Author Topic: Cutbacks? - Maybe not as bad as we thought! (Read 4970 times)

WadeJ · « **on:** August 07, 2006, 11:42:36 PM »

We've all be hearing about the cutbacks at Gadv and across the entire chain. However, recent information I'm getting is saying that Gadv is going to get through these cutbacks relatively well.

For instance, fireworks were never scheduled to continue through Fright Fest. They decided to hold them off for now and save them for FF.

Other things such as the morning show, Dolphin Discovery, Spirit of the Tiger, Animal Ambassadors, Mission: Weekend Warriors, Industrial Movement, We Got the Beat, 45th Anniversary Parade, Brunch with Bugs and the DJs in queues will remain as well (though many are reduced schedules).

The hardest hit appears to be the streetmosphere actors which will definately be missed

. However, I think some of the other SF parks are getting it much worse. Esp since they had far less than Gadv to begin with!

Oh, and also the characters will be still around as will Justice League

overlord · « **Reply #1 on:** August 08, 2006, 01:59:43 AM »

Spirit of the Tiger was only running 2 shows today. Weekend Warriors hasnt had any reduced scheduling I think.

Nozzy · « **Reply #2 on:** August 08, 2006, 09:17:25 PM »

Unfortunately when I went today I noticed two rides added to the closed for season list at the ticket window though- Koala Canyon (which apparently never opened according to other sites), but the Enchanted Teacups as well.

rjholla2003 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 08, 2006, 09:56:13 PM »

The TEACUPS! What happened to the teacups!

WadeJ · « **Reply #4 on:** August 08, 2006, 10:16:17 PM »

Teacups unfortunately have been down for nearly 2 weeks. No clue what happened to them though

ChuckR · « **Reply #5 on:** August 08, 2006, 11:19:51 PM »

Man, another two more! I swear I saw Teacups running last time I was there though...

MRHSfalcon · « **Reply #6 on:** August 09, 2006, 11:29:49 AM »

Teacups are having some motor issues that they have to order a new one, that list may say closed for the season but ther is a posibilty of tea cups opening for fright fest. Which is not going to be as family friendly as they have said it was.

WadeJ · « **Reply #7 on:** August 09, 2006, 12:13:24 PM »

Thanks for the potential good news. They are seriously lacking family rides that actually run. (esp with Tango hardly working!)

Fright Fest NOT being as family friendly is the best news I've heard all week

.

overlord · « **Reply #8 on:** August 09, 2006, 01:44:26 PM »

^It was running yesterday! I could not believe it!

WadeJ · « **Reply #9 on:** August 09, 2006, 02:20:44 PM »

Yeah, it was running on Sunday as well - until I got on it LOL

My son and I were captives of Tango for 15-20 minutes while we waited for a supervisor to rotate it back into position to unload us. It never reopened while we were there.

It seems to work off and on and it totally unreliable. I say they call 1-800-MY-LEMON LOL

PcMan · « **Reply #10 on:** August 09, 2006, 02:24:46 PM »

remove it and replace it with another ride that stays running and holds more then 5 people.

overlord · « **Reply #11 on:** August 09, 2006, 03:21:52 PM »

Quote from: WadeJ on August 09, 2006, 02:20:44 PM

It seems to work off and on and it totally unreliable. I say they call 1-800-MY-LEMON LOL

They need to call AAA for towing and get it out of there. Stupid Trailer ride.

peterpjr · « **Reply #12 on:** August 10, 2006, 11:56:33 PM »

I guess I am in the dark, what are all these cutbacks that everyone is talking about. Is there a link to a news article discussing them. Thanks

rjholla2003 · « **Reply #13 on:** August 11, 2006, 01:53:43 AM »

Here's a post I made on Insider that I feels sums up my thoughts on this well. Happy reading.

As for the park, IMO the corporate staff are making a freshman mistake. I think it would have been much better if they simply took the 'L' this season and continued on as they were. Sure they sould have lost money, but in this business you have to spend money to make money. With visitor polls indicating happy guest and per capita spending indicating happier guests with looser wallets, obviously they were heading in the right direction. They should have let the money do what it does and focus on keeping the good word-of-mouth spreading. This would have been more beneficial in the long run than what they are doing now. Sure, they are saving some bucks and losing a bit less than they would, but they are dissapointing guests all over. This is made even worse since guests who were pleased with this year are going to return to the park and see a vast difference. How are they going to feel when they come, are wowed, and tell their friends to come to the park because it's better. They they come to the park and there are less charachters. They are looking for the night parade, but it's gone and the park closes when the parade used to begin. They are looking for fireworks, but there are none anymore. They notice that there are stages set up for shows that they saw, but no shows taking place. Now they have a bad taste in their mouths because they had a negative experience at a place that they had a positive experience. They are going to tell their friends that the park 'took a turn for the worst'. They won't return to a place that has proven itself unpredictable and inconsistant. They want guaranteed fun when they enter the park, not a game of roulette. With these cutbacks, they are hurting NEXT season. Hopefully they do not hurt themselves too much.

Here's a statistic that SFI should have considered before they made these cuts:
No matter how many good experiences one has at a specific place, it takes on average 30 visits for someone to forget/forgive a bad experience.

