xecutive Summary
The report talks about how six flags has managed to be a regional leader and has maintained growth and momentum in a low margin, highly volatile amusement Business. The report begins with discussing about the Amusement industry and how and where six flags stand in whole industry structure. It talks about corporate lifecycle stages of the company and what challenges they faced during each phase of lifecycle specifically discussing about the challenges moving towards and prime and how is it has reengineered itself from aristocracy stage to presently moving towards the Prime again .The report further discusses about how company is making meaningful changes to improve its product, services and Process which creates value for the
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In common language, theme park and amusement park are often used as synonyms. However, theme park can be regarded as a distinct style of amusement park. A theme park has landscape ,building and attraction that are based on one or more specific themes or stories .The first theme park was set up with the promotion of a specific theme in Santa Claus land , in Santa Claus, Indiana in 1946. By 2014 figures, amusement industry of USA is predicted to be around $50 billion .The Amusement park industry offerings range from large theme parks such as the Walt Disney World, Europa-Park , Universal studios to smaller and medium size theme parks such as Six Flags and Cedar fair …show more content…
Angus Wynne. He observed his surroundings and created a new form of family entertainment based on his own ideas and imaginations. He wanted a regional park which was large as well as nearer to people. Providing an innovative idea with broad scope of entertainment led to the birth of theme park industry and Six Flags.
Under the leadership of the Angus Wayne, company went ahead with setting up the amusement park in different location across Texas. Due to lower margin and insufficient managerial depth company was sold in 1966 to a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad. With new ownership it started expanding to Georgia and Mid-America by 1971. The major growth of the company took place through acquisitions of independent parks. It purchased Astro World, Great Adventure, Magic Mountain and Great America by 1984. Later the control was transferred to Wesley Capital Corporation in a leverage buyout that took place in 1987. In 1991, Time Warner started purchasing the stakes in the company and by the end of 1993 acquired 100% stakes in the company. Having been in Film and Animation industry, Time Warner started designing the park on movies which included goliath roller coaster to having batman suits and infrastructure. later they renamed it from Six Flags Corp. to Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc. Time Warner later sold it to Premier Parks for $1.9
It started with their launch concept, which they used a diagram showing the hydraulic launch system. The design was next. So they drew out how they wanted the roller coaster to look. After this, equipment starts arriving for them to begin their project. Six Flags used careful control monitoring for all their resources, and skillful managers who could meet the demands of this project. They did a great job at using their time management so when construction for clearing the site began for this project, so did the process of making the tubular steel supports that made up the rides and the cars that would carry the guests. Having their project data chart, work schedule and work statements so that everything was clearly marked with how long different tasks were going to take is very important in creating a new project, and the organization Six Flags had while making Kingda Ka was done well so that they would stay within their deadlines and within their
Initially, these parks were developed as a marketing tool for the Anheuser-Busch American brewing company. Each of the parks were to feature hospitality houses with samples of the Anheuser-Busch products. Since 1933, Anheuser-Busch has been associated with the Clydesdale horses that were housed in stables in all of the Busch Gardens parks. And eventually, rides and attractions were added to the parks until it completely turned into a full theme park while still promoting Anheuser-Busch. Then, Busch Entertainment Corporation was created in 1959 as a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Companies to run the various parks. Today the Corporation is known as SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (Galarraga, Collette, Denny, & LeBrasseur, 2010).
In 2012, the new CEO of Cedar Fair Entertainment announced a new Long Term Growth Strategic plan for the company. The plan is known as the FUNforward and financial goals for the Company. The CEO is headed in this direction because of the significant barriers to entry and a loyal high-repeated customer base as well as the significant momentum that they have created for the Company over the past two record-setting years (Rotting Flesh Radio RSS, 2012). For example, Kings Dominion is one of the largest theme parks on the East Coast and the loyalty of the younger generation is outstanding. The park is located in an area that is very convenient off of interstate 95. Most parents use the theme park as a baby sitter. They drop their kids off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon after work. The park is so big and it caters to the younger generation and it adds a new ride every couple of years to make the park even more attractive to its customers.
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation prides itself on entertaining millions of families each year as the worlds largest regional theme park company with 18 theme parks spread across North America (Six Flags, 2013). Six Flags primary source of revenue comes from providing world-class entertainment to families and individuals who pay for admission into its parks to ride its coasters, themed rides, and water park attractions. Six Flags has had its ups and downs during its 50-year history but over the past three years it has remained a strong company with total assets increasing year over year. The following analysis will show the financial health and well being of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation.
Florida is home to the world's most famous park - Disneyworld. This magical world of Mickey located in Orlando continues to attract the most visitors than any other amusement park in the country. Inside you can amuse yourself and the family with 4 theme parks which consist of Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom. A treat to these parks is the ultimate answer to every child's dream.
A basic of Disney theme parks is the Main Street USA zone. This section features highly in all of the parks, usually coming right after the entrance. Key services like Guest Relations are located in this section, inside the "City Hall" (HK Disney Source, 2014). There are a number of elements to the Main Street, USA exhibit, and these will be discussed along with the history of Main Street USA in this paper. In particular, how the different elements of Main Street USA work together are covered. The concept has proven to be long-lasting, even across cultures, because of its magical portrayal of idealized American life, which draws heavily on Walt Disney's own childhood experiences.
