Rumor: Busch Gardens Parks to Be Sold Off?

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RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

To be honest, without the beer brand to back them up, I don't know that the Busch family could do anything more with the parks than what we see happening right now. Additionally, from what I understand, the Busch family really doesn't care all that much about BGW- if anything, it sounds like they'd like to have BGT.
 
RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

Is there the possiblity that the Busch Parks will be seperated?

Also, weren't the people that own Great Wolf Lodge rumored to buy the parks?
 
RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

Hoopla said:
Is there the possibility that the Busch Parks will be separated?
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I'd imagine they're going to be sold together. What happens after that though is anyone's guess. :-/ For instance, Disney or Universal may want BGW but I doubt either of them want BGT. Cedar Fair may want to grab up BGT, but I doubt they want BGW.


Quite honestly, the Koch family and Herschend are my two favorite picks from that list. I don't know if the Koch family could get the money together, but if they made it work, we'd see a new golden era for both parks. Herschend would likely do a good job as well, but again, I don't know that they have the ability to throw down the money that'd be needed.

Merlin is an intriguing possibility too, but I worry what would come of that.
 
RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

Zachary said:
Hoopla said:
Is there the possibility that the Busch Parks will be separated?
Click to expand...

I'd imagine they're going to be sold together. What happens after that though is anyone's guess. :-/ For instance, Disney or Universal may want BGW but I doubt either of them want BGT. Cedar Fair may want to grab up BGT, but I doubt they want BGW.


Quite honestly, the Koch family and Herschend are my two favorite picks from that list. I don't know if the Koch family could get the money together, but if they made it work, we'd see a new golden era for both parks. Herschend would likely do a good job as well, but again, I don't know that they have the ability to throw down the money that'd be needed.

Merlin is an intriguing possibility too, but I worry what would come of that.
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Too much drama is going on in the Koch family lately. I think having them in charge would not be a good thing due to this.
 
RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

For the record, the Koch Brothers =/= the Koch family- owners of Holiday World.
 
RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

I know I'll get killed for this, but oh well. Oh and upfront I'll say it's improbable for BGT but anyway... I think Disney would actually be a good fit.

If Disney were to buy the parks I would want them to keep them as Busch Gardens parks, obviously. I think colonial Williamsburg has some former Disney people, so maybe that would help strengthen ties between the peninsula's two largest tourist attractions. Also they could use Disney for marketing. Have Busch gardens conservation shows on Disney channel. Maybe, and this is where people are going to freak, even replace the sesame brand in FOF with Disney characters. Only in that section though! Personally i find then less annoying than sesame ones.

Finally Disney is also probably the only owner who could really make water country shine. Bring it to the level of their water parks. They could do this by implementing the colonial Caribbean theme discussed in the water country forum.

I know it would not be perfect, but if we have to be split off this could be the lesser of the evils.
 
RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

^That would be really good for marketing, but I think it would fit well with the Disney theme.
 
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RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

tursiops said:
If Disney were to buy the parks I would want them to keep them as Busch Gardens parks, obviously.
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Here's the problem: If either Disney or Universal grab them, I see no way that the parks don't end up being rebranded and substantially rethemed. Busch Gardens isn't exactly a strong brand name. It could have been, but SeaWorld seems to want to keep the Busch name as an afterthought now that Anheuser Busch is out of the game and instead has opted to push the SeaWorld branding as hard as possible. You know what sells tickets? The names Disney and Universal. You know what sells even more tickets? Super popular intellectual property. There's no doubt in my mind that Disney or Universal could make a pretty penny off the Busch parks under their current names and themes but Disney and Universal don't want to make a pretty penny- they want to make bank.
 
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RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

Yeah... That's what I'm afraid of no matter who buys them. Seaworld has always been the big name. Problem is Busch has no mascot to promote.
 
RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

Zachary said:
For the record, the Koch Brothers =/= the Koch family- owners of Holiday World.
Click to expand...

The owner's of Holiday World was who I was talking about. I was thinking about the dust up within the family that according to Lance at Screamscape may have been part of the reason they backed out of Kentucky Kingdom. http://screamscape.com/html/kentucky_kingdom.htm
 
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RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

My issue with the Koch Family is that they are 100% anti-alcohol at all their park. They made it clear that any alcohol selling venues at Kentucky Kingdom would be removed and replaced with soft drinks only. I love that Holiday World has free soft drinks and sun screen but their moral issue with drinking in a park that was designed to sell beer wouldn't work. I know the "Beer Hall" has already be ruined with Entwined, but you can't have a Beer Hall that doesn't sell beer, you can't really for the record have an Oktoberfest/German themed Hamlet or even an Irish Pub that doesn't serve alcohol.

None of that matters though because the Koch family can't afford the price tag.

Herschend on the other, I don't know if alcohol is served at Silver Dollar City or Dollywood. That would be something that would have to be looked into, but again, I am sure they can't afford the asking price.
 
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RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

I don't believe Dollywood or Silver Dollar City serve alcohol.
 
RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

Regardless of what any potential buyer believes, no one would be able to withstand the backlash of not selling beer and wine on that property. If someone came in and stopped it, they'd soon realize that they had made a massive mistake. That policy wouldn't last long.
 
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RE: Rumor: Busch Parks to Be Sold Off?

I'D Love if Merlin purchased the Parks. They are my top contenders, if we were to see anyone purchase the parks. Cedar and six would kill the theme, Disney would basically put entwined overlay over the whole park, snd infuse it with disney characters. I think universal would embrace the theme and do well with the Parks, but they do things differently, and aren't afraid of tearing things down... Merlin is who I lay my cards on.
 
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