Disney dreams on a Small Park Budget

Mr. Theme Park, 

I operate a small amusement park and we don’t have a hundred million dollars to spend on new attractions. So what can a small park do that is important in order to provide high quality, like Disney, on a small park budget?

-Charles T. from Louisiana 

Charles, this is something that small park operators have asked and had to deal with since Disneyland opened in 1955. 

There are many things you can do to keep up and grow and continue to entertain you annual visitors.  This starts with understanding your demographics -- in other words, knowing your visitors. Are they children, teens, family? Are they a mixture? Depending on which demographic is your “franchise”, you need to continue offering new products to them on a well planned capital program, while at the same time understanding where your opportunity for growth in demographics best lies. So you need to always protect your most important visitor base and invest in the potential demographic that can grow attendance. 

On a small budget, I would like to suggest that our industry has an excellent used rides and attractions program. By searching the suppliers of used equipment, you can find excellent product opportunities for a fraction of the cost of a new ride - sometimes as little as thirty (30) cents on the dollar. Once refurbished and revitalized, to your guests it is a “new attraction”. When you properly and introduce your new attraction, you have a winner- a product that will help you continue to sustain and grow your attendance. 

Charles, keep in mind also the market in which you exist is constantly changing. Just to mention three examples - more and new competition, economic ups and downs, and changing demographics. You must keep constant tabs on these ever-changing market trends. Understanding these issues and knowing your market conditions will greatly assist you in making the correct capital planning actions.

As we have always heard, “bigger is not always better”. Remember the back bone of our industry has always been the small park operators. Many of the regional operators were also small once. They dealt with the same issues you face. Good management, proper planning, and strong fortitude on your part will win the race. Good luck and good planning.