Remember...... Disney owns abc and Petah Jennings. MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press Writer Dec 22, 2001
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) _ Most of North America's largest theme and amusement parks suffered declines in attendance this year, hurt by fears of air travel after Sept. 11 and a slowing economy.
Most of North America's smaller, regional parks, however, either held their own or experienced attendance gains, in part due to their accessibility by car, according to estimates in Monday's issue of Amusement Business, a trade publication.
``As far as the big parks, it was not a banner year by a longshot,'' said Tim O'Brien, a senior editor at Amusement Business, who put together the estimates. ``The regional parks always say 'We'll do all right in a recession or when the economy is bad.' That kind of was proven this year.''
Worldwide, an estimated record 250 million people visited the 50 most popular theme parks in the world in 2001, a 2 percent increase over last year. The attendance increase was fueled by the openings of Universal Studios Japan and Tokyo DisneySea. The most popular park in the world was Tokyo Disneyland, which drew an estimated 17.7 million people, a 7 percent increase over 2000.
In North America, overall attendance at the 50 most popular theme parks declined slightly to 173 million visitors in 2001, down from last year's 175 million visitors. The 10 largest parks in North America, seven of which are located in Orlando, lost more than 7 million visitors from the previous year.
But the fallout from Sept. 11 could have much worse, O'Brien said. Most of the regional parks were closed or only open on weekends in September, and the fall is considered one of the slowest times of the year for the larger, year-round parks.
One regional park, Knott's Camp Snoopy located in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., saw a 7 percent decrease to 2.4 million visitors because of the terrorist attacks. The Mall of America was mentioned in news reports as a possible terrorist target, which kept visitors away.
Parks owned or operated by The Walt Disney Co. were among the most popular in the world. The five most popular parks in the world were: Disneyland Tokyo; the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando; Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.; Disneyland Paris; and Everland in South Korea.
In North America, the five best-attended parks were: The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World with 14.7 million visitors, down 4 percent from last year; Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. with 12.3 million visitors, down 11 percent; Epcot at Walt Disney World with 9 million visitors, down 15 percent; Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World with 8.3 million visitors, down 6 percent; and Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando with 7.7 million visitors, down 7 percent.
Walt Disney World officials had said earlier this year that attendance dropped by 25 percent in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks but the parks picked up some of that loss toward the end of the year.
Of North America's largest parks, Anheuser-Busch-owned SeaWorld Florida and SeaWorld California fared the best by diverting its focus to local and regional visitors. SeaWorld Orlando's attendance slipped to 5.1 million visitors from last year's 5.2 million visitors. SeaWorld California's attendance jumped 13 percent to 4.1 million due to brisk sales of season passes.
Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va. had a 17 percent increase to 2.7 million visitors fueled by a strong drive-in market and a new Ireland section.
Overall attendance at the theme and amusement parks should be flat next year, but the regional parks should be able to build on their success, O'Brien said.
``A lot of the parks are spending money on creature comforts, nicer restaurants, shade, more park benches,'' O'Brien said. ``The regional parks are looking for a hit next year at the gate.''
Remember...... Disney owns abc and Petah Jennings.