Universal Considers New Middle East Theme Park

WEBVTT

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Okay, from our studios in Los Angeles and Tampa. This

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is Green Tag Theme Park and thirty. I'm Philip and

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I'm joined as always by my delightful co host Scott

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Swinson of Scott Swinson greatd Development. On Green Tag, we

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look at the week's top news and explain why it

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matters to theme park professionals. This week, we're going to

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be talking about the news that just dropped about the

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potentially the new Universal park in the Middle East, and

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then we're going to get two listener questions as this

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is the last episode of the year and just in time,

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I finally have my Christmas decorations up.

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So, yeah, you put your Christmas decorations up? What the

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day before Christmas?

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Well, I mean that's when you're supposed to do it, right.

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What are you living in the Edwardian era?

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What is this? You turned the tree together? It's an activity?

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So did you trim the tree with everybody who you

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celebrated with?

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Of course? And I have my weird theme park ornaments. Yeah. Well,

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we wanted to thank everyone who commented in last week's

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episode as well, especially the common that add context to

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what I left out, because usually it's me leaving stuff out.

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So I think that's really important to get those details

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in there whenever we miss anything, and I love reading

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through them and seeing more details and information that I

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didn't know about some items. So I think it's excellent

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and we hope that you all will continue to do

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that and correct me when I get information wrong or

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leave stuff out not necessarily wrong.

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Well, And I think it's important to recognize too that

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because Philip and I were just having this discussion before

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we started the show today, that we are doing this

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show so that it prompts conversation, and if we continue

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to build this online community where you guys can chat

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with each other and share your knowledge, your expertise, your experience,

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where we just have kind of tipped the first domino,

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and you guys can continue to fall and make it

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a greater, more impactful experience. That makes us feel really

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good because that's kind of the purpose, that's kind of

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the point of the show. You know, we're not here

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to give you in thirty minutes, every single minute detail

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about every single thing that's happening in the industry. That

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that's a really, first of all, a really dull show.

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And secondly, we couldn't maintain that, and by way, I

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mean Philip because he does all the research. So it's

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it's one of those situations where we really I just

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want to echo what Philip was saying. We really appreciate

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the fact that you're building a community. You're building an

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online community that we just kind of helped steer and

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point in the right direction. So yeah, I love hearing

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all the He's even got me starting to read him

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and I never read stuff online. I'm able, but I

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believe it. But it's really it's really fun because you

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guys are taking and sharing your expertise, your knowledge, your

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experience on the topics that we've sort of put the

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framework out there for. So we'll continue to try to

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give you these canvases and you just continue to paint

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like crazy because it makes us all better. It makes

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it a much richer experience for all of us, and

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it builds that online community where we can actually help

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one another.

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Yep. Well, I think the perfect way to kind of

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end this year, aside from listener questions, of course, because

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that's a great way to get some feedback, but it's

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also news about a new theme park are potentially news,

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and this was a pretty massive story that actually the

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Wall Street Journal broke exclusively, and it seems like they

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have some sources that they were able to corroborate this with.

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So I'll read here from the article which is which

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is from the Wall Street Journal. It says the Water

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Journal reported that Universal Destinations and Experiences had become early

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planning for a theme park in Saudi Arabia with potential

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funding from a government backed entity through a licensing deal.

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Six Flags Kidia will open, of course on December thirty first,

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and the Dragon ball Z Park and water park under

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construction in the city. Of course, this comes after Disney

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has announced a similar deal to build a new theme

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park in Abu Dhabi. And of course Universal just opened

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the Epic Universe this year and twenty twenty six they're

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going to be opening Universal Kids Resort, and they have

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announced the first theme park in the UK, the Universal's

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first theme park in the UK. So here I'm quoting

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directly from the article. Here it said that Disney said

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It's Abu Dhabi theme park would be a creative to

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earnings from the day it opens, unlike parts it's built

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itself that typically take a well turn of profit. Universal

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previously tried to make a move into the Middle East

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in two thousand and eight when it broke round with

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a partner on Universal Studios Dubailan, but little more than

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a grand entrance art just built before financing fell apart

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to the global financial crisis, the project was eventually canceled.

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So the author isn't drawing the direct line in there

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between the two. But I think what they're trying to

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say is that if it's a licensing deal, which is

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what they're saying it is, then it would operate in

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the same way that the Disney plan is, which we

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talked about that extensively when that news was announced, And

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it seems like when we talk about then, is that

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it's win win because if they're just licensing it, they

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don't have to put their own money into it, and

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they still get the presence in the area. And as

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we have talked about a lot on the show and

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has been backed by a lot of the research from

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the Global Index support that the TEA puts out that

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the Middle East is really the place where a lot

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of the new construction is happening and a lot of

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the funding is in the industry is going on right now.

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It's like you know we said previously too, if you

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want a job, that's a place to go because there's

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so much that's going on there. So to me, I'm

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not my little well always have conpiracy theories about this,

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but I kind of think that this is one where

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I'm not sure if it wasn't leaked on purpose, because

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to me, I think the thing that I was thinking

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as soon as Disney announced, we have all these dominoes

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creating this competitive atmosphere there, and to me, the biggest

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thing that was missing was Universal and it was almost

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becoming a liability in my mind, like what is Universal

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doing about the Middle East? Because they have they don't

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have a big, a big presence there that's like this

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like a park, you know, and they just opened Epic

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and like all this stuff. So I almost would say

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this could have been planned as a way to drum

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up because the whole story is literally just that there's

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talks about this thing happening, and if it happened, it

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would be a licensing thing. So there's not really anything,

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but I think it's just enough to keep it out

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there where it's like Universal isn't rolling over in this market,

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Like Universal is trying to make this market work, and

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if they did it in the same way as dining

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with the licensing, it would be the shareholders would be

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very happy because it's not going to take any money.

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It's just going to be a licenseing. So they'll just

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make money again from day one, they'll have money and

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they'll have access to that audience. So are there any downsides?

