I just got back from there with the kiddos. We got there around seven, and traffic was backed up prolly a half mile down the feeder. We went to Santa Town, and I dropped 50 bucks on Santa pics, hot chocolate and a hayride. When we left, traffic was backed up even further down the feeder, and it costs $20 a car to go through!

Wish I had come up with that idea!

No, you wish you had Bill Gates' ideas.

It's changed the past couple of years. I don't think we'll be going back.

I had about 40 minutes two nights ago to do the math on Santa's Wonderland as we were waiting in line. I hypothesized the following:
$20 per car
~50 nights
300 cars per night, average
$300,000

I imagine half that is eaten up in costs, leaving $150k profit. Not too bad for 2 months, plus the time it takes to prepare the park.

Anyone think the numbers need adjusting?

And I didn't even wager a guess at the money brought in at Santa's Town. I didn't get sucked in to stopping there. Maybe you can double that profit number above.

50 nights? probalbly 25 or 30 with only the 10 days in late dec being very busy.

There's no telling how much Santa's Town brings in. Just the basic Santa's picture package cost 24 bucks, and there was a long line for that most of the night. Plus there was a minor admission fee, $2 for adults, $1 for kiddos. Then there was the concessions plus souveniors.

If you don't drive yourself through the lights, you'll probably take a hayride, which goes for $8 a head.

I guess they have to take care of the electric bills somehow.

quote:

---

50 nights? probalbly 25 or 30 with only the 10 days in late dec being very busy.

---

Hmm, you didn't see it the first week or so it was open, did you?

Yeah, sorry, it's 51 nights.

There were probably 200-300 cars in line on each of the nights I passed it in November, and that was just a snapshot in time, not how many cars went through that evening. Anyway, it's a bunch...

[This message has been edited by 99_aggie_grad (edited 12/24/2005 12:28a).]

the dude that owns it used to be an advisor at a&m. apparently when he started, he did it on the side, but after the first year he quit a&m and its his only job. brings in enough to pay all the bills, employees, and support his family for a year.

Our last visit (ever)was a week ago. I wonder what they will find new to charge for next year.

If your going to charge an admission fee (no matter how minimal) you should get something (anything) in return. And to have to stand in line for 45 minutes to pay the admission fee and then go stand in the same line again to buy a token for the hayride is absolutely ridiculous.....why can't you pay all at once.

Don't forget-that place is sitting on a pretty valuable piece of land.

Back east they would call it a "taxpayer"...

Makes enough money to cover the note and the taxes as you speculate that the value of the property will go up and you make a killing on the resale.

Wayyyy overpriced. We'll stick with Christmas in the Park for hot chocolate, hay rides and pictures with Santa. Then Christmas eve, we drive around looking at the beautiful lights CS folks have put up around their homes. My three year old is just as happy for not knowing Santa's Wonderland even exists - kind of like Barney.

As much as it woud seem like worshipping the Antichrist....

Zilker Park in Austin has an awesome light display. Picture the big tree at CS Central Park as a cell phone tower instead. They go big time...

An acquaintance of mine runs a haunted house. He worked from June/July until September getting everything ready, with just a couple of employees. From September to Mid-November was fully staffed and then from November to January was clean up. He cleared about $250k annually after all expenses were paid.

Drive to Bell County.

Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area-- BLORA as we call it locally.

Sponsored by Ft. Hood and between Temple and Kileen.
Five miles of drive through lights according to the promotional material. Music radio channel to listen in car.

Seven dollars a car load.

http://www.hoodmwr.com/magazine/featurestory_mag.htm


[This message has been edited by 3rd Generation Ag (edited 12/24/2005 8:47a).]


[This message has been edited by 3rd Generation Ag (edited 12/24/2005 8:53a).]

[This message has been edited by 3rd Generation Ag (edited 12/24/2005 8:54a).]

I went to the Trail of Lights in Austin a couple nights ago. I'll give you that the giant light tree on the radio tower is cool, but man either the quality of that trail has gone way down, or I didn't notice how crappy it was in high school.

Guess you can't complain for it being free though.

while it is a moneymaker now, i gotta think its a one time only thing and people usually dont make two visits meaning the business will drop eventually.

quote:

---

No, you wish you had Bill Gates' ideas.

---

What idea did Mr. Gates have? You mean to steal an OS from someone else and resale it? Smart business, but not much of an idea.

quote:

---

while it is a moneymaker now, i gotta think its a one time only thing and people usually dont make two visits meaning the business will drop eventually.

---

You'd be right in most places, but this is college station. Every 4,5, or 6 years for some of us, you have a turnover of about 45000 people in the town that haven't seen it yet. Keep in mind that certain people will take a date each year they are in cs (16 bucks for 2 ppl on the hayride is cheaper than 2 movie tickets), the organizations that do date parties and things there, and the people that live around cs that will go every year or so (they do exist). I don't think a downturn in business should be expected, unless A&M shuts down.

A&M might shut down

I did hear talk of turning it into an asylum.

If A&M does shut down, does that mean that Texags would shut down ? ? ?

Trail of Lights is definitely down in recent years - as well as 37th and 1/2 or whatever the hell that crazy street is in Austin with all the lights.