I think back in the day before the park made a loop, one could exit at the mid station. There originally was a “Treetops” train station at that location too with snacks and restrooms. But that area didn’t connect to the paths of the park.
Somewhere on the 80s the trein station was moved over where Kumba is
That parking lot is still called treetops (just a fun fact)
Also, I saw someone mention the animals are “impossible to see” but simply ridding the train or going to overlook allows you to see them. The park hasn’t made it “impossible” to see any animal, there’s plenty of animals in the park people don’t even bother stopping to look at (snakes, the armadillos, the crocodiles). While complaining the skyride is an upcharge is valid, you can’t really see anything you can’t see on the train.
I think back in the day before the park made a loop, one could exit at the mid station. There originally was a “Treetops” train station at that location too with snacks and restrooms. But that area didn’t connect to the paths of the park.
Somewhere on the 80s the trein station was moved over where Kumba is
Yes, Treetops Train Station and the Skyride station used to be connected:
I know the whole $5 upcharge is not great, but the majority of guests are passholders and get it free, just like the the Skytower at SWO and both the Skyride and Skytower at SWSD. In the cases of those rides, they are all "endangered"-- no longer manufactured, expensive to maintain. The BGT Skyride was about to be removed but was granted a reprieve as long as it can pay for its upkeep and operation. It's not ideal, but I'd rather have it and have to pay or show my pass to ride than not have it at all. The rumor is Great Adventure is removing their Skyride this year, and I think most people would have agreed they'd rather be able to keep it and pay to ride or use their pass than to lose it. They never gave guests the option though...
When it comes down to it in modern parks where they are trying to squeeze money out of every guest, transportation rides are all on the chopping block. When people board a train, skyride, boat, etc., they aren't walking past games, shops, food stands, etc that are designed to get people to spend. Is it inconvenient and does the park lose some of its "charm" absolutely, but charm doesn't show up on an accounting spreadsheet.
Expect to see more of this with rides like trains and skyrides that cost a fortune to maintain.
Charm isn't a direct line item, but I believe that sophisticated theme parks can and should understand the collateral impacts the loss of charm can and does have on all other, directly measurable, aspects of the park's performance.
They will, but companies are run to make money. All rides have a value for tax purposes and value to the business. If they can't justify spending money on something that on paper has no value and would save them money on future repair/operations it's hard to justify paying for parts. It may be that the ride is worth more as scrap metal and a tax write off. That's the way the penny pinchers running these companies think.
Charm isn't a direct line item, but I believe that sophisticated theme parks can and should understand the collateral impacts the loss of charm can and does have on all other, directly measurable, aspects of the park experience.
Absolutely, but when a company has had a huge turnover, the value of so much is lost. This is the biggest issue Six Flags as a whole (and Great Adventure in particular) has seen, and the Busch parks now as well. Without someone who understands that value, they can't/won't justify a reason to save something to an ever more demanding corporate body trying to squeeze money out for shareholders. Unfortunately any publicly traded company has the same issue right now, especially those with private equity firms in total or partial control. The private equity firms are only interested in short term profit, not long term business most of the time.
