April 10, 2009

Holiday, discounts pack crowds into Orlando's theme parks   

By Sara K. Clarke and Jason Garcia
Sentinel Staff Writers

Crowds have descended on Orlando's theme parks this holiday week, giving a much-needed boost to an industry that has rolled out discounts to keep visitors coming during the worst recession in decades.

Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, the busiest of the region's theme parks, has been so crowded at times that it had to turn away guests. Other parks have been packed as well: Disney's Hollywood Studios was so popular Tuesday that arriving visitors were redirected to Epcot's parking lot, then bused back to the movie-studio attraction. Disney's two water parks reached capacity Thursday.

"They are as crowded as I have seen for the past four, five years," said Michael Hewell, who runs Michael's VIPs, a company that escorts its customers through Disney World and other parks. "Lines [of people waiting outside attractions] have been basically 90 minutes."

Lisa Farrell, at Magic Kingdom on Thursday with her husband and two daughters, noted that the children had gotten into the park for free as part of a six-day vacation package that also included some free meals.

Farrell, 43, said the discounts had made the difference between the family coming to Orlando this Easter week or staying close to home in Charleston, S.C.

"I think that the free dining plan with the two children is what pushed us over," she said.

Universal Studios said its attendance this week is running ahead of projections, and it has boosted its entertainment options for the park's guests. For instance, it has temporarily brought back Fear Factor Live, a show it had closed because of lackluster demand earlier this year.

SeaWorld Orlando brought aboard an extra 1,000 workers to handle the April 4-19 crunch -- the same number of seasonal staff as last year. Attendance is high at all its Florida parks, and its Discovery Cove attraction is sold out through all of spring break, SeaWorld spokeswoman Becca Bides said. Its water park, Aquatica, reached capacity by 11:30 a.m. in three of the past six days.

Some hotels are reporting sold-out nights, and traffic is snarled on International Drive -- just like the good old days.

"It's crazy out here," said Luann Brooks, executive director of the International Drive Master Transit & Improvement District. Trolley ridership along I-Drive -- a key indicator of business within that key tourism corridor -- is on par with last year's Easter period, she said. "I was really concerned we were going to see a huge decrease."

Typical holiday rush? Orlando's tourism industry had prepared for an Easter rush, despite the recession.

Experts say that, even in tough times, the periods that historically generate large crowds -- including the weeks leading up to Easter and the weeks around Christmas and New Year's -- generally continue to draw well.

One reason for that: Tourists historically book those highly prized weeks much further in advance, making travel during those periods less vulnerable to short-term fears.

Also helping to boost demand this year, recession or no, are the discounts offered by all three of the big theme-park resorts and many of the area's smaller attractions.

John Gerner, managing director of Leisure Business Advisors, said this week's crowds are an "encouraging" sign, given the severity of the recession. But he also said it's impossible to know whether it signals a ny kind of broader recovery for tourism.

"Sadly, I don't think we can tell for sure whether this is a clear indication that the worst is behind us," said Gerner, whose consulting firm is based in Richmond, Va. "I think we have to be cautious, and park operators need to continue their proactive efforts to control costs -- and to do so in a way that still makes their parks appealing to guests."

When theme parks fill up with people, it's important to know where those people came from.

"The question is, is it locals or is it out-of-towners?" said Abe Pizam, dean of the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management. "That makes a huge difference."

Where are tourists from?
Parks filled with locals undercut per-capita spending on things such as meals and souvenirs, on which theme parks and other businesses rely for income. And locals "don't contribute anything" to the area's hotels, whose average occupancy rate has fallen to about 60 percent in recent months, Pizam said.

Ed Gilbert, spokesman for a coalition of seven hotels near Downtown Disney, said room discounts for Florida residents and members of the military have helped boost occupancy rates to "dramatically high" levels.

"I would say occupancy is certainly comparable to last year," Gilbert said. "But nobody's getting the [daily room] rate they got a year ago."

Mark McHugh, president and chief executive officer of Gatorland, also attributed some of his attraction's spring-break success to a special, $14.99 admission for Florida residents. The park's business was up 30percent during the first five days of the Easter holiday period compared with last year, he said.

Another boost for tourism this spring could be prices at the pump: The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Florida was $2.10 Thursday, compared with $3.40 a year ago, according to AAA Auto Club South.

As for air travel, officials expect Saturday to be the busiest day of the season at Orlando International Airport, as some people end their Easter vacations while others — whose children have the week after Easter off from school — are arriving.

At least 100,000 passengers are expected to pass through OIA on Saturday, said Carolyn Fennell, an airport spokeswoman.

"We have seen lines over the past couple of days," Fennell said. "We're delighted to see lines at this point."

 

Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel.