New Disney Park

[MrsBrown]

I was recently told that a high level Disney executive had recently moved to Jackson, NJ. Jackson is the home of an ailing Six Flags park called Great Adventure.

Rumor has it that the Disney guy relocated here because Disney is in negotications to purchase the Six Flags park.

I don't know much else, but on some levels, it makes sense. The area is desperate for ratables and has always given Great Adventure some sweetheart tax deals. (I am sure Disney would receive the same royal treatment.) The current infrastructure is capable of handling massive amounts of traffic. The area is within 90 minutes of 3 international airports and is 60 minutes from Philadelphia and about 90 from NYC.

Has anyone else heard about Disney buying up the Six Flags Great Adventure park?

 

[Chuck S]

There are some thing to consider. Disney parks have never been considered "Seasonal" parks. That is, Disney parks are open year 'round. Many Six Flags parks are seasonal, even in areas with decent weather. For instance, Fiesta Texas is open from late May to October. Closed 6 months, open 6 months. Is the weather in the area condusive to year 'round tourism? If so, is there adequate support support business in place, like hotels and restaurants, or would Disney need to build them? Is the park large enough for expansion, or would most of it have to be re-built to make it a "Disney" quality park?

I would think the cost of retrofitting an existing park to Disney themeing and quality would prohibit such a purchase - unless the land itself is extremely valuable and a good location - so that Disney would in effect level the existing park and start over from scratch, with the exception of a perhaps the carousel...which would have to go through a rehab.

Unless Disney plans to start a new "classic" park division.

 

[dfuent01]

I heard they will built a Theme Park somewhere in Texas later in the future.

 

[KNWVIKING]

Saturday it was 2 degrees outside. I wonder what the windchill factor would have been on Slash Mountain ?

 

[MrsBrown]

I have heard the rumor about a theme park in Texas, and have also heard rumors about Disney purchasing Coney Island.

There are many reasons that NJ (and the northeast in general) is a poor choice for a theme park. But.... Disney World does do a substantial busniess with visitors form the northeast corridor (Boston-DC). After 9/11 Disney World took a financial hit, but Disneyland didn't- primarily because the California park gets more of a local crowd.

It seems feasible that Disney may be exploring the possiblity of setting up shop in the northeast.

If Disney was looking to do something in the northeast, the location in Jackson is centrally located between NYC and Philly. (and within 31/2 hours of Baltimore and DC)

One of the big problems Disney had with the Disney America park they wanted to put in VA was that the locals didn't want it. It would have put too much strain on the local infrastructre.

The land in Jackson where Great Adventure currently resides is capable of handling the traffic. The towhsip is desperate for ratables and would welcome the Mouse in a heartbeat.

If Disney were to purchase the six flags park, I am sure they would level it. (If you've ever seen it, you know it's already in disrepair.) Also, there is plenty of land available surrounding Six Flags.

 

[Lewisc]

Makes no sense to me. Park would have to be seasonal and might take away from summer vacations to WDW. No reason that an executive would have to relocate just to negotiate the sale. For that matter no reason to assume any negotiations between Disney and Six Flags would even take place in Jackson, NJ.

Every few years there is a new rumor that Disney is buying land for a new park in (fill in a new city).

 

[Melann]

While on my Keys to the Kingdom tour on last trip, the tour guide told us that Walt had looked at areas in New York and PA but wanted somewhere people could go year round...I found this very interesting as I had never known that at all!

 

[mitros]

Hey, regarding the weather problem, maybe they could incorporate Walt's "dome" idea.! Yea, right! There would be so much graffitti on it you would not be able to see in. { I lived in NJ for 48 years} of graffitti, I am well aware.

 

[KNWVIKING]

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I hope it never happens. Just what the NJTP needs: more tourist traffic.

 

[PrincessLums]

I live about 25 mins from GA (Great Adventure) right now, and moving about 10 mins away next week. On one hand, that'd be total HOTTNESS if they bought that place out. GA has gotten better in the past couple years, but all in all it's still a crappy overpriced place.

The major neg I see w/ this is traffic. NJ has 3470923749823749876509674958 people, and in the summer they are ALL down the shore. GA is so packed on weekends it's ridiculous.

Eh, I dunno... I guess we'll see what happens!

 

[SpaceMounatin]

SFGAv cant be owned by Disney because it is allready owned by Worner Brothers (It's like trading with the enemy). Also Disney is NOT buying Coney Island. People of NYC are protesting against it. And knowing park employees, Disney did check out the land, but they decided not to buy it.

