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The Beach Closing after 27 Years


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It's an unfortunate situation all the way around, but the truth of the matter is that the owners of the Beach appear to have taken the money and run (or else they've already spent it on debt reduction or something). The impression I get is that these businesses stepped in for nothing (albeit, expecting it would benefit them in the end), which means that the money given to the Beach for passes will stay with the parties who originally received it. Sort of scheisty sounding, right?

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^Well said.

It's Fiberglass, Fiberglass doesn't rot.

I think he meant rot in a non-literal sense. While the fiberglass itself isn't rotting, I've been out in that field and seen those things first hand. It's probably not good to have all the equipment and pumps out there in the rain and snow every year.

I have to agree Gordon.. They pretty much just sealed any fate of the park opening in the future in my opinion.

I don't know if it sealed it, but it certainly is a bad situation. Anyone knew who would come in would really have to work and get the message out there that things would be different. With the competition across the street, I don't think you'd see anyone willing to do that. It's a shame.

Most of the wave pools are site specific. There is no value in moving a concrete slab to a new site.

I'm pretty sure DeloreanRider was being sarcastic. He and I measure time in Kings Island Wave Pools.

"Hey Delorean Rider, how long ago did you join KICentral?"

- "Oh, about one wavepool ago."

"And when were you born?"

- "Two wavepools ago."

Even if they maintain the place and come back in the future, this is going to be a hell of a PR storm to overcome.

Agreed. Let's say they do re-open in 2013, who is going to buy a season pass from them after what was just announced.

It would definitely warrant a name change and someone repeatedly saying: "No, we're not The Beach from last time."

It's an unfortunate situation all the way around, but the truth of the matter is that the owners of the Beach appear to have taken the money and run (or else they've already spent it on debt reduction or something). The impression I get is that these businesses stepped in for nothing (albeit, expecting it would benefit them in the end), which means that the money given to the Beach for passes will stay with the parties who originally received it. Sort of scheisty sounding, right?

Edit: Medford said it better and I was pretty rude. Point is: this was a a business that went down, not some get rich quick scheme. There's no conspiracy that these people grabbed money from the passholders and fled in the night.

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1) I assume they were being sarcastic about moving the wave pool.

2) even if it comes back, it will be under new managament, likely thru some sort of bankruptcy with the season pass holder being at the back end of the receivership line, meaning that money is gone forever, you're just wasting money if you pay a lawyer anything.

Heard this morning that their season pass was $90. No wonder they couldn't survive. For $90 you could go across the street and get a similar water park, plus a huge thrill park. I would have thought their season pass would be more down in the $40-$50 range.

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It is sad that 2012 pass holders may not be getting a refund of any type but it maybe and mostly likely is completely out of there hands to do so. When a business goes out it can be for many reasons including a combination of all 4 reasons suggested above or none of those. They may have had their assets including bank accounts frozen due to being sued from vendors looking to be paid. I know from what i have seen from this point if I had paid for a 2012 season pass I would not be expecting to see a refund. As sad as it is not much worth while can be done in getting a refund of any type anytime soon. I really hate it for families.

The thing is it is not uncommon to see other similar business to step up to help fill a void for potential customers. You see this with airlines and fitness centers a lot. It works for another business to do so to try to get a new appreciative customer, but it also helps to protect the industry versus seeing a customer go away and not trusting the industry to never return.

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That's awful, just awful! If I were those people, I'd be suing the living crap out of them.

On what grounds? Is there evidence that at the time of purchase they were promised or guaranteed a refund? Is it worth hiring a lawyer and spending much more just to have a $90 season pass refunded?

Unfortunately, it's the sign of the times. Greed over customers. What a shame.

Where was greed involved? These people lost their business and in turn made a lot of other people unhappy. Where are the bags of money they supposedly made off with?

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Sue them? Isn't that kinda like trying to get water from a dry well? I can't help but laugh at all the people on their Facebook telling others to contact their local media outlets. Bad press for a closed waterpark? Gee, I hope that doesn't hurt their attendance any.

