Eighteen months after its grand opening, Walt Disney Co.'s California Adventure is struggling more than its counterparts, still trying to find an audience at a time when the nation's theme parks are grappling with how to attract patrons in a weak economy.
Figuring that Americans would take more driving vacations and shorter trips closer to home and thereby boost attendance, many theme parks confidently headed into the summer--only to realize the anticipated throngs of local visitors didn't fully materialize and heavy discounting would be needed to keep turnstiles cranking.
Nationwide, attendance this year at theme parks is expected to be down about 15%, analysts said. At Disney's California Adventure, attendance is forecast to be off 20%, while its companion park, Disneyland, probably will see no change in attendance figures.
At California Adventure, which has never reached its original target capacity of 30,000 guests in one day, a summer promotion touting free admission for Southern California children was rolled out for the second year in a row.
"People still don't get what [California Adventure] is about," said Tim O'Brien, a senior editor at Amusement Business, which tracks attendance and other industry trends. "And that's an extra dose of hurt on top of all the external factors everyone else is dealing with, like Sept. 11 and the weak economy."
The 55-acre park opened in February 2001 as part of Disney's $1.4-billion expansion of its Anaheim property around Disneyland. Beset by the recession, the tourism slump after Sept. 11 and some problems of its own making, California Adventure has yet to come close to meeting original attendance projections of 7 million visitors a year.
Disney executives quickly made changes to the park by removing some of the edge from what was billed as an edgier, hipper alternative to Disneyland and making Disney characters more visible--something they originally said they wouldn't do.
Answering Complaints
Paul Pressler, chairman of Walt Disney Co.'s Parks & Resorts Division, said California Adventure has responded to some visitors' complaints, including that there isn't enough for small children to do and that it is short on thrills. Four kiddie rides will debut in October, and a Tower of Terror attraction--copied from the popular ride at Walt Disney World in Florida--will arrive in 2004.
"We didn't anticipate some of the changes we'd need to make, but we've listened closely to our guests," Pressler said. "We had some perception problems in the beginning, and we're still trying to overcome them."
Now almost through its second summer season, the cost cutting at the park, spurred by low attendance, is more apparent than ever. The largest food court there has been closed since Christmas, as have one other food area and a restaurant. Hours have been cut at other restaurants, with some open only on weekends, making it difficult to find places to eat.
Pressler said a lack of demand this summer has prompted the closures of some restaurants inside California Adventure, which also has shorter operating hours than Disneyland and tends to clear out after the Main Street Electrical Parade as guests flock back to Disneyland for an additional two or three hours. The wildly popular event was pulled from retirement last year; park sources said the initial boost in attendance it garnered has begun to taper off.
'Go in, Get out'
"If we come over here for anything, it's just to see the parade and then we're out of here," said Tony Quinn, a longtime annual passport holder who lined up for the nightly show in California Adventure with his wife and two small children. "They don't have the big family rides, the fireworks or anything close to the Fantasmic [light show] that we can get over at Disneyland. Here, it's go in, get out. Disneyland still holds us all day long."
Pressler blames some of the attendance issues on the drop-off in international tourists--which make up 20% of the two Disney theme parks' overall visitors--and guests being more careful this summer with their spending.
But Disneyland continues to perform solidly. Last weekend, Disneyland's attendance topped 50,000 on Saturday, while California Adventure's skimmed the 17,000 mark, said management sources. Disneyland has never discounted admission during the summer, nor has it offered free admission for children.
"We're still struggling with getting awareness up" for California Adventure, Pressler said. "Once people go, our feedback is always very positive. We just need to bring in some added horsepower, and I think the new things we're doing like Tower of Terror will really help get us where we want to be."
New Attractions Key
Especially in tough economic times, industry experts said keeping new attractions brewing is the key to strong attendance--a lesson Six Flags Inc. learned the hard way this summer. The company's chief executive last week said sagging attendance at the company's three biggest parks in New Jersey, Texas and Ohio--where no new attractions debuted this summer--reduced revenue by $25 million in the second quarter compared with a year earlier.
Confident that the summer would be brighter for the company, which operates more than 30 parks worldwide, Six Flags also cut discounts that probably contributed to the 11% drop in attendance, said Glen Reid, an analyst with Bear Stearns in New York. Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia enjoyed slightly better attendance over last year, mostly because of the opening of X, an extreme roller coaster.
"Everyone was a bit surprised at the poor performance because we all thought being in the regional theme park market, Six Flags would be more insulated from this kind of economic downturn," Reid said, noting that the company's
stock tumbled 57% after its earnings announcement. "Everyone was wrong, and now it's a matter of waiting it out."
Deep Discounts
Other theme parks have kept attendance somewhat steady this summer by offering deep discounts. Sea World in San Diego and Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., for example, have offered free admission for the rest of the year to guests who purchased one full-price ticket in the spring.
At Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, where healthy crowds are turning out for a new roller coaster, discount coupons routinely are offered through grocery stores and fast-food chains. At times, Knott's gives discounts to guests who bring a Coca-Cola product.
Similar offers have helped boost attendance by as much as 28% at Universal Studios, which since mid-June has allowed kids 15 and under free admission with a paying adult. Spokesman Eliot Sekular said the summer has been one of the strongest as a result, with the park also opening two attractions, including one featuring Spider-Man.
"When you see such large-scale campaigns for discounts to locals, you know there's still plenty of room to fill inside that park," said Carl Winston, director of the hospitality and tourism management program at San Diego State University. "They simply wouldn't be giving away free
tickets if they didn't have to, and this summer they all pretty much had to."
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Theme Parks Still Looking for Visitors
By BONNIE HARRIS
L.A.TIMES STAFF WRITER
August 24 2002
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