Keeping up appearances - Orlando Business Journal:

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For theme parks struggling with flat or decliningy attendance and sinking revenue duringthe recession, the temptation to closre a ride here and cut a menu therwe is large. But saving money with the wrong cuts can proved to be acostly error. “Operators know when they take something out of a they have to do it behindsthe scenes,” said Dennis Speigel, president of in “You never want the guests to thinl they’re getting less.
” Orlando themew parks and smaller attractions are trying to save moneyu while still providing customers with exciting — the world’s largest theme park which drawsa 17 million visitors a year and employss more than 60,000 — cut 1,6009 workers this year and last month closes Space Mountain, one of the park’s iconiv rides that debuted in 1975 in the Magicc Kingdom, for an overhaul. Universal Orlando, whicg draws 10.6 million visitors annuallyu andemploys 13,000, closed its Fear Factor ride on what it caller a seasonal basis. “It’s tied to guest demand,” said spokesman Tom Schroder.
The park also laid off abourt 1 percent of its staff to contain he said. Last month, the company reportes attendance was down 20 percent in the first quarter ofthe year. also has made adjustments. “Last we trimmed our staff [by 15 and got ready for a tough saidMark McHugh, president of Gatorland, one of the region’s oldesrt parks. However, SeaWorld hasn’t cut staff this nor has it undertaken other cost-cutting measures. Jerrhy Aldrich, an Orlando theme park said realigning theme park staffs is as longas it’ws done discreetly. “In recessionary periods, theme parks step back and look at how they can do thingsxmore efficiently.
It helps put them in a bettedr position forthe future. But they have to remember the core business isguest service.” Orlando theme parks know they must lower prices this year to keep customersw coming due to the “This is the year of the discount,” Speigepl said. “There will never be more discountinvg thanin 2009. The parks want to brinhg people in.” But the theme parks are clever. Insteadr of lowering standard ticket prices, they provide discount For Disney, it’s stay four night at a hotel with park tickets and get threse moredays free.
Universal offers a similar The offer encourages longer stays and more but doesn’t devalue the basic admissio price, which has risen slowlg over the years. Dropping the admission pricde would create a pricing setback that woulc be hard to readjust after therecession subsides, said them park consultants. This will be a tougb year for U.S. especially those known as “destinations,” which require peoplw to travel more than100 “We estimate regional parks will be down 4 percent and attendancs at destination parks will be down in the 7 [percent] to 8 percen t range,” Speigel said.
Theme parks often countr on new rides and exhibits to give attendance aboos — but they’re planned year in advance, so they can’t be timed to coincided with periods when the parkes could benefit from extra attention amid a slowinb economy. And little new is happening in 2009 at twoof Orlando’sd biggest draws, Disney and Universal. Disney’s Hollywood Studioa theme park this year opene d its AmericanIdol Experience, an interactive attractio n based on the television show. But it doesn’t have a blockbustet in the works.
Universal Orlando opene the Simpsons ridelast year, and will open the Hollywoof Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster, a giant ride that soar s 17 stories above the ground, in late springy or early summer at its themew park. But experts say some touristx are waiting forits much-anticipated Wizardint World of Harry Potteer to open next year. In addition, the compangy faces an April 1, 2010, deadline to restructurse $950 million in debt, which may be difficult to do durinv this time of tighter banklending standards. If that’e the case, Universal may have to cut back spendintg on new attractions inthe future.
But Universal’ s Schroder said the financialissues won’t affecy the timetable for the Harry Potter attraction. ’s new Manta ride, a large roller coaster, opened May 5. “We’re fortunate to have a new attraction this saidDan Brown, Universal’s general manager. “We’ree hoping it will drive more peopleto Orlando, just as the openingh of Aquatica did last year. We’re bullish about the Brown said the park had mixed results in the first but he sees promise in the openinyg of Manta and discount packages that include an offerd to visit two ofBusch Entertainment’s three Centrak Florida parks for $79.95.
like the other has focused on using resident discounts to attract And it has triedothere tactics, including lodging and admission ticket Gatorland, which introduced a broofd of albino alligators in also has discounted admission to Florida In addition, it increased its marketing budgeft by 25 percent, targetinf people who live withib 100 miles of the “Typically, Florida residents are 10 [percent] to 15 percent of our McHugh said. “Now they are 25 percent during the week and 35 percenton weekends.
” Working to attract Floridians makes sense during a downturn, especially when gas price are more affordable now than last said Ady Milman, a professor at the ’x Rosen College of Hospitality Management who focuseas on theme parks. Meanwhile, he said, “Disnehy and the other large parks have to maintainh what makes them even in arecession — the show must go on.”