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A business such as The Beach decide to close because their expenses were greater than their revenue streams. They would having trouble paying their bills and the creditors want their money owed to them. They were unable to secure loans to try to keep the business operating and were not able to secure any investors or buyers to take over the business. With this in mind, they had to make a decision to close for the season. The only reason they are still keeping up with the maintenance it to secure new investors or buyers for newt season and if they were to declare bankruptcy, to keep the property as attractive to buyers when it does go into receivership. i am sure their lawyers have advised them to keep up with the maintenance. As for season pass holders saying they should sue to crap out of them or they should be put in jail for thief is a bunch of non-sense. Any lawyer would tell them it is not worth their time and money to sue them as they have not done anything wrong. A business that has made a decision to due to financial reason and no financial backers are within sight, will have no choice but to declare bankruptcy and reorganize. As in any bankruptcy, non-secured lien holders and in thins case, season pass holders are at the bottom of the long list of creditors. Who is to say how they end up coming out of this. The season pass holders best choice would be to contact their credit card company (credit card and not debit card) and file a claim. If they paid cash, then their best choice might be to take up the offer from Kings Island or other offers being made.

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Most of the wave pools are site specific. There is no value in moving a concrete slab to a new site.

I'm pretty sure DeloreanRider was being sarcastic. He and I measure time in Kings Island Wave Pools.

"Hey Delorean Rider, how long ago did you join KICentral?"

- "Oh, about one wavepool ago."

"And when were you born?"

- "Two wavepools ago."

Indeed; doesn't everyone tell time like that?

Unfortunately, it's the sign of the times. Greed over customers. What a shame.

Where was greed involved? These people lost their business and in turn made a lot of other people unhappy. Where are the bags of money they supposedly made off with?

+1

Agreed. It's impossible to understand exactly what took place to cause this decision to be made. Between the recession and gas prices, it's honestly pretty impressive to me that they've been able to hold on so long. I believe they just couldn't hold on any longer and had to make the difficult decision to pull the plug.

If the vibe was that the Beach was intentionally cutting and running with people's money, I doubt so many other local attractions would be so willing to compensate those that purchased passes to the beach.

][/size]

Offers to season pass holders begin as early as today and include:

  • One free day pass to Kings Island and the opportunity to purchase a Gold pass at a reduced price
  • A one-time discount good toward the Mason Community Center, Lou Eves Municipal Pool or the Grizzly Golf Course
  • Two free Sunlite Pool & Classic Rides combo tickets at Coney Island Amusement Park
  • A free one week family pass to Countryside YMCA and discounted membership fee
  • Reduced admission to the Cincinnati Zoo
  • Buy one get one free weekday rental at Morgan’s Outdoor Adventures
  • Discounted pricing for zipline tours at Ozone Zipline Adventures
  • A credit with purchase of a PowerCard at Dave & Busters

Sure they're looking to stimulate their own business, but still, it would appear as though they are also hoping to diffuse some of the irate beach customers.

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Although it will be difficult for some to understand (especially those who believe owners of a business "must" be rich), nobody feels worse about The Beach closing after 27 years than those in charge. I am willing to bet the owner(s) were hoping season pass sales would generate enough capital to open the doors in 2012. When it became apparent sales came in well under expectations, they cut the cord.

Did the season pass holders get screwed? They sure did. Can they sue? They sure can. Will they probably waste their time? They sure will. You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. If the money was there, they would not have closed.

I sympathize with those who did pay good money, and received nothing. Lick your wounds and take up KI's or Coney's offer. A bird in the hand is better than two in a bush.

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well I heard on 700 WLW that the attourney General may be looking into this situation. I know people want their money back, but if there is no money then what do people expect? As anyone has said, if there was money to refund these passes, the park probably wouldnt be closed...

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well I heard on 700 WLW that the attourney General may be looking into this situation. I know people want their money back, but if there is no money then what do people expect? As anyone has said, if there was money to refund these passes, the park probably wouldnt be closed...

