- September 17th, 2018, 10:40 am
#103653
[quote}
lets's see: attract seniors (fixed income, less disposable income, with tastes that don't match current day popular tastes)
OR
attract parents with disposable income and teenagers and seeking thrills, and willing to pay for expensive upgrades like season passes, fast passes, drink passes, lockers, and concerts.
It's about the $. Which would YOU choose as an owner with responsibility to max profits for shareholders? It's not going to be the barber shop quartet and showboat, I can tell you that.[/quote]
40s to 60s have MUCH more income than teens to 30 year old thrillseekers. There is a reason that Disney is so crowded all the time. There is something for everyone to do all day long and a family can do the high majority of the attractions TOGETHER. It seems odd that since the coaster race of the late 90s, that regional theme parks have catered to lower income thrill seekers that those with more income.
Cedar Fair has maxed out the lower income thrill seeker market. If they want to continue to increase revenue, they need to find ways to attract the higher income 40's to 60s.
Some of that has turned around recently with more of a focus on live entertainment at the Cedar Fair parks. They also seem to be concentrating more on theming and atmosphere, another reason that Disney is so popular. Maybe with the addition of the Antique Cars at Kings Island, CF is realizing that this is their best potential market to try to tap in the future. The success of Winterfest and the focus on live entertainment also proved that a park doesn't have to be full of thrill rides to be well attended. BTW the train at Kings Island had a HUGE line during Winterfest because everyone could experience it TOGTHER. How Christmas-y is that? Doing something together!
There is little for anyone to do at Carowinds that doesn't want thrills . There is Skytower, Carrousel, little train that does circles and a few shows. They need more total family attractions and more indoor show venues (due to the Carolina heat).
Train is gone, Sternwheeler is gone, Monorail is gone, Speedway & Jalopies gone, Cable Skyway gone, and most recently the helicopters were removed. There are few rides that everyone can experience TOGETHER. Carowinds desperately needs some of these rides to return to attract the higher income 40s to 60s.