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[shavethewhales]

What do you guys think of the recent promotions from the park? Day tickets for December are suddenly only $30, and BAFs can be bought for $15. That's something like a $25 discount over the usual price plus the added BAF perk. That just strikes me as desperate from a park that's always been able to command a high gate price with well over 2 million visitors a year.

How bad has this season been really? I've been twice this season, both during discount events and found it packed twice, so it seems odd to me. I know it's been a down year for them again though.

[pintrader]

I think begging for guests is a pretty good assumption.  You can't always get a good accurate feel of attendance with just a couple trips to the park a year, but we went several times this year and it just had a feel of a very low attendance year.  The way citizens were talking this year and the interview with Pete Herschend about cutting workforce at SDC pretty well backs this up.

[sanddunerider]

I have been several times this year and felt like their was good attendence every time.....

I imagine the PTB are just trying to end the year on a stron, positive note....   

You know getting the people count up to help justify the NEW WOODIE for 2013!!  LOL..

[thelarsonsix]

the interview with Pete Herschend about cutting workforce at SDC pretty well backs this up.

Was there a thread about this or do you have a link to the interview? I'd like to watch it, I seemed to have missed this.

[Junior]

I think SDC has been encouraging people to visit since 1960. However, the poor economy means "incentives" must be offered. Black Friday was a good day for retailers because of DEEP discounts on merchandise. Earlier in the week sales flyers were offering 40 to 50 percent off prices, mid week sales flyers in the newspapers had amped up the discounts to 50 percent, today's paper had flyers offering 55-60 percent off! SDC offers a different product than Kohls, Sears, JC Penny, Belk, and others, but it's the same principal...gotta get those folks through the gate so they can spend in shops and restaurants. Remember, a theme park is pretty much a shopping mall with some rides and shows thrown in to attract a bigger crowd.

[sanddunerider]

""" Remember, a theme park is pretty much a shopping mall with some rides and shows thrown in to attract a bigger crowd."""""

Well then it is my FAVORITE mall!!

[eagle1]

The problem this year I have seen/heard when selling the 2-day tickets (which comes out to $30.00/per day) compared to one day ticket at $60.00. A lot of guests want to go but would not pay that price for one day (and can't do 2 days). Most of them don't really care about the rides this time of year. It is the end of the year so why not discount? Branson is down along with all that goes with it so try to end the year with a bang if you can I say! Last year we sold a ton of tickets, this year it was just over 1/2 of what was sold last year. I'm hoping next year that the theaters, SDC and other attractions keep the pricing reasonable, it will just hurt Branson more if they raise prices again. We could have raised the prices at the hotel but I refused and because of that, we are up (not by much but still up). Most families/older couples can't afford to do SDC & shows as in the past, it's sad.  

[biscuitcreek]

the interview with Pete Herschend about cutting workforce at SDC pretty well backs this up.

Was there a thread about this or do you have a link to the interview? I'd like to watch it, I seemed to have missed this.

Here's the link to the thread with the Pete Herschend radio interview:
http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=1881.0

[cheesehead57]

We went to the park 20 some times and only a couple of times were the crowds thin.

[thelarsonsix]

the interview with Pete Herschend about cutting workforce at SDC pretty well backs this up.

Was there a thread about this or do you have a link to the interview? I'd like to watch it, I seemed to have missed this.

Here's the link to the thread with the Pete Herschend radio interview:
http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=1881.0

This is good listening. I highly recommend anyone that hasn't heard it to have a listen.

[betamike]

Discounting tickets admissions is a classic Roller Coaster Tycoon move!  They are almost at their goal for the game!   

[DaveInTulsa]

SDC is a 30 dollar park.  They shouldn't charge more than that anyway.  They could also lower their season pass prices. 

[shavethewhales]

SDC is a 30 dollar park.  They shouldn't charge more than that anyway.  They could also lower their season pass prices. 

I disagree. There's no way they could maintain the current level of quality at those prices. Not even SF is that cheap. Big attractions are more expensive to operate than many of the people in this part of the country think. I do agree that they can keep doing more to keep the park worth that high ticket price though, because obviously it's getting harder to justify it for many.

[DaveInTulsa]

I don't agree with that.  I've had Six Flags season tickets, and SDC season tickets in the past and I can tell you Six Flags is a huge park compared to SDC...the rides are better, the attractions are better, the park is clean, and the tickets are more affordable than SDC.  We were at SDC this weekend and had planned on upgrading our daily tickets to season passes, but a 53 dollar per ticket upgrade is more than the season tickets should cost so we passed.  That was the only reason we decided not to. 

[Joy]

Yeah, but Six Flags doesn't have the incredible array of entertainment shows to maintain, as well as maintaining older buildings to preserve the park's atmosphere, paying all the employees they have enough money to keep them working there, and so many other things that go into running SDC. I think the price they charge now is, yes, perhaps a bit too high, but definitely not as low as $30. And the season pass prices are an absolute steal.

SDC is the closest thing you'll get in the midwest to the intricate theming of Disney, but the price of a single one day admission to Disneyland is more than an season pass to SDC.

I mean, shoot, my friend and I are going to WDW in January, and with lodging and park tickets, we're paying some $500 a piece. And our meal plans are the Quick Service Dining Plan, which we actually got free for booking our resort when we did. Add in plane tickets, and we're at $800-something a piece for a week's stay. If we had to pay for the dining plans, that'd be at least $150-200 extra a person for the week. Sure, we're getting four different parks, but compare that to paying less than $80 for an SDC season pass, which would get you into the park an entire year; factor in, say, $50 a night for 6 nights at a Branson hotel, and you're at only about $230 a person for two people to go to SDC for an entire week.

So, yeah, I really don't think one can complain about the prices of SDC admission. I mean, when you go to SDC, you go for more than just rides. You go for the friendly employees, the cleanliness, the world-class entertainment, the amazing theming and atmosphere. If all you want is rides rides rides, then sure, go for a cheap park like Six Flags or Worlds of Fun, where the employees never seem to want to be there, and you get very few shows that are not interesting enough to take out the time to watch. Meh.