Theme parks roll out new attractions
Southern California theme parks last year had few new attractions but lots of discounts, bargains and two-for-one deals for recession-weary vacationers.
But this summer get ready for a 3-D King Kong, 200-foot-tall animated waterspouts and a 45-foot-tall Lego water slide.
Buoyed by an improving economy, most major Southern California theme parks have made multimillion-dollar investments in new attractions opening this summer to help attendance numbers rebound from last year’s slump.
Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park already is reporting a big jump over last year in early sales of season passes.
Most theme park managers won’t disclose the cost of the new attractions, but industry experts say any investment signals confidence that theme parks are pulling out of the recession slump.
“There’s certainly a sense of optimism returning to the 2010 season,” said David Mandt, a spokesman for the International Assn. of Amusement Parks and Attractions, a trade group that represents parks and museums nationwide. “I think the parks have weathered the storm well.”
With the economy seemingly on a rebound, industry experts predict that theme parks will offer fewer discounts but will heavily promote this summer’s new rides.
“As market indicators improve, that message will be fine-tuned and tweaked,” Mandt said.
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger said Tuesday that he expected to cut back on discounts and return to “more normal pricing” at Disney parks and hotels this year, but he believed that the visitor numbers would continue to grow.
“It’s possible that we are starting to see signs that consumers are looking past the smaller discount to take the vacation that they want to take,” Iger said during a conference call with industry analysts.
The slew of new attractions and shows debuting this summer are a stark contrast to last year, when most Southern California theme parks offered nothing new except bargain ticket deals to entice penny-pinching tourists.
Despite the discount offers, attendance numbers dropped sharply last year for all Southern California theme parks, except for Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure.
Crowd numbers declined 6% last year at Universal Studios Hollywood, 6.5% at Knott’s Berry Farm and 12.6% at San Diego’s SeaWorld, according to the Themed Entertainment Assn., a nonprofit that represents park designers and builders.
Meanwhile, attendance increased 8% at Disneyland in Anaheim last year and 9.5% at Disney’s California Adventure Park.
During an earnings report for the second quarter of 2010, however, Iger said attendance at all of Disney’s domestic parks was down 4% compared with the same period last year.
But early ticket sales suggest a brighter summer for all theme parks.
Since November, Knott’s Berry Farm has sold about 100,000 season passes, nearly twice as many as the same period last year, park spokeswoman Jennifer Blazey said.
The ticket sales were bolstered, she said, by a discount of as much as 33%, depending on how early visitors buy the season passes.
The park is planning to launch a new light show featuring the “Peanuts” gang May 29.
Theme park fans still want the discounts plus the new attractions this summer.
“We are only going to do this once a year, so we want to make the most of it,” said Mike Smolka, a carpenter from Vancouver, Canada, who visited Universal Studios Hollywood this week with his wife and four boys. “We want new rides. Why not?”
The couple bought discounted tickets for Universal Studios and Disneyland through a membership warehouse store.
In the battle of the Southern California parks, the two superpowers, Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland, are expected to unleash the summer’s most popular attractions.
In July, Universal Studios opens King Kong 360 3-D, the latest addition to the back lot studio tram ride.
It uses massive curved movie screens, high-tech 3-D projectors, fans and a “tram mover” system to make visitors believe that they are watching Kong battle a 35-foot Tyrannosaurus rex.
The attraction, designed by Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson, replaces the mechanical Kong that was destroyed in a back lot fire in 2008.
“We are spending the largest amount for a new attraction for the past decade. That is how much we believe in our brand,” said Universal Studios Hollywood President Larry Kurzweil, who declined to discuss the construction cost.
Meanwhile, Disney’s California Adventure Park will offer a nighttime attraction called World of Color that opens June 11. It is a choreographed light show that displays Disney movie scenes on curtains of water that shoot up to 200 feet in the air from a lagoon called Paradise Bay.
“It will give locals and out-of-town guests a compelling reason to visit the resort,” Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said of the new attraction, part of a $1-billion expansion to the California Adventure Park that is expected to be completed in 2012.
In Valencia, Six Flags Magic Mountain plans to add a family-style roller coaster called Mr. Six’s DanceCoaster as well as a new interactive play area at its adjacent water park, Hurricane Harbor.
The two new attractions represent an effort to draw more families and break away from the park’s reputation as a hangout for thrill-seeking teenagers, park President Jay Thomas said.
“We are creating more diversified attractions at our park,” he said. “We’ve been working to clean up the parks, and guests are noticing the difference.”
Next week, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach opens the new $5.5-million Molina Animal Center, where visitors can watch veterinarians treat aquarium animals. San Diego’s SeaWorld has renovated an existing stadium for a new dolphin show opening May 29.
Meanwhile, workers in Carlsbad are putting the finishing touches this week on a $15-million, 5.5-acre water park addition at Legoland, the biggest expansion since the theme park opened in 1999. The water park, featuring a 45-foot tall slide, opens May 28.
Spokeswoman Julie Estrada says Legoland will offer visitors the new attraction, plus an online discount that includes entrance to the park for five days for the price of one.
“People will keep coming back because we give them something better,” she said.
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Coming soon
Disney’s California Adventure: World of Color, a musical light show played on fog and curtains of water shooting up to 200 feet in the air. Opens June 11.
Universal Studios Hollywood: King Kong 360 3-D, a three-dimension attraction along the back lot studio tour that replaces a mechanical King Kong destroyed in a 2008 fire. Opens in early July.
Legoland: A 5.5-acre water park with a 45-foot-tall slide. Opens May 28.
Aquarium of the Pacific: Molina Animal Center, 14,000-square-foot facility where visitors can watch veterinarians treat the aquarium’s animals. Opens May 21.
SeaWorld: A dolphin show called Blue Horizons that features 16 dolphins, two pilot whales and dozens of birds. Opens May 29.
Knott’s Berry Farm: Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular, a new light show featuring the “Peanuts” gang. Opens May 29.
Six Flags Magic Mountain: Mr. Six’s DanceCoaster, a family-style roller coaster, and Mr. Six’s Splash Island, a water play area. The water play area opens May 29; no opening date for new roller coaster.
