Southland Theme Parks Experience Slump

A worldwide theme park slump struck Southern California hard in 1998, with attendance off as much as 9% because of El Nino, the Asian financial crisis, heavy construction in Anaheim and changing demographics.

Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park was the only Southland amusement park that did not post a decline this year. With help from two new thrill rides, its attendance was flat at 3.4 million visitors under new owner Cedar Fair, according to figures released Friday by Amusement Business, a trade publication.

Disneyland, No. 2 nationally behind another Walt Disney Co. park, the Magic Kingdom at Florida’s Walt Disney World, saw attendance fall 4% to 13.68 million, Amusement Business said. Strong local attendance helped offset fewer guests from Asia, with the Anaheim park again the most visited Southland theme park.

At Seagram Co.’s Universal Studios Hollywood, local visits also were strong but foreign woes contributed to a 5% attendance decline to 5.1 million. And at Anheuser-Busch Co.’s SeaWorld in San Diego, attendance reportedly fell 7% to 3.7 million because of El Nino and a lack of major new attractions.

A 9% hit was reported at Premier Parks Inc.’s Six Flags Magic Mountain. Amusement Business said the Valencia theme park never recovered from the winter downpours, logging 3.1 million visitors. A spokeswoman disputed the estimate, saying a new roller coaster, Riddler’s Revenge, and a strong Halloween limited the decline to 4%.

Jack A. Kyser, economist for Los Angeles’ Economic Development Corp., said parks are in a “period of transition” as changing recreational choices by aging baby boomers compound one-time problems such as construction of a second Disney theme park and expansion of the convention center in Anaheim.

“The baby boomers are getting over 50; they don’t have kids at home anymore,” Kyser said. “And some of them want to go somewhere other than theme parks.”

That would help explain why 1998 hotel occupancy rose slightly in Los Angeles County even as theme park visits fell.

Kyser predicted that Disney’s California Adventure, an Anaheim park that will open in 2001, will help attract older tourists along with Brentwood’s Getty Center and the redeveloping areas of downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach and Hollywood.

Tim O’Brien, who compiled the Amusement Business report, said a trend toward higher attendance at small theme parks continued, offsetting declines at large parks. Overall, the publication said, attendance fell 1% nationally and 6% at European and Asian theme parks.

Animal Kingdom, which Disney opened in Florida in April, debuted in the No. 6 spot nationally, with 6 million guests. That contributed to a drop in attendance at Disney’s three other Florida parks of 8% to 10%--more than the company had expected, O’Brien said.

Walt Disney Attractions Chairman Judson Green noted that the company completed a major 25th-anniversary promotion in Florida last year. Despite fires in Florida, rain in California and economic uncertainties, Disney is satisfied with results on both coasts, he said.

“I still think it’s a fabulous piece of the entertainment industry,” Green said.

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Smaller Crowds

Attendance at four of the Southland’s five big theme parks fell this year, in part because of El Nino and the effects of the Asian financial crisis.

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Park Number of visitors, in millions % change Disneyland 13.7 -4% Universal Studios 5.1 -5 SeaWorld 3.7 -7 Knott’s Berry Farm 3.4 0 Six Flags Magic Mountain 3.1 -9

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Source: Amusement Business magazine