March 24, 2025

Park Power Play: Herschend's Bold Acquisition Reshapes the Theme Park Landscape

This week we analyze Herschend's strategic acquisition of Palace Entertainment's U.S. properties, potentially establishing them as a major third-place challenger in the theme park industry.

Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player icon

This week we analyze Herschend's strategic acquisition of Palace Entertainment's U.S. properties, potentially establishing them as a major third-place challenger in the theme park industry. Unlike the public Six Flags-Cedar Fair merger, this private company acquisition brings a different approach—emphasizing people-first culture, regional park identity, and quality entertainment experiences. With annual visitors projected to reach 20 million, Herschend is positioning itself alongside industry giants while maintaining its commitment to employee development and local communities. Plus, we explore Disney's new velvet rope experiences: an adults-only lounge in Epcot and a third exclusive DVC member retreat. Is consolidation the future of themed entertainment, or does Herschend's regional focus offer a different path forward?

Listen to weekly BONUS episodes on our Patreon.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:02.799
Front of our studios in Los Angeles and Tampa. This

2
00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.440
is green Tag, a theme park in thirty. I'm Philip.

3
00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:08.359
I'm joined by my Cohastcott Swinson, a Scott Swinson creat development.

4
00:00:08.519 --> 00:00:11.080
On Green Tag, we recap the top news from theme

5
00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:13.480
parks each week and try and explain why it matters

6
00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:16.079
to you or should matter to you. And this week, Scott,

7
00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:19.199
there might be a new third place challenger in the

8
00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:20.679
US theme park world.

9
00:00:20.920 --> 00:00:23.320
Yeah, this is big news. This is pretty exciting. This

10
00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:25.839
is pretty exciting. And I will say when we when we,

11
00:00:25.879 --> 00:00:28.000
after you explain a little bit more. I'm not as

12
00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:32.000
surprised as I think some people are. But yeah, I'll

13
00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:33.960
let you. I'll let you because you're because you're so

14
00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:36.000
very good at it. I'll let you sort of share

15
00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.840
with us the parameters and uh and then I'll yamor

16
00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:43.479
on for a while. Oh good, good, well, normal normal

17
00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:44.280
way we do the show.

18
00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:47.200
Yeah, yes, yes, good. I'll need a coffee break when

19
00:00:47.240 --> 00:00:48.960
Scott's theamorine, So that's perfect timing.

20
00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:51.280
That's why I took a sip at the beginning of

21
00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:51.600
the show.

22
00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:55.119
So great Hershan So for those of you that have

23
00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:58.359
not heard hershand announced a definitive agreement to acquire all

24
00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:03.439
of Palace Entertainment's US entertain properties Hershend. Just so you

25
00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:07.239
know it, Hershend operates Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, and Kentucky

26
00:01:07.319 --> 00:01:09.480
Kingdom and they're going to add more than twenty amusement parks,

27
00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:14.159
water parks and fec with this acquisition. Hershend is committed

28
00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:17.400
to ensuring a smooth transition for everybody. And here's the thing,

29
00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:20.799
just a note here. You know, this is coming right

30
00:01:20.840 --> 00:01:25.359
after the Six Flags nonsense merger thing going on there,

31
00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:28.959
and whereas six Flags, it's a I think dollar wise,

32
00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:31.920
it's a larger merger, and of course that's a merger

33
00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:34.159
versus an acquisition, but that's much larger. And those are

34
00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:36.439
both public companies. So we have all sorts of information

35
00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:40.439
on Six Flags. With Herschend and Palace Entertainment, these are

36
00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:43.959
private companies, so we don't have as much I guess

37
00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:46.480
disclosures when it comes to financial stuff. So we don't

38
00:01:46.519 --> 00:01:49.359
have a number here, like a financial number that was

39
00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:54.680
released about the actual acquisition amount. But there's a lot

40
00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:56.799
of differences. I mean, while on its surface, I think

41
00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:00.599
this looks like very similar to what happened six Flags,

42
00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:02.959
there's a few differences beyond the fact that it's public

43
00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:06.239
versus private companies, but one is kind of what Hershin

44
00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:08.879
is saying immediately about it, which is that they're not

45
00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:10.759
going to change anything in the short term, which I

46
00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:15.960
think is a great idea, but also indicative of the

47
00:02:16.039 --> 00:02:18.599
difference here because when you have six Flags that's a

48
00:02:18.599 --> 00:02:21.520
public company, you have a lot of people, shareholders, the

49
00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:23.280
general public, the media, a lot of people who are

50
00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:26.240
scrutinizing it that are wanting to know what's going to happen.

51
00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:27.479
So I think they might need to be a little

52
00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:30.719
bit more aggressive versus in this one where Hershing can

53
00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:33.360
kind of take a more measured approach. So they said

54
00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:36.680
that no immediate changes are planned the daily operations, and

55
00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:39.879
they listed in their press release they even put out

56
00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:41.280
a list of things that they're going to do in

57
00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:43.680
the coming months, and they're saying they're going to prioritize

58
00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:48.479
supporting the new employees with training resources and opportunities aligned

59
00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.960
with Hershin's people first culture. They're going to maintain continuity

60
00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:55.599
and guest experiences while exploring enhancements that align with Hershin's

61
00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:58.360
commitments to high quality entertainment and they're going to proactively

62
00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:02.319
communicate with employees, guests, and local communities as a transition progresses.

