TM www.AmusementToday.com Vol. 14, Issue 6.1 SEPTEMBER 2010 $5.00 BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill had impact on amusement facilities Although oil spill did not hit all beach areas, lost tourism resulted in lost business for many facilties and attractions Pam Sherborne Pam Sherborne nance, and operations for the many educational pro- Amusement TodayAmusement Today grams come from offerings inside the museum, such as admission into the Imax theater. Scenes of oil gushing from a broken well deep “So, we are very much tied to visitation,” Rags- below the surface of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico dale said. were common beginning in the first couple of weeks Ragsdale started to see the drop in May. It was after British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon rig ex- worse in June and then more so in July. She estimated ploded on April 20. those two months were between 20-25 percent down The explosion killed 11 platform workers and from 2009. uncapped a well that some reports now estimate re- The Gulfarium, an aquarium located right on the leased 4.9 million barrels of oil before efforts to finally beach on Okaloosa Island, Fla., at Ft. Walton Beach, stop the oil seemed successful at the first of August. Fla., is down by 50 percent. Photos of sunbathers on the white sandy beaches “We have filed a BP claim and we have filed of the Gulf shores and in the background workers in amended BP claims,” said Tammy Abrams, public hazardous materials suits cleaning up oil hit the news relations, the first week in August. “We have been and almost immediately cancellations at hotels, mo- heavily, heavily impacted. And, we have had only a tels, resorts, condominiums, and attractions began. When the track of the oil became clear, areas east few little tar balls here and there. I was out on the Tar balls and oil sheens seen on the pristine wa- of the well site started feeling the pinch. beach yesterday and it was absolutely gorgeous. The ters in some regions of the gulf scared away the one “About 90 percent of our business is based on waters were a lovely aqua color. It was just beautiful. thing many along the Gulf coast rely on — tourism. tourism,” said Ron Hardy, an owner of the Gulf But, people are scared.” Even though it appeared the oil had stopped, as World Marine Park, Panama City Beach. “We are sig- No cutbacks have had to be made so far, Abrams more tourists began to head back to the shores and nificantly off. We are down between 23 to 25 percent said, but some budgetary changes were implement- more fishing areas reopened, from Louisiana to as in the main part of our season.” ed. Those changes impacted the hiring of seasonal far east as Apalachicola, Fla., Gulf businesses were Hardy represented one of the few attractions employees. feeling the impact from that oil whether or not it had along the Gulf coast to speak publicly with AT about “We just didn’t hire as many this summer,” she shown up on their shores. the impact. With so many claims against BP still be- said. “During these summers months, May-August, Amusement attractions were right in there with ing negotiated for lost revenues, some representa- we make the majority of our income for the rest of the rest of the businesses that rely heavily on sum- tives from amusement attractions are apparently the year.” mer visitors. keeping their cards close to their chests. With the facility located on the beach, water from Confusion on which way the oil would track at But, when final numbers are in, it won’t be a very the Gulf is run through a filtration system and is used the onset of the Deepwater Horizon explosion led to a good season for many. in the tanks for the marine life. They haven’t had any few cancellations west of the well site, along the Tex- “We were actually up for the first part of 2010,” problems. as seaboard. Jeffrey Siebert, communications direc- said Shelley Ragsdale, public relations/marketing, Chip Cleary, senior vice president, Palace Enter- tor, Schlitterbahn Waterpark, said he did hear those National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, Fla. tainment, which owns Big Kahuna Waterpark, Des- reports. But, the Schlitterbahn parks in both St. Padre “Last year, our attendance was just under 760,000. tin, Fla., one hour east of Pensacola, said: “On behalf Island and Galveston Island were not impacted. We were on target to hit about 800,000 this year. Now, of Palace Entertainment, it (the oil) has had a very “There was some initial confusion,” Siebert said. I think we will end our season in the low 700,000s.” large impact on our business this summer and on the “But, both parks have held their own and business This Pensacola museum, which opened in 1962, Destin region. It is too early to tell right now what looks to be on par with last year.” has free admission. Funds for renovations, mainte- 4See OIL, page 4 INTERNATIONAL AMUSEMENTPARKS WATERPARKS