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Strange questions that sometimes need answering (or not asking in the first place really).

Bowser said:
You'd think MJ could have splashed out on a B&M.
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Funnily enough, I remember saying something similar a few years ago.

If I had that much money (and space), I might have built some more ambitious rides - but, then again, building thrill rides may have attracted rowdy teenagers rather than families and sick children.

I remember hearing speculation that the West Midlands Safari Park removed Cobra in part because they didn't want boisterous teenagers potentially causing trouble around animals.
 
Secret Weapon said:
Funnily enough, I remember saying something similar a few years ago.

If I had that much money (and space), I might have built some more ambitious rides - but, then again, building thrill rides may have attracted rowdy teenagers rather than families and sick children.

I remember hearing speculation that the West Midlands Safari Park removed Cobra in part because they didn't want boisterous teenagers potentially causing trouble around animals.
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You do realise that Neverland Ranch wasn't actually open to the paying public, don't you? It was for his (and his invited guests) personal enjoyment.

Jackson controlled exactly who came onto the property. Building a B&M invert wouldn't have "attracted rowdy teenagers", because teenagers couldn't just buy a ticket and wander in. The guest list was entirely at his personal discretion and famously... specific.

I think you're also vastly misunderstanding the private wealth of musicians, especially in 1990s and (importantly) their access to capital.

Whilst Jackson's net worth was astronomical, it was largely tied up in highly illiquid assets (namely the ATV / Sony music publishing catalogue and the real estate of the ranch itself). Buying an off the shelf Zamperla family coaster is one thing. Commissioning a $10 million custom B&M, paying for the massive civil engineering required to build it and then funding the exorbitant ongoing OpEx just to cycle it a few times a week for your invited guests is a completely different financial reality.

Even the King of Pop had a credit limit.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
You do realise that Neverland Ranch wasn't actually open to the paying public, don't you?
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You're right: I've just checked, and apparently they were unable to open it to the general public due to zoning restrictions (other than a handful of specific special occasions).

It seems that Michael Jackson wanted to open it to the public, though (according to the link below).

I wonder if he knew this before he bought it? I get the feeling that he didn't, because why else would he have kept trying to open it publicly? It's unfortunate, because I think the theme park could have been successful if paying guests had been allowed.

Even if he didn't have much cash available himself, he could have taken the Silicon Valley approach* of using his name to attract investors into the project (although this could have ended badly if the allegations against him were still made in this alternate timeline).

(*Elon Musk is a famous exception to this rule, as he actually used his own money - rather than investors' - to fund his third big project: SpaceX)

[On a sidenote: Neverland is an interesting choice of name, because I remember hearing that Peter Pan is one of the few (if not only) old British books that it is not in the public domain, as the profits from the book go to charity - but maybe this restriction doesn't apply in the USA?]

Maybe he should have built more rides around his music videos, such as a dark ride or scare maze around Thriller, a duelling coaster around Black or White**, a wooden coaster around Leave me Alone, a hall of mirrors for Man in the Mirror, a launched coaster for Speed Demon, etc

(**You could rig the ride so that the black and white trains arrive into the station at the same time, with the voiceover announcing that "it don't matter if you're black or white!")

www.cosmopolitan.com

Here's what happened to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch

The price was recently slashed by $70 million
www.cosmopolitan.com www.cosmopolitan.com
 
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