Graham Orchard UPDATE 10/23!!!!!!

[prozach626]

Graham Orchard: Roller coaster tycoon 2

No custom scenery. Reality in my park exists within the limitations of RCT2. I'm not going to go out of my way to make things look impossibly realistic, such as adding certain supports that obviously don't look good, just for the sake of adding supports, etc.

I'm going to try the story line from a different POV.

 

 

John,

 

I know we haven't talked much since our brother William's death. I don't understand why it affected our relationship so much, since we haven't spoken with him in years. Just know, that something has to be done about Graham Orchard. Neither of us wanted to clean up his mess. I know nothing about these sorts of things, but I'm going to give it a try. I know you wanted to sell it, and as do I. However, I'm going to have to put a little money into it, because right now, no one will be interested in buying it.

 

I took the two-seater up this morning and took some shots of the Orchard, so you could get an idea of what we're dealing with. I don't think Will had any idea what he was doing:

 

Here's the overall layout of the Orchard grounds.

 

The main attraction has always been the orchard. Somehow, Will got sidetracked and wanted to make an attraction of everything. After looking over all of the financial paperwork, I think Will put the boat dock in a five or six years ago. The old barn looks in OK shape, and the 'Apple Shack' was just built last year. That's where all of the orchard picking sales are made.

 

Along with the good is the bad... Will could never just stick with one thing, so I guess he decided to buy a couple of amusement park rides, two years ago. The Ferris Wheel is in good shape, but he never had it pained! From what I gather, he bought it NEW from a traveling carnival that went out of business before they ever set it up. The other ride, however, is in bad shape. I had a tech come look at it, who told me it needs some new parts. It also needs a new paint job, badly.

 

Aside from that, Will has a few simple food stands and a restroom. He's got about 20 people working for him, but apparently he used to do most of the maintenance himself. I'm going to do a lot of reading over the next few weeks and I'm probably going to hire a maintenance worker who has some experience with this stuff.

 

I'm not sure how I'm going to find the time to do all of this, with as much overtime I've been working. Hopefully I can fix this place up fast and sell it, since it's losing money. Let me know if you have any input.

 

Thanks,

Jay

Edited October 23, 2013 by prozach626

[prozach626]

John,

 

Thanks again for meeting me half way on the money to get Graham Orchard fixed up. Believe it or not, I've come in contact with someone from the area who used to work pretty high up for the Dream World park chain. His name is Tom and he's a regional manager in the company I work for. He stopped by the park and had a lot of great ideas to stretch out the little bit of cash we had. I've attached a few pictures:

 

 

Notice anything different?

 

 

Most of the money went to our new pathways and greenery. Tom said that would make the biggest difference. In addition to that, we segregated the orchard area and made it much more lively. Since it was easy to do, I moved the bounce house to close the area in and named it "Barn Yard Bounce." I hired a local contractor to reinforce the barn and apple shack. They put up some new trim on the buildings.

 

 

I hired a few local retirees and we're now making apple cider, caramel apples, and pretty much any other kind of apple treat you can imagine. I had to open a few extra small stands in the orchard area to sell everything and keep it cold. I've actually had many compliments that our apple cider is some of the best people have ever had. On our grand reopening after the remodel, we sold out of every barrel we had.

 

 

I know we talked about selling the rides and staying exclusive to the orchard, but we honestly turned a nice profit from them. Although the bulk of the money from opening season was made from orchard profits, we also made thousands of dollars on opening weekend from ride tickets alone. In fact, we almost made enough to pay off the remodeling! Thanks again for calling the local news paper.

 

One last thing, I received a letter from a company called Vekoma, saying Will's delivery was due in next week. Do you know anything about this? Someone told me Vekoma was a tractor company, which would make sense, because his old tractor is in bad shape.

 

See you at Apple Fest!

Jay

 

_____________________Another update___________________________________

 

 

John,

 

I know you're not thrilled about the changes to the park, but I think Tom had some solid advice, and I went with it. He has really been helping a lot with the park lately and offering good input. Here's a look at the progression over the last few months:

 

 

The ride relocation and repaving the ride area pathway turned out great. I had to spend a little cash, but the new paint and refurbished of 'Juicer' have been well received with our guests.

 

 

I know this is a sore subject, but the roller coaster had been almost paid for by Will. The guests love 'Honey Bee' and it's usually the highlight of the many field trips we've had here. The coaster will pay for itself in due time.

 

 

Here are the big changes I talked about doing, after we paid installed Honey Bee. Due to the dramatic increase in profits, I've hired two greens keepers. I also added A restaurant and gift shop near the front entrance. I'm really surprised how packed the Orchard is, every day.

