A Queen’s Ransom : Ship Lovers Say Money-Losing Attraction Must Be Tossed a Life Preserver

If not the Walt Disney Co., if not the Harbor Commission, then God save the Queen.

That, more or less, appeared to be the consensus among visitors Saturday taking in the historic charms of the Queen Mary ocean liner in Long Beach. Whatever those who think of the Queen as a civic white elephant may say, visitors Saturday from near and far suggested that the ship belongs to a larger world, an older world, than just Long Beach.

Now that Disney has announced plans to abandon ship when its lease expires in September, the Queen faces a critical vote Monday before the Harbor Commission. The commissioners, facing a consultant’s report that says the money-losing attraction would cost nearly $1 million more per month to operate after Disney departs, must decide whether to close the ship or come up with a more efficient scheme to operate it.

Many visitors were taken aback by the ship’s financial troubles--headline news in Long Beach, but little known elsewhere.

“Oh, that would be a pity,” declared Louise Davidson of Belfast, Ireland, who was visiting the ship as part of a package tour of the American West. “It’s a little bit of home,” said her husband, William.

David and Jean Holster of New Zealand recalled the bygone era when the Queen Mary epitomized luxury travel and the more troubling times when the ship, during World War II, visited New Zealand as a troop transporter. Their children had seen the ship on their visits to the States.

“It’s known all over the world!” Jean protested. “We had to come here to see it.”

Clara McDowell and her 25-year-old daughter, Corrie, who had come from Huntington Beach, seemed even more disturbed as they sipped champagne during a wedding reception on the ship’s aft deck.

Clara recalled how, when Corrie was “just a baby,” the McDowells went out on the family boat to join an armada of pleasure craft greeting the Queen Mary’s arrival. That was in 1967, after Long Beach shelled out $3.4 million amid great hopes of transforming it into a landmark attraction and symbol for the city.

The Queen Mary has been a financial burden ever since. The city spent $66 million to refurbish it as a hotel but income has not covered expenses. In 1988 the Disney Co. took over operations of the ship. The future of the Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes’ flying boat that is housed nearby, is also in doubt.

Despite the financial problems, the Long Beach City Council recommended last week that the Harbor Commission provide funding until a new operator can be found. The commission appears to be split on what to do. In a report to the city, Economic Research Associates said it would cost $2.7 million to run the ship until the end of the year, after Disney drops its lease in September. If the Queen Mary Hotel is closed, but the ship remains open, it would cost $1.6 million for three months, the report said.

Some officials are calling for the least expensive option of all: closing down the attraction, which employs nearly 1,000 people. Other city officials say they will fight to keep it open.

“I’ve been bringing relatives here practically since it opened,” said Clara McDowell as she took in the panorama of city and harbor.

Overhead, the ship’s vibrant flagging fluttered in a stiff breeze. Opportunistic sea gulls raided unprotected crackers, but none of the guests seemed to mind. Someday, Corrie thought out loud, maybe she would have a wedding here. Unless it is closed, like a ghost ship.

“But it’s like a landmark,” Corrie said. “You can’t just close a landmark.”