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I don't know. I mean, got a lot to go back.

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This is the kind of thing. This is the kind

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of thing that it's a perfect example of when the

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government says, especially a government that is so centralized and

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has such very deep pockets, when they decide, here's what

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we're going to do by twenty thirty, you know, because

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that's the project. Twenty thirty is the Saudi the Saudi

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deadline basically, or for creating their huge they're they're huge

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guest engagement, they're huge for a into attractions, they're huge

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for a into becoming the destination point in that part

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of the world. And so when they have the opportunity

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to have discussions with Universal, of course they're going to

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have them and they're gonna they're going to do it

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the same way. All of the UAE, all of Yas Island,

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and Abu Dhabi was done. You know, everybody thinks it's

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the Sea World park is SeaWorld. We've talked about it

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many many times. It's not its own by morale, it's

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licensed through SeaWorld. It is sort of sort of a

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joint venture, I would say. But the same is true

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with Ferrari World. The same is true with Warner Brothers World,

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and the same will be true with Disney in Saudi.

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The same is true with Six Flags, The same is

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true with Aquarabia, the same is true with Dragon Ball

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Z and I'm guessing the same. I mean, obviously the

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same will be true here with with Universal. So it

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is a it is a very different way of doing things,

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although Disney's been doing it for years. Quite honestly, you know,

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there are Disney parks around the world that are not

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truly Disney parks. They're run to Disney standards, but in

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essence they are a franchise or a lease deal. I'm oversimplifying,

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I realize, But so, yeah, this does not This does

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not surprise me in the least. What surprises me is

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honestly that it's taken this long for this information to

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come out, you know, after because Philip and I had

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the opportunity to walk the Six Flags Park when it

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was under construction in Kadea last year, last year, earlier

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this year at some point in time, and this year

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March right or February. February sounds good to me, but

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unfortunately we weren't able to take any photos or take

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any any video because obviously it was still a working

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construction site. And you know the fact that it is

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scheduled to open this week, the week that this will air,

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that's that's huge. And the main reason I say that's

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huge is having looked at it earlier this year, both

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Philip and I thought this is going to open when?

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And and now it's ready to go. And you know,

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if you want to see what it's all about, go

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ahead and check out the There's there's video everywhere of

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the new coaster. There's video everywhere. I mean, it's like

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five world record holder coasters. There's and and what's interesting

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is you know it's all happening at night because they

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won't open until at least four pm is what they

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told us. So it's a different way of looking at

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theme park. And I think that's the that's the true

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takeaway as theme parks expand into the Middle East, It's

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not going to be the same way we think of

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theme parks here because the culture is different. And you know,

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I'm not saying it's better or worse, it's just different.

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And so there's.

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Going to be the parks are going to have much

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more of a focus on how do they look when

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they're lit at night because that's when the most that's

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when the most g are going to see how the

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parks operate is in darkness. So lighting will become significantly

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more important as far as a business business move I

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think this makes just total sense. I think that Disney.

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I think Disney being in Abu Dhabi is another reason

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that Universal was sparked to either leak or announce the

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possibility of a park in Saudi because they didn't want

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to show that they hadn't stepped up to the party.

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As Philip was saying, you know, this is a they

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need to make sure that they're part of the game,

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and this announcement shows that, you know, they're not completely

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oblivious to the fact that this is where the attractions

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industry is exploding at the moment.

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YEP. So it's interesting when you talk about the how

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it's going to be different there. I didn't really think

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about that, but it's totally it's very true. I mean,

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you think about Tokyo Disneyland, right being one of the

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most famous I think examples of a licensing deal, but

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where they built it to a higher standard even I

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think than than I think that that's gonna because you know,

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it's going to be just a different theme park experience

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to be there in the Middle East, not just because

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of the culture, but like they will make it different

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because when we've said this, I mean the the Six

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Slaves Kidia is the best Six Slags park, and the

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same is true with the Sea World. I think it's

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like there, it's just that weird thing, you know where

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the US, you know, we start the theme parks that

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we don't we didn't know we didn't start theme parks,

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but you know, we our theme parks were built a

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while ago, is a way to put it, and so

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some of the infrastructure is you know, like it depends

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right on. Like Disney is pretty good at upkeep and

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reimagining things, but that's not true with everybody. So you know,

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we but our our theme parks been around for longer, right,

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and then you have these places which are building everything

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right now, and so it's kind of like building their

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first theme parks now when the theme park like industry

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has already evolved to a specific point. So their baseline

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is going to be a lot different than our baseline here.

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And I think that that's that's something I think people

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don't really think about because you know, I mean that

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it's just it's just gonna be a whole different experience

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because you know, imagine if well it's yeah, I guess

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it's it. It's just like when Orlando and everything is

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built roughly around the same time. Hm, you know, I

244
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imagine that. And remember Magic came to only opened with

245
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a few I mean it was it wasn't what it was.

246
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I mean that's where well.

247
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Disney World opened only with Magic Kingdom and two hotels. Yep,

248
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when they opened, there were two hotels and the Magic

249
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Kingdom and that was it.

250
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So and I think by those standards, they're doing better.

251
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Well imagine, yeah, imagine, you know, our base the baseline

252
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was that was what seventy mid seventies when what Disney

253
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World opened, So just that was the baseline. Then they've

254
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they've learned from you know, all those years of experience

255
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and have been watching carefully and studying carefully and investing appropriately,

256
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putting money where they need to, and they don't. They're

257
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not putting themselves in a position where the parks, uh

258
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I excuse me, where the parks have to turn a

259
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profit instantly. Even though the article says that the Disney

260
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park will be set up to do that, which I

261
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think they're.

262
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Right for Disney, it will because Disney, Yeah, a licensing deal.