Honestly, the people who aren't being refunded could go to small claims court without needing a lawyer, but in the end the result will be the same: A piece of paper declaring The Beach owes you money, and a company being forced into bankruptcy protection.

Can anybody here offer any insights into the park's debt situation?

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I predict that The Beach will file for bankruptcy protection with the Courts. As in a personal financial crisis, they must be having creditors coming after them for the credit that was granted them and threaten them with legal action if they are not paid. There are two types of creditors: Secured and unsecured. Season pass holders are at the bottom of the list of creditors and are unsecured. With the pressure the creditors are putting on them, The Beach will file for bankruptcy protection themselves or the Creditors will file an involuntary bankruptcy against them. If and when it does happen, it will be for a reorganization and allow them to the chance to reopen or if the fails, then to liquidate. Who knows what might be offered to current season pass holders by the current owners or new owners. The bankruptcy process has been used by companies like airlines (Delta) that has been settled with huge debt loads and expensive contracts. Time will tell.

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I think there is more to this than what people are seeing. The Facebook posters are right, why haven't they filed for bankruptcy? Is it because they don't want to open their books? I had lunch with someone who has been in the industry for decades today and he brought up a good point: how could a waterpark that has been long-since paid off and hasn't put entirely too much into expansion operate in the red? Water parks are some of the highest margin ventures in the industry. If the truly did operate in the red for the past few years, then it truly is a terribly run organization. I, however, still have a little trouble believing that they did.

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Just because the park has been long since paid off does not mean anything. The land might be paid off or financing for rides might had been paid off does not mean it is making money. It takes money to operate a business like the Beach year round. Yes year round. There are water, electric, sewer, garbage and salaries for full time help, insurance, loan payments and other expenses. But even if the land might had been paid off does not mean it has not been secured to obtain loans. It is a year long business and the bills do not stop during the off season. The Beach did not have enough attendance to compete with Kings Island and season pass sales is not enough to make ends meet. It needed an increase in general admission sales and sales inside the park and it was doing enough to earn a profit. If it was running in the red for several seasons and it was already extended when it came to loans, it would be hard to secure financing to meet its daily obligations.

As for seeking legal advice in filing a lawsuit, I would venture a lawyer after hearing about the loss, will not take the case due to the lack of a pot of gold on the other end. The lawyer will want money up front just to take the case. So yes, small claims court would be the best bet but winning the case is just the first hurdle. Next would come trying to collect on the money owed. As I have said before, it would be a matter of time before some sort of bankruptcy is filed, either by the Beach itself or the creditors will file it for them, which is called an involuntary bankruptcy. The Beach will seek protection from the courts in an attempt to reorganize and if it fails, then a chapter 7 will be filed.

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The Facebook posters are right, why haven't they filed for bankruptcy?

Assuming they are an S corp (and I cannot imagine they are not) filing is not a necessity since creditors can only go after business assets and (most importantly) they have no intention of re-opening. Any income (i.e. auction of business items- tables, chairs, maintenance items etc.) can then be used to pay creditors that have filed for money owed.

Is it because the owners do not want to open the books? Sure. But why after 27 years would it suddenly close? Typically owners who fudge books do not last long, let alone 27 years.

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More info:

http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/local_news/Source-Water-shut-off-at-Beach-Waterpark

Ralph Vilarado, Jr., a spokesman for the park, said the owners of The Beach did not actually manage the park.

"The investors hired a management company to take care of all of the financial and day to day operations of the park," he said.

The managing partner and largest shareholder of The Beach Waterpark is Mike Schueler. He is the CEO of Henkle Schueler and Associates, a Lebanon-based real estate development company. 9 News tried to get answers from him, but he's out of town for several weeks.

Meanwhile, as far as season pass holders not getting a refund, Vilardo indicated there is no money to give. He said it was all spent on the park.

"In the 27 years that the park operated, that was the normal operating procedure that they would run a pre-season sale to try to generate that income to invest back into the park," he explained.

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