Amusement Park
 

Stupid Question:

Assuming SHTF, doom and gloom, food and gas shortages, great depression part deux.

Will people still go to the movies and amusement parks?

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seriously...doom and gloom business idea.

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Yes. Entertainment usually does very well during times of doom and gloom. Expensive places like Disney World might not do so well, though.

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cheap whiskey and playing cards.

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Hard to say. Localized SHTF, i.e., confined to say North America, I'd say the big players do okay - these parks would be full of employees happy as hell just to have a min wage job, and tourists from other continents taking advantage of a lopsided exchange rate. Was in Orlando a couple weeks ago, and heard LOTS of foreign accents/languages.

Global SHTF, like on a Weimar or Zimbabwe scale, I can't see people popping for roller coaster rides when the supermarket shelves are empty....

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Movies theaters did well in the depression. My Daughter works at Theater and she said the majority of tickets are bought on credit cards now.

I think dollar or two dollar movies theaters would do well in another depression but I cant see blowing a weeks worth of Grocery money taking the family to a movie, drinks, candy and popcorn.

Most of the money made on movies are through those horrible high priced concession stands. Back in the depression movie stars didnt make 20 million a film. They might have to take a pay cut.. :tongue_ma:

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Where I live now (Jacksonville, Fl) there's a place called adventure landing that is apparently doing better than before because nobody can afford the gas to go to places like Orlando or Disney here. Don't know about the theatres here though I'd imagine the drive in doing well since it's a per car ticket price.

And FYI for movie theatres... the ticket money goes to the movie companies. The theatres money comes from concessions.

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Are you kidding? I live a 30-minute drive from a huge amusement park and I can't hardly afford to go there NOW. I think that, as in the Great Depression, we're more likely to see an emphasis on cheaper recreational activities:

budget movie theaters
bowling alleys (that don't charge $5 per person per game)
picnics and volleyball in the parks
kite-flying at the beach
home entertainment with local friends and family - as in bbqs, potlucks, etc.

When my mom was a kid movies were 5 cents for the Saturday matinee, and bowling was 10 cents per game. But their favorite forms of recreation involved getting together with the neighbors. A whole group of kids and two parents caught the streetcar to the beach. Kids met at a local vacant lot, had a bonfire, roasted potatoes, sang and talked. Sandlot baseball, soccor in the neighborhood street, touch football at the park were really big, and the parents were right in there playing along side the kids. On Friday and Saturday nights a dozen or more families got together and played kick-the-can after a "bring-whatever-you've got" potluck. Mom continued the kick-the-can tradition with me, my siblings and our neighbors. My husband and I continued it with our kids and the neighbor kids, but by the 60s & 70s the other parents had lost interest in playing with their kids...which says a lot.

Hopefully, some of the benefits that comes from TSHTF (in addition to a metals-backed monetary system) will be that people rediscover the joy of playing with their children, of socializing with their neighbors, and rekindling a sense of community. Also, parents are going to be forced to reclaim the responsibility for raising their own children, rather than depending on teachers, ministers, Boy Scout leaders, Campfire Girls leaders, psychologists, daycare professionals, babysitters, etc. doing it for them.

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I remember growing up back in the '50s when we'd head for the Saturday afternoon double feature (usually a western and a monster flick), plus 2 or 3 cartoons, plus a "short subject". 25� to get in and 10� for a box of popcorn. Great fun!

We had nightly "kick the can" or "hide and seek" games with all the neighborhood kids every summer evening in our back yard while our kids were growing up.

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Good post, Shirley. :bear_thumb:

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Problem is Americans won't be able to afford to go there.

And everyone else in the world hates the U.S.

Plus it is not as easy to get in as it used to be.