63
00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:07.240
Just a few more details here. I think a lot

64
00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:08.919
of people are thinking, as we said at the top

65
00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:11.879
of the show, that this is going to be potentially

66
00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:14.439
them vying for who's going to be third place or

67
00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:17.280
fourth place. Right we got Disney, got Universal, six Flags,

68
00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:21.639
and now potentially Hershin being third or fourth place. Before

69
00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:26.039
the acquisition, Hershin was estimated to get about fifteen million

70
00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:30.319
annual visitors. With the acquisition, people are estimating that's going

71
00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:33.240
to be at twenty million, which is really close to

72
00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:36.360
six Flags last that when we report on last time,

73
00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:38.400
which is six Flags is like twenty one million with

74
00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:42.360
all their parks, like more properties overall, but only twenty

75
00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:45.919
one million, and this will get Hershin pretty close to

76
00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:48.520
that in terms of numbers. The only thing I could

77
00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:52.199
really find here for you all is that Moody's reported

78
00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.759
in twenty twenty two that Hershein's annual revenue was about

79
00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:58.319
six hundred and fifty million. So keep in mind that

80
00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:01.800
was twenty twenty two, and they've been doing well, so

81
00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:08.120
it's definitely more than six hundred and fifty million annual. However,

82
00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:12.199
the Palace Entertainment US parks were also doing really well,

83
00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:20.360
and overall, the Palace Entertainment section under Park's reunidose, which

84
00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:23.439
is the parent part of that, their cash flow was

85
00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:25.959
two hundred and twenty four million euros. Of course, they're

86
00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:28.040
a European company, which is part of the reason they

87
00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:30.759
wanted to divest of this is that they wanted to

88
00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:33.720
kind of get rid of the US portfolio and allow

89
00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:36.920
a US operator to take over that, and that would

90
00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:39.720
free them up to invest in the European markets. But

91
00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:43.839
so if they're two hundred and twenty million in twenty

92
00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:48.199
twenty four of total cash flow, and this part is

93
00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.399
about thirty percent of there, then you can kind of see,

94
00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:54.839
you know, where that kind of you can see the

95
00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:58.600
proportions of that. Roughly, A lot of people are estimating

96
00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:01.959
this deal is around seven hundred and fifty million to

97
00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:04.639
the billion dollar range, which would be I don't know,

98
00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:08.519
maybe three or four times EBIT based off their growth percentage.

99
00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:12.639
So that's a lot though. I mean, so say they

100
00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:16.399
say that, let's just say Hersheen paid potentially a billion

101
00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:19.439
for this uh and their total operating revenue was six,

102
00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:24.759
maybe seven fifty or eight hundred at this point, I

103
00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:26.920
don't know. I mean, I guess that's perceivable. I mean,

104
00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:28.839
if all the properties are doing well and they have

105
00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:33.199
a plan to enhance items, then you could see this,

106
00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:37.040
you know, really becoming a good investment for them. I

107
00:05:37.079 --> 00:05:39.680
don't think anyone thinks it's bad. But also we don't

108
00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:43.920
really know because they're private companies. So I think in

109
00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:47.120
many parts it's a it's interesting. There are a few

110
00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:50.199
interesting things here. I want to talk about the programming,

111
00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:53.399
and I also want to talk about what this means

112
00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:55.759
for Europe. But first Scott, tell me what you think

113
00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:56.720
of the overall plan.

114
00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:00.519
So this, this makes this makes so very very very

115
00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:04.040
much sense, certainly for a couple well, for a couple

116
00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:07.240
of reasons. I think the reason it makes sense is

117
00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:13.680
because even though Parks Riannidos was the the overall owner,

118
00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:19.560
from what I had garnered from friends and associates, the

119
00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:23.639
European side and the North American side, or the the

120
00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:27.240
the U S side were run very very differently, all

121
00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:30.360
kind of filtering up to a head point, but there

122
00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:34.399
was always a little bit of confusion and quirkiness. And

123
00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:36.680
I also think that this is you know, as you mentioned,

124
00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:38.560
this is a great opportunity for them to get some

125
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:40.759
cash flow so that they can continue to invest in

126
00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:43.600
European properties, which you know, as we've talked about on

127
00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:49.560
the show, is is becoming a new hot hotbed, you know,

128
00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:55.319
with with Universal opening there and and and oh gosh,

129
00:06:55.399 --> 00:06:58.920
poet Afoo expanding and doing a new park and so

130
00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:01.800
it it it makes it makes all kinds of sense

131
00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:04.160
in that regard. It also makes sense that they're not

132
00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:10.759
planning to do any major, you know, sweeping changes basic

133
00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:17.000
basically because both Hershend and Palace to most guests, they

134
00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:20.120
have no idea who Hersheend or Palace are because they're

135
00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:22.519
all all the parks. None of them have the Hersheend

136
00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:28.399
name above the title are blatantly blazoned, emblazoned around the title.

137
00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:31.720
The parks are all known as their independent parks. And

138
00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:36.199
that there's no need for either company to put their

139
00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:39.199
name on everything because that's simply not their brand and

140
00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:43.800
not their approach for either either Hersheend or Palace. So

141
00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:47.000
I think that that that just makes a lot of sense.