263
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Yeah, they're you know, they're well, Disney's making money off

264
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of it now that licensing deal has already started. They're

265
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making money. Disney is making money off of it now

266
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and the park's not even open yet. So but I

267
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think that the intent to build to play a longer

268
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game is something that is also unique. So they've got

269
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they've got two things working in their favorite. Number one,

270
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they have a baseline that is significantly higher based on

271
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the successes and failures that have happened in other places

272
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around the world, so they kind of know what they

273
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can and cannot do. I think Dubai was another great

274
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testing ground. I think that we learned from motion Gate.

275
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You know, you can't operate an outdoor park during the

276
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day yep. So what have they done in Abu Dhabi

277
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all of the parks are indoors or will only operate

278
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at night yep, or their water parks yep. Well, I

279
00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:25.200
don't think there's to me. I mean, I was trying

280
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to think about if there are any downsides. The only

281
00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:30.279
downside I could think about is that when Disney the announcement,

282
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they got a lot of blowback for the cultural you

283
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know elements which are in the in the article. That's

284
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whyll the Wall Street Journal article mentions that, and I

285
00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:42.360
just think, I know that this blowback is going to

286
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happen again. But to me, being in the industry and

287
00:14:46.679 --> 00:14:49.960
watching where this goes to me, I've decided, I mean

288
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it is I can even say for our business, for Gantum,

289
00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:56.879
for my business, it's you have to be in this market.

290
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You don't have a choice. And so I think it's

291
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a little bit different for the that are professionals in

292
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the industry, like you have to be in the market.

293
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I mean, I guess you know, you don't have to

294
00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:07.320
work if you're a contractor, you don't have to take

295
00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:10.960
jobs there. But if you're a manufacturer supplier like we are,

296
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you have to. You have to be in. You just

297
00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:16.799
you have to be there. And that's why Ayappa's going there,

298
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and that's why you see so much movement there because

299
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you just you have to you have to. I mean

300
00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:27.039
a lot of the attractions. People kind of flow where

301
00:15:27.240 --> 00:15:29.919
the building is. You know, they move there. So Asia

302
00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:32.000
had its had its moment right when Tokyo and then

303
00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:35.120
We're being built, and then you had Osaka Universal Beijing.

304
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I mean, you people, you kind of we move around,

305
00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:40.080
you know where where the work is, and this is

306
00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:42.279
where the work is, and so that's so you kind

307
00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:43.000
of you have to be there.

308
00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:45.519
So and and you know, I'm sure that there's somebody

309
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who is listening to this or watching us on on

310
00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:50.120
YouTube has already put in a comment. Yes, but it's

311
00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:52.120
a horrible place. They treat people horribly. I know, I

312
00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:55.440
know that comment's already there. And so I want you

313
00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:58.120
to think about it this way if you feel that

314
00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:00.320
that is still true. And you know, I'm only basing

315
00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:03.240
it on my experience in the two times I've been

316
00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:08.159
to Saudi. Two times. Two times i've been to Saudi,

317
00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:13.480
the culture, I did not find the culture nearly as

318
00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:15.840
oppressive or as terrifying as people want to make it

319
00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:17.759
out to be. I may be looking at it through

320
00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:20.080
rose colored glasses, and I may have been put in

321
00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:22.840
a position where I wasn't going to see any of

322
00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:29.960
that supposed trauma or negativity. But I also want you

323
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.600
to think that if they are trying to be a

324
00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:37.919
worldwide destination, then opening attractions like this could conceivably change

325
00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:43.080
the views of their country and change the ways the country,

326
00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:46.639
changes the culture of the country, because they need to

327
00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:49.320
make certain that everyone is feeling welcome. Now I can

328
00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:52.679
say without hesitation, because I was in you a longer

329
00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:58.480
in the UAE, they stand by it. They hold amorati

330
00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:00.519
to a very high standard. They hold people who are

331
00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:03.440
of Islamic faith to a very high standard. Those rules

332
00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:06.759
have not changed. However, they do have a much more

333
00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:12.519
live and let live response to those people who are

334
00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:16.559
not emmorati and who are not of the Islamic faith,

335
00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:20.200
which is why every hotel has a bar, which is

336
00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:24.599
against the against the law everywhere else. But they recognize

337
00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:27.240
not the whole world doesn't operate the same way we do,

338
00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:28.799
and if we want to encourage them to come and

339
00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:32.759
visit us, we need to make space. We need to

340
00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:35.759
make room for those people who have different views from ourselves.

341
00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:40.680
So it is possible that this announcement, this Universal announcement,

342
00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:44.079
and the Disney announcement, and every other announcement that has

343
00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:46.839
been made, you know, the Warner Brothers expansion that nobody

344
00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:50.240
remembers of Harry Potter World, which is under construction right now.

345
00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:53.359
I know, which is this is funny, It's gonna be gigantic.

346
00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:55.920
That was not mentioned in any of these articles. And

347
00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:59.279
I was like, yeah, they've kind of forgotten about it.

348
00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:02.160
They'll forget about it until it opens. But all of

349
00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:07.680
these things may actually, instead of forcing people to visit

350
00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:12.200
a quote unquote impressive country, it may actually cause the

351
00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:15.359
country to make space for people who view things differently.

352
00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:19.079
And it may actually adjust the culture as well, because again,

353
00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:23.519
these are business people. They're smart business people, and they

354
00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:29.960
want to make certain that these things work. So if

355
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.240
you don't want to go to the Middle East, don't

356
00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:33.319
go to the Middle East. I'm fine with that. If

357
00:18:33.319 --> 00:18:34.960
you don't want to go wherever you don't want to go,

358
00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:38.319
you do you. All I'm saying is, make sure you've

359
00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:40.880
done your research, make sure that you're not just believing

360
00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:43.920
the first thing you read. Talk to people who've lived there.

