Elections, Economy, Advertising

[Nightgore]

Just remember, all great empires are destroyed and brought to it's knees by destroying it's currency! With our dollar falling like a rock, our economy on the brink of recession, and inflation only shooting up... I predict and national bankruptcy coming and this great empire, yes, the USA, coming to it's knees!

Unless of course we do something about it! But nothing has "really" changed over the past 20-30 years! So, oh well... -Tyler

[drfrightner]

I will vote Republican NO MATTER who runs against a Democrat. If you're a small business owner, much like MOST haunt vendors and haunt owners you need to take a close listen to what Democrates want to do with wages. They want to raise that baby up to $9.25 or something like that. They want to create jobs but that does nothing but run jobs out of this country into others.

I'll never vote for a Democrate ever...

As for the election, hey when Clinton's run was winding down the ecomony went bad, I think for fear of something new. As bad as Bush has made our country look in the eyes of the WORLD, you have to admit a few things about the guy. He took over a bad economy from Clinton and turned it around quickly. The entire time Bush has been President, the nations economy has been great! I think Bush will get the economy fixed up here and everything will be fine.

Bush has also cut taxes to record lows, and he's talking about even more tax cuts, and they've got the price of a barrel of oil down as well for fears of world wide slow down. Personally I think everything will be fine.

But the real problem come this October will be that marketing prices could be higher than normal because everyone running for some kind of election buy up spots. That is always a problem in an election year and this year will be no different.

Look out for that.

Larry

[drfrightner]

One other thing to any vendor our there...

The dollar is SOOOO LOW, that this is the time to sell overseas. You should be pushing hard to make sales to overseas clients. I have clients buying right now because they can get about 2 American dollars for one Euro. To them they're getting a 50% discount right now...

SELL SELL SELL...

We landed a HUGE job in London not long ago because of the WEAK dollar!

It was the TALK of IAAPA. See European coaster companies for example can't sell ANYTHING to US theme parks because they have to pay double right now, and this is why US coaster companies are in demand.

Don't buy from Europe just sell, sell, sell...lol

Larry

[Nightmaretony]

Beg to differ on the coaster assesment. The slowdown is delayed by a year and does not affect 2008 installations.

European coasters going to the US right now:
Mall of America: Intamin half pipe coaster
Six Flags Great America, Great Adventure, New England, 3 Mack wild mouse coasters.
Hersheypark: Intamin custom
Hard Rock park: Bolliger & Mabillard sitdown (Led Zeppelin, the ride)
Hard Rock park is also purchasing 3 more coasters, 2 from Vekoma and 2 from Premier Rides
Darien Lake: Zamperla Motocoaster
Knotts Berry Farm: Zamperla motocoaster
Nickelodeon Uniuverse, Minnesota: Gerstlauer coaster
Six FLags over Texas and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom are recieving Gerstlaur spinning coasters


These are all brand new European rollercoaster builds. I cut out several relocates and American company designs.

SOURCE: http://www.rcdb.com/ir.htm?opened=2008&status=9,13





If there is a slowdown, we will see it in next year installations as the new contracts written for the most will be for next year. The above coasters would have been signed the year previously.

[Randy Bates]

I have seen attendance actually rise in poor economic environments. I do think that we will need to purchase ad space way in advance of the fall elections. I have already contacted my primary advertising outlets, and am setting aside times for this year. Another thing you can do is advertise to your local areas by stating that you are located just minutes away. We have a large number of haunted attractions in my market, but I am located closer to the city of Philadelphia and the surounding suburbs. I try to market to the surounding towns that are within 50 miles. With gas prices staying high, people may stay closer to home.

[Nightmaretony]

Destination resort spending would suffer but local spending would increase. Marketing local is smart, especially if you can stress that, such as a promotion based on local zip codes (Disneyland used to do that, give a ticket pricing cut based on being local).

