Future of Themepark Industry?

[Jon Sabo]

The purpose of this discussion is to gauge on the opinions of where our (US) themeparks are heading into the future.

 

**New management at Six Flags has quite possibly changed the landscape for the mega-themeparks in terms of investing in huge rides (ie-hyper/strata-coasters). Management will have a daunting task to satisfy its shareholders and reduce its mounting debt. The reason this may be so is that competition of having the tallest, fastest, longest, may be dying down as we begin to enter a new renaissance in attracting "family" type of audiences. Mr. Shapiro himself has been quoted "We won't be seeing anymore Goliaths."

Contrary to many opinions, mega-coasters are not the overnite money-makers anymore and most parks are not able to recoup their investments within the 1-2 yr. timeframes as in the past. Marketing budgets are skyrocketing in order to attract new guests and increase revenue (and turnstile numbers). Some industry analysts say many of these mega-rides/coasters don't even pay for themselves until after five years or more.

 

**Cedar Fair is heading into a new era as Mr. Kinzel, an icon within the industry, is retiring. What is the next move for CF and its current portfolio of parks?

 

**Disney is also going through 'growing pains' as new leadership is (perhaps) struggling to regain the magic it once had. Although it may take a few years, I believe Mr. Iger will turn this company back into Walt's vision and develop a re-birth at Disney once more.

 

**Paramount is up for sale and who knows what plans are in store with its new owners. Will the new owners split up the parks and sell off property?

 

**Universal, also up for sale, is in a time period of trying to re-brand some of its marketing to regain market share. Stock is not performing to analysts predictions and insiders say a major shakeup (management) is on the horizon.

 

**Anheuser-Busch is also rebranding (of sorts). BEC has initiated yet another name change among its parks in order to attract new visitors and its general sales are sluggish (corporate reports).

 

**Let us gaze into our crystal balls and discuss the following:(explain your answers).

1. Will Six Flags (overall) ever build mega-coasters again?

2. Which parks/owners will rise to the top and dominate the market (Disney, Paramount, Anheuser-Busch, Six-Flags, Universal, CF)?

3. In your opinion, do YOU envision any merger among the mega-park leaders?

4. What are the next generation of rides and what is the future of new rollercoasters?

5. If you are a new board member/park owner, what is your OWN vision of the themepark industry? What new ideas will you develop to gain market-share (new guests) and increase profits.

6. Do you believe in the parking fees?

7. What will be (projected) entry fees in 3-5 yrs? Will you still go?

[mforce79]

You brought up some good points in there I think. We're all accustomed to giving our opinions on each of those topics individually, but I haven't seen the big picture taken into consideration as often as it should be.

 

I mean, really, the bottom line is that external factors (mostly political) will likely determine the shape of the industry's future. 7 or 8 years ago theme parks were investing big because people (Americans) were in a position to spend big. Now the economy is different, and if recent gas prices are any indication of the future, it could potentially get worse and stay that way for some time.

 

I think the idea of raising the parking price across the board is a very insensitive move. People are already cognizant of the fact that they're spending more to get to the parks. Now they have to pay even more just to get to the gate, and I think that gives the wrong impression. This might sound strange, but I also think it raises the expectation that people have before they even enter the park, making disappointment more likely.

 

Anyway, to answer the questions:

 

1. Six Flags will build semi-mega-coasters from now on.

2. I believe Universal has big plans, but Disney will remain the industry leader for quite some time.

3. I don’t know what to say about mergers other than it would not be smart. The only reason mergers make sense is to cut costs, and cutting costs usually means standardizing things. If every park were standardized there would be no reason for us nerds to build websites and talk about things like this, and that would suck.

4. Next generation of rides… no clue

5. I think there will always be a place for the industry no matter what happens. If I were a park owner I think the most important thing would be to develop a relationship with the public, and establish a positive image. Perfect example would be Holiday World. Larger corporations actively try to keep all of their plans and ideas “top secret” which separates themselves from their sources of income, and I think that makes an impact in the long run.

6. Reasonable parking fees are no big deal.

7. For some reason I can’t see entry fees increasing much over the next 3-5 years. If they do, nobody would be able to afford it. But yes I would still go.

[Jon Sabo]

Good viewpoints. Gas prices certainly will play a factor in travel plans this year. In Hawaii, we already have crested the $4.00 mark (premium).