142
00:07:47.079 --> 00:07:49.519
Unlike six Flags. You know, six Flags has their name

143
00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:52.079
on everything, and when they went through their their buying

144
00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:54.040
spree several years ago, quite a few years ago now.

145
00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:56.240
But when they went through their buying spree, they couldn't.

146
00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:58.519
Even when the parks that they couldn't afford to bring

147
00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:02.399
up to six Flags standards, they would say, Geaga Lake

148
00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:07.480
a six Flags property, you know, so they they felt

149
00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:10.000
the need to get that six Flags brand on there somewhere,

150
00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:12.839
even though it wasn't necessarily they didn't. They weren't confident

151
00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:14.920
enough to say it's a six Flags park yet. Ye,

152
00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:18.000
so there's no there's no need to. So that doesn't

153
00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:22.879
surprise me at all. I think that I think that

154
00:08:23.079 --> 00:08:26.720
it just in true Hersheen form in their in their

155
00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:29.439
list of in the coming months, what they're gonna how

156
00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:32.799
they're prioritizing the change, and how they're prioritizing the the acquisition,

157
00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.879
supporting the new employees with training resources and opportunities aligned

158
00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:38.200
with the Hershean's people first culture. This is what has

159
00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:41.480
made Hersheen different from all the other theme parks. You know,

160
00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:44.360
everybody thinks that that Disney has the has cornered the

161
00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:47.799
market on on people first, But until you really start

162
00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:50.120
digging into what Hershen does and the hirsche the various

163
00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:53.799
foundations that they have for their employees, and that hershend

164
00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:57.679
is is they really practice what they preach here. Uh,

165
00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:00.679
they're very they've always been very much a people for company,

166
00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:02.320
and so it makes total sense that that is the

167
00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:05.159
top priority as opposing to put the Hershian name on everything,

168
00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:08.480
because the Hershian name isn't on what they owned already.

169
00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:11.000
Yes, so there's that.

170
00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:15.720
I think that you know, the idea of maintaining the

171
00:09:16.039 --> 00:09:19.159
high quality entertainment that's kind of a sorry, that's kind

172
00:09:19.159 --> 00:09:20.919
of a uh, you know, nobody's going to say and

173
00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:23.039
we're going to let everything slide and get really crappy.

174
00:09:23.080 --> 00:09:24.360
They're not going to do that. They're going to say

175
00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:26.919
they're going to maintain the top quality stuff. So so

176
00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:29.240
that makes that makes sense. I mean, that's you have

177
00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.440
to kind of say that. And and I think the

178
00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:37.759
idea of the keeping the keeping the focus on the

179
00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.879
local communities because the vast majority of these are all

180
00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:46.519
legacy parks really, I mean, you know, they all started

181
00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:50.360
as as small, privately owned parks that were then bought

182
00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:56.919
up by Palace and now bought up by Hershand uh

183
00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:01.440
so that's that's the da of the parks that are

184
00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:04.279
being added to their portfolio. It would make zero sense

185
00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:06.240
for them to all of a sudden say, Okay, screw

186
00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:09.000
you locals, We're going to make this all about tourism.

187
00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:14.480
So it's it seems like a pretty wise acquisition.

188
00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:14.840
To me.

189
00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:17.440
It seems like things are pretty much in line because,

190
00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:20.679
let's face it, Palace and hershend very similar. And again

191
00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:25.919
not to say that that six Flags six Flags Valley

192
00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:29.600
Fair was not or Cedar Fair was not, but because

193
00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:32.960
they too were very similar in their approaches. But these

194
00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:38.080
two just seem I'm I'm curious. I haven't talked to

195
00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:40.240
any of my friends who who have worked for Palace

196
00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:44.879
yet about this, but I'm gonna guess that they're going

197
00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:48.879
to feel pretty good about it, because again, they're they're

198
00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:52.720
trying to They're being purchased by a company that has

199
00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:57.559
always focused on the local, small quote unquote independent parks

200
00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:03.200
and been able to give them an improved buying power

201
00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:07.399
by being a larger company, and usually that is in

202
00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:12.080
the in the form of employee benefits, insurance, that kind

203
00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:16.679
of thing. So to me, this sounds like a really

204
00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:22.519
good acquisition. Just kind of knowing the the the personalities

205
00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:26.559
or the cultures of the to the two major holding companies. Now,

206
00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:30.519
whether they're going to really go into competition for six

207
00:11:30.600 --> 00:11:34.279
Flags for third place, I don't know. And and my

208
00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:39.399
guess is they I think that's I think that's that's

209
00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:40.919
a nice to have. I don't think that's why they

210
00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:44.799
did this. That's just my just my gut feeling.

211
00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:49.639
Well, I'm not sure about that last element there. I

212
00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:54.039
think that as with all things, we talk about this

213
00:11:54.120 --> 00:11:56.919
pendulum all the time. We talk about the way market

214
00:11:56.919 --> 00:11:59.879
works and how everything works, and we there's been the

215
00:12:00.679 --> 00:12:05.600
trend of bundling and unbundling, like unbundling, rebundling, unbundling. You know,

216
00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:07.039
it used to be we had cable, we had just

217
00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:12.039
a few channels. Then the democratization of media came with

218
00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:14.399
the Internet and everything got split up in a giant

219
00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:17.559
in tiny pieces, and now you see everything rebundling back up.

