Martin,
Very right on points about the FL FunPark...it is a shame that it has been there for 16 years or so, and we have driven right by the exit off I-95 about that many times since then. There is almost no information available locally about this FP; I asked folks in the nearby stores and Marriott hotel where we stayed a few miles away.
It slays me as a former marketing professor to see no marketing in the day of the Internet.
There should be stories galore about this place in the FL media at least with all their dependence on tourists. And there is so little interesting stuff to do there unless you enjoy golf or the beach and want a serious bout with melanoma. (The only other places I care for in the Palm Beach area are the Norton Museum of Art and the monstrous, but eye pleasing modern courthouse where we got married on the spur of the moment when Hubby had the morning off from work, but that is another story.)
The lack of an outdoor play area is also upsetting even though the kids would fry about half of the year. There is no reason they cannot build it under a roof of some sort. Kids need to play outside everyday, and the Zirndorf Park looks wonderful. Outdoor places to play are so limited for kids everywhere these days. (See
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/07/22/1361469/apex-lets-children-play-in-some.html?story_link=email_msg for our local problem with so few parks and playgrounds.)
The area where FL FP is located is a bit of a tough neighborhood from what we could tell. Maybe safety could be a problem there or parents might not want their kids outside. At least real estate prices should have gone down in the long term bust FL has experienced the past 5 years. Maybe this is a good time to rethink this FP and find a better location.
I definitely would consider a putt putt course as part of the outside attractions because it is popular for kids and can be fun for parents, too. Our boys loved putt putt in the 5-10 year old range. And pirate ships and knights' castles are so common in putt putt courses.
A clerk says that she has seen HB a couple of times in the 4 years she has been there, so it does not sound like a high priority for management. What a missed marketing opportunity.
It is interesting that there were so many foreigners in the store stocking up carts with toys to take home to wherever. Most were likely from Central and South America. They know how great the stuff is at home; maybe we could try to increase that feeling among the natives in this country.
And with no PM store in the Orlando area the last few years, there is no other outlet for tourists or locals in the Disney area of FL, the magnet for most US families with children. We don't care for the Orlando area except for Winter Park with its expanded Morse Museum's collection of Tiffany glasswork....the largest exhibit in the world.
Hope you get to visit this FP soon even with its lack of marketing splendor, Pgal