361
00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:47.240
I know several people to kind of tag onto what

362
00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:50.640
Philip was saying about. We go where the work is,

363
00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:53.640
we go where the construction is. I know many people

364
00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:57.079
from the US who still maintain their US citizenship who

365
00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:01.440
are living in either Dubai or bahbudah Be or ri

366
00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:05.480
Odd and they have they have chosen to live there

367
00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:09.680
permanently because they as one guy says, I can't live

368
00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:13.119
this well back in the United States. I am paid

369
00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:16.079
well for what I do. There's always work. He's a freelancer,

370
00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:18.160
there's always work for me. He lives in a high

371
00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:22.319
rise that looks out with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

372
00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:28.880
So you know, you just have to kind of look

373
00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:32.279
look at the people who've actually done it. Ask them,

374
00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:35.200
because if you're in this industry, I can promise you

375
00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:38.920
you will know people who have done work in the

376
00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:41.480
Middle East. So ask them if you have any questions,

377
00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:44.920
because I just think that this this is going to

378
00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:47.480
be a hub at least for the next I would

379
00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:54.200
say ten to fifteen years. Yeah I agree with that. Yeah, Okay, okay,

380
00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:55.680
we got we gota. We got to move on to

381
00:19:55.759 --> 00:20:00.279
listener questions. Okay, rely got we all like ten minutes left, Okay, okay,

382
00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:03.680
So these are listener questions we've collected from the episodes.

383
00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:07.759
There's only four of them. Well but well, you know,

384
00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:09.640
but that doesn't get very long for us. Okay. So

385
00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:12.599
the first one is actually from our patron from Dennis,

386
00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:14.960
who says, what do you think the impact will be

387
00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:18.960
to the European parks of the new Universal park in Europe?

388
00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:22.440
We talked about this on the episode when when the

389
00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:26.960
when we talked about the Universal UK coming out, Scott,

390
00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:27.559
what do you think?

391
00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:32.720
I think? I think that considering that we all have

392
00:20:33.400 --> 00:20:38.279
a new Universal Park, a Pueeta Foo Park, the exists,

393
00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:41.960
the current you know, Alton Towers did all of those,

394
00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:44.440
I think it's only going to be good for the industry.

395
00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:46.559
I think it's going to make it more of a

396
00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:50.799
destination for people who are theme park goers. I think that,

397
00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:53.640
you know, I think I told this story during the

398
00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:56.160
the episode where we announced this when I was working

399
00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:58.000
at Bush Gardens. I was working Atish Gardens when Animal

400
00:20:58.039 --> 00:21:00.799
Kingdom opened, and that's an hour and fifth teen minutes away.

401
00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:03.960
We were terrified that a park with animals and roller

402
00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:07.720
coasters was opening within a drive distance of US, and

403
00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:11.240
it was one of the best years to date. Things

404
00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:13.640
have changed since then, but todate it was one of

405
00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:16.759
the best attendance years Bush Gardens had because people were

406
00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:19.119
coming from around the world who had an interest in

407
00:21:19.160 --> 00:21:22.880
animals and roller coasters, and while they were here they decided, Oh, well,

408
00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:25.160
we'll come for Animal Kingdom, but hey, there's this Bush

409
00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:27.519
Gardens thing. This sounds cool too, let's go check that out.

410
00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:31.599
So it actually ended up drawing more tourism to the area,

411
00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:34.799
to the Central Florida area and was beneficial for us.

412
00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:40.200
So I I think at least in the short term,

413
00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:43.920
it's going to be really really strong. Now is it

414
00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:49.160
going to Is it going to cannibalize the existing parks?

415
00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:55.799
Not initially, I don't think, and it.

416
00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:56.519
Will, We'll have to that.

417
00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:58.680
I'm going to hold my I'm going to hold my

418
00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:02.799
final land for a while because I really don't know

419
00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:07.000
enough about how these are going to impact things like

420
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:12.400
basic travel and infrastructure for the cities, how difficult it's

421
00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:16.440
going to be to get to these places. But if

422
00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:20.000
it's based on previous experience, I think it's going to

423
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:23.079
be great for tourism in the area. And I don't

424
00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:25.759
think it's going to shut out the existing parks. In fact,

425
00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:27.200
I think it's going to help them at least in

426
00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:29.799
the short term. Yep, I agree with all that.

427
00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:31.599
I think we saw the same thing with Epic is

428
00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:34.039
what I would add to where you saw. You know,

429
00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:37.000
Disney saw a pretty big boost. Even Sea World Orlando

430
00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:39.319
saw a boost in numbers. So I think that in

431
00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:41.440
the short term it's going to lead to because again

432
00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:43.880
people instead of going somewhere else, people are going to

433
00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:47.119
stay there to go, and they'll come from around the

434
00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:50.240
area in a shorter trip to come to that, and

435
00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:51.839
while they're in the area, they can do other things.

436
00:22:52.119 --> 00:22:55.039
The question is going to be how quickly are they

437
00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:58.960
going to adjust to offer. They're not gonna be able

438
00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:01.680
to compete on the same metrics, so again it's how

439
00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:04.599
are you find that point of differentiation. So it's going

440
00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:06.680
to be up to how how quickly they will find

441
00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:09.440
that point of differentiation when the dust settles and make

442
00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:11.960
a value proposition by being like, if you come to

443
00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:14.000
this park, you can also come to ours because we

444
00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:14.799
offer something different.

445
00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:18.079
So right, yeah, find don't try to compete head to head,

446
00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:22.240
don't try to be universal, don't try to be Puis

447
00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:25.519
de fou Be, and I keep using Alton towersco It's

448
00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:27.319
just the first one that comes to mind. But be

449
00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:30.839
who you are, play into that, play into that history,

450
00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:33.960
because let's face it, you know coaster nerds. There are

451
00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:38.160
certain coaster nerds that want to see those those parks

452
00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:40.680
that have been around that they've only dreamt of. And

453
00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:43.359
they may have an excuse now because Universal is going

454
00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:45.920
to be there, but they're still going to visit those parks.

