Think about it, all those dark places make it the perfect place for people to start thinking "hey, we could have sex here!" Now an event like camp-out at a park wouldn't be too bad. I'm pretty sure the Toronto Zoo does that still. While not a theme park, it was really awesome. We got to do a midnight tour of the park and slept in a semi-themed African Bush camp area. Getting to see and hear the nocturnal animals was awesome...especially the hyenas. I could see that working at parks that are part animal park-part ride park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelTheFORCE Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Cedar Point was getting close to it in 2003 when Dragster opened, they'd close the line off but wouldn't shut down until everyone in line got to ride. With all the breakdowns, I heard it got pretty late like 2am and later (anyone know the latest they went to?). I got my first ever ride on Dragster at midnight. I had that happen to me. I think it was like 1:30-2:00am when I rode. There was an army of street cleaners and trucks scouring the midways when I left. They still do that with Dragster now (at least last year). The TTD crew is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgroodog Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 To me, bad Idea. Sure for a guest it would be great... But take it from a parks view it would be a nightmare. First, most parks dont have the staff to do even one 24 hour day. Its not entirely safe to put employees through such a day, especially if they are there to ensure a guest safety. Sure they can break shifts up but it would be exhausting. I know at Cedar Point, they get pretty close to 24 hours during CoasterMania. Working there and seeing some of my co-workers work 5am to 2am is not a fun thing to watch. Then they would have to be in the next day at 8am for a normal operating day if they didn't get a later shift. Also from a maintenance view it would be entirely unsafe as rides need to be inspected on a regular basis. I know with Millennium Force the ride can only be in operation for 20 hours before the ride will lock down. This is because the lift has to be inspected every night bottom to top and over. There is a button at the end of the catwalk to reset the ride so it can operate the next day. There is also a lot more than maintenance that goes on at night... Cleaning crews would have a hard time detail cleaning the park on a regular basis if a park is open 24/7. It would get disgusting. Maybe a special even where there is no operating hours the following day, but not all the time 24/7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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