TEA ERA 3/26/07 4:20 PM Page XIII
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specialized areas that accommodate
more challenging activities such as
TOP 20 NORTH AMERICAN AMUSEMENT/THEME PARKS (2006) surfing wavepools; thrill providers
such as water coasters and centrifu-
Comments 2006
gal force rides; and spray pads and
Kicked off "Year of a Million Dreams" in Oct on the heels of the highly successful 50th anniversary
wading pools for the youngest guests.
celebration. Strong season also fueled by Orlando tourism growth. Reopened Pirates of the Caribbean
“Everyone likes to play in the water,”
ride after makeover observes Martin.
Coming off strong 2005 season and 50th year anniversary celebration. Tourism up. Reopened Pirates of
the Caribbean and new nighttime version of Space Mountain
European parks have a method for
Opened new attraction, Seas of Nemo and Friends. Good international tourism response
extending the season that has little to
do with adding infrastructure: the
Second year of “Lights, Motors, Action!” auto stunt show. Star Wars weekends. Benefitted from 50th year
Christmas market. Denmark’s Tivoli
celebrations
Gardens, Germany’s Europa Park,
Strong guest response to major new attraction, Expedition Everest. Continued benefit from 50th
anniversary and new Year of a Million Dreams campaign in fall 2006
Sweden’s Liseberg Park and Italy’s
Opened "Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular", a new high-tech nightly lagoon show celebrating
Gardaland are among those that
blockbuster films. Faced competition from Walt Disney - strong Halloween and 4th quarter. Increased open for a few to several weeks
admission price twice in 2006 similar to Disney
during the winter period, providing a
Part of "Year of a Million Dreams" in Oct on the heels of the 50th anniversary celebration. Opened new
special, seasonal gathering place for
attraction, Monsters Inc
local families and visiting tourists.
The park debuted three rides geared toward young children within its Shamu's Happy Harbor area,
According to Aaen, Tivoli has been
including a Shamu themed roller coaster, a tower ride with a jellyfish theme and a teacup-style beach
the top performer in Europe in
bucket ride, in addition to new Shamu show “BELIEVE”
successfully extending its season—
Opened "High In The Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride", an island where guests journey through seven
specially created scenes. WDW competition and challenging in attracting intl. market
with a new Halloween celebration in
Upgraded features at Studio Tour, a behind-the-scenes experience with 'The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo
October that attracted 250,000
Drift' and 'King Kong', 'virtual studio guide' appearances, and more working sets. Halloween Horror
visitors over 10 days and 965,000
Nights returned in 2006 visitors to the Christmas event in
Opened Pirates 4-D, a film attraction that had previously been opened at other parks and reportedly December. Both events significantly
done well. Successful series of special events. Increased their daily admission, following the lead of
boosted the park’s attendance (to
Disney and Universal
almost 4.4 million—up 5%) and
Very good response to new Shamu show "BELIEVE", which opened Memorial Day - strong summer with
revenues.
tourism up in Southern California
Summer attendance surpassed the park's expectations - during heat wave many choose Knott's Soak City.
In overall attendance figures, the
Lowered adult admission by $5 to $39.95
European park scene is relatively
Coming off anniversary celebrations in 2005. Slightly down
static compared to the United States
or Asia. The Top 10 have not changed
Continuing challenging economic conditions in several key source markets. Lowered admission prices by
much. Geography and strong national
$5 for 2006
identity are major factors. “Each
Slightly down year. New Hanna-Barbera Attraction in Action FX Theater and new Nickelodeon Universe
country has one big park and one
rides and attractions. Winterfest was cancelled
lead market,” points out David Camp,
Added Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge, an interactive dark ride and new family health and services center.
an ERA director based in the
Wet early summer and hot mid/late summer
company’s London office. “Apart
Opened the following: El Toro Roller Coaster with record breaking 76-degree opening drop, a third
from Disney, European parks are
children’s area and Bugs Bunny National Park. Above average rainfall. General down year
regional parks. The big ones get a
Coming off opening of major in-park waterpark expansion in 2005. Added a second parade, fireworks,
little bigger each year.” Some have
more looney tunes characters, addition of the Justice League. Weather was not a major factor on
attendance. Did experience some summer heatwaves
added hotels and other elements,
such as Alton Towers’ new indoor
Launched "Tatsu" in May of 2006, major roller coaster. Wet spring. Generally off-year with attendance
down 12% during key June through December period
waterpark, Cariba Creek. “Adding a
hotel can be good for an attendance
and from reliable TEA/ERA industry and tourism sources increase of 50,000 - 100,000 over the
2005, thus not directly comparable to published AB-ERA list for 2005.
course of a year, depending on the
number of rooms,” notes Camp.
Two additional chains that don’t
appear on our 2006 tallies (because
they are all-indoor facilities and do
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