Banbury Cross Retheme Coming in 2014
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
Does this have anything to do with why some shows ( MIU and London) are not starting until May?
So this means instead of a terrible revamp but with halfway decent theming. We're getting a crappy quality revamp that won't even have half of the planned stuff. Wow....This is shaping up to be a great year for KD.
This is the BEST worst news I've heard in a while.
So that is now 3 years in a row of MASSIVE last minute cuts to the park? This is starting to get a little ridiculous. Pretty much whoever is the CFO (either corporate or local depending on where these last minute cuts are coming from) needs to be fired. If you can't figure out a budget for the company for 3 years in a row then you are not doing your job. Any CFO worth their pay would be able to have a budget in place and be able to stick to it just fine. Yes there may be the occasional unseen issue that would effect the budget. But these cuts keep coming so late that it makes me think that whoever makes the budget is just throwing numbers out but not checking that the money is there until months before opening! I mean the park has been closed since January, if you can't do the math before now you don't deserve your job!
Mini rant over for now...
Mini rant over for now...
I don't know how BG/Seaworld Corp's budget process works (nor do I know anything about this particular project and what element caused it to be cut) but to morte's post above, typically that is not how most companies handle their budgets, its not just one guy who is terrible at his job but a LOOONG process that is vetted between a bunch of people (from all different levels of the approval chain) and could take months to accomplish. Sometime companies have to start moving forward with projects before they even have the approved funds just so they can reach a certain deadline and that sounds like what happened this time with the retheme.
You'd be surprised how long it can take companies to approve budgets, I've worked for places where the current budget wasn't approved till February of the same year(aka, for instance, 2014 budget being approved 02/2014).
Cutbacks typically happen when a division builds their budget based off of the previous year's numbers and then the higher ups (like very high) say "We need you to make 5% more this year because last years numbers were so low and we didn't make money/broke even/barely made anything (aka we need to make more profit)" but then they realize halfway through the year that they aren't going to make 5% more and they have to adjust their operating level in order to come closer to breaking even.
Sorry to continue to be a fun suck, this is how companies work person. I have to use my degree for something... Complaining on the internet counts as something useful, right?
But at least this means no crazy retheme is coming!
You'd be surprised how long it can take companies to approve budgets, I've worked for places where the current budget wasn't approved till February of the same year(aka, for instance, 2014 budget being approved 02/2014).
Cutbacks typically happen when a division builds their budget based off of the previous year's numbers and then the higher ups (like very high) say "We need you to make 5% more this year because last years numbers were so low and we didn't make money/broke even/barely made anything (aka we need to make more profit)" but then they realize halfway through the year that they aren't going to make 5% more and they have to adjust their operating level in order to come closer to breaking even.
Sorry to continue to be a fun suck, this is how companies work person. I have to use my degree for something... Complaining on the internet counts as something useful, right?
But at least this means no crazy retheme is coming!
Welp, we lost the (potentially) massively unpopular Banbury Cross retheme and kept the neat little improvements like the new Scotland-Germany bridge, the San Marco deck, and the Bavaria lot expansion. I consider this a minor victory.
Although yes, the whole financial situation is indeed concerning.
Although yes, the whole financial situation is indeed concerning.
I agree with MCMM. Even if the budget is approve by Carl Lum, it still has to go to SEAS who is putting out fires in the Seaworld parks due to Blackfish. Our little park is not a top priority on their agenda, IMHO. This may just be a case of, we didn't get the budget approved in time, sorry, but it will have to wait or scrap it all together. CNN and PETA have helped to handcuff the whole operation. That is just my 2 cents.
I'm not sure how to feel about this. I'm really glad that Banbury Cross won't look ridiculous, although I'm sure that the 10% of money left will still be used dubiously, but this is really worrisome for the future of the park going forward. I have to imagine that this budget cut isn't isolated to Banbury, so I'm concerned as to how far this extends. Will this affect future plans in development? Will it diminish the maintenance and upkeep quality of the park? I really hope neither of these is the case, but I have to wonder.
So the battle was won but it still feels like a loss. The current state of the park is very concerning, and it doesn't seem like the issues will be fixed in the near future.
Seems silly to announce 'paint and shingles' for an area, then apply for a new 156ft attraction for the following year. Only to cancel the seemingly meager 'paint and shingles', but not an obviously costly new attraction. Makes about as much sense as raising the capacity of the parking lot while at the same time, lowering the capacity of the park with less shows. (not a lower capacity by fire marshall standards but by empty showplaces)
Everything entertainment related is always a ton less stable than ride additions and the like. They can cut thematic elements, cancel shows, cut back casts, etc with just weeks to go but a chain like SEAS can't cancel a ride they've paid a manufacturer for after the contract is signed.
Nic pid=77434 dateline=1379599912 said:
Feeling a teeny bit smug...
I'm hoping the lack of cash is due to one of two things: either stockholder pressure (grrr, I hate that SEA went IPO) or an expanded budget for Project 2015. Both of those speak to poor planning, but they're obviously way better than, "oops lol we ran out".
