Why Aren't Amusement Parks Thriving In The New Economy?

The easy answers to that question: the recession, tourism down generally, cost is too expensive.  But putting all of that aside, it crossed my mind this morning (I don't know why) that I don't know why theme parks (seemingly) haven't been able to capitalize on the fact that they're one of the few entertainment-related destinations that technology shouldn't be lowering the marginal appeal of.  Let me throw these thoughts out there--

1. High-definition television, along with improved camera angles, instant replay, etc have made watching sports on TV really really good.  The difference between watching sports on TV now and watching sports on TV 15 years ago-- as demonstrated by watching five minutes of a not-that-old game on cable, and being really baffled by how bad the color and detail is, even though it seemed to look fine at the time-- is noticeable.  I'd go so far as to say it's a no-brainer that you see a game better on TV than live.  And live sporting events have gotten so expensive that sort of hard to justify going, at least from the perspective of wanting to watch the game.  As an activity once a year, as a destination involving food and crowds and nice weather, it's fine-- but given that every game is televised (which wasn't the case fifteen or twenty years ago), many out-of-market games are now televised as well, and the television broadcast is so good, I would argue there's less of a pull to go to live sporting events now than there used to be.

2. Bootleg live concerts available online, with pretty decent sound.  So one of the pulls of live music (not the only one, of course)-- hearing the songs live, hearing how they sound outside of a studio-- is not so important anymore.  There are more concert DVDs than ever before, recorded music quality is very high, live music quality is not always so good (loudspeaker systems in arenas, etc), concerts are crazy expensive and often overcrowded and way too loud... I would argue, again, there's less of a pull to go to live concerts than there used to be.

3. Movie downloads available online, Netflix, OnDemand, etc.  HD-DVD and BlueRay.  Less reason to go to the movies.

4. Discovery Channel and other stations showing animals in the wild-- this is a less compelling point than (1) through (3), but perhaps this makes zoos less interesting.  I don't believe this, but I'm listing it anyway.

The one thing we haven't found a substitute for-- roller coasters.  Watching a roller coaster on TV is nothing like being on one in person, at least not in the same way as watching a game on TV or listening to a bootleg concert recording can be.

So why shouldn't theme parks be doing amazingly well, in comparison with sporting events and concerts and movie theaters?

I don't really know.

Not to mention -- I don't have real data, but I'm pretty sure my points are all *completely wrong* -- that sports attendance, concert attendance, and movie attendance have all gone way up over the past decade, that more and more people are doing these things and spending more money doing them.  And that amusement parks just haven't kept pace. 

Intuitively, this seems wrong to me.  And yet there it is. An incorrect theory I felt compelled to write about!

Comments

[Ricky Nelson]

I think it has to do with times the park are open and and the lines.

The Six Flags right by me is nice, but you have to when they are open (Spring and Summer only). It can't be raining because it's no fun when it's raining. And then you have to calculate how long you'll have to wait in line for a rollercoaster. For some rides, the wait could be 4 hours for a 5 minute ride.

And unlike movies, concerts, or sporting events once you've been on the ride that's it. There's no new song to be heard, no new team coming into town or a new "must-see" movie.

So you really have to be gungho about the park to go. And we Americans are a lazy people by and large.

[MG]

I'd argue that the cost of theme park admissions have gone up exponentially over the last 15-20 years -- probably at a faster rate than the price of sporting or movie tickets have risen -- and yet, you get less for your money at theme parks than you did back then because the lines are longer and the rides aren't noticeably better.

[jjb316]

Working in the corporate headquarters for a waterpark/amusement park owner and operator I can tell you that there are more people skipping out on the parks for a variety of reasons.

People don't have the patience any more for long lines on rides and for food, trying to squeeze in as much as possible to make the admission price worth it. Another factor is the actual cost of food and beverages, which is really where we make our money. People are not willing to buy theme park food any more. Finally, your comparing sporting events and other spectator attractions leaves out the obvious - amusement and water parks are interactive participatory activities and many adults are shying away from this kind of activity. They're looking for activities that require the least amount of personal effort that yields the most amount of sensory stimulation - could be they're all just tired from working all week and herding the kids for a day at the park seems like more work. More and more adults aren't as likely to be as adventurous with going on the latest freakishly engineered ride (check out the number of adults hurting themselves on rides).

Kids can get their "interactive" fix at home via highly sophisticated video games or, alternatively, the outdoorsy types can utilize free spaces and eat at McDonald's cheaply or at home for free.

We've also noticed that since people don't like to wait on long lines with the masses, civility seems to be shortening these days as witnessed by the increased number of incidents at parks between angry guests.

Taking this into consideration, plus the fact that weather is a HUGE part of the issues parks face during their high-season revenue generating time, it's easy to see why parks are practically giving away season passes these days.

[Online Bootleg Movie Downloads]

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