This means that if someone has one bad day at the park, they would have to visit the park for a month straight with no negative experiences before that one negative day was absolved. Obviously people don't visit any place that much, so it's really bad. Consistency is key, and consiously killing that is IMO a very poor move. This was a 'nerves before brains' move, and I hope it's not too painful of a lesson for the S Men.

peterpjr · « **Reply #14 on:** August 12, 2006, 10:15:55 PM »

Rjholla. Thank you for your insight but what exactly are the cuts that they did? Does anyone know specifically what they cut back? Also, I am a newbie to the message board scene, what is Insider and how do I access it?

thanks

WadeJ · « **Reply #15 on:** August 12, 2006, 10:26:09 PM »

GAinsider is another site very much like this one... actually, they are one of our affiliates

Typically speaking, GadvUpdates is the "older" bunch while they tend to have younger members.

As for the cutbacks, they are a liittle difficult to list right now because nobody is 100% sure what they are. Everything is rumor and speculation.

We've heard fireworks, shows, characters, hours and more all being cut. But then we hear many shows are staying with fewer showings, fireworks are returning for Fright Fest when they weren't going to have them this season in the first place. So, until we truly see the outcome in the park, I'm reluctant to jump on the cutback bandwagon at this point.

We also do try to keep a semi positive attitude here. I know it annoys the crap out of many of the other fansites but as far as I'm concerned, its our duty to support and promote the park in a positive light as much as possible. It probably has something to do with having close ties to the park as well lol.

So if you hear/read things on another site, take it with a grain of salt at this point. Info GadvUpdates is getting is pointing towards things not being as bad as they were first made out to be

overlord · « **Reply #16 on:** August 12, 2006, 10:51:17 PM »

Is it safe to say Updates and Insider are sister sites?

I kind of just want this season to be over with already and the new season to start. We will see what the fall and Frightfest will bring us. Maybe they will save up enough money to open one of the closed for the seaosn rides. Who knows....

PcMan · « **Reply #17 on:** August 13, 2006, 12:42:07 AM »

Thats what I say
Always stay positive on the boards and in Life
There are still many awesome rides at all these parks and shows.
lets see what happens next year I'm sure it will be better.

Also there are some big Concerts coming up so get out to the park and see a free show.
Concerts these days cost $45 to $250 so see some classic bands for free.
This is one of the reason I bought a seaon pass and will every year.
Always look on the bright side of life

WadeJ · « **Reply #18 on:** August 13, 2006, 09:43:27 AM »

I think next season will be the true sign of what this management team can and cannot do. They were working completely with the budget of the previous regime. Trust me - they wanted EVERY ride operating and at max capacity. It just isn't something Gadv could do with their budget because the park was not supposed to be operated like that this year. As it was, they had to use some unique methods to get operating funds in line for things like the charactors and the other addtional staffing that they had.

superman_test_dummy · « **Reply #19 on:** August 13, 2006, 03:17:39 PM »

I really hope they dump a lot of money on totally re-vamping some of the rides to they can run functionally. As of right now the park looks pretty good the big issue is the operations. Hopefully they can get Ka running on TTD's level and the Chiller finally running like how it was meant to run. I'm giving the new management next year to prove itself.

rjholla2003 · « **Reply #20 on:** August 13, 2006, 06:38:18 PM »

Quote from: peterpjr on August 12, 2006, 10:15:55 PM

Rjholla. Thank you for your insight but what exactly are the cuts that they did? Does anyone know specifically what they cut back? Also, I am a newbie to the message board scene, what is Insider and how do I access it?

thanks

Sorry about neglecting your post. I was tired when I posted that so I forgot to go back and mention what cutbacks were actualy made. Wade did a pretty good job explaining the cutback situation, so at least you got an answer there.

The list of things that fell victim to the cutbacks are:
Night parade
Welcome to the 60's
Runaway Country
Fireworks (may return for Fright Fest)
Massive cuts to Entertainment as a whole
-Charachters cut from 25 at any given time to 6
-Wonder Woman, Aquaman eliminated from Justice League

Hopefully that's all that will happen, and hopefully it will not hurt attendance too much NEXT season,

GADVwow · « **Reply #21 on:** August 13, 2006, 08:13:24 PM »

I remain convinced the ONE thing that will hurt attendance next season more than anything else was this year's $15 parking fee. I have heard many, many guests say "They got me once, I am NEVER, EVER coming back." I am quite sure at least some of them mean it.

The first contact with the park in the morning is to hear that you are going to have to pay $15 for parking? This is often from a parent who is already about to spring for $40-$60 a ticket for three or four people? I honestly believe they would have been far better off to raise admissions by $5 and go to free parking, or even $3 parking. People remember first impressions for a very long time.

PcMan · « **Reply #22 on:** August 14, 2006, 12:05:28 PM »

Yes I totally agree with you on parking.
$15 to park and you can't even park close unless you pay extra $5 ( I paid for a $40 parking pass this year )
Yes the first impression is the one that last.
Some parks offer free parking.
People hate to be nickel and dimed to death.
People love the word free even if they are paying for it in another way

WadeJ · « **Reply #23 on:** August 14, 2006, 12:45:49 PM »

I agree. They could have lowered parking to say, 5 dollars and then reduced the amount of discounting on tickets to get people there instead of right when they enter the property.

First impressions do matter the most. I must admit though, if there is a significant percieved value, customers ARE willing to pay. Just look at the latest Disney and Universal price hike. None of the Six Flags parks are there yet though.

Reducing parking or even offering something simple like a free dinner platter with parking to get you to stay would go a long way in improving this perception.

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Author Topic: Cutbacks? - Maybe not as bad as we thought! (Read 4970 times)