220
00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:20.759
And I think the core of that, or a piece

221
00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:24.200
of that, is because people don't like to have too

222
00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.840
many choices ultimately, right. We always talked about the three

223
00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:31.240
menu options, you know, give give someone three options, right,

224
00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:36.120
And I think that that's that's just natural in any

225
00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:39.720
market where you see the bundling. And then rebundling, and

226
00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:42.919
I think that's what's essentially is what is happening in

227
00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:45.639
the theme park space in the US at least, is

228
00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:51.000
this consolidation. And it just makes sense because you effectively

229
00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:55.279
you have to become big enough to compete. And I

230
00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:59.120
think in some ways the Six Flags thing might be

231
00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:01.600
driving this need because you just have to be big

232
00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:04.879
enough to compete. So I think I agree that it

233
00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:07.559
may not be you know, their their number one decision

234
00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:12.279
deciding factor. It might be like a confluence of elements

235
00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:15.519
together where it's like it might become big enough to compete.

236
00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:18.519
And also, right now, with the current situation in the

237
00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:22.240
DJ and all that nonsense, we know that any mergers

238
00:13:22.279 --> 00:13:25.639
and acquisitions are not going to be stopped or really scrutinized.

239
00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:29.000
So it's a good opportunity timing wise with the government situation.

240
00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.320
And then also it's kind of where the trend is

241
00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:36.360
going right, like Disney's taking off, Universal is taking off

242
00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:40.480
with Epic, and then six Flags is like, uh, you know,

243
00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:44.240
also just in terms of sure property size, you know,

244
00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:47.600
their reach is just enormous, and so you know, then

245
00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:51.240
when you got United Parks, so they're like no, You're like,

246
00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:53.440
we got to be like get you know, you got

247
00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:56.039
to get in there to compete because you know, just

248
00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:58.840
like when we looked at the streaming wars, right, you know,

249
00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:01.000
people are going to choose three to four options. I

250
00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:05.000
think the same. You can take that concept and extrapolate

251
00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:06.399
it out to the theme park saying, and you're going

252
00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:09.120
to say you're going to choose like three or four options.

253
00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:12.279
I think being past number four would be a bad

254
00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:12.919
position to be in.

255
00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:14.639
See, I would agree with you. I would agree with

256
00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:20.159
you if it became Hershin's Dutch Wonderland or Hershindland, Dutch

257
00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:23.600
Wonderland or Dutch Wonderland. They Hershend Park, they don't. They

258
00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:24.840
don't present themselves that way.

259
00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:28.519
We'll see. And actually that's where I think that I

260
00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:30.919
actually think it's fascinating to look at the different approaches

261
00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:34.120
between six Flags and Hershend and I would say a

262
00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:36.600
lot of our complaints that we had with six Flags

263
00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:40.960
as approach to the merger, actually Hershend is almost like

264
00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:45.399
doing you know, kind of navigating around those things better

265
00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:48.320
where they're communicating upfront. They're not going to panic people

266
00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:50.759
by changing it. They're playing more regionality whatnot. But what

267
00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:52.879
I would say is a lot of the things that

268
00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:55.399
six Flags claims are going to be able to do,

269
00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:59.120
like control costs, consolidate departments, and Soliday brand. I actually

270
00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:02.279
think hershe Is have a better chance of doing those things.

271
00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:04.840
So I think while you might not, while they may

272
00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:07.919
not be banking on like the name of Hershan being

273
00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:09.919
at the parks, I do think they're going to actually

274
00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:13.360
benefit from some of the cost saving consolidation measures that

275
00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:16.440
six Flags claimed, but we have not really right. Six

276
00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:18.720
Hogs is not fully right. But that's not what I'm

277
00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:19.200
talking about.

278
00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:22.159
What I'm talking about is your three menu choice, your

279
00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:26.240
three choice menu, because going to be Hershen is not

280
00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:29.120
going to be on the menu. Dollywood is maybe on

281
00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:31.480
the menu, and Dutch Wonder Lady will.

282
00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:35.519
Maybe they will for the locals. I think maybe that's

283
00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:37.639
maybe that's the play is, like the people in those

284
00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:39.279
regions will go, they'll travel.

285
00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:41.039
For me if it's not competing with a Universal or

286
00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:44.120
a Disney Park, well, I would disagree with that.

287
00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:47.960
I do think that a lot of I don't have

288
00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:50.000
the numbers for this. That would be an interesting thing

289
00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:52.279
for me to look up at some you know, a

290
00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.840
future venture. But I think the play might be if

291
00:15:55.840 --> 00:16:00.919
you have somebody in Pennsylvania right now, they're that person's

292
00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:04.679
top three, like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia. Theirs will be like, uh,

293
00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:07.200
you know, go down to Universal for Halloween Hornines, or

294
00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:09.080
go down for you know, whatever thing Universe is doing

295
00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:12.600
because it's so close, or go to Disney. So there's

296
00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:15.080
those theme park fans are still going to travel because

297
00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:18.679
it's so close Orlando, right, but then Philly.

