How do I get into the theme park business?

Question

I'm only 15, but I have brilliant ideas that I think will revolutionize theme parks as we know them! (Kind of like Walt Disney!) I have a theme park idea in mind, but I came across a problem... I don't know how to get into the biz!?!? It seems like I just need to get lucky and meet the right people...

If you can help me just figure out what steps I should take now that would be GREAT!

Also, if anyone wants to share ideas with me just E-Mail me at [e-mail]

I love hearing from other people and listening to what they think makes theme parks great, and I'd be willing to share my ideas with others too! : )

Thanks for all of your help, and I look forward to hearing from all of you!

Thanks!

Answer 1

It depends on how big you want to get, but common factors are location, size, and money.  The larger you want to get, the more land you will need and the more money you will need.  If there isn't sufficient public parking spaces, you will need to provide enough space for people to park.  The slower, cheaper route, is to start with things like miniature golf, bumper boats, go-carts, batting cages, an arcade, etc, then ad amusement rides one at a time, probably starting with the smaller, cheaper kiddie rides and working your way up.  Classic larger rides like the Tilt-A-Whirl and Scrambler can cost $60,000 or more for used ones that might require more maintenance or even restoration.  Maintenance of rides will be an ongoing expense, whether the rides are new or used, and proactive maintenance (repairing before they break) should also be considered.  In addition to the cost of acquiring the land, you will want to obtain the necessary permits, pave it, have it wired properly for electric, install water and sewer pipes where desired, have the place inspected at times, buy insurance (which I hear is so expensive it caused some places to close in the 70's), etc.  You will also want to offer food, drinks, and restrooms, which will require compliance with health codes and periodic inspections.  Water parks are another possibility, but sometimes there can be health concerns, like e-coli from people pooping in the water.  If you have a pool or a wave pool, lifeguards will be required.  If you locate near a public beach, you get the benefit of people getting drawn to the beach without the liability of having your own pool.  If you decide to locate in a cooler part of the country when winters put an end to most outdoor activities, the park would need to be seasonal.  In Upstate NY, May through September seems to be a common time period for these places to be open.

It takes a ton of money to build something the size of Disney, Six Flags, and other large places, it will take a while to make a profit, and you might never be debt-free if you want to keep growing by taking out loans to expand.  I know people who drive 90 minutes or even 2.5 hours to go to the larger places in Upstate New York, while other people would rather drive a shorter distance to smaller parks or temporary locations like fairs, field days, and festivals, even though they don't always find the kinds of rides they like.

The very large parks are more likely to create their own one-of-a kind exotic rides, and that is VERY expensive.  It requires hiring engineers to design them, skilled people to fabricate them, testing, possibly inspection and approval from the insurance company, making sure it doesn't violate any codes in your area (like height restrictions), etc.  A cheaper, simpler, more flexible alternative is something like the "dark rides" that used to be custom-built by the Pretzel company to fit in whatever size structure you desired it to be installed in.  If you want to know more about that, do a search of "Laff Land", "Sylvan Beach", "Pretzel", etc.  Sylvan Beach Amusement Park has a classic Laff Land built by the Pretzel company, and it's like going through a fun house in a wheeled car.  

There are a lot of different ways to do it but like I said, location, size, and money are major factors.  Places like Sylvan Beach survive because it's a much closer drive than the larger parks, it's got a lot of notalgia that you don't see much anymore, and it's always open during the warm months so you can go on your favorite ride (if they have it) any time you want instead of waiting for a fair and *hoping* they will have it.  At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if all of their rides have been paid for for over a decade.  They also benefit from public parking, a public beach, and boaters who dock at local marinas.

If I could afford it, I'd like to have a park like Sylvan Beach, but it would have to be located far enough away that it doesn't compete with Sylvan Beach.  It would also need some of the other things that Sylvan Beach has around it.  Old Forge's Enchanted Forest and Water Safari is to the north, but that is also a resort town.  Go too far east, and you're competing with the large park at Lake George and sure to lose.  Heading south toward Cooperstown (resort town, Baseball Hall of Fame, etc) might work, but being close to the water and complying with zoning restrictions might be a problem.  (They try to preserve the old-time charm of the area and if I'm not mistaken, they won't even allow McDonald's to set up there.)  This is a dream I might never let go of, so I will keep trying to think of ideas, but I will probably take the slow and careful approach, possibly even renting rides from amusement companies when needed.  :-)

Jim