Steph88 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 This is more of a fun discussion than a poll. We seem to be seeing a lot of great new rides being built the past few years. However, it seems as though it's been a long time since a new amusement park opened in the U.S. The newest I've found information on is Gilroy Gardens, which opened in 2001, and Disney's California Adventure, which opened the same year, and the now defunct Freestyle Music Park which opened in 2008 and closed in 2009. (Side note: If you know of any others that opened after that, please tell me. I love learning about this kind of stuff, hence why this thread is posted.) So, the questions are: 1. Do you think there will be any NEW parks built within the next ten years? (excluding water parks, talking about dry parks primarily) Or will the still-recovering economy discourage the major players from creating new ventures? 2. If you do think we'll see a new park within the next ten years, who do you think will be the first to build something new? Cedar Fair? Six Flags? Disney? Universal? Busch Gardens? Sea World? Herschend? A smaller company? Or some new company altogether? 3. What is a type of park you'd like to see built next in the U.S.? Theme/location/etc.? Excited to hear what people think! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 See Wild Escape, West Virginia. And Wild Westworld. And the phantom park in Texas. Or Oklahoma. The chains seem to buy parks, seldom create one from scratch. But see Universal's Islands of Adventure. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DontWantToWait42mar0 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Star Wars World or Park needs to happen. The possibilities are endless, and it's an absolute goldmine waiting to happen. I'm not really even a Star Wars fan, but I realize the potential in it, and I could possibly be marketed it 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieseltech20 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 The initial investment to build a park from scratch is more than most folks could ever afford. The investment risk is also more than most rich folks feel comfortable with. One HRP and they would likely be screwed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TombRaiderFTW Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I think there's something important to consider here: location. For a large number of the major cities at or below Boston's latitude in the country, you can name a large park (either a chain park or a park with about 3 or more coasters) that's within a 3- to 5-hour drive. Literally the only exception that comes to mind is New Orleans, and that's only been the exception since 2005. Situations like Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, where two major parks are an hour or less apart, rarely seems to work outside of Orlando or Los Angeles. Which makes sense--both of those cities are major vacation spots. If there's going to be a new park outside of Orlando or LA, I think it'll fall within a few hours' drive of New Orleans. If Alabama Splash Adventure takes off, I can see it filling that niche. If there are any new parks in the next 10 years, I look for them to either be Disney theme parks added to existing resorts or small, family-owned amusement parks around the size of Stricker's Grove. Sometime around 2012, I think Ouimet made the comment that the amusement park market is saturated in the U.S., and I think I agree--I just don't think there are any other major cities who aren't already taken care of for the type of weather they experience. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acfinn Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 The other area that could 'maybe' and that's a big maybe is somewhere between Seattle and Portland. Silverwoods in Idaho is not conducive to a day visit for either city without a hotel stay. Only issue is so many rainy days in April-June. July and August are actually not bad out there like most people assume. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Star Wars World or Park needs to happen. The possibilities are endless, and it's an absolute goldmine waiting to happen. I'm not really even a Star Wars fan, but I realize the potential in it, and I could possibly be marketed it One would figure Disney would have pooled their resources toward a land themed after an immeasurably bankable (and still culturally relevant) franchise with a new film debuting this December, rather than one themed after a mildly bankable "franchise" with a new film "potentially" debuting two years from now. Granted, AVATAR is the highest grossing film of all time, but when you now own an intellectual property worth over $30 billion and you can erect theme park attractions to your liking without worrying about licensing renewal fees, I feel like that's a pretty big disturbance in the Force. That said, this is also the same company that was about ready to go hog-wild on a TRON-centric redesign of Disneyland's Tomorrowland at one point because they were so certain Legacy would be a box office smash...oh, wait. EDIT: Fun Fact, Disney isn't the only company to attempt major attractions around films that end up not doing well on the silver screen, as Universal actually had plans for a Van Helsing-themed dark ride in the exact spot where a certain Wizarding school sits now... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DontWantToWait42mar0 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Star Wars World or Park needs to happen. The possibilities are endless, and it's an absolute goldmine waiting to happen. I'm not really even a Star Wars fan, but I realize the potential in it, and I could possibly be marketed it One would figure Disney would have pooled their resources toward a land themed after an immeasurably bankable (and still culturally relevant) franchise with a new film debuting this December, rather than one themed after a mildly bankable "franchise" with a new film "potentially" debuting two years from now. Granted, AVATAR is the highest grossing film of all time, but when you now own an intellectual property worth over $30 billion and you can erect theme park attractions to your liking without worrying about licensing renewal fees, I feel like that's a pretty big disturbance in the Force. That said, this is also the same company that was about ready to go hog-wild on a TRON-centric redesign of Disneyland's Tomorrowland at one point because they were so certain Legacy would be a box office smash...oh, wait. EDIT: Fun Fact, Disney isn't the only company to attempt major attractions around films that end up not doing well on the silver screen, as Universal actually had plans for a Van Helsing-themed dark ride in the exact spot where a certain Wizarding school sits now... I really liked Tron though. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth555 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I also liked tron and it may not have been a box office smash like frozen but it was by no means a bomb 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdude86 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Disney is being smart with their new IPs really. Yes they could crank out some rides for Star Wars right now to coincide with the new films but they are waiting to see what people like from the new ones first. In interviews they have stated that they plan to make new Star Wars attractions but want to see what hits with the audience first. Imagine if before Phantom Menace came out and they thought everyone would love Jar Jar Binks and made attractions at all of the parks based around his character. This is why it's smart to wait and see what people like the most. Agree with others too that with the current saturation of the market and initial cost of opening a new park from scratch that the most likely new parks to open will be new ones from Disney or Universal. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph88 Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 I was really hoping to see a Tron themed ride or park section. (Both the original Tron and Tron: Legacy movies are among my absolute favorites.) Part of me will always hope for a Tron themed ride. Even though I'm not holding my breath. I think a Star Wars themed park within Disney World would be a fantastic idea. Certainly makes more sense than Avatar, but I'm excited for that regardless. It does seem smart to wait and see what elements people like about the first new movie. Although, they have a lot of material from older movies that they could build upon. I'd also LOVE to see a Lord of the Rings/Hobbit/Middle Earth theme park. Would probably be an insanely expensive investment, and with the movies over, again, I'm not holding my breath. One thing I wish I could learn more about is Busch Gardens Asia, but there's not much information on it except it was in Houston and ran from 1971 to 1973. I wish so much that SEAS would build a new Busch Gardens Asia! So much wishful thinking As far as location goes, the Rocky Mountain area is a bit underserved. We have a lot of very nice small parks (Western Playland, Cliff's, Elitch Gardens) but nothing from Cedar Fair, and Six Flags once owned Elitch Gardens but they sold it years ago. You would think an area that has more sunny days than the rest of the country would have more parks. Especially with things like the Grand Canyon and the Rockies around, they draw quite a lot of visitors. There's nothing large between Knotts and Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Land's cheap out here. And there's no lack of population! I wonder why the mountain area is ignored by the major chains? There must be a reason they don't see it as being profitable. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 See Lagoon, Lakeside... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.