298
00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:23.480
No, no, no, they're not good. That's not close. It's

299
00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:25.320
close compared to you. You're used to traveling all over

300
00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:28.159
the world. Most human beings who don't make the theme

301
00:16:28.200 --> 00:16:32.159
park industry their job, their business. That's a big investment

302
00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:35.320
and they'll do it once every five years. You know,

303
00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:42.519
I think that it's a two hour flight. It's from Philly. Yes, okay,

304
00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:44.639
I've flown to Philly. It's at least two and a half,

305
00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:48.639
at least two and a half, usually three. But it's

306
00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:51.080
a it. And then you add in the hotel costs,

307
00:16:51.159 --> 00:16:52.960
and you add in the and it's a four hour

308
00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:56.320
flight to California. So why aren't we competing with Disneyland.

309
00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:59.360
My point, my point being is they're not going to

310
00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:01.919
say I'm going to put I'm going to put Kenny

311
00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:05.559
Wood up against U, up against Walt Disney World, They're

312
00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:07.680
not gonna do it. Well. Day World is in a

313
00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:11.960
different class completely, So it's not even competing. If they

314
00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:14.640
were putting, if they were looking at I'm going to

315
00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:17.519
a Hershiant park or a six Flags park, or a

316
00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:20.759
Disney or Universal park, there's your there's your your three menu.

317
00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:24.240
I think Disney and Universal are in a class unto themselves.

318
00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:27.039
They are a destination location. I think what's going to

319
00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:29.920
benefit them here is when now they're going to look

320
00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:33.640
at I'm going to go to either I'm going to

321
00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:39.880
go to either Dollywood or Kenny Wood or Silver Dollar

322
00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.359
City or Kentucky Kingdom. Those are all on the Eastern seaboard.

323
00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:46.599
Those are significantly closer. Yeah, And and what's happening is

324
00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:50.279
by keeping the park's individual and unique from a guest standpoint,

325
00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:53.559
they're actually seeing that, well, I've got this choice, this

326
00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:55.720
choice or this choice. But the nice thing is the

327
00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:59.599
money all goes into Hershian's pocket. Now, yeah, well, I

328
00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:02.240
kind of feel like I don't think Hershian really cares

329
00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:04.839
whether they're number three nationally. I think they want they're

330
00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:07.519
more interested in looking at diversification to portfolio. That would

331
00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:09.359
be my that would be my guess.

332
00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:13.319
Right, I feel like we're almost saying the same thing.

333
00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:16.279
I think I probably just need to clarify, Like, I

334
00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:18.559
think we both agree that Disney Universal are in the

335
00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:21.000
class of their own, and in that way, they're almost

336
00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.839
not in this calculation, because if you're gonna go to

337
00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:26.640
Disney Universal, you're gonna go like you're not gonna you know,

338
00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:28.960
you're gonna you're gonna make the investment and travel to

339
00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:30.599
do those things. And so I think that's what I

340
00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:33.160
meant by that is I meant like the people in

341
00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:35.359
those areas, if they're gonna plan a vacation, they're gonna

342
00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:37.039
do it regardless where they're gonna leave and go to

343
00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:40.160
a park. But then outside of those you know once

344
00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:43.359
a five every five year you know sprints down to

345
00:18:43.400 --> 00:18:45.839
those big theme parks. Then they're gonna be choosing among

346
00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:48.920
their local things to do. And Hershan's play then is

347
00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:52.359
to make sure that they're always in the consideration for

348
00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:53.480
what to do locally.

349
00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:55.839
That they've got something that they've got something locally to

350
00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:58.039
compete with. But that's not that's not what you were

351
00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:00.680
talking about with your with your your three menu option.

352
00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:03.720
You know, a three menu option. Then is am I

353
00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:05.400
going to a six Flags park? Am I going to

354
00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:07.200
a Hersion park? Or am I going to a Merlin park?

355
00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:09.279
I mean, that's really what you're talking about. If you

356
00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:11.920
take Universal and Disney out of the equation. Well, I

357
00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:12.880
think sure.

358
00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:16.400
I still think though that you do have families that

359
00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:18.839
plan out a once a year or once every five

360
00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:22.680
year vacation thing, and in that regard, they're probably choosing.

361
00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:24.759
But I think to your point, if they were going

362
00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.240
to do that, they would choose between the Orlando, California

363
00:19:27.319 --> 00:19:27.799
or Vegas.

364
00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:29.680
I think the consumers of the park, the way the

365
00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:32.319
parks are consumed by people who aren't local, are different.

366
00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:36.039
Yeah. Yeah, So if you put these into buckets, then

367
00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:37.759
basically you know what you're saying.

368
00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:39.720
My point is, I just don't think Hershin gives a

369
00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:42.880
rats behind right now as to whether they're they're number

370
00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:45.799
two or number three. They are at the moment, and

371
00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:47.799
they and you know they're not gonna they're not going

372
00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:50.559
to fight it if they get there. But I think

373
00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:53.200
at the moment, they're just looking for diversification. They're looking

374
00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:55.880
for diversity of profile and or portfolio and I think

375
00:19:55.880 --> 00:19:57.799
they're I think they're getting it with this purchase. I

376
00:19:57.839 --> 00:19:58.640
think it's a wise move.

377
00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:01.039
Yeah, and I do I want to. I think the

378
00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:03.559
point to my numbers earlier was to kind of emphasize

379
00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:07.039
that it's still on a on a numbers basis, not

380
00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:11.039
as big, not nearly as big as six Flags, because

381
00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:13.480
that was eight billion, and then you know, we're looking

382
00:20:13.559 --> 00:20:18.319
at maybe upwards of one billion for the acquisition and

383
00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:22.240
at its peak probably upwards of one billion, like max

384
00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:26.759
one billion of a total operating revenue for Hersheen before this.

