The Lowered Bar

[DifrntDrmr]

[fearsnda]

Let it be said that Knott's makes more of a successful effort than Six Flags, Universal, Sea World and Legoland in the all-over-immersive-theming and wonderful-little-touches departments.

I was just at Knott's last week and I saw what you mean. The struts/supports for the Silver Bullet are EVERYWHERE. And yes, they go through a Tee Pee. However, at Six Flags there wouldn't even be a Tee Pee. Knott's has done an amiable job in their efforts to cleverly play up on the fact that the new coaster is pretty intrusive. They could have left it as a big ugly dirt pit or concrete slab like at legoland or six flags.

I posted a little about Knott's in another thread too: http://www.micechat.com/showthread.php?t=2830

- FNDA

PS: I miss The Haunted Shack too. Did you know that The Kingdom of the Dinosaurs closed a few weeks ago? All the signage is gone. Maybe I should write and complain

[DifrntDrmr]

Did you know that The Kingdom of the Dinosaurs closed a few weeks ago? All the signage is gone.

I read somewhere that the ride system got too old to be worth repairing. They have already moved some of the show elements over to the log ride.

The best was when they converted it to Kingdom of the Lounge Lizards for Knott's Scary Farm!

[fearsnda]

Did you know that The Kingdom of the Dinosaurs closed a few weeks ago? All the signage is gone.

I read somewhere that the ride system got too old to be worth repairing. They have already moved some of the show elements over to the log ride.

The best was when they converted it to Kingdom of the Lounge Lizards for Knott's Scary Farm!

OMG I loved the lounge lizards!!! As for Timber Mountain, we saw that glowing eyed wolves in there and they really add a menacing element to the attraction - right on! Timber Mountain is looking better these days...

[dshimel]

With ever increasing labor costs and the "young 'ens" demand for new thrill rides every year, it is no longer economically possible to run a "local park" and a theme park. You must add new thrill rides every year, and that leaves no money in the budget for adding or maintaining theming.

The only way you can make money on a theme park is on out-of-towners. This is why the best new theme park rides go into Orlando parks.

Disneyland is trying to walk a very thin line of attracting out-of-towners, without stealing out-of-towners from Disney World. Given the choice of 7 days at WDW or 3 days at DLR, you always want the out-of-towner to pick a week at WDW.


This is what irks me most about all the posts about DL not having a new E-Ticket in 10 years..... Duhhh! They spend thier money on theming. IF you want a big new ride every couple years, then ALL the theming and maintenance budgets would have to be redirected into ride construction and operation budgets, and you end up with another Knotts/Six Flags park.

If you want theming and maintenance, then you have to accept that all the big budget rides are going into DCA to get out-of-towners to stay longer.

You can make money on theming and maintenance when you're target audience is out-of-towners. You can't make money on theming and maintenance when your target audience is locals.

[dramaqueen]

There is no incentive for a park like Magic Mountain to "raise the bar" Their ticket prices are not a source of any kind of real revenue (I have never paid more than 20 bucks to get in). The kind of crowd they attract is not the kind to spend money- high school kids don't have heavy wallets. Six Flags is all about cheap thrills and no one goes there looking for any kind of expereince close to the of Disneyland . I tried their "Fastpass" (which you have to pay for) and its a total joke and waste of time. Disney raises its own bar by remembering that they are a premium resort experience that people from all over the world come to visit and not a regional thrill park that only locals ever visit. Hopefully all the 50th festivities will reinforce this. As for the rest of the orange county parks, they are what they are. They have their own brands to offer and people don't generally expect anything more from them. Let them offer the cheap entertainment- it can only make Disneyland look better.

[disneyfreeek]

I just saw a commercial for Six Flags. They said they are getting ready for their "Biggest year ever." They showed that creepy old dancin' man cleaning up, and polishing coasters. It promised happiness and friendliness and all that jazz. Do you think they are even trying to compete with Disney??? That's comical.

[Disneylandrocks55]

OH wow........ There "Biggest year ever". Is it a coincidence that this just so happens to be the "Biggest year ever" for Disneyland? :confused:

[DifrntDrmr]

I just saw a commercial for Six Flags. They said they are getting ready for their "Biggest year ever." They showed that creepy old dancin' man cleaning up, and polishing coasters. It promised happiness and friendliness and all that jazz. Do you think they are even trying to compete with Disney??? That's comical.

And, unlike the other Six Flags Parks, they aren't adding any new attractions. Scream was the last ride they put in. More interesting, they are adding a huge coaster to their park in New Jersey. Usually the biggest rides are saved for Magic Mountain. Even the clones are always just a little bit smaller.