When Will Arizona Get a Decent Theme Park? (Phoenix, Tucson: ski resort, schools)

[keninaz]

I suppose that both the heat that our valleys get in the summer and/or the threat of monsoons could be a factor too.
Lightning is not much fun if you are outdoors and trapped with little shelter when they hit.

[Pancho Zarape]

Arizona doesn't NEED a theme park to attract people. People already come here willingly, because Arizona itself IS a theme park!

If individual cities want to put in their water parks and/or other places of interest, based on their own particular area, then that's fine.

[Columbia Blue]

The Phoenix area alone has more than enough population to support a Amusement Park. Add in Tucson, and it certainly should be feasible. Posters have mentioned parks in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Idaho, and Oklahoma, however a better example might be just down the road.

Western Playland in El Paso is a medium sized theme park supported by a population much smaller than the general Phoenix area. It's not Disney/Six Flags/Universal Studios, however it has a Water Ride, 2 Roller Coasters, a Drop Zone, Skyway tram and numerous others. Nice place to spend an afternoon.

The weather is similar to Arizona as well. El Paso doesn't reach the temperatures that Phoenix gets during the dog days of summer. Still it's a desert city, with strings of 100 degree days just like Arizona. A Water Ride is certainly a attraction once the temp. hits above 90. If El Paso/Las Cruces area can support a park for decades, Phoenix/Tucson certainly could. Probably going to have to wait until the economy rebounds before anyone even thinks about trying it though.

http://westernplayland.com/

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Columbia Blue

The Phoenix area alone has more than enough population to support a Amusement Park. Add in Tucson, and it certainly should be feasible. Posters have mentioned parks in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Idaho, and Oklahoma, however a better example might be just down the road.

Western Playland in El Paso is a medium sized theme park supported by a population much smaller than the general Phoenix area. It's not Disney/Six Flags/Universal Studios, however it has a Water Ride, 2 Roller Coasters, a Drop Zone, Skyway tram and numerous others. Nice place to spend an afternoon.

The weather is similar to Arizona as well. El Paso doesn't reach the temperatures that Phoenix gets during the dog days of summer. Still it's a desert city, with strings of 100 degree days just like Arizona. A Water Ride is certainly a attraction once the temp. hits above 90. If El Paso/Las Cruces area can support a park for decades, Phoenix/Tucson certainly could. Probably going to have to wait until the economy rebounds before anyone even thinks about trying it though.

Western Playland Amusement Park | Sunland Park, New Mexico

What most of the respondents on this thread don't understand is that the issue doesn't come down to desire but expense. Land in the Phoenix metropolitan area is expensive and to find an ideal location would require a lot of money. Then to build the theme park itself would be much more expensive than it was in the past. Most of these theme parks were built decades ago for pennies compared to now. They were just maintained over the years but if these small cities would try to get a theme park built now, they wouldn't be able to do so because they can't afford it.

There are developers who want to put a park here but they want the government to help offset the cost because it is so expensive. If you look around, with the exception of Orlando, how many theme parks were built in the last 5 years???? 10 years?? In fact, many have closed. Astroworld in Houston closed. Six Flags in New Orleans closed. I think we will eventually get a park but it's going to take the right set of circumstances. The economy has to be strong, there is going to have to be some type of state subsidy, voters will have to unanimously support it and the developer has to have money or be established.

[Valley Native]

So far, I am reading lots of lame excuses as to why theme parks shouldn't be built in Arizona, and/or why they can't survive here:
* The usual whine about how horrible the economy presently is, and that many parks across the country have closed down
* The claim that we are so close to the major theme parks of California
And lots of contradictory statements in addition:
* The claim that it's too hot & miserable here in the summer for a theme park, but the same ones will often boast that our summer heat is tolerable because it's mostly dry
* The claim that our monsoon storms are too threatening and the lightning from them is dangerous, but the same ones will agree that our summer monsoon is very mild in comparison to Florida's stifling humid summers or their hurricane season
* The claim that land prices are too expensive here, but the same ones will say in other threads that Arizona's land/housing/cost of living is cheap compared to places like California, etc.

I believe a large part of the anti theme park mentality stems from pure NIMBYism. For some odd reason that I will probably never figure out, Arizona has a fair share of the "don't want nuttin' here" type of people. It is that same kind of anti everything, protectionist attitude that caused the delay of building freeways, and why this state has no oil refineries, etc. NIMBYs are against things like theme parks because of fear that their mountain views will be blocked, that they will generate too many crowds, that they will cause too much traffic, etc. They also don't seem to care that the state continues to lose millions of dollars in tourism revenue to places like California because of the lack of fun amenities to keep people here.

[observer53]

If someone had the money to do it, right now, I think the NIMBY issue would not arise. It likely wouldn't be smack in the middle of the metro area, anyway. So, it could happen in the future, too, if the money and the economy are right. Perhaps one of the Indian tribes should go that route instead of yet another casino.

I agree that the monsoons are not a reason, and the weather in the summer? Well, open early in the morning, and stay open late at night. There won't be big crowds in the middle of the day, but that won't matter if there's crowds at other times.

[wit-nit]

Could be that people have moved here to get away from it all, such as theme parks and touristy things.

Could be that people, espcially with school children, would not like to come here during summer vacations because it's too hot.

Could be that people that live here want to go to the west coast for a change of scenery.

Could be that the Grand Canyon area is more attractive to tourists than cacti.

Could be that developers want a sure thing.

There are a lot of could be's. No one has the answer. My guess would be if a theme park were to happen it would be at least 30+ years away until a place could be built between Phoenix and Tucson when all that area is completely populated. Could be...

[amatrine]

I remember in the 80;s they Said by the year 2,000 that the area between Tuscon and Phoenix would meet. I do not think that will ever happen.

I think a small theme park would be nice. Not something outrageous .
A water park would do well I think with rides. Provide lots of shade.
Open at night.

[isitrigged]

Arizona is famous for Meteor Crater, ASU is one of the best schools to study Astronomy, even NASA uses the Arizona deserts to best simulate conditions on Mars and the Moon. I think a space themed amusement park will do really well here in the Arizona desert.

I'm not talking about Space Jam, Marvin the Martian, and other typical iconic characters or celebrities featured at themed amusement parks that would cost a fortune to license. Rather something educational, theoretical, science-fictional. A place where people could experience visiting the past or the future, the extreme heat on Mercury or Venus, or the frigid cold of Saturn or Neptune, or the pressure of Jupiter's gravity pull. Lands where the laws of physics seem to break, where aliens are common in the universe.

I think a space themed amusement park offers huge potential. It would be very educational, inspire future generations to study astronomy, it's uniqueness is likely to draw big crowds, attract tourism, and compete with neighboring parks, the Arizona heat would contribute to the theme, Arizona heat could be easily combat with water attractions, misters, tarp/shaded rest areas, and indoor venues without clashing with the theme of the park.

[stephen431]

I'd love to have a few good roller-coasters nearby, but I don't think it'll happen anytime soon. Building brand new parks is incredibly expensive and with very, very few exceptions, theme-parks are not big money makers. Six Flags has been through bankruptcy several times and probably half of their portfolio of parks were bought from other bankrupted owners. I remember Kings Island going through about a half dozen different owners in 2 decades (so glad Cedar Fairs bought them, because there were rumors of closing the park).



What I'm really surprised by is Arizona's lack of something like Chicago's Museum Campus. For those who haven't been there, it's a little finger of land that sticks out into Lake Michigan where the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium all sit next to each other. A big, stand-alone aquarium would be fantastic for Phoenix, especially in the summer months.