Phase II - Accumulating Cash

Once the initial build-out is complete, we need to switch gears - this is a paid admission park.

• If we do nothing, park admissions start decreasing. Ultimately, paid admission parks become unprofitable unless steps are taken.
• We could increase the loan and build more so capacity stays ahead of the number of guests. This only delays the need for more drastic action.
• Any of the techniques described in the article Paid Admission Parks will work. In this scenario I put the hammer down using the most drastic and effective measure: I kicked the guests out by closing the park. Twice. In year one.

By kicking the guests out the park, capacity once again exceeds the number of guests, maximizing admission income.

The tricky part was how to do this, while not losing too much momentum at the gate. The solution: do it quickly. This requires preparation. Fully two weeks before closing the park, I placed a number of "do not enter" signs (including in front of ride entrances), and closed Treetop Flyer (the coaster furthest from the entrance). This herded the guests towards the front of the park. Then I systematically began closing the remaining rides.

The layout of the park was intended to facilitate a hasty peep exit when the park closed. The very front of the park has no shops or stalls to distract them. No benches were built - they won't exit the park if they are sitting down.

As a result, when I closed the park in early June, and again in early August, it took slightly over a week to flush most of the peeps out. It's not worth the time or effort to get rid of them all.

The first "Peep Round-Up" June 2 - 10, Year 1

The second "Peep Round-Up." They buy a lot of balloons when they're trapped.

Financial results of the first five months

The main points of the first five months' results:

• Total ride construction cost of the initial build-out was only about $23,000, including landscaping.
• Park admissions peaked in April, and were already slowing in May.
• Despite closing the park for over a week in June, admissions were a respectable $11,800 - probably greater than if the park had stayed open the whole month. I charged $50 admission for the whole game.
• Closing the park in June set up a huge July - admissions totaled $16,750 - the biggest month I had in the game.
• The shops did best during the "roundups" - the second one began in early August - when the peeps were forced to repeatedly walk in front of several of them.
• By the end of July, the loan was paid off, there was over $44,000 in cash, and the second "round-up" was just around the corner.
• During June and July I demolished most of the paths and landscaping, garnering over $10,000 for my efforts.

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