Hard Rock / Freestyle Music Park Discussion Thread

[coasterqueen13I Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

I heard the buyer wants to make it into more of a traditional amusement park, meaning they may cut the entrance fee and just charge per ride... and have wristbands or something.

i think this will draw a lot more people because the entrance fee used to be so outrageously expensive!

Exactly. It may be the same park and the same rides, but other companies and suppliers will know that it is not the same management and be willing to work things out with the new people at the park.

Yeah, why wouldn't a company take a chance on the new owners. It is a chance to regain some of the money they may have lost under the old owners. It's purely a business decision. If they can make money with the new company they will do business.

I doubt the ride manufacturers lost a lot of money. They were probably paid with the bond holders money.

[CHILLERLC1When I grow up, I want to breed donkeys!]

As long as Maximum RPM is not locked up again.

[SupremeClienteleI Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

So here's my question....If all the investors and companies lost everything in the park, how painful is it going to be to get support for the rides and infastructure already in place? I mean if B&M only got $2 million for Led Zeppelin, are they really gonna help the new owners with any problems or maintenance? Realistically, what would the companies stand to gain?

What do they stand to gain? Well, the park was closed and no matter who bought it at this point, they weren't getting their money back. It doesn't matter if Cedar Fair bought the place with sacks of cash, B&M wasn't getting their whole bill paid. So, what they can do is sell them parts and services for maintenance in the midst of an environment in which they're not gonna be getting a whole lot of orders, or they can take some ridiculous moral stance and make no money.

Here's another article talking about the changes the new owners want to make:
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/135/story/788679.html

The new owners of Hard Rock Park will let people who bought annual passes last year use them this year at no extra cost, and the single-day ticket price will likely be decreased from $50 to between $35 and $40.

I personally don't think this park should even be a $35 park! When I can go online right now and buy a one day ticket to Six Flags Magic Mountain for $39, a park with 16 roller coasters and other attractions, a park with as few attractions as Hard Rock has should not be charging $35!

Personally, I feel that $29.99 is as high as the admission should go at this park for what they currently offer.

There could be a discount on admission for locals at the ticket booth. The price of an annual pass would also be reduced from $150 to about $75, Baker said.

I don't understand all this focus on the "locals"...

HELLO HARD ROCK PARK! YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET THE PEOPLE COMING TO MYRTLE BEACH ON VACATION TO COME VISIT YOUR PARK!!!

The group is hoping to attract up to 800,000 visitors this year.

Didn't it take Holiday World like 50 years to finally crack this number? And that's a park with 3 rides in many people's "best in the world lists!"

"Overall, people complained about being done with the experience too quickly," Baker said. "If you're charging $50, you really need to provide a three-and-a-half to four-hour stay."

Are you kidding me? This is what the new owner thinks? $50 = 3 1/2 to 4 hours?

If you're charging $50 for a park you should be kept busy *ALL DAY LONG* not for just a few hours!

Baker said FPI MB would have a back-up plan for the park's branding for the 2010 season if an agreement with Hard Rock Park was not reached, though it would be difficult to rebrand the park for 2009. He said he was unsure whether the opening would be jeopardized if Hard Rock did not agree to keep the branding.

So you're three months out to a proposed re-opening and you still don't know what your park is going to be called or themed after? Ok.

I'm just not sure that these people "get it" any more or less than the previous owners do.

We shall see. My advice to all of you who didn't get the credits last year...GO GET THEM SOON!!!

--Robb

[griffonA griffon? How deliciously absurd!]

This is good news, I'm glad to hear there is still a chance the park will open this year. I still have a hard time believing that a new management group can come in and get the park ready for opening in just 3 months. Hopefully they can, but there are a lot of logistics to work out with staffing, licensing, marketing, operations, setting up vendors, troubleshooting max RPM, and probably a million other things that most people wouldn't think of... Memorial Day sounds like an ambitious time frame. I'm keeping my eye on this, and would love to get down there as soon they get things going.

[SpideyfreakHave I mentioned how awesome donkeys are?]

HELLO HARD ROCK PARK! YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET THE PEOPLE COMING TO MYRTLE BEACH ON VACATION TO COME VISIT YOUR PARK!!!



--Robb

Ya know, I would have never heard of HRP if I hadn't been a theme park fan. They didn't do enough advertising. Going down I-95 on the way to Florida, I only saw one sign advertising it. No commercials or anything around Maryland. Shoot, half the people I talk to never even heard of it.


On the other hand, I was telling one of my friends about the park and its epic failure. Then he said "No way! Theme parks never close!"

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

Based on Robb's analysis of the new owners' latest statement, any bets on when this thread will be renamed "Hard Rock Park--Closed Yet Again"?

[Guy T. KoeppNow with Extra Retarded Flavor]

Let's hope the people from HR arn"t paying any attention to this simpletons ramblings, or they will never allow him to use the HR name. In which case this dude will be totally screwed as he will have to retheme a whole park in a matter of months.

Guy "Now I'm no theorist, but I believe that would be quite difficult." Koepp

[carolinacaniac"Excuse me, miss, may I pound my large rooster into your donkey?"]

Would it be possible to give the park a generic music theme and keep the rides the same if the Hard Rock name is dropped?

-Gary T.