[Nightgore]

Larry,

I must respectfully dissagree... Bush has done NOTHING good for our economy. When Bush came into office we had:

-A $2 Trillion debt, that's now up close to $9 Trillion.
-Inflation
-Ever falling dollar
-Rise in un-employment (small rise, but .5% is something like 250,000 jobs!)

and worst of all...

-OVER SPENDING AND BIG GOVERNMENT!!!

Right now we sit on a 6-7 TRILLION dollar debt to China alone. We are borrowing nearly 1.5-2 billion dollars A DAY from China to pay for the War in Iraq. Our government is also overspending our tax dollars... let me explain:

-First we pay to blow up bridges in Iraq... then pay MORE to build them up again... all the while our own bridges are falling down!!!

-We currently occupy 138 countries including: Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Korea, Russia, Cuba... etc. etc. Studies have PROVEN that if we brought home EVERY SOLDIER from EVER COUNTRY we would save close to $2 TRILLION dollars a year! Yet, we are currently building 3 bases in Iraq that are bigger than the Vatican!

-We are overtaxed, and you believe we are getting "tax cuts". Here is a very short list of the most common taxes we pay: City/State/Fed., Social Security, Gas, Property, Sales, Tips, Inflation Tax, School, Utilities and most UNCONSTITUTIONAL... an INCOME TAX!!!

I have a challenge for anyone on this board... SHOW ME A LAW REQUIRING AN AMERICAN TO PAY A TAX ON THEIR INCOME! If you can I will give you $100! I'm dead serious!

And I bet you won't be able to because there IS NO LAW that says you MUST pay a tax on your income... and people thing we're getting a "tax cut"... whatever! Bush's new "tax plan" will only HURT our economy more. Sure, some extra cash is good, but it won't help. The problem is not that Americans DON'T have money, it's just that our government is SPENDING money we don't have!

Most likely people will get their "check" from the government and go buy something cool and nice that they've always wanted. Sure ok... but most likely they will buy something made in China... which is lending us money to pay for Iraq... so our money, going to China, will be sent right back to us as new debt! Clear as mud right? Odds show that you have a 70% chance of buying something from China than anywhere else! So in reality and the way the economy works, this "tax cut/rebate" will only hurt us MORE!

Thank god I took a political science and a economics class! -Tyler

[Jim Warfield]

Was it over 100 years ago that everyone agreed that there were only two economists alive who really understood finances? ..and they disagreed?
Almost any calamity of money always creates opportunity for someone else.
Just as the cave man had to hunt everyday, certain hunting grounds wither and new ones have to be found.
Kurt Vonnegut(sp?) said something like: "Humanity is like an iceberg of meat, eating and destroying everything in it's path."
We can't toally blame Bush.
Other voices tell him what to do , now whether those voices belong to some very wealthy, controlling people or belong to little green worms inside of his head, we have yet to determine.
(Maybe very wealthy, little green head-worms?)

"Autopsy! Autopsy! Can I get an autopsy over here?"

[stafford]

I didn't start this post to stir up a political can of worms, so in an effort to bring it back on point, I think Randy is really the only one who answered some of the orginal questions. Not to discount the discussion, which has been interesting, but perhaps a new topic "Haunters Political Views", that one should get some action!

So here are the original questions again.

"So, the reason for this post is to propose three questions that may give haunters some assistance as they plan for 2008.

First, what impact do you think the economy will have on attendance this year?

Second, what are you planning to do with your advertising this year, in light of the political environment? Advertise more? less? the same? differently?

And, last, how has your attendance typically been in a general election year?"

Randy, thanks for the feedback, I agree with you on securing your advertising well in advance this year. How has your attendance typically been in an election year, have you noticed any trends?

Chris

[notsosunnylane]

As if the elections aren't scary enough!!!!!
I think you have to remember that a lot of the target audience for haunted houses are teenagers or college age kids who's mommies and daddies are worrying about the economy for them. The kid's still have money to spend at local haunts because daddy's visa card pays for the gasoline in the $30,000 vehicle they got for a graduation gift.