Well, besides green-lighting 4, 5, and 6 in a few years, how about buying up a little of the competition. It just so happens that Six Flags is considering selling most, if not all, of their amusement parks. Disney could apply their guest service and themed entertainment expertise to turn these properties around. Set them up like an ESPN, with their own branding, tv channel, marketing experts, but sprinkle copious amounts of Disney magic around.
While some say it would be right to close Six Flags Magic Mountain if Disney buys it, I think that if Six Flags Magic Mountain were turned around it could be that third Southern California Park Disney had been looking for. Sure it’s a 2 hour trek from Disneyland on a good day, but Disneyland is drawing in pretty good numbers itself right now.
Sound far fetched? Remember this post six months from now.
Sure, since California Adventure is modeled on a tacky 1950s amusment park, why shouldn’t Disney underwrite some other tacky parks? Well, one reason might be that “anything for a buck” Eisner is no longer in control.
I would love to see it. Six Flags has some of the coolest coasters in existence, yet the park itself is awful. The place is dirty and neglected. The theming is, well the theming isn’t. The WB Characters that walk around are competing more with Chuck E. Cheese and your high school mascot than anyone else. The biggest thing, and I am still shocked everytime I go there, is the utter lack of related merchandise and tie-ins. There are more stores sellng Corona shorts and random tourist crap circa 1987 than Bugs Bunny or Superman gear. Seems like they would have noticed that Supes had a movie this summer and work that angle.
If Disney bought it I know that all of those things would be fixed. However, it would need more than paint and Mickey ears to make it friendly to anyone under 14. Or over 15.
Also, does Disney really want to be in the business of more big and extreme thrill rides right now?
Actually, Six Flags is only one hour from Disneyland on a good day. I know because I can get to Disneyland in an hour. :)
I would be bummed if Magic Mountain closed. I’m not sure Disney could turn it around, however. Still, it’s fun having an amusement park in my town.
I think that by buying Six Flags, effectively creating a number of mini-Disneylands all over the country, you would diminish the idea of Disneyland and DisneyWorld. Pouring too much water in the kool-aide. Instead of going to FL or CA, I could just drive an hour and go to Great America.
Although, yes, people would not stop trekking to FL and CA, you’d probably notice a drop in numbers. I think, although there are many benefits to buying Six Flags, the negatives outweigh the positives.
But that’s just me.
I agree with Yepsen. I think it would be a mistake to dilute the magic associated with Disney by putting up “mini-Disneylands” throughout the country. I think Disney knows that too, which is probably why we still have just 2 parks in the U.S.
Well, bear in mind that Disney TRIED to open a third location in the US…wasn’t it Virginia? They wanted to do a Historic US theme PArk but they were blocked from going ahead with the project. That was about 10-15 years ago now I guess….
I don’t care if Disney buys the rest of Six Flags, let them become Great Americans or Busch Gardens, but as I said before, the Magic Mountain park would be a great addition. Disney could market it towards their new target demographic- teens. That would not change the gate at Magic Mtn., but it would clean it up and make it family-friendly.
As far as the distance to DLR, how about realizing another of Walt’s dreams and create his proposed monorail for city transportation- at least between the SoCal parks (and maybe stops in Burbank and the Walt Disney Concert Hall)?
Far-fetched? Of course, but it sounds cool.
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