385
00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:30.559
I also think that is potentially one of the red flags,

386
00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:32.920
although we just won't know because it's private. Is like,

387
00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:36.359
essentially you're doubling the size, is I think what we're

388
00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:40.000
looking at, well on not doubling size, but you're like,

389
00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:43.359
if you're taking on an equal amount of debt, right,

390
00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:45.480
if you're taking on like a up to a billion

391
00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:47.319
in debt and you only bring in whatnot, I mean

392
00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:51.400
that is that's a big move. So who knows how

393
00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.799
that'll work out from a financial perspective. But but I

394
00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:58.079
do agree though that it's shocking to me how how

395
00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:01.119
good the quality is. And I think that in this statement,

396
00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:03.640
you can see that they're going to attempt to maintain

397
00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:07.920
that quality at these acquisitions because to your point, I mean,

398
00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:11.960
if people would ask me in twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen,

399
00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:14.920
I would have said Disney had the best service, But

400
00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:20.119
now I would say it's HERSHEANDT because their staff. How

401
00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:22.119
you know that the programs they have for their staff,

402
00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:25.720
their commitment to live entertainment, their coritment of training. I mean,

403
00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:30.720
they like recruit heavily from entertainment schools and like getting

404
00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:33.200
a job at these parks and live entertainment is like

405
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:35.359
something people aspire to do in the same way that

406
00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:39.119
US fire or go to Broadway like it's it's and

407
00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.640
it's crazy. And I think if they expand that ethos,

408
00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.200
they're going to be highly competitive in those markets.

409
00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:48.559
As as far as yes, as far as customer service,

410
00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:52.200
as far as training and retention. I mean, they've they've

411
00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:55.359
won awards. Hersheant has run one awards year after year

412
00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:59.039
after year, YEP for their training programs, for their for

413
00:21:59.079 --> 00:22:02.680
the recruitment program, for their for their retention programs. They

414
00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:05.680
are they are the they are the park, the park

415
00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:09.319
with heart and they and they have always well not always,

416
00:22:09.319 --> 00:22:12.440
but as long as I've been involved, they've been they've

417
00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:15.720
had that reputation, you know. So so you're right, that's why,

418
00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:18.559
you know, live entertainers love to work there because they

419
00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:23.480
feel respected. But also, you know, if you look at it,

420
00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:26.480
things like you know, the parks like Dollywood and Silver

421
00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:32.119
Dollar City, they're in areas that don't have a ton

422
00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:35.640
of opportunities for people who don't have a lot of

423
00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:40.880
high end training to actually work and become part of

424
00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:44.440
a larger company. And they have fostered that and and

425
00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:46.960
there's a lot of there's a lot of internal growth

426
00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:50.000
in those companies. And and that's a Hershan thing, that's

427
00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:52.519
that's their trademark. So the fact that that's being that's

428
00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:54.759
the first thing they plan on prioritizing when they roll

429
00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:57.599
out into the other parks, as opposed to painting with

430
00:22:57.640 --> 00:22:59.160
such a broad brush. It's like, now we're going to

431
00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:02.000
make them all six Flags sparks or all hirscheand parks.

432
00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:05.400
That's I guess that's my point. They're trying to play up.

433
00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:07.720
They're trying to play up the diversity of their of

434
00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:12.200
their portfolio, but the unification of their quality and the

435
00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:14.799
quality of experience, which I think is a smart move.

436
00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:19.160
Yeah. It also we hinted at this earlier. But this

437
00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:23.759
also means a lot, I think more for Europe that

438
00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:25.640
people are not talking about this at all. But but

439
00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:27.519
like we said at the beginning, I mean, this is

440
00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:30.279
freeing up that this is giving a lot of capital

441
00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:34.400
to a place that already has properties in Europe. And

442
00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:36.759
again at the same time, when I would talk about

443
00:23:36.759 --> 00:23:39.480
our number three right, so you got like universally UK

444
00:23:39.799 --> 00:23:41.680
Puyta food is also coming in and you have all

445
00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:44.480
the Merlin stuff. I think the Merlin answer was let's

446
00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:46.960
cut staff, right, let's try and the.

447
00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:50.240
Merlin answer was let's save our way into profit. And

448
00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:56.000
the parks Renidos was is is much more the let

449
00:23:56.079 --> 00:24:01.640
us let us free up some some some spending money.

450
00:24:01.880 --> 00:24:04.200
Let's let's get some cash flow going here so that

451
00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:08.279
we can invest. Yeah, we'll see which one works. I

452
00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:10.039
know where I will I know where I'd put my bet,

453
00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:11.400
but we'll see which one works.

454
00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:15.079
Yeah. It is fascinating just to again look at the

455
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:19.039
complete different approaches. You know, we here we have six

456
00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:22.519
flags versussertion approach almost entirely different. I mean, even down

457
00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:25.640
to the merger quote unquote merger versus an acquisition and

458
00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:28.920
then like you said, rolling out like nationwide branding, even

459
00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:31.319
the nationwide pass right you can go to all that.

