The last time this combination happened — when Los Angeles hosted the games in 1984 — locals stayed home or fled the area and tourists stuck with the games, so Disneyland ended up with its lightest crowds in years.
So should theme parks just throw in the towel and give up when the Olympics come to town? That's the question I ask in my Orange County Register column this week: Should local theme parks like Disneyland add more attractions for the 2028 Olympics?
The Tokyo Disney Resort has made its choice for 2020, and it is not backing down from the challenge. Tokyo Disneyland is building several new attractions for 2020, including Beauty and the Beast and Big Hero 6 rides, while Tokyo DisneySea is installing Soarin' for 2019. Rival Universal Studios Japan, located three-some hours away by train in Osaka, is building its new Super Nintendo World land for 2020 debut, too. Clearly, theme park and sports fans living in and visiting Japan will not lack for new options in 2020.
So what happens at Disneyland Paris in 2024 and at Disneyland in 2028? Paris could use Star Wars and Marvel lands, and the timing could be right for an Olympic-year debut. The next Los Angeles Olympics are more than a decade away, but perhaps Disney will have learned enough from what happens in Tokyo and Paris to guide its response in Southern California.
If you're wondering about Universal in 2028, the LA Olympic bid calls for USH to house the International Media Center for the Games, as International Olympic Committee broadcast partner NBC is part of Universal. So that probably complicates what Universal will be able to do for theme park fans that summer. But Universal might get another opportunity for some Olympic synergy, as Universal Studios Beijing is supposed to open in 2020... just in time for the Chinese capital to host the Winter Olympics in 2022.
Read Robert's Column:
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Get out and stay out Theme Park Fans. Just wait until its over, the Theme Park isn't going anywhere.
Still, I think the even larger question is how would the cities function. Tokyo, LA, and Paris are some pretty highly populated places. Everything is going to be clogged.
Yes, for the record, I am still salty that Chicago didn't get 2016.
BTW, Chicago is still corrupt and does NOT deserve any type of Olympic hosting honor.
I went to the Atlanta Games as a paid volunteer, and can confirm that the Games are not all they're cracked up to be. Organizers have grand plans, but in reality it's just a circus that's better viewed at home on your couch. Those who travel to the Olympics are typically connected to athletes or those that have a specific interest in the games (media, volunteers, and sponsors). Very few people take pilgrimages to the Olympics like they would to the Super Bowl, World Series, UEFA Champions League Final, World Cup, etc... The rest of the people attending events are locals who either can't leave the host city or choose to stay and attend some events because their employers shutter businesses for the 3-week spectacle. However, even with that, thousands of tickets go unsold or are given away at the last minute so that the host committee doesn't look bad on TV.
@Robert - I had read that as part of the bid, NBCUniversal was going to help construct the media center along with financing from the other major studios, but did not see anywhere that they were going to do so on Universal Studios property. I had actually read a proposal that they were actually going to build the media center on the USC campus as the USC Film School is already planning upgrades that would be beefed up to handle the needs of an Olympic Media Center. USH is a bit far from any point of interest on the Olympic map, so I'm not sure why they would build it there unless they were looking to save some money by converting old sound stages. With the USC plan already in place I don't see why they would suddenly change course and decide to instead build a media center from scratch on a movie studio. I wouldn't be surprised to see NBC use USH as a backdrop for some of their coverage, but it doesn't seem like a great spot for a media center (far from the athlete's village at UCLA, most of the competition venues, and lacking infrastructure for boarding media memebers).
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The 1984 Olympics was extremely boring for locals. Nothing exciting. 2 weeks of no news. They succeeded in asking people to not drive. The freeways were clear.
I was a happy Olympics volunteer. I saw the Soccer Finals at the Rose Bowl, but I was facing the stands. I saw the Closing Ceremonies at the Memorial Coliseum on the outside. There was a lot of fireworks. I won't volunteer again. Not worth the hassle.