"Failed" Theme Parks or Attractions

[TheCoasterCruiser]

Hi guys,

I'm currently working on a project for university in which we want to look at "financial incidents" in the theme park world.
Preferably we are looking for a theme park that had a rough patch at some point in history, but also maybe got out of it. Could also be an attraction within a theme park that didn't go down as well as predicted. Either way we're focusing on the financial side of things and will also be interviewing people of the industry regarding the subject matter.

So, I thought I'd ask you all if you know of any good cases we could look into. We all know about the financial troubles of Disneyland Paris for instance, but it could be interesting to dive into something that has been less covered. Hope it's okay I post this here.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Nicky Borrill]

London Resort fits that bill... It's basically been one long money making scam. Park will never be built and I think Paramount are even suing them.

 

[JackFish]

All of the Six Flags chain.
I am pretty sure in the early days, SDC had a rough patch

If I think of any more i´ll let you know.

 

[Climb]

Hard Rock Park

The park opened to the public on April 15, 2008, but following financial issues, it closed later that year on September 24. It reopened under the Freestyle brand on May 23, 2009, but it closed permanently at the end of the season due to mounting financial problems and lawsuits.

Freestyle Music Park - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Rollercoaster David]

Wonderland Eurasia / AnkaPark would probably be a good one to cover

 

[ECG]

Tropic Falls Theme Park (formerly Park At OWA)

 

[spicy]

All these failed parks have pretty interesting stories.

UK:
American Adventure
Camelot Theme Park

USA:
Six Flags AstroWorld
Hard Rock Park
Geauga Lake

Japan:
Nara Dreamland


There’s obviously the Six Flags New Orleans story which has been covered extensively although that was the flooding more than financial difficulties.

Then failed parks like Universal Studios Dubai are interesting

Universal Studios Dubailand

www.thethemeparkguy.com

 

[JackFish]

You could also use Six Flags Astroworld, or Six Flags New Orleans (Maybe)

 

[JoshC.]

Ring Racer is a good shout.

If you want something a bit more obscure, you could potentially talk about Vertigo and Walibi Belgium too: https://rcdb.com/3457.htm

 

[TheCoasterCruiser]

Those are great shouts! Thanks everyone!

We're also trying to look into a more positive direction of any cases of individual attractions or additions/expansions, that you could argue have "saved" a park or at least helped them tremendously. Of course such an example totally escapes me at the moment, but I'm sure there must be a few?

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

I recently wrote up an extensive Wikipedia article on Dynamic Attractions' SFX Coaster, a model that flopped so hard that it brought down entire singular projects, parks, and even the manufacturer itself; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SFX_Coaster

We're also trying to look into a more positive direction of any cases of individual attractions or additions/expansions, that you could argue have "saved" a park or at least helped them tremendously. Of course such an example totally escapes me at the moment, but I'm sure there must be a few?

In only a slight tangent to the SFX Coaster I would say Ferrari World. When the park first opened it was far from satisfactory, with an extremely poor quality collection of attractions outside of their anchor coaster really setting up a dour scene. Thanks to them cleaning house and installing several noteworthy attractions (Flying Aces, Mission Ferrari, etc) as well as Miral investing big in different theme park experiences on Yas Island, it's fair to say that they've definitely improved for the better. Ferrari World and Miral's Theme Park Zone as a whole definitely stepped up from a poorly implemented and shabby ego-stroking indoor park (with the world's fastest coaster) to a centerpiece of one of the world's brightest theme park destinations.

 

[JackFish]

I recently wrote up an extensive Wikipedia article on Dynamic Attractions' SFX Coaster, a model that flopped so hard that it brought down entire singular projects, parks, and even the manufacturer itself; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SFX_Coaster


In only a slight tangent to the SFX Coaster I would say Ferrari World. When the park first opened it was far from satisfactory, with an extremely poor quality collection of attractions outside of their anchor coaster really setting up a dour scene. Thanks to them cleaning house and installing several noteworthy attractions (Flying Aces, Mission Ferrari, etc) as well as Miral investing big in different theme park experiences on Yas Island, it's fair to say that they've definitely improved for the better.

That is what I was going to say! If I think of anything else I´ll post it.

 

[Sozzy42]

If you're looking for a failure that was turned around, I'd probably go for Disney's California Adventure. I think Disneyland Paris could also fit the bill - Space mountain saved the park.
A non-disney example could be Great American Scream Machine, which helped save Great Adventure after a series of incidents in the 80s put people off the park.

 

[spicy]

Those are great shouts! Thanks everyone!

We're also trying to look into a more positive direction of any cases of individual attractions or additions/expansions, that you could argue have "saved" a park or at least helped them tremendously. Of course such an example totally escapes me at the moment, but I'm sure there must be a few?

One that helped a park tremendously is the Corkscrew at Alton Towers.

Park attendance doubled when it opened in 1980 and it can be argued that the Corkscrew not only kickstarted Alton Towers into life but the UK theme park industry in general.

 

[Leon_K]

If you want something a bit more obscure, you could potentially talk about Vertigo and Walibi Belgium too: https://rcdb.com/3457.htm

Fun fact: Duinrell in the Netherlands had a very similar story with a similar coaster type: https://rcdb.com/945.htm

 

[Rollercoaster David]

Those are great shouts! Thanks everyone!

We're also trying to look into a more positive direction of any cases of individual attractions or additions/expansions, that you could argue have "saved" a park or at least helped them tremendously. Of course such an example totally escapes me at the moment, but I'm sure there must be a few?

I believe parc asterix have had their most successful year this year with the addition of toutatis. I don't think they were exactly faking before, but they have had record attendance

 

[LightningColossus46]

Windjammer: Lots of issues, lots of of legal battles

Submarine Quest SWSD: Awful failed "dark" ride now being turned into a jellyfish exhibit. Only lasted 4 months if that.