Why do Amusement Parks Close Attractions? Reasons for Ride Removals
Few phrases carry more emotional weight in the amusement industry than “ride removal.” No matter the circumstances, someone will be upset — and the PR team will feel it. You can announce the closure of a 30-year-old attraction that rarely sees a full queue… and suddenly it becomes the most beloved ride in the park. Nostalgia is powerful. So is social media. But behind every removal announcement is a calculation. Sometimes several. Below are the primary criteria parks use when deciding whether to retire an attraction. 1. Service Life Ah, yes... there's that popular word that gets thrown around a lot in the amusement industry, but what does it really mean? Service life used to be a much vaguer term, but recently it has taken more of a serious meaning. When many parks decided to retire attractions in recent years, the phrase "the attraction has outlasted its useful service life" has been a popular scapegoat. Usually this means that a major issue, or several compounding i...