 

 

It worked so well that a lot of people have been coming to the park just for the restaurant and staying for apple treats and rides.

 

 

I laugh when I get comments from guests who call our orchard grounds an amusement park. People keep dropping cards in the suggestion box that we need more rides and maybe a roller coaster. I have to say, I have been thinking about adding an extra ride or two, seeing as how our ride ticket sales are a big contributor to our profits.

 

 

 

Just look at the progress I've made, from just a few years ago. It's been a blast, but hopefully we'll have a buyer soon. I know I pondered with the idea of keeping the park, but it's been a lot of work and it has gone on much longer than I anticipated. Our next update will hopefully be out last one. Tom has a few good ideas that I think I'm going to go with. I keep telling him that he should get some investors together and buy the park for himself. I hope you're not mad when I say I've thrown him some cash for his hard work and time. He's pretty much been my adviser on this whole project.

 

You really need to make it out to the Orchard again, soon. I need your input on a new cider shop, since our cider just won the best Cider award in the state! We're talking about putting in a brew house and selling 'hot' cider, as well.

 

Hope to hear from you soon,

Jay

[djboss302]

This is really great. I wish more apple orchards were like this. Great job!

[prozach626]

Thanks. I wanted to go for something different, aside from the 'every RCT park is a super park' idea. I have a lot more progress so far, but eventually I want this to be a nice family park with good thrills.

[prozach626]

John,

 

Our buyer is very interested in our progress. It looks like we're set to make a lot of money from this deal. Here are the photographs of the Brew house you requested:

 

 

Graham Brewing Co. restaurant is generating a ton of profit. The outside seating is a hit, especially with the new carrousel. People can enjoy their gourmet barbeque, including our delicious roasted duck, while they take in the views and hear the soft music from the carrousel.

 

 

I'm glad we decided to remove the bounce house. That decision really improved the scenery. Not only that, but even the adults love a spin on the carrousel, while they wait on their tables.

 

 

The addition of the vineyards really sparked a big interest in the local community. Grape picking and wine making tours are a hit with the adults. Our craft beers have also been a huge success, along with our 'hot cider'. We give tours of our small brewery and samplings, every hour.

 

 

Ground has been broken for the new addition. The buyers were really interested in it. They said it would be a good way to bring in some more of the younger generation.

 

So far, Tom has been working full time for us. Hiring him as our operations manager has allowed me to focus more on work. The buyers have agreed to keep him on the staff full time, as part of the terms of our agreement. The deal is set to go through sometime in the beginning of next year, soon after the new addition is completed.

 

It's a win-win situation, since Will's dream will be complete, and we'll have enough profits to be set.

 

Thanks again for visiting last weekend,

Jay

[IronWolfman]

When this started out, I didn't really like it. Now, it's improved vastly! Keep up the good work!

[historyfreak92]

I'm giving hopes on this one! Finally I get to see an RCT2 Park now, but for me Sadly I don't have time playing RCT2 anymore to post my Thoughts, I'm now these days im changing to make money to live!

[prozach626]

When this started out, I didn't really like it. Now, it's improved vastly! Keep up the good work!

 

Thanks. I realized after I posted my first couple of updates that I probably looked like a total noob. I think the first post scares people off. haha

[molemaster43]

The park looks pretty nice. I love the building next to the Ferris wheel. My only suggestion is to remove the sign right in front of the Ferris wheel. Otherwise, good job!

[prozach626]

John,

 

I think this is for the best. The lawyers are finalizing everything on Friday, and I need you here by 930 in the morning to sign the documents. After I buy your %50 of the Orchard, Tom will be awarded %40. Thank you for all of your help. I just couldn't sell the Orchard, especially after seeing the next expansion. Here are a few more pictures of what you will be seeing on Friday.

 

 

The new restaurant and boat dock at the 'Wave Cafe' are doing great. People love overlooking the lake and eating our Orchard Brew Beer battered Fish and Chips platter. We've already booked several wedding receptions and events at the banquet center, inside the building.

 

 

The new location for the boat dock is also especially popular. A lot of people love going for a float after dinner.

 

 

Cannonball Express was our new ride addition. Young people especially love this classic swinging ship ride, and it looks great on the lake.

 

 

The proposal for our new addition should be announced within the next few days. I understand you don't want to be part of the liability with our newer, more thrilling ride proposals, so I'm glad we could come to this agreement. I still want to keep you involved and updated.

 

I'll see you Friday to finalize the purchase agreement, and to celebrate your early retirement!

 

Jay