455
00:23:46.359 --> 00:23:51.440
Yeah. So this next question comes from Alexander Simms sixteen thirteen.

456
00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.599
They say, hypothetically, let's say you worked for a company

457
00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:57.480
who did architectural work for the Big two, but you

458
00:23:57.559 --> 00:24:03.079
do everything except the massive CAPEX projects. Obviously very hypothetical.

459
00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:05.640
If you wanted to get into the mid tier parks

460
00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:09.799
like Hershe and Cedar, six Flags or international parks so

461
00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:12.200
you could have more say in the creative how would

462
00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:15.839
you go about approaching them, especially without your large portfolio

463
00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:16.319
of work.

464
00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:20.279
Well, if you are, let me let me go back

465
00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:24.519
to the hypothetical situation here. If you are doing architectural

466
00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:27.039
work for the Big two, you have a portfolio of work.

467
00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:30.359
Let's start there. You have a portfolio of work. It

468
00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:32.240
may not be, it may be more of.

469
00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:34.160
But there's work there. Yeah.

470
00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:38.279
Yeah, if you're working in an architectural firm, you have

471
00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:42.720
a portfolio. I will say that everybody wants to do

472
00:24:42.839 --> 00:24:46.400
creative because everyone thinks that creative is the cool job.

473
00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:49.279
So much competition, Yeah, there's so much.

474
00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:51.720
Competition, and that's you know, I deal with it. I

475
00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:56.079
battle this every single day of my career, which is

476
00:24:56.119 --> 00:24:59.720
why I have no problem working in the smaller and

477
00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:03.079
more mid range arenas because that way I get to

478
00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:07.200
do what I love. So I guess my point is,

479
00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:09.880
you know, if you're looking to get into the the

480
00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:12.920
hershand seater doesn't exist anymore. If you're looking in to

481
00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:18.279
get into Hershend six Flags, that kind of thing, contact

482
00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:22.480
them and say, next time you do an RFP, include me.

483
00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:24.839
See if you can get your name on their their

484
00:25:24.920 --> 00:25:29.359
request for proposal or request for quote so that you

485
00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:31.880
can put in a bid. Because you know, you may

486
00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:35.039
think you may think, well, I haven't built a major attraction.

487
00:25:35.160 --> 00:25:38.200
All I've built is you know, three restaurants and a

488
00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:43.000
bathroom and a gift shop. Okay, then then use that

489
00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:44.880
to your advantage. Use that to show what you can

490
00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:47.160
do and get your foot in the.

491
00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:51.400
Door, would you suggest that they like quit their day job,

492
00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:54.480
or because I'm sure that there's some sort of like well,

493
00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:56.000
I don't know if they have that in their contract

494
00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:56.920
or not, but I means.

495
00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:59.559
This is all hypothetical anyway, So yeah, that's right, it's

496
00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:00.039
all yp me.

497
00:26:00.599 --> 00:26:03.480
But hypothetically speaking, if a person had had a had

498
00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:06.960
a job, a day job, you know, would you would

499
00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:08.640
you try and do something with the day job first,

500
00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:10.960
like would you go to your management and make like

501
00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:14.599
a ask for some sort of a career plan, you know?

502
00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:18.079
Or would you quit and then go try and find

503
00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:20.440
work like in the Middle East, or try and find

504
00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:22.440
work for a different company or whatever. Or would you

505
00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:26.559
while you're still employed at that said job hypothetically, would

506
00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:30.240
you would you try and submit as a freelancer.

507
00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:33.599
Well, hypothetically, if you're working at a job where you're

508
00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:36.200
working at them, there's probably a non compete clause, so

509
00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:40.119
chances are hypothetically good that you wouldn't be able to

510
00:26:40.119 --> 00:26:42.519
do this without hypothetically quitting, so.

511
00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:44.519
You can.51200:26:44.720 --> 00:26:47.359



And I would also venture to say that if indeed51300:26:47.359 --> 00:26:51.319



this were the case where you've been working on some51400:26:51.319 --> 00:26:54.559



some of the architecture, because I mean you know it51500:26:54.599 --> 00:26:58.079



says massive Capex projects. If you're working in architecture, you're51600:26:58.119 --> 00:26:59.279



working in the world of Capex.51700:26:59.799 --> 00:27:01.920



Yeah, already just not massive.51800:27:01.920 --> 00:27:04.759



Captain's not massive Capex and you're not working on the51900:27:04.799 --> 00:27:07.839



sexy projects. And what I'm hearing is I'm building. I'm52000:27:07.839 --> 00:27:10.359



building gift shops. I want to be building attractions. That's52100:27:10.359 --> 00:27:13.480



what I'm hearing. So if that is the case, use52200:27:13.519 --> 00:27:16.839



your expertise, take what you do, take what you do52300:27:16.920 --> 00:27:21.279



really well, and lead with that. Say you know, I am,52400:27:21.720 --> 00:27:26.319



here's examples of me being on time, on budget. Here's52500:27:26.319 --> 00:27:29.319



the challenges that we overcame. So I run, you know,52600:27:30.240 --> 00:27:33.519



I run parallel, parallel paths just in case something does52700:27:33.960 --> 00:27:36.160



happen or when something does happen, so that I can52800:27:36.240 --> 00:27:38.240



keep us on time and on budget. You know, lead52900:27:38.240 --> 00:27:40.759



with your strengths, Lead with your strengths, and get that53000:27:40.799 --> 00:27:43.640



foot in the door. You know, there's never going to53100:27:43.640 --> 00:27:46.119



be a magic bullet. There's never going to be a53200:27:46.119 --> 00:27:47.759



magic bullet where you know, I can say if you53300:27:47.799 --> 00:27:49.440



read this book, or if you do this, or if53400:27:49.440 --> 00:27:51.720



you contact this person, then you will get the next53500:27:51.720 --> 00:27:54.480



bid you put in. That does not happen, that simply53600:27:54.480 --> 00:27:58.640



does not happen. But I will say surround yourself with53700:27:58.720 --> 00:28:01.240



like minded people. Be in the room with the people53800:28:01.279 --> 00:28:04.039



where it happens. That's why things like you know, Iappa53900:28:04.079 --> 00:28:07.640



