At first glance, the choice seems stark: Find some sort of package that makes a visit to one of the Disney or Universal resorts an affordable deal, or settle for a shorter trip to a regional amusement park. While going for a less popular park isn't a bad deal for roller coaster fans — heck, most coaster fans would prefer a visit to a great iron park over going to Disney or Universal — families who prefer themed rides to thrill rides probably won't think much of that option.
Where is the middle option for the middle class — a park offering Disney-style dark rides and first-class shows at regional amusement park prices?
Fortunately, theme park fans in Southern California are getting that option, as Knott's Berry Farm changes course from the traditional regional park strategy of putting up more coasters and carnival rides in favor of embracing the dark rides and shows that once made it Disney's greatest theme park rival. (Even the Busch Gardens parks seems to be moving more and more to a Six Flags-style model.)
I write about Knott's Berry Farm's appeal to middle class visitors in my Orange County Register column this week. I hope that you'll give it read.
How are you finding value for your money in theme park visits?
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The group that Disney used to target, middle class (making at or slightly above the US median income - @$52k) is shrinking as people exit the workforce to live off single incomes for a multi-person household, and those that over achieve have significant wealth. Disney now targets that later group (white collar elite) and their disposable income, because it's easier to get those guests to come back on an annual basis for an easy to book/plan, familiar vacation than it is to rely on the working poor coming every 5 years getting frustrated by the startling change that occurs in between visits. Those of us left in the real middle class (at or slightly above the median - up to @$250k) are a dying breed with enough disposable income to afford annual vacations and enough exposure to regional parks to know theme is important. As the disparity continues to grow, the question will become more of whether the middle class still exists 20 years from now than if theme parks will continue to appeal to a shrinking segment of the population.
Disney is at the upper echelon of theme parks with Universal, SeaWorld, and LEGOLAND on a sliding scale.
I don't believe Knott's has yet to find its niche. It's indecision in the past has hurt its reputation. I am still dumbfounded as to why it doesn't offer a year round haunt attraction as the pioneer in this area. Imagine a tame dark ride version that can appeal to kids for some fun mild scares, and a slightly scarier version at night.
Elements of its famed customer service went away when they removed the Haunted Shack tour. There is less customer interaction although they still have remarkable characters on the train ride and the stagecoach. Their Christmas entertainment is quite good.
You also can't blame Disney and Universal for catering to upper income families both foreign and domestic. These are the people who have the disposable income and are willing to spend it at the premium theme parks and thus fund the amazing and immersive lands and attractions that we get to enjoy whether we are a frequent visitor with a lot of disposable income or the scrimper who manages to put the funds together for the occasional visit.
The Six Flags and Busch Gardens style parks are perfectly fine for the middle class visitor. Sure there's a shortage of dark rides, but that dynamic may be slowly changing as Six Flags and Knott's appear to be redirecting some of their I&M money towards dark rides. It's doubtful that they will ever come near the level of dark rides that Disney and Universal provide, but the mid-level theme park operators have realized that a park with only coasters and spinners is a park that is losing a lot of potential visitors and are working carefully to capture some of that market.
In addition, the idea that we are also entitled to a one or two week vacation every single year is somewhat archaic. With the internet and smartphones so pervasive in our society today, we don't need to get out on the road as much to appreciate the rest of the world, and a "staycation" where we spend a week away from our gadgets and reconnect with our loved ones as well as spending some time at our local attractions is not a bad idea.
I think the big issue is not how much is spent per visit, but how often a visit is made. It is not too difficult to save money for a week at Walt Disney World, but it is not something that can be done on an annual basis by most families anymore. If, instead of going every year or every other year, you only visit once every 3-5 years, the vacation becomes a lot more achievable. And, honestly, while the Disney fan may feel differently, I don't see much incentive to visit a place like WDW more than 2-3 times a decade given their rate of additions (granted, I haven't been to WDW, but I'd feel the same about Disneyland if I moved out of Southern California).
