Group wants Theme Park Downtown

[Ocklawaha]

Also I just printed the story from the Biz Journal link, and took it into the plant and showed the concept to the machine operators and forklift drivers, etc, and every man and woman said it was something they would go too. Sorry but from work that is the best survey I could do. I know I along with many other people in town and out of town would go.

This would be one of the major problems, imo.  Everyone would go.....probably once.  It would be too small to draw in large numbers of out-of-town visitors and not have enough to keep the same locals paying admission prices on a regular basis.  Other than that, if PARC wants to do a theme park in DT (at the moment, this doesn't sound like a real proposal), there's plenty of non-riverfront property in the Sports District to take advantage of.

Here's a great example stolen from Pittsburgh

Lake, too small to out of town guests, too bland to hold local interests, too little, too late, another aimless stab in the dark from the flailing hands of a drowning and desperate city.

Exactly why I think a honest to God TROLLEY PARK would work. Not even Orlando has thought of that one. I'd use the Shipyards and scatter it along both banks of Hogan's Creek AL LA OKC-SAN ANTONIO. I would theme it in the steamboat gingerbread and carnie looks of 1920. Include a jaw dropping wooden coaster, plus other traditional rides all housed in proper 1920's style gingerbread shelters. A midway, could be set up along the Riverwalk or the "Creek Walk." I'd mix it with a couple of big box retailers unique enough to require a drive from as far as Valdosta, Tallahassee and Gainesville. IKEA (their urban version), BASS PRO (built into a quay), seafood and farm markets, and of course tie it to downtown with a vintage streetcar. Perhaps we could do an article on the old Trolley Parks, which once numbered over 2,000.

Anything we did could be heavy on riverfront history, the sea, the rails and a huge helping of DIXIELAND and OSTRICH FARM tossed in for good measure. Doesn't have to be huge, just unique enough to carve a niche.

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

I'm not sold. Anyway, here is what the proposal states about the theme park:

[braeburn]

In other cities where this type of park has been developed, the operational economics have been uniformly positive.

Is this true?... Quite a fluffed and flowery way of putting it, don't you think?

[I-10east]

I got a coupla things. That news4jax link should've referred to this proposal as an "Amusement Park" and not a "Theme Park". It sounds like I'm nitpicking, but there is a BIG difference. Small places with only a handful of rides (like this proposal) usually charge per rides/ or with a wristband, opposed to paying a gate fee upfront. Theme Parks pay high dollar for themes like Snoopy (Cedar Fair), Batman (Six Flags) etc. Places like this can be successful if it's ran good. Most small parks doesn't have to cater to out-of-towners. Lake Winnie is Rossville, GA; Beech Bend in Bowling Green, KY or Boomers! in Ft Lauderdale (family fun center with a wooden coaster) are just a couple of many examples.

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Bringing-the-fun-to-downtown-by-zipline/PEal6pb0aEOl9YFo1XPt9w.cspx

[Timkin]

Don't know about the feasibility of THAT particular location as either a Theme Park or amusement Park ,, but at the same time, I am not opposed to the idea somewhere in the Jax area.  Since LaVilla and Brooklyn have been leveled to blighted grass lots , why not somewhere in there? Seems the majority would plan to have the "Alpha and Omega" of all Convention Centers on the waterfront.  Fine.. they need something else besides the landing, and the South Bank and a few scattered places to eat in the Downtown area.  "Theme Park"  makes me think Disney, Sea World , Six Flags  and all of those, I would think would take up a lot more area than the proposed site.

I like Ock's Idea.  I AM Sold. 

[iMarvin]

I'm all for the idea. I would love to see an amusement park downtown. Just a couple of problems:
There needs to be more than 2 or 3 rides there. At least 7 or 8. I don't want to go somewhere where there's only 2 rides. They could bring in a drop tower, carousel, swings, anything. PARC also want a roller coaster there but I haven't heard anything else about that. Have any of you heard of Kemah Boardwalk in Galveston, TX. Something like that but with more shops, etc.
Also parking. I agree that parking would be a problem but since it's an urban environment, they could build a parking garage across the street and an elevated people mover(like at the airport) to get people across the street safely.
Last but not least, attendance. Downtown does need something like this but with the mindset of some of the Jacksonvillians(comments on news4jax, etc.) it won't draw people downtown. I say the civic council should be on JTA's back so they could have an efficient mass transit system around the city for people to easily access.
Now that might be years away but until downtown has large crowds everyday or people can easily get there without a car, I don't think this should be built. BUT only because of the number of rides, parking problems, attendance problems. But mainly attendance problems.