Expo are so flip and important, and not just Diappa,54000:28:07.720 --> 00:28:11.799



but you know, TEA other organizations that are within the industry.54100:28:11.839 --> 00:28:16.319



Aza to make sure that you are making the connection54200:28:16.400 --> 00:28:18.000



so that they know who you are. They're not going54300:28:18.039 --> 00:28:21.599



to seek you out, especially if you're working for somebody else.54400:28:22.200 --> 00:28:24.680



The chances of a headhunter coming to you and saying54500:28:25.640 --> 00:28:28.079



you are the master at building restaurants and we want54600:28:28.079 --> 00:28:30.000



you to build this roller coaster, they're not going.54700:28:30.000 --> 00:28:30.319



To do it.54800:28:30.759 --> 00:28:32.440



So you've got to take the You've got to take54900:28:32.440 --> 00:28:35.680



the responsibility and you know, take the skill set that55000:28:35.720 --> 00:28:39.440



you have and lead with it. Don't panic to him.55100:28:40.640 --> 00:28:47.599



Okay. Next question from bill O five Q seventeen. With55200:28:47.759 --> 00:28:50.400



most big parks being mature and landlocked, and with new55300:28:50.440 --> 00:28:53.319



coasters being very expensive, do you foresee a greater trend55400:28:53.440 --> 00:28:57.599



of older coasters being renewed rather than the usual move55500:28:57.599 --> 00:28:59.960



of ripping out an older coaster for a new one.55600:29:00.319 --> 00:29:03.279



This could even include non coaster attractions like see King's55700:29:03.319 --> 00:29:05.079



Island redoing their boot blasters attraction.55800:29:09.039 --> 00:29:11.039



I'm gonna have I have a very unpopular answer to55900:29:11.079 --> 00:29:16.119



this question. I don't think the future of theme park56000:29:16.160 --> 00:29:17.920



I don't think the long term future of theme parks56100:29:17.960 --> 00:29:23.039



is coasters. I think it is unique attractions. I think56200:29:23.079 --> 00:29:26.720



we have pushed coasters to the point where unless it56300:29:26.799 --> 00:29:30.039



is surrounded by multimedia, unless it is part of a56400:29:30.160 --> 00:29:36.559



much bigger experience, I think the days of just coasters.56500:29:36.759 --> 00:29:39.359



I mean, we just we just reported on it, you know,56600:29:39.400 --> 00:29:43.799



we just reported on the park that chose not to56700:29:43.799 --> 00:29:46.920



do the coaster and chose instead to do Bugs Bunny56800:29:47.039 --> 00:29:53.079



and Friends family experience. So I think it's I think56900:29:53.079 --> 00:29:56.000



it's important to recognize that you're right, they are land blocked.57000:29:56.319 --> 00:29:59.160



You're right. And it's expensive to tear down a coaster,57100:29:59.319 --> 00:30:04.319



by the way, but quite often it's cheaper to tear57200:30:04.359 --> 00:30:06.799



it down and start from scratch than it is to57300:30:06.920 --> 00:30:10.960



redo a coaster. The example, the only example that I know,57400:30:11.839 --> 00:30:15.839



and I can't share numbers, but I know that with57500:30:16.599 --> 00:30:20.160



h when they put iron Guasi in at at Bush57600:30:20.160 --> 00:30:23.400



Gardens in Tampa. You know, originally the plan was to57700:30:23.839 --> 00:30:27.599



reutilize as much of the track as possible, and they57800:30:27.640 --> 00:30:29.960



claim that a lot of it was reused, but the57900:30:30.000 --> 00:30:33.880



percentage of reused material from the original coaster is so58000:30:34.079 --> 00:30:41.119



minimal it's it's almost embarrassing. So I'm not sure that58100:30:41.359 --> 00:30:43.960



coasters are going to be the thing that people are58200:30:43.960 --> 00:30:45.359



going to. I think the pendulum is going to swing58300:30:45.400 --> 00:30:48.039



away from them. That is my That is my prediction.58400:30:48.119 --> 00:30:50.720



I could be one hundred percent wrong, but based on58500:30:50.799 --> 00:30:57.720



what I'm seeing, unless the coaster is a record breaker58600:30:59.279 --> 00:31:01.920



or tied to a specific IP in a way that58700:31:02.000 --> 00:31:04.680



no other coaster experiences that IP.58800:31:05.000 --> 00:31:06.000



And that doesn't mean just.58900:31:05.960 --> 00:31:09.400



Call it you know, sorry, I'm gonna pick on my59000:31:09.440 --> 00:31:12.960



friends on Warner Brothers. Don't just call it Joker's Revenge59100:31:13.119 --> 00:31:15.480



and make it a purple coaster. No, it has to59200:31:15.519 --> 00:31:21.920



be intimately tied to the IP, or it utilizes some59300:31:21.960 --> 00:31:25.680



sort of or it utilizes some sort of technology that59400:31:25.799 --> 00:31:28.359



is not being utilized on any other coaster. I mean,59500:31:28.400 --> 00:31:33.240



you know, let's be honest. Guardians of the Galaxy is59600:31:33.240 --> 00:31:37.119



a coaster, but that experience so surpasses any coaster that59700:31:37.160 --> 00:31:40.319



you'll see in any midrange park because the focus is59800:31:40.359 --> 00:31:42.160



not on the coaster, it's on the whole experience.59900:31:44.759 --> 00:31:46.160