 

[treesinger]

I have to imaghine that the revenue gained by a Northeast park would be insignificant compared to the revenue lost because people stopped going south to the main attraction. I'm 2 hrs away from GA and never go. I'm 20 hours from WDW and went FOUR times last year, a total of five weeks. I know what I spent WDW wants me to come south.

 

[treesinger]

It's almost a shame Pressler wasn't around for this. He could've turned it into "Walt Disney's Plushieland!"

 

[PatMcDuck]

I live in the next town to Great Adventure, and my son works there, and there are no local rumors flying around about Disney....

You could never turn GA into a Disney type attraction, you would have to start all over......... (it is an asphalt jungle there)

 

[Douglas Dubh]

SFGAv cant be owned by Disney because it is allready owned by Worner Brothers

No, it's not. SFGAv is owned by Premier Parks, DBA Six Flags. Premier Parks bought out Six Flags a few years ago and then changed their name. Warners no longer owns any piece of Six Flags, although they do license their characters to Six Flags. WB still partially owns the WB MovieWorld parks in Europe and Australia.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Ummmmm... What the heck? GA appears to be quite profitable and reasonably maintained...for what it is...

If Six Flags were to sell a park I can't see them selling that one.

And OT I live in NJ and my county is more than reasonably free of graffitti. Kindly do not slander an entire state.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by MrsBrown
If Disney were to purchase the six flags park, I am sure they would level it.

If Disney really wants to level an existing theme park and build a great new park worthy of the Disney name, I know of a theme park in Anaheim that would be a good candidate. (The park I'm thinking of is named after a state with a rich history, amazing natural wonders, and a blending of diverse cultures. But, unfortunately, that park pretty much fails to capture any of that.)

 

[Evil Princess]

Ailing park? Granted Great Adventure is NOT Disney in ANY respect, but isn't it one of the top Six Flags park? The coaster selection at that park is awesome, and they just doubled the park in size a few years back.

I could name you a bunch of other Six Flags parks that are "ailing" that come WAY before Great Adventure.

Granted I love Disney, and would be overjoyed to have a Disney park two hours from my house, but it's not going to happen. Disney would have to destroy the place, it IS an asphalt jungle. SFGAdv is a good Six Flags park and has a collection of great coasters and thrills (four Bolliger and Mabillard coasters, that's amazing and wonderful for us enthusiasts), but it would do terribly as a Disney park.

What Disney park do you know that has over 10 roller coasters? They're not just tiny coasters either. Roller coasters that lay you on your stomach FACE down, roller coasters without a floor beneath your feet...very family friendly

Disney would have to start from scratch in order to get that park up to par. I own season passes and I love it (I'm a coaster junkie), but I don't love it for the reasons why I love Disney.

And as far as Coney Island, don't even get me started on that one!

 

[SpaceMounatin]

Originally posted by Douglas Dubh
No, it's not. SFGAv is owned by Premier Parks, DBA Six Flags. Premier Parks bought out Six Flags a few years ago and then changed their name. Warners no longer owns any piece of Six Flags, although they do license their characters to Six Flags. WB still partially owns the WB MovieWorld parks in Europe and Australia.

Well you got it the wrong way. Premier went bankrupt and then Six Flags bought all of there parks. But not all cary the Six flags name. nd yes warner Brothers does own them. Or why else would they have WB section and Luney Toons characters.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by SpaceMounatin
Well you got it the wrong way. Premier went bankrupt and then Six Flags bought all of there parks. But not all cary the Six flags name. nd yes warner Brothers does own them. Or why else would they have WB section and Luney Toons characters.

That is incorrect.

The truth is that Premier Parks Inc. did not go bankrupt, and Warner Bros. no longer owns Six Flags.

In April 1998, Premier Parks Inc. acquired the Six Flags chain for $1.9 billion from Time Warner Entertainment and an investment group led by Boston Ventures. Recognizing the strength of the Six Flags brand, Premier Parks renamed many of their parks to include the Six Flags brand.

With the rebranding of the parks, it may have appeared that Six Flags bought the parks from Premier, but that wasn't the case.

Then, in July 2000, Premier Parks Inc. changed the name of the company to Six Flags Inc.

Six Flags Inc. continues to license the Looney Tunes (not "Luney Toons") characters from Time Warner.