[dougskiles]

How about this for an idea:

We make all of downtown a theme park - and the theme is ... a thriving downtown.  Great shopping, awesome food, creative performances, efficient transportation, exciting business activity.  Just imagine how cool that would be.

Most theme parks I have visited work hard at creating a 'Main Street' feel.  We already have it.  We don't need gimmicky rides to bring people downtown.  We need a functional downtown to bring people downtown.  This is being tremendously overcomplicated.  There are a few simple elements that have been presented on this forum for several years now.  The most basic of these should be implemented first before we get into expensive complicated projects trying to jump start the area.

[Dapperdan]

Think Big. The London Eye was supposed to be only a temporary thing for the millenial celebration, but it turned permanent and runs gangbusters every day. What if we focused on something like that?  And yes, just charge per ride. The London Eye charges I think around 15.00 per adult and people wait all day to go on it. You can turn a profit if you build something that is unique and that people like to do.
 Please, just don't throw rinky dink traveling amusement rides here. Build a boarwalk on the river and make it a mini old school boardwalk type atmosphere. I also like the idea of it being a trolly stop. Lets embrace our past and come up with something totally unique.

[BridgeTroll]

I still want a zip line across the river... Friendship fountain to the Landing past the Main St Bridge   

[Timkin]

I like it , Bridge Troll! 

A thriving downtown again?  That would be awesome .   

[Shwaz]

Think Big. The London Eye was supposed to be only a temporary thing for the millenial celebration, but it turned permanent and runs gangbusters every day. What if we focused on something like that?  And yes, just charge per ride. The London Eye charges I think around 15.00 per adult and people wait all day to go on it. You can turn a profit if you build something that is unique and that people like to do.
 Please, just don't throw rinky dink traveling amusement rides here. Build a boarwalk on the river and make it a mini old school boardwalk type atmosphere. I also like the idea of it being a trolly stop. Lets embrace our past and come up with something totally unique.

I don't think a glorified ferris wheel is necessarily thinking big. People travel to London because it's on of the top cities in the world... not because of the EYE. Also it's main attraction is that it provides a sky level view of the history and sights of London. Here it would provide a great view of leveled building foundations and parking garages. I'm not sure if if the 'Jacksonville Eye' would even attract people from Brunswick.

[urbanlibertarian]

IMHO the city should just extend Catherine, Marsh, Palmetto and Lafayette Sts acroos Bay St to the riverwalk with utilities and sell the blocks whole or divided into lots.  Let the new property owners do whatever they want to with their property.

[dougskiles]

IMHO the city should just extend Catherine, Marsh, Palmetto and Lafayette Sts acroos Bay St to the riverwalk with utilities and sell the blocks whole or divided into lots.  Let the new property owners do whatever they want to with their property.

+1

If my understanding of history is correct, that is how downtowns came into existence and thrived.  Then we started killing them with urban renewal plans.

[Dapperdan]

I don't think a glorified ferris wheel is necessarily thinking big. People travel to London because it's on of the top cities in the world... not because of the EYE. Also it's main attraction is that it provides a sky level view of the history and sights of London. Here it would provide a great view of leveled building foundations and parking garages. I'm not sure if if the 'Jacksonville Eye' would even attract people from Brunswick.

I did not mean copy their Eye. I meant think big like that. At the time it was built, it was the tallest Ferris Wheel at 450 feet and it had individual climate controlled cabins, the ability to rent out  a cabin for yourself and your party, and 25 miles views in every direction on a clear day. No other Ferris Wheel could boast that.  People can go on a  roiver cruise on the Thames and be let off right at the Eye. To me, that is thinking big.
  Vegas has several free standing roller coasters that you pay per ride to ride on. We could do something like that, or even create our own big Ferris Wheel. I know of no other large Ferris Wheels anywhere near us or even in the entire Southeast. We could create a large river zipline like mentioned before. I still think the site is a perfect spot for an aquarium, but that would cost a lot of money. Just trying to think big and give people a reason to come here. I would go to Tampa if they for instance had the worlds longest zipline oiver a urban setting.

[copperfiend]

Can we make it a Scooby Doo themed haunted amusement park?