Six Flags in the UK - Could it ever happen?

[adrenaline1996]

Hey everyone!

From just researching theme park stuff tonight, looking into the international expansion of Six Flags, I was just wondering if the company could open a park within the UK?

Whilst the plans for parks in Dubai and China have fallen through, I still imagine that the division for these type of plans are still open. They could also possibly find more reliable investors within the UK.

If it ever did come up, I think it would be an exciting prospect for our theme park industry.

Let me know what you think!

 

[UP87]

I don't think Six Flags will try to establish theme parks in Europe again. They tried that before and it didn't work. And if they'd give it another shot I think it's more likely for them to invest in existing parks than open new ones.

 

[Professor]

I get the impression theme parks in the UK are not that lucrative at the moment. I don't see why anyone from outside of this country would invest unless someone was extremely passionate about it and prepared to take a risk. You'd need someone like the Energylandia owner who loves the stuff with plenty of money to throw around.
The general public seems to expect a lot for pittance entry fee too. I'm stunned at some of the cheap prices Merlin offers (£49 season pass etc) for entry yet we see people still complain. One of the hurdles for Disney building something in the UK was the lack of flat land. We do see parks such as Alton Towers struggle with ride installation and the lack of new infrastructure really doesn't help parks to establish travel links easily here. The UK has very few miles of motorway when compared to our European neighbours.

I think the closures of Loudoun Castle, Camelot, American Adventure Theme Park and the absolute teetering on the edges of existence of Drayton Manor, LWV and Pleasurewood Hills and extreme bad publicity when something goes wrong doesn't make this a good country at all for a theme park investor (from a business perspective).

The only realistic park investment that might happen is the London Resort thing and that doesn't look promising (seems like a Titanic II project) nor do I think it will include decent coasters if it did go ahead due to its close proximity to London City Airport. Probably be more of an exhibition collection with some scare mazes and escape rooms if it actually happens I bet.

 

[Chris Brown]

I’m pretty certain that Six Flags wouldn’t ever consider it, competition is relatively high, albeit with low standards and realistically there are much more viable business opportunities in lesser developed countries. The UK’s existing infrastructure would be a challenge and development is already very limited by local authorities and planning conditions. That’s not to say a new park couldn’t thrive in the UK, it could, but it would have to be incredibly good from the start.

A half arsed Cinecittà World style opening where a clearly unfinished park opens its doors with a limited ride selection simply wouldn’t work. It needs to be top notch from the moment it opens, it needs a decent selection of rides, it needs some new to the UK coasters, it needs a variety of indoor / outdoor attractions and annoyingly its probably going to need some half decent IP’s.

If done correctly I’m pretty confident that a single centrally located park could usurp the current Merlin monopoly. Public opinion is that the UK parks don’t get close to American parks and rides, everything is bigger in America is a pretty common acknowledgement and us brits are quite accepting of that. If a park were to really utilise the American big ride stereotype and obviously install some pretty hefty rides initially, a hyper / giga or something people would lap it up.

The competition standards are relatively low, the existing UK parks have all peaked and are in decline or stagnation. This opens up opportunity, however, the low standard of competition has lead to public perception of themeparks taking a battering. The economic climate is relatively gloomy as typical theme park clientele experience economic hardship and families struggle to justify £200 for a day out, with lower guest satisfaction and higher costs people are inevitably put off. It’s a weird vicious circle to break and without a new park stirring things up I’m not sure the UK attitude will ever improve.

 

[Boodangy]

Isn't Thorpe Park close enough already?