460
00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:33.640
I mean, just really trying to become like you know,

461
00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:36.200
you could go to your local six flags in the

462
00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:38.079
way you go to your local publics or wal Mart

463
00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:41.519
or you know whatever. And then they're like versus a

464
00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:44.400
hirshand regional approach or keeping everything the same. And then

465
00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:47.920
I think similarly in Europe with this, you know again

466
00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:54.079
divest to invest versus just fire to save.

467
00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:56.960
Yeah, yeah, again, it's very difficult to save your way

468
00:24:56.960 --> 00:24:59.119
into profit. I'm not saying that you should, you should

469
00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:03.920
not look at ways to reduce but any time I

470
00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:06.400
have worked for a company and this is you know,

471
00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:08.359
and I'm sure Philip you'll have some data on this

472
00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:11.440
or can find it, but anytime I've worked for a company, anecdotally,

473
00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:14.440
when they tried to save their way into profit, it

474
00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:17.240
ended up undermining them. It ended up taking away the

475
00:25:17.319 --> 00:25:21.839
quality that they had become known for, and in essence,

476
00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:25.640
pruning the tree, pruning the tree till it dies, you know,

477
00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:28.640
as opposed to well we're gonna we're gonna lower our

478
00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:31.640
expenditure so that we look really good on paper. Usually

479
00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:34.640
when when companies do that, the first thing they're trying

480
00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:38.079
to do is sell so that they look they look

481
00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:40.640
very profitable on paper, but they're not really looking at

482
00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:42.480
the quality or the experience of the guests are getting.

483
00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:46.599
So and I'm not suggesting that with Merlin at all,

484
00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:51.599
but it's one of those. It just any anybody who

485
00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:54.359
knows finance, and people who know finance significantly better than

486
00:25:54.359 --> 00:25:57.119
I do, who are much smarter about it than I am,

487
00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:01.920
will say, if you want to increase your profit you

488
00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:04.400
have to you have to find a balance. You can't

489
00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:10.160
save your way into profitability. So we'll see, we'll see

490
00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:11.359
how that works out.

491
00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:14.279
I wonder if Southwest is listening. Hmm.

492
00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:15.680
Don't get me started on that one.

493
00:26:16.440 --> 00:26:17.920
Okay, Well, that's not part of the show.

494
00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:20.440
I know I was about to. I was about to

495
00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:22.680
dive in on another airline too, because you know I

496
00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:30.160
found one that huh. Anyway, Meanwhile, meanwhile, yeah, so should

497
00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:32.440
we get into that, We'll get into that unhinged.

498
00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:33.920
Yeah, we'll get that. Should we talk a little bit

499
00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:35.480
about velvet ropes? You want to talk about how we Yeah,

500
00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:38.519
let's talk about vet ropes. Okay, Yeah, so velvet ropes.

501
00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:43.240
So also this week we got news out from Disney

502
00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:46.640
about two new kind of velvet rope lounge experiences they're

503
00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:49.880
opening up. The first is Spaceship Earth Lounge, which is

504
00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:54.160
the first Disney adults only space within a Disney theme park.

505
00:26:55.079 --> 00:26:58.160
The Spaceship Earth Lounge, called G eighty two, will open

506
00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:04.079
in twenty twenty five at epop Epcotpcott, possibly marking possibly

507
00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:07.119
marking the first adults only space in at Disney theme park.

508
00:27:07.400 --> 00:27:09.279
Guests must be at least twenty one years or older

509
00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:11.799
to enter, which will offer a relaxed heating and elevated

510
00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:14.759
views of Epcot from the indoor area that just located

511
00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:19.720
just behind Spaceship Earth. So the eighty two in the

512
00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:22.200
name signified as nineteen eighty two, the year Ipcot opened,

513
00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:25.519
and the lounge will be opened sometime later. Reservations are

514
00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:28.039
going to be required, but any guest eligible can bank

515
00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:32.000
those reservations. So essentially, I guess it's just like a

516
00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:36.759
new lounge kind of dining ish lounge experience that requires

517
00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:42.240
reservations versus but it'll be open to anybody as long

518
00:27:42.279 --> 00:27:45.839
as they're in Epcot, right versus the DVC lounges, of

519
00:27:45.880 --> 00:27:50.039
which they just open their third Disney at rit large

520
00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:52.240
as open their third, and the DVC lounges you have

521
00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:55.559
to be a DVC member. So the third one that

522
00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:59.920
just opened is called mckim's Milehouse. It's in the Magic Kingdom.

523
00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:04.400
It just opened this past week and it's exclusively for

524
00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:08.960
DVC members, where you can charge your device, you have

525
00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:13.440
access to Coca cocola, freestyle machines, cure eggs, armchairs. It's

526
00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:15.880
open from eleven am to six pm daily. You can

527
00:28:15.880 --> 00:28:20.079
see roughly forty guests. And it was opened in frontier

528
00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:24.400
Land there, so that is the third.

529
00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:26.400
One, just to give you know frontier Land it's the

530
00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:28.480
Old Shooting Galery, so that'll tell you kind of yeah it.

531
00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:30.519
Is yep, it's the old Shooting gallery. And it is

532
00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:34.160
a third one. They had one open at Disneyland in

533
00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:36.920
twenty twenty three in April, and then they had one

534
00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:41.799
in Epcot a DVC lounge in twenty sixteen. So now

535
00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:45.400
we got multiple lounges that are velvet ropes in different ways,

536
00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:49.079
one for age gating and one for member gating effectively.