As for the last question in the article, instead of getting a Disneyland pass every year I now just pay to visit once a year. With the money saved, I've purchased passes to Knott's Berry Farm, Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Universal Studios Hollywood. While none of those parks are individually better than Disneyland, they are all quality parks and the combination of all three provides better value for me than the two Disney parks.
I would love to see other parks follow Knott's lead, as I think that Disney and Universal are leaving space in the market with their aggressive pricing (and not just top-line pricing, but also in the complexity of pricing their various vacation plans). I love what Six Flags did with Justice League and hope that it encourages Six Flags to embrace the theming that its original parks once had. Busch Gardens has had success in themed rides in the past. And I hope that the lukewarm public reaction to Antarctica doesn't keep SeaWorld from giving it another go in developing a themed dark ride. The market is out there, waiting.
After reading this post plus the article, I was wondering...
Is there any real indication that the Cedar Fair parks as a whole -- beyond just Knotts -- are going to start adding more legitimate theme-park style options to their parks ?
My family are season pass holders to California's Great America, a Cedar Fair park. The season passes were roughly $80 per person, and the gold pass includes parking, so it is a very good value. The waterpark makes it worth it for our family, but the attractions at the main park are almost 100% coasters and thrill rides. They do have one great show ("Aerial Ice Extreme"), but no real dark rides and all the other show and theme stuff seems mediocre at best.
It would be great to hear that Cedar Fair as a whole was trying to up the quantity and quality on themed elements and dark rides.
And I 100% agree. I do believe that the average American middle class family can enjoy Disney and Universal, but Knott's is still great for those who wanna go easy on their wallets (at least from what I've seen...I haven't physically been to Knott's :( ). But I ask you, will Knott's still be as affordable if they keep pursuing the themed entertainment market?
I don't think it takes a business expert to see that the reason why Disney and Universal are raising prices is not because of some economic shift, but because they know that people from all different corners of the world like going to their parks and spend loads of money there. They know people are willing to spend more so they charge more. But the reason why people are paying more there is because themed entertainment makes for a more wholesome vacation. Say that Knott's does keeping pumping out more themed rides and eventually builds something as good as Pirates of the Carribean or Forbidden Journey. That, along with the low prices,would gain the park much more recognition around the country and, if they can keep it up, the world. Then many, many more tourists will start visiting Knott's and it would get to the point where they would have built a huge fanbase that would spend lots of money. Knowing businessmen, they will see this as an oppurtunity to start raising prices.
Supply and demand 101
The best that we can expect from the mid-level parks is a gradual movement into moderately themed dark rides with a great number of clones or near clones in different parks just to keep developmental costs down - which is a scenario that I just don't see as plausible. Mid-level parks just don't have the additional revenue streams like hotels and restaurants and entertainment districts that Disney and Universal have.
Anyway variety is the spice of life. Sometimes I want the fast food of the theme park industry like Six Flags with their coasters and spinners (and resulting brain trama), and sometimes I want the black tie dinner experience (and bank account depletion) that Disney and Universal offer.
What if Knott's Berry Farm added high quality knock-offs of Space Mountain and the Matterhorn, Grizzly River Rapids and also a haunted house like Anon Mouse suggested?
How much of an attendance increase could Knott's Berry Farm expect with these additions?
How much investment would be required and would Knott's Berry Farm benefit from a new ownership with deep pockets? Blackstone, maybe?
I love Knott's Berry Farm's location and climate. It would be awesome if Knott's Berry Farm made a serious effort to cater to Disney fans who remember how great things were before Michael Eisner.
When Eisner became CEO of Disney in 1984, Disneyland tickets cost $14.00 per person. When he resigned as CEO in 2005, Disneyland tickets cost $56.00 per person. If Disneyland tickets had been indexed to the CPI inflation rate, they would have cost just $26.00 in 2005 and just $31.00 today. See what having a monopoly can do for your business?
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