The only thing I'm gonna add to that is just60000:31:46.200 --> 00:31:49.359



that the research that we talked about a few episodes60100:31:49.359 --> 00:31:52.240



ago about travel trends, which I know a lot of people,60200:31:52.359 --> 00:31:54.079



you know, we're like, oh, this research is something about60300:31:54.200 --> 00:31:56.160



but I'm like, look, it was still a good sample60400:31:56.200 --> 00:31:58.319



size one thousand people in that age range that are60500:31:58.359 --> 00:32:01.119



in the US and go to an entergy, So it's60600:32:01.119 --> 00:32:03.559



still a poll that pay attention to. And this is60700:32:03.559 --> 00:32:05.920



exactly what they said. Also, is that it's like the60800:32:06.000 --> 00:32:09.720



days of kind of waiting having your checklist, you know,60900:32:09.799 --> 00:32:11.480



and spending so much time in line and kind of61000:32:11.519 --> 00:32:15.279



waiting for the marquee things is kind of over because61100:32:15.519 --> 00:32:18.640



at least right now for them, And so I think61200:32:18.680 --> 00:32:20.960



it probably is a pendulum thing though, you know, as61300:32:21.000 --> 00:32:23.599



everything is, I'm sure you know, it'll swing back to61400:32:23.599 --> 00:32:26.079



people wanting to do the marquee things, But for now,61500:32:26.119 --> 00:32:29.039



it seems like people are it's more about vibes right now,61600:32:29.079 --> 00:32:32.200



and they're not really for the vibe of waiting so61700:32:32.400 --> 00:32:35.200



long for just single like it's like the buck this61800:32:35.279 --> 00:32:37.960



is like not worth it, right. It's like that thing61900:32:38.000 --> 00:32:40.599



of like if you're waiting two or three hours for62000:32:40.680 --> 00:32:42.839



a thing that's a minute long. It's kind of the62100:32:42.880 --> 00:32:44.599



calculus is not there well.62200:32:44.640 --> 00:32:48.440



And speaking of vibes, we hope that we have left62300:32:48.480 --> 00:32:51.480



you with enough of good vibes for twenty twenty five,62400:32:51.559 --> 00:32:54.400



and that these good vibes continue for twenty twenty six62500:32:55.480 --> 00:32:57.400



on behalf of Yeah, what.62600:32:58.240 --> 00:33:00.720



So we did not finish all of our questions theme62700:33:00.720 --> 00:33:03.640



Park JJ. There's still one that we have, but we62800:33:03.720 --> 00:33:08.519



have talked about what you've asked before. Sorry, yeah, maybe62900:33:08.519 --> 00:33:10.640



we can. Let's okay, I know it's.63000:33:11.079 --> 00:33:12.359



Well, we've already gone over time.63100:33:12.359 --> 00:33:14.599



Go ahead, Okay, let's just finish this one. Okay, so63200:33:14.640 --> 00:33:15.559



we've already.63300:33:15.240 --> 00:33:16.839



Messed up my goodbye, so go ahead.63400:33:16.880 --> 00:33:20.119



I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Okay, Theme Park JJ,63500:33:20.319 --> 00:33:23.240



He says, you two always talk about creature comforts driving63600:33:23.279 --> 00:33:25.640



guest rates of return. I've noticed that the other side63700:33:25.680 --> 00:33:28.400



of the coin are the pain points that drive them away.63800:33:28.640 --> 00:33:31.039



I'm referring to little stuff like the four dollars mandatory63900:33:31.119 --> 00:33:36.759



Guassi loggers, you know, guasi reservations at Disney, unannounced buyouts64000:33:36.839 --> 00:33:41.720



like Red Coconut. How do parks convince operations to remove64100:33:41.720 --> 00:33:44.079



those small hurdles for the greater good? Have you seen64200:33:44.119 --> 00:33:47.880



any easy fixes? That could massively improve guest scores. We64300:33:48.079 --> 00:33:51.440



so we do talk about those quite a lot. Scott64400:33:51.480 --> 00:33:54.559



has a whole rant about the reservations that Disney that64500:33:54.640 --> 00:33:55.240



hasn't gone.64600:33:55.640 --> 00:33:57.680



I won't go. I won't go till they're gone.64700:33:59.519 --> 00:34:01.680



I don't know. This is a great question for Scott.64800:34:01.720 --> 00:34:04.160



Who's who's been in those roles before, who's kind of64900:34:04.160 --> 00:34:09.880



straddled the two worlds of having to talk to I65000:34:09.920 --> 00:34:12.519



think it's not usually operations though, this is usually something65100:34:12.599 --> 00:34:16.360



that comes from a higher a different management position.65200:34:16.519 --> 00:34:19.000



All of these, all of these examples are actually revenue driven.65300:34:19.440 --> 00:34:21.880



So so what you have to do is you have65400:34:21.960 --> 00:34:27.199



to look at is there is there a way to65500:34:27.280 --> 00:34:30.880



shift where this revenue comes from. And I'll give you65600:34:30.960 --> 00:34:36.320



I will give you a perfect example. Parking. This is65700:34:36.360 --> 00:34:39.440



a big issue. This just came up with another major65800:34:39.559 --> 00:34:42.679



major player in the industry. Parking price is going up.65900:34:43.559 --> 00:34:47.480



I'm a firm believer that you should take one fourth66000:34:47.519 --> 00:34:50.719



of whatever it is that you want in parking and66100:34:50.840 --> 00:34:53.760



add it to a ticket price and create free parking66200:34:53.760 --> 00:34:57.760



for your guests. Yes, it's hidden, but you're still generating66300:34:57.800 --> 00:34:58.360



that revenue.66400:34:58.679 --> 00:34:59.559



And will people.66500:34:59.400 --> 00:35:02.880



Say, oh, oh my god, Well, the prices of theme66600:35:02.880 --> 00:35:04.800



park tickets are already so high I can't afford it.66700:35:04.800 --> 00:35:06.599