BUSINESS MIDWAY/CLASSIFIEDS SEE PAGES 5-10 SEE PAGES 11-18 SEE PAGES 19-24 SEE PAGES 25-32 SEE PAGES 33-39 Dated material.Dated Register now to attend at www.goldenticketawards.com! RUSH! NEWSPAPER PLEASE 30, 2010 August Mailed Monday, POSTMASTER: 2010 . PERMIT # 2069 # PERMIT P FT. WORTH TX WORTH FT. GOLDEN TICKET . I . PAID V AWARDS US POSTAGE US BEST OF THE BEST! PRSRT STD PRSRT @ 2 AMUSEMENT TODAY September 2010 TM Gary Slade Founder and Publisher [email protected] Industry members to gather at Busch Gardens Williamsburg for Golden Ticket Awards Preparations for Amusement 2010 . Today’s coveted P GOLDEN TICKET . I Golden Ticket . V AWARDS Awards are well BEST OF THE BEST! under way, and the host park for the two-day event, the beautiful Busch Gardens Williamsburg, is hard at work rolling out the red carpet for industry at- Andrew Mellor tendees who will visit on Friday and Saturday, Sept. The importance of being original 10-11. This is a “don’t miss” industry gathering (not to mention always a great time with a lot of laughs!). The opportunity to hear industry delegates to differentiate their venues leaders speak at different events and from one another rather than doing the Special behind-the-scenes tours and a social provide their expert and knowledge- same thing. Of course many operators reception is being planned to kick-off the event on able insights into the many aspects of do strive to be different and work hard September 10, while other activities such as guided the theme park and visitor attraction to provide guests with original ideas, park tours, a day of experiencing Busch Gardens industry is always one worthwhile tak- but there are also venues that often do ing. pretty much the same thing as they’ve Williamsburg in operation, and, of course, the an- Recently I attended the Vision XS Mellor seen elsewhere with little or no effort to ticipated awards show, will entertain attendees on attraction operator’s conference in the put their own stamp on it. September 11. U.K. which this year played host to a number Creating your own identity is important To check out the itinerary for the Golden Ticket of ‘A’ list speakers, including two industry leg- in all walks of life and none more so than in ends in Bob Rogers, founder and chairman of a place where you want to attract visitors time Awards, as well as to register, please log on to BRC Imagination Arts, and John Holland, for- and time again. Guests to theme parks and oth- www.goldenticketawards.com. This event is mer general manager of Animal Kingdom and er types of visitor attractions go to a number of reserved for working professionals in the park and Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Florida. venues each year. If all they get are the same or amusement industry. Representatives from parks Both, of course, provided inspirational and similar experiences then they are going to start and attractions, manufacturers, suppliers, consul- thought provoking presentations, discussing looking elsewhere for their entertainment and the importance of reaching into the hearts of the days out. With constantly increasing competi- tants and more will come together to celebrate audience, being original and empowering staff tion for the leisure dollar, euro, pound, etc., be- another industry season – all in the name of fun. through great leadership, among other things. ing original has never been so important. This is the 13th annual year for the Golden Ticket And it was the point about being original, Audiences are more sophisticated and sim- Awards; they are presented to the “Best of the Best” discussed by Rogers, and the observations he ply won’t put up with seeing the same things made on the effects of globalization on the in- repeated in the facilities they visit. They are in the amusement industry and are calculated from dustry that was one of many I thought about constantly demanding more and better prod- an international poll conducted by the industry later. He noted that very often it was a case of ucts and being original will ensure parks cater trade publication Amusement Today. the same solution for everything and urged to that demand. AMUSEMENT TODAY STAFF ADDRESS, SUBSCRIPTION, POSTMASTER INFORMATION Mailing Address Deliveries Gary Slade Sammy Piccola P.O. Box 5427 2012 E. Randol Mill Rd, Suite 203 Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Accounting / Circulation Arlington, Texas 76011 (817) 460-7220 AWARD WINNER [email protected] Arlington, Texas 76005-5427 1997 • 1999 • 2000 • 2002 • 2004 • • [email protected] Member of: EDITORIAL (817) 460-7220 Fax (817) 265-NEWS (6397) IAAPA, AIMS International, PAPA, ADVERTISING NEWSPAPER PRODUCTION NEAAPA, NJAA, OABA, WWA and IALEI Tim Baldwin Subscription rates are: 1 year (14 issues) $50 in the USA; $70 elsewhere; 2 years Sue Nichols Stacey Childress / Affinity Communications [email protected] (28 issues) $90/$130; 3 years (42 issues) $130/$190.