 

I think one of the most-stupid ideas was initiating parking fees in the first place. Orignally, some parks were just charging campers/RV's/Tour buses, but now $10-20 just to PARK? Can you imagine, during peak summer months (based on 15,000 visitors a day-avg: parking revenue would exceed $150k per day..lol)

 

Just some basic revenue ($3-5 parking) fees would certainly pay for the infrastructure upgrades to parking lots and maintenance costs. I would have to take a look back at BGE (when I worked there, parking was around $5), but with the major highway expansion and visitors entering the west site (Italy parking lot end) I'm sure A-B is scrambling to pay off the investment they made in the hwy expansion.

 

I wonder if some parks (in the near future) would take a look on how CF will do this season since they LOWERED their entry fees. Parks are certainly going to increase there awareness in providing quality entertainment for the $ value. Some parks now charge the enourmous fees, guests still complain, but go anyway....lol

[ChrisFL]

Universal might have big plans but being bought and sold constantly isn't helping them PAY for those big plans

[pete4winds]

1. Will Six Flags (overall) ever build mega-coasters again? As much as I'd love to see more mega-coasters from Six Flags, I see them turning more toward moderate sized and family coasters for awhile. Things come in waves, and they've been doing mega-coasters for awhile now.

 

2. Which parks/owners will rise to the top and dominate the market (Disney, Paramount, Anheuser-Busch, Six-Flags, Universal, CF)? Without a doubt Disney set the standard and will always be an industry leader, but, as with all things, those at the top have to come back down eventually. I see CF as the "next big thing" in this industry. Sure, they've had their problems too, but I personally see a return to more traditional amusement parks in our future, and CF seems to be the closest thing to it right now.

 

3. In your opinion, do YOU envision any merger among the mega-park leaders? In a perfect world, that would never happen, but the competition in the theme park industry doesn't seem to be stimulating any financial recovery like one would expect.

 

4. What are the next generation of rides and what is the future of new rollercoasters? I see a move toward different kinds of flats, and smaller and more unique coasters. Screaming squirrels, more Gerstlauers, and maybe that thing that Hershey was planning last year (I don't remember what it was called).

 

5. If you are a new board member/park owner, what is your OWN vision of the themepark industry? What new ideas will you develop to gain market-share (new guests) and increase profits. More corporate-level interaction with the guests. Instead of spending millions on market research through "traditional" methods, get the guests more DIRECTLY involved in teh decision-making process. We want them to spend their money, so shouldn't we get more direct input rather than guessing or speculating what industry trends say they might want? Obviously parks can only take this concept so far, but it's a start.

 

6. Do you believe in the parking fees? I've never agreed with parking fees for any event or destination where the parking and the event or destination are on the same property. However, realistically, I can see a couple of dollars for upkeep and infrastructure, but current parking fees are outrageous. If I really wanted to pay that much just to get TO the gate, I'd just as soon park on someone's front lawn and pay THEM ten bucks.

 

7. What will be (projected) entry fees in 3-5 yrs? Will you still go? I can easily see the possibility of gate fees topping a hundred dollars or more, and maybe not even that far in the future. I'll absolutely continue to go, but I'll continue to do what I do now and take full advantage of all the discount options available to me.

[hyyyper]

1. Will Six Flags (overall) ever build mega-coasters again?

 

Perhaps, perhaps not, IMO they will be building more rockets and compact layout coaster, as well as more unique elements. And mini hypers afcourse

 

2. Which parks/owners will rise to the top and dominate the market (Disney, Paramount, Anheuser-Busch, Six-Flags, Universal, CF)?

 

SF, just because of having the most parks and this new guy, (shapiro?) in charge along with Disney, because it's hard to lose such a good image

 

3. In your opinion, do YOU envision any merger among the mega-park leaders?

 

No, perhaps parks will be buyed and sold, like the european parks, but no merger

 

4. What are the next generation of rides and what is the future of new rollercoasters?

 

Intense, unique and compact layouts, more rockets

 

5. If you are a new board member/park owner, what is your OWN vision of the themepark industry? What new ideas will you develop to gain market-share (new guests) and increase profits.

 

Building new types of coasters than are still unkown (i.e. vekoma motorbike) theme them, but not to much hide the coaster (black mamba) and spread the coasters over the parks

 

6. Do you believe in the parking fees?

 

Yes, but they shouldn't be highrising, i'd rather see and "the closer you park your car to the entrance, the higher the price"

 

7. What will be (projected) entry fees in 3-5 yrs? Will you still go?

 

I don't know what they are right now, but i think of a rise of $1-$2 per year so between zero and $10 after 5 years, and yes i would still go