ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Splendid China closed on the last day of 2003 after struggling 10 years to find a moneymaking niche, but other local theme parks were thriving.
A crowded Walt Disney World claimed record attendance over the Christmas holidays, and Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando felt healthy enough to increase ticket prices by $2.
The contrast in fortunes marked the latest in a Darwinian shakeout in central Florida’s tourism market in which only the biggest and strongest have survived two years of stagnant growth since the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Other properties that have closed recently include the Hyatt Orlando and decades-old Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, although a Georgia theme park owner is negotiating to buy Cypress Gardens. Florida Splendid China’s owners hope to find another buyer.
“If the market grows, everybody gets their share,” says Steve Baker, a theme park consultant.
The problem for the 76-acre Florida Splendid China was that the market wasn’t growing for the past two years.
On good days, the theme park, indirectly owned by the Chinese government, averaged 400 visitors, who came to see the park’s miniature replicas of Chinese landmarks and watch its acrobatic performers.
By contrast, parks at Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando average tens of thousands of people each day.
Visitors to Florida Splendid China on its last day lamented its closing but were quick to point out the reasons. Shinji Motoyama, 26, a financial analyst from Miami, noted that the park was not well-maintained. Dirt was encrusted on Buddha statues, and some speaker boxes offering prerecorded narrations of the miniatures weren’t working
“It’s not so good, the preservation,” said Mr. Motoyama, who was visiting with his parents. “It seems old and broken in some places.”
Serge Huot, a businessman from Quebec visiting with his parents, said Florida Splendid China offered no breathtaking rides or flashy shows like those at the other theme parks. “People love more explosions than culture,” he said. “The big problem — it’s not against the American people — but culture in the United States is hard to sell.”
Victor Trinh, a computer scientist from Washington who was visiting the park while in Orlando for a family reunion, said Florida Splendid China most likely outlived its usefulness as a pro-China propaganda tool. A holding company of China Travel Service, which is a Chinese government travel agency, owns the park.
Although the park is only indirectly owned by the Chinese government, it was picketed regularly by Tibetan-rights activists who objected to the inclusion of exhibits on ethnic minorities they say are oppressed by the Chinese government, such as those from Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, which the Muslim minority there calls Eastern Turkestan.
Retirees Alva and Joe Gibney said the park hardly advertised. “Look how much the others spend on advertising,” Mrs. Gibney said.
News of Florida Splendid’s closing caused a boost in attendance on its last day. The park had about 750 visitors, about three times its normal attendance. That hardly kept up with the larger theme parks at Disney, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando.
Two Disney parks, the Magic Kingdom, which can hold about 50,000 people, and Animal Kingdom, which can hold 25,000 to 30,000 visitors, claimed record attendance over the holidays. Officials said they had to turn away visitors three times during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day because the parks were so crowded.
Officials at the Florida parks owned by Anheuser-Busch, SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa, were so confident about the prospects for 2004 that they rang in the new year by raising ticket prices by $2. Tickets at the parks now cost $57.46 for adults and $47.78 for children, making them the most expensive in Florida for the time being.
On Jan. 9, Universal Orlando also raised single-day ticket prices by $2, increasing its admission to $57.33 for adults and $47.75 for children.
The price of a Fun Card, which allows Florida residents unlimited entrances into the Busch parks, will increase $8 to $63.85 for adults and $53.20 for children. The increases were justified because of plans for new shows, shopping and dining in 2004, said Joe Couceiro, vice president of marketing.
“The parks have a tremendous amount of options [for guests], and we’re going to be expanding them,” Mr. Couceiro said.
When a theme park in Orlando increases ticket prices, the other parks usually follow, but an official at Walt Disney World wouldn’t say if the resort planned to increase its prices of $55.38 for adults and $44.73 for children.
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