We want to start an amusement park, titled Fun Land because we consider it to be a fun family experience. A large amount of money can be profited from the experience. Our short term goals include getting the business up and running with reliable employees, getting the Fun Land name out into the public, paying off some of the debt, and giving customers a good experience. Our goals in five years include having new and attractive rides, good flow of customers, and good reputation. In ten years we want to generate millions of dollars, expand, and build new and exciting rides. We want to provide a safe, affordable, and joyful experience for each and every one of our customers. We believe strongly in honesty so our rides would be monthly inspected and all foods will be properly maintained. We will also provide refunds for any mishaps or unsatisfied service. Fun Land is set up as a partnership between Shur’Myra Lillard and David Chan, as partners we will share the responsibilities and risk in starting a new business. Shur’Myra will be the staff manager and David will be the financial manager. Both will be responsible for hiring engineers for the rides and other employees. Shur’Myra Lillard participated in marketing management class, is well organized, and is cooperative. David Chan also participated in marketing management class and honors mathematics class. He is hardworking, and organized.
Six Flags built two other parks in the late sixties and early seventies. These three parks would be the only theme parks opened and constructed under the Six Flags name. When deciding on a strategy, the organization chose a strategy of growth. The plan was to purchase smaller, existing amusement parks across the globe. At one time, Six Flags acquired and operated 46 parks, with the majority of the acquisitions occurring in the late 1990s. The new parks carried the Six Flags name, but the theme of the original park was not carried over. Each new park was individualized, including one that operated an attached Sea World, and another an aquarium. The organization did, however, add waterparks to most of the facilities that did not already have one available.
The brand image that is created by the park goes with what they portray as they have set up sections that are comprising of the featured movie or show. The cleanliness aspect and the environment creates and delivers a symbolic difference to the whole theme park (Richard, 1993). The management have made their efforts in maintaining the same feeling, as they employees and the staff is dressed and the procedure so the park is carried out in pure joyous manner. They have the shows that have the characters from the movie, especially the stage shows and they are dressed up in the form of the characters giving a jubilant feel to the travellers and the tourists. As there is advancement seen in all market, people and tourists are getting more informed about the entertainment industry they prefer more to their entertainment package (Golob, 2003). With this advancement, people tend to be wise and more informed, raising the bar of standard and requirement that are offered by the entertainment theme park. As the management staff knows that now people are more vibrant and have gathered data about what they will be offered, they are no more interested in listening to the stories and the fairy tales that are described to them (Ashwell, 2015). They have a tendency to adapt to the environment and want to be the part of the whole story. As this requirement has grown in the market, management has successfully made the changes to the strategies they have been implementing and they have been working on. These favourable changes have resulted in displaying the enjoyable changes to the theme park and helps them to changing market requirement and demand (Vogt & Andereck,
Disneyland marked the onset of theme parks in the nation, which was carved out of a fantasy tale and it has been the leader for 60 years. And, there was virtually no competition to the attraction quotient that attracted people and tourists to visit the theme park.
One of the key factors of the successful diversification is the very strong branding of the name Disney. That the name was famous after the success in the early years made it among other things possible to go into the theme park industry. Evaluated isolated, the theme parks was a success. But when also accounting for the synergies created, the decision to go into this industry was a huge success. It has created a spiral of synergies, where the characters in the movies get more popular due to the parks, as well as the fact that when people are visiting the parks they get stimulated to buy the merchandise. This is just one example of the synergies that exist in Disney. When Michael Eisner took over control in Disney, he kept focusing on same corporate values as earlier, which are quality, creativity, entrepreneurialism and teamwork. These values have been preserved despite of the size of Disney, and are an important factor in sustaining and building the Disney brand.
In this case there has been a recognition of a trend, which is the trend of people going to theme parks during the weekends for entertainment of them as well as their children. Also here is an existing need for entertainment of this kind. Therefore, an opportunity exists in the European market that Euro Disney could have taken advantage of. However, their failure to pick up signals from the macro environment and microenvironment as well as to position their product accordingly, had negative effects on their operations. A further analysis of their macro and micro environment highlights their malfunction.
Since the company was started, Walt Disney has always envisioned more than just making animated movies. In 1952 the company made plans to build its first theme park known as Disneyland (Disney.com, 2011). With the opening of the park the Walt Disney Company initiated a growth strategy that would take them to the global entertainment company that they are known as today. In 1984 the company brought in a new CEO ...
Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park is experiencing a variety of problems related to its management. The primary issue with the company is that it was designed without a critical consideration for growth and this has led to internal issues such as lack of direction and inappropriate staffing. The following management plan provides a blueprint for directing the company and better utilizing its resources.
The reasons for this problem could be many. The competition was growing in the industry and many new players were also entering, fighting for the same set of customers. The labour costs were rising due to low unemployment in late 1990's. Due to a series of industry mishaps insurance rates had also soared, the capital costs of building the new rides were also rising. And the real-estate tax benefits that the Park received originally were also expiring. All these factors resulted in high operational costs and finally decrease in revenue. So the company had to come up with some innovative ideas to avoid the threats of bankruptcy or a hostile takeover.