Blah blah blah. What if I'm not parking blah blah66800:35:06.639 --> 00:35:07.800



blah blah.66900:35:08.159 --> 00:35:10.039



Okay, but it's.67000:35:09.920 --> 00:35:12.559



Either you have to spend forty dollars. I'm using simple67100:35:12.599 --> 00:35:14.639



math here. You either have to spend forty dollars to67200:35:14.679 --> 00:35:17.920



park your car, or you add ten dollars to every67300:35:17.920 --> 00:35:20.920



ticket for the four people in your car and give67400:35:20.920 --> 00:35:25.360



free parking. You know, these revenue generators are going to67500:35:25.440 --> 00:35:28.920



be there. They need to be there. The four dollars mandatory,67600:35:29.239 --> 00:35:32.440



guasi locker mandatory. It's not mandatory if you have some,67700:35:32.480 --> 00:35:34.920



if you have a purse holder, but not everybody does.67800:35:35.519 --> 00:35:40.079



So what I would suggest again is incorporate that revenue67900:35:40.079 --> 00:35:43.440



somewhere else so it's not the pinch point that drives68000:35:43.440 --> 00:35:45.840



you away. This is what I talk about when I68100:35:45.840 --> 00:35:48.599



talk about the concerns that I have of departments operating68200:35:48.639 --> 00:35:52.480



individually from one another and not operating together as a park.68300:35:52.760 --> 00:35:55.639



This is a situation. It sounds to me, and again68400:35:55.679 --> 00:35:57.000



I'm not there, but it sounds to me like this68500:35:57.039 --> 00:35:59.320



is a situation where the merchandise team, who is the68600:35:59.320 --> 00:36:02.199



one who handles the revenue says we need to up68700:36:02.199 --> 00:36:05.039



our revenue because we're not selling enough T shirts, so68800:36:05.400 --> 00:36:07.639



we're going to make it a mandatory four dollars locker68900:36:07.880 --> 00:36:10.199



that you have to do in guasi, which I think69000:36:10.280 --> 00:36:14.519



is the wrong approach. Personally, I would I would take69100:36:14.559 --> 00:36:17.320



that money and hide it elsewhere so that it doesn't69200:36:17.320 --> 00:36:23.239



become that point of pain, and it doesn't. You know, yes,69300:36:23.280 --> 00:36:24.880



they're still making the money, they're still taking it out69400:36:24.920 --> 00:36:27.760



of our pockets. I understand all of that, but it's69500:36:27.800 --> 00:36:30.199



still a business, so that the revenue still has to69600:36:30.199 --> 00:36:33.280



be generated when you talk about buyouts. This has been69700:36:33.320 --> 00:36:36.320



a point of contention with me and pretty much every69800:36:36.320 --> 00:36:38.599



one of my clients ever, because every one of my69900:36:38.599 --> 00:36:41.480



clients will have a beautiful facility that could be utilized70000:36:42.320 --> 00:36:45.800



every single night for a Christmas event or a Halloween event,70100:36:45.880 --> 00:36:48.320



or a summer event or whatever, but they hold off70200:36:48.360 --> 00:36:50.440



and they say, no, you can't use that just in case,70300:36:51.000 --> 00:36:53.719



it's my favorite phrase, just in case we might sell70400:36:53.760 --> 00:36:57.639



it for a party. And so the only way around70500:36:57.679 --> 00:37:00.519



that that I've found internally is to actually run the70600:37:00.559 --> 00:37:04.119



numbers and say, okay, over the last five years, during70700:37:04.159 --> 00:37:08.159



this month, how much revenue has this space generated, and70800:37:08.199 --> 00:37:10.760



you take that and you do an average for that month,70900:37:11.199 --> 00:37:12.800



and then you go back and say, okay, is it71000:37:12.880 --> 00:37:17.360



worth that to use this to create a Santa Claus71100:37:17.400 --> 00:37:19.639



experience for example, that is going to generate x amount71200:37:19.639 --> 00:37:24.599



of dollars in photo sales and additional associated merchandise sales71300:37:24.840 --> 00:37:28.960



and front of line access sales. So all of these71400:37:28.960 --> 00:37:30.760



pain points that you mentioned, and I'm so glad you71500:37:30.840 --> 00:37:33.280



mentioned it. I'm so glad Philip that you actually made it.71600:37:33.320 --> 00:37:35.480



So we answered this because you knew I was going71700:37:35.480 --> 00:37:41.039



to rant about it. These these Unfortunately, these dollars have71800:37:41.119 --> 00:37:43.960



to be there somewhere, but I think there are smarter71900:37:44.079 --> 00:37:45.960



ways to put them in so that they don't appear72000:37:46.000 --> 00:37:49.440



as pain points and it doesn't feel as though people72100:37:49.480 --> 00:37:52.400



are being nickeled and dimed. But it is finding a balance.72200:37:52.800 --> 00:37:54.880



You have to figure out what is that balance between72300:37:54.920 --> 00:37:57.480



feeling nickel and dimed and creating those little tin you know,72400:37:57.480 --> 00:38:02.480



death by a thousand pinpricks or is it the sticker72500:38:02.519 --> 00:38:04.960



shock you get when the ticket price goes up by72600:38:04.960 --> 00:38:11.760



ten dollars. So I think that intelligent parks will find72700:38:11.840 --> 00:38:18.039



ways to slip this money into different spaces, but the72800:38:18.079 --> 00:38:20.400



best way to do it is to stop operating as72900:38:20.480 --> 00:38:24.280



a bunch of departments occupying the same space and start73000:38:24.360 --> 00:38:27.239



operating as a theme park that is looking at the73100:38:27.280 --> 00:38:28.519



guest experience first.73200:38:31.599 --> 00:38:32.199



Okay, that's it.73300:38:32.280 --> 00:38:35.000



Bye, Okay, Happy New Year. Everybody, have a great year,73400:38:35.159 --> 00:38:38.239



and we will see you in twenty twenty six.