537
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.599
And the thing I love about this is there you know,

538
00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:52.039
it's something that we talk about all the time on

539
00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:55.119
the show is let's use your assets to the best

540
00:28:55.160 --> 00:28:58.799
of their ability. None of these are building new buildings.

541
00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:04.319
These are these are all reallocating how spaces are being used. Yes,

542
00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:07.640
there is there is cost involved, there is construction involved

543
00:29:07.640 --> 00:29:11.319
in making them into these kinds of lounges. But you know,

544
00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:18.319
obviously with the with the the Epcot Adult space, it's

545
00:29:18.359 --> 00:29:21.279
it's kind of the the most the most high end

546
00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:24.880
playdate bar I've ever seen in my life. And it

547
00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:28.160
makes total sense. It makes total sense in Epcot because

548
00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:31.960
you can First of all, Epcot generally has a slightly

549
00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:35.559
older demographic, so putting it putting in adults only in

550
00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:37.880
Epcot makes makes perfect.

551
00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:38.559
Makes a lot of sense. Yeah.

552
00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:42.480
Yeah. And secondly, with families, you know now that now

553
00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:44.920
that they are skewing, they're trying to skew a little

554
00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:47.759
bit younger. But with families, you can you can say,

555
00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:49.799
you know, well, we'll meet you all. We'll set up

556
00:29:49.799 --> 00:29:51.319
a meeting time and a meeting place, which is what

557
00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:53.079
you should do when you travel with your family in

558
00:29:53.119 --> 00:29:56.000
any theme park. And uh, just in case everybody gets

559
00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.880
lost or everybody goes off doing their own thing and uh,

560
00:29:59.240 --> 00:30:02.079
and mom and dad or grandma and grandpa, or aunt

561
00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:05.119
and uncle can make a reservation here, go chill out

562
00:30:05.240 --> 00:30:07.079
and then meet up with the family leader and everybody

563
00:30:07.079 --> 00:30:10.359
has a great time. Like I said, all of these

564
00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:14.799
locations are existing spaces. The Disney Vacation Club lounge, I

565
00:30:14.839 --> 00:30:18.039
think those are I think those are just wonderful little

566
00:30:18.039 --> 00:30:21.720
perks that have a great deal of perceived value and

567
00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:25.640
don't cost a lot to actually implement, which I think

568
00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:28.680
is really smart. And I'm not even certain with a

569
00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:32.680
capacity of forty guests how how much people are going

570
00:30:32.759 --> 00:30:34.680
to even be able to use them, But just knowing

571
00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:37.240
that they're there is just another perk for Disney Vacation Club,

572
00:30:37.240 --> 00:30:39.599
which is a great way to bring in a bunch

573
00:30:39.640 --> 00:30:42.880
of money to the Disney parks, because for those of

574
00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:45.200
you who who haven't really looked into the Vacation Club,

575
00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:50.799
they pretty much have locations in nearly every resort in

576
00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:54.039
Walt Disney World. Certainly everyone built after a certain time

577
00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:56.359
period where they started going, oh yeah, we can we

578
00:30:56.400 --> 00:30:57.880
can make money off of this. We can we can

579
00:30:57.920 --> 00:31:02.039
do time shares in our in our massive hotel. So again,

580
00:31:02.279 --> 00:31:06.200
creating those velvet ropes, cross utilizing assets. It all makes

581
00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:09.359
a ton of sense and it seems too uh well

582
00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:12.160
obviously with the Disney Vacation Club. Seems to be going

583
00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:15.759
well for them because they've done they're opening their third

584
00:31:16.079 --> 00:31:19.519
So just another way to dangle that velvet rope in

585
00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:22.839
front of somebody. Well, speaking of dangling a velvet rope,

586
00:31:22.839 --> 00:31:24.079
we hope that all of you will cross over the

587
00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:26.640
velvet rope and join us for Unhinged. But this is

588
00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:29.640
the end of this week's Green Tag theme Park in

589
00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:32.519
thirty on behalf of Philipernandez and myself Scott Swinson. We

590
00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:34.200
hope you've enjoyed this week and we will see you

591
00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:34.680
next week.
Scott Swenson, ICAE Profile Photo
Scott Swenson, ICAE

For over 30 years, Scott Swenson has been bringing stories to life as a writer, director, producer, and performer. His work in theme parks, consumer events, live theatre, and television has given him a broad spectrum of experiences. In 2014, after 21 years with SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, Scott formed Scott Swenson Creative Development. Since then he has been providing impactful experiences for clients around the world. Whether he is installing shows on cruise ships or creating seasonal festivals for theme parks, writing educational presentations for zoos and museums or training the next generation of attractions professionals, Scott is always finding new ways to tell stories that engage, educate and entertain.

Philip Hernandez, ICAE Profile Photo
Philip Hernandez, ICAE

CEO of Gantom, Publisher of Haunted Attraction Network

Philip is a journalist reporting on the Haunted House Industry, Horror events, Theme Parks, and Halloween. He is also the CEO of Gantom Lighting and Founder / Publisher of the Haunted Attraction Network, the haunted attraction industry's most prominent news media source. He is based in Los Angeles.