You know how PBS shows are always ended with that phrase? Quality is most often is synonymous with expensive. Cutting corners and trying to save a buck typically diminishes the end result. Which is why anything of quality comes with a price tag.
When starting this venture, Liz and I both explored and researched all of the options in what would result in a quality afternoon for BOTH parents and children. We strive to include activities that are entertaining for the kids, but also provide some bonding time for families as a whole and offers an environment where parents enjoy themselves as well.
Anyone can choose to spend an afternoon at locations where they have a big giant mouse singing music and wile away the hours playing skeeball and chasing your kids around the tubes and slides. Throw in some mediocre pizza and soda and you leave with a headache, spent a small fortune and all you have to show for it are some trinket toys.
We debated the ticket prices for a long time. Went back and forth on how to determine what ticket prices would cover our costs, but not seem too boding for a large family to purchase an afternoon of quality. We realized that there are alot of things to factor in (cost of living in various cities, for one).
We came up with a formula that we felt was reasonable for an afternoon of fun for an entire family. Once you purchase tickets,you don’t have to open your wallet again,unless you want to purchase an adult beverage or tip the service vendors. A “price of admittance” feel was what we both thought was the best option.
We have yet to make a profit for the two of us, and have yet to pay ourselves back from our initial investment. And that’s ok. It’s ok, because at the heart of Rock-n-Tot is our desire to create an afternoon where families can reconnect. We both knew that the path of creating Rock-n-Tot would not afford us any extra luxuries or pay for our next vacation. We both knew that there would be a huge challenge in our efforts to have word-of-mouth advertising alone and we both knew that not every family would find a Rock-n-Tot afternoon something that would regularly make it on their calendar, month after month.
What we didn’t know – at the beginning of this – was whether our communities would embrace the idea and support us in our efforts.
We definitely want this to continue – we both want to have Rock-n-Tot events in our cities for as many months as it is humanly possible. We also know full well that we rely on “viewers like you” to keep us Rock-n-Tot events as a constant and consistent part of weekend options.
we loved Rock-n-tot