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Marineland of Canada (may be) closing/sold

And there it goes...

Canada’s Marineland announces sale of iconic amusement rides​

Zierer's North American sales rep is brokering the deal. Everything is on the table, Dragon Mountain included. Theoretically someone could swoop in and relocate it, but who am I kidding really.

 
And there it goes...


Zierer's North American sales rep is brokering the deal. Everything is on the table, Dragon Mountain included. Theoretically someone could swoop in and relocate it, but who am I kidding really.


This sucks. It really sounded like someone was lined up to buy the park and transform it. I guess no one wanted to deal with the 800 pound whale in the room.
 
Am I crazy for not thinking this is a death knell for this property being used as an amusement park? Aside from a flat in 2010 and a flat in 2022, all of those rides are decades old. The current owners need money to relocate the animals so that new owners will go through with the sale, and getting ride of a bunch of old rides might just be a "two birds with one stone" situation.
 
Am I crazy for not thinking this is a death knell for this property being used as an amusement park? Aside from a flat in 2010 and a flat in 2022, all of those rides are decades old. The current owners need money to relocate the animals so that new owners will go through with the sale, and getting ride of a bunch of old rides might just be a "two birds with one stone" situation.

It would be very surprising to me that an amusement park operator would buy marineland and sell the existing rides. They were just running 2 years ago, I can't imagine it would be cheaper to dismantle them and sell them than refurbish.

It was my understanding that the agreement to sell the land was that it had to be kept a park. But, maybe that changed after they failed to secure a buyer or a deal went through.

Economically, its not a great time to be building an amusement park and Wonderland/Darien are close by. The 6 flags/Cedar merger was not for the lolz, they are closing parks left and right. SIgn of the times.
 
It would be very surprising to me that an amusement park operator would buy marineland and sell the existing rides. They were just running 2 years ago, I can't imagine it would be cheaper to dismantle them and sell them than refurbish.

It was my understanding that the agreement to sell the land was that it had to be kept a park. But, maybe that changed after they failed to secure a buyer or a deal went through.

Economically, its not a great time to be building an amusement park and Wonderland/Darien are close by. The 6 flags/Cedar merger was not for the lolz, they are closing parks left and right. SIgn of the times.
I will say, it sounds like this was not a decision from any "new" owners, but from the current ones. No sale has been finalized. I feel it's possible the current owners just need a rapid influx of cash to relocate the animals, and could assuage any fears from the buyers by bumping the price down a bit.
 
🤷‍♂️ got...dem....credz. 🤷‍♂️
So glad I fiddled my plans in 2018 when this place already looked pretty doomed. Got all the creds, so as far as I'm concerned you can burn it all to the ground and replace with a housing estate.

Just don't hurt (or keep hurting) the remaining animals.
 
I had some assistance in getting ahold of ride prices the other week, if anyone was curious. Can't list the official document but here's a copy paste;

Boat Carousel, Tivoli Wheel, Lady Bug Coaster, Orca Screamer - $75K each
Flying Dragon - $85K
Wave Swinger - $110K
Viking & TeaCups - $125K each
Eagle Tower - $149K
Bumble Bee - $395K
Ocean Odyssey - $435K
Magic Experience - $495K
Sky Hawk Condor - $649K
Sky Screamer - $745K
Star Voyager - $1.249M
Dragon Mountain - $2.495M
 
The pricing on the Condor and Magic seems crazy to me. I don't believe either has run in several years. Maybe their rarity makes them valuable for parts 🤔

The trio of Zierer rides (Tivoli coaster, Flying Carpet, and Wave Swinger) seem like a great deal in comparison.

Gene Staples loves to collect used rides. And Niagara Amusement Park is right across the border...
 
The pricing on the Condor and Magic seems crazy to me. I don't believe either has run in several years. Maybe their rarity makes them valuable for parts 🤔

The trio of Zierer rides (Tivoli coaster, Flying Carpet, and Wave Swinger) seem like a great deal in comparison.

Gene Staples loves to collect used rides. And Niagara Amusement Park is right across the border...
I rode the Magic Experience in 2023, the last year any of that stuff operated. Not sure about the Condor though, that was down then.
 
Dragon Mountain's asking price seems rather steep as well, considering that relocating a ride like it is going to cost a small fortune.
 
Dragon Mountain's asking price seems rather steep as well, considering that relocating a ride like it is going to cost a small fortune.
That price tag raised my eyebrow as well.

Given the fact that it's over 40 years old, completely outdated tech, gigantic, and a terrain coaster, I can't imagine any entity purchasing it to relocate it.

I looked up the price of scrap steel on Google and it looks like it typically goes for around $200/ton. Is it possible that Dragon Mountain has ~12,000 tons of steel? It is a huge rollercoaster, but I really have no idea how much steel is typically used per linear track foot for an old Arrow steel coaster.
 
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Dragon Mountain's asking price seems rather steep as well, considering that relocating a ride like it is going to cost a small fortune.

It might be priced in a way that offsets its loss to a potential land buyer.

The whole selling of the park rides to pay for the removal of the animals is a bit of a catch 22.

On one hand you raise the capital to remove them, but you also lower the buying value of the park. So you don't want to sell them too cheaply. They might even come to the conclusion that this is not a good investment to do. Basically its putting out feelers to see if this is a possible avenue, without firesaling things.

Yes, Dragon is old but it still works and it still could work for a lot longer. Arrow Loopers are very common and parts are still available.
 
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