The death of live shows

[TsWade2]

Update: Never mind! It’s my autism is acting up again! Sorry about that.

 

[Rich T]

Now that Universal studios has removed Animal Actors and Special effects shows leaving just Water World and Disneyland hasn't had a live show in years with rumors of their theaters going away, what is the future of these kind of shows in the theme park industry? Do we care anymore about these? Are they dated?

Well, The Untrainable Dragon and Le Cirque Arcanus at Epic Universe are fantastic and play to packed houses every day. I love these two shows and regard them as two of the best park attractions in the U.S.

So, I think if a park’s management is willing to spend the money and hire the right creative teams, live shows can (still) not only be crowd-pleasing hits, but can play a big part in encouraging return visits.

 

[Phroobar]

Well, The Untrainable Dragon and Le Cirque Arcanus at Epic Universe are fantastic and play to packed houses every day. I love these two shows and regard them as two of the best park attractions in the U.S.

So, I think if a park’s management is willing to spend the money and hire the right creative teams, live shows can (still) not only be crowd-pleasing hits, but can play a big part in encouraging return visits.

I think that is the reason Water World is still here.
At least until it get demoed for a new attraction in the near future.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

Sure different strokes but I can’t imagine that is very common unlike people riding rides over and over again. Rides are a tad more repeatable that shows. Especially thrill rides.

And I'll take your word for that. I can easily go the entire year at DLR without ever going on an attraction. I usually only go if I'm with someone who wants to ride something. And most of my friends prefer shows or characters - and many of those are friends I met at the parks... going to see shows and characters.

I think it really depends on your particular social circle. I don't know anyone personally who goes to the parks primarily for the attractions.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

It's interesting because at some parks, they're actually adding shows. Dollywood for example has 3 full theaters around 4 outdoor stages, and this past season every single space had a show attached to it. 2 of the theaters have actually cycled out multiple shows this year.

 

[PiratesMansion]

It's interesting because at some parks, they're actually adding shows. Dollywood for example has 3 full theaters around 4 outdoor stages, and this past season every single space had a show attached to it. 2 of the theaters have actually cycled out multiple shows this year.

That's because Dollywood (and sister park Silver Dollar City) are special cases for a whole host of reasons.

In addition to being highly established brands within their respective markets, both of those places were show parks long before they were ride parks, and they still have HUGE groups of visitors that have no interest whatsoever in any of the fancy new thrill rides they've built over the last decade plus, and because many of those guests are elderly and/or not really in a position to jump from a show ride consumer to a thrill ride consumer, they can't short-change the entertainment without alienating a significant portion of their audience (by contrast, you can read history books about Knott's from the 70's onward that basically concede that the park made its money in thrill rides, putting the park-*though successful*-then and now in an awkward position where the things that make Knott's special and the things that make the park money are not exactly 1:1). The shows help make the parks true family destinations in a way you largely don't see anymore outside of Disney, because even if Grandma isn't interested in the rides, the whole family can go to the shows and listen to the musicians together, watch the craftsmen, tour the Dolly museum, etc. That gives SDC & DW a reason to still have resident entertainers in a way few other parks do anymore. They also have long seasons broken up by different festivals, which incentivizes their existing performers to change up their sets and also cycles in new performers/craftsmen/etc. on the regular, which makes their parks immensely repeatable for show lovers.

The fact that Dollywood is named after a well-known country singer also draws attention to musical shows on the sign, so to speak, in a way few other parks would ever be able to replicate. They can thus advertise a marquee new show, with music and lyrics often written by a genuine music legend, and actually get a big return on investment from entertainment. No one else can really do that in quite the same way.

Finally, they're protected because parent company Herschend is a bit of an odd duck when it comes to the big theme park companies in the US. It's NOT a publicly traded company (and given the way that Evangelical Christianity can be an explicit part of their brand, I'd argue they have a huge incentive to NOT go public), so they can do whatever they want without answering to shareholders as long as they're meeting their internal metrics-and given the way that SDC has been slowly but steadily growing and Dollywood has positively exploded, they're meeting those metrics and then some. Silver Dollar City and Dollywood are two of the largest divisions within the company (and yes, Dollywood is technically part of the Dollywood Company, but there's nonetheless a lot of overlap with Herschend) and are largely left to their own devices. Herschend also isn't one to stick with brands or businesses that aren't pulling their weight and regularly jumps ship on or sells divisions/properties that they aren't happy with, so you don't end up with situations you see at other theme park companies where some properties are comparative deadweight and pull the company down.

So shows at Dollywood and Silver Dollar City thrive because of a whole host of factors not easily replicable at most other parks.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

That's because Dollywood (and sister park Silver Dollar City) are special cases for a whole host of reasons.

In addition to being highly established brands within their respective markets, both of those places were show parks long before they were ride parks, and they still have HUGE groups of visitors that have no interest whatsoever in any of the fancy new thrill rides they've built over the last decade plus, and because many of those guests are elderly and/or not really in a position to jump from a show ride consumer to a thrill ride consumer, they can't short-change the entertainment without alienating a significant portion of their audience (by contrast, you can read history books about Knott's from the 70's onward that basically concede that the park made its money in thrill rides, putting the park-*though successful*-then and now in an awkward position where the things that make Knott's special and the things that make the park money are not exactly 1:1). The shows help make the parks true family destinations in a way you largely don't see anymore outside of Disney, because even if Grandma isn't interested in the rides, the whole family can go to the shows and listen to the musicians together, watch the craftsmen, tour the Dolly museum, etc. That gives SDC & DW a reason to still have resident entertainers in a way few other parks do anymore. They also have long seasons broken up by different festivals, which incentivizes their existing performers to change up their sets and also cycles in new performers/craftsmen/etc. on the regular, which makes their parks immensely repeatable for show lovers.

The fact that Dollywood is named after a well-known country singer also draws attention to musical shows on the sign, so to speak, in a way few other parks would ever be able to replicate. They can thus advertise a marquee new show, with music and lyrics often written by a genuine music legend, and actually get a big return on investment from entertainment. No one else can really do that in quite the same way.

Finally, they're protected because parent company Herschend is a bit of an odd duck when it comes to the big theme park companies in the US. It's NOT a publicly traded company (and given the way that Evangelical Christianity can be an explicit part of their brand, I'd argue they have a huge incentive to NOT go public), so they can do whatever they want without answering to shareholders as long as they're meeting their internal metrics-and given the way that SDC has been slowly but steadily growing and Dollywood has positively exploded, they're meeting those metrics and then some. Silver Dollar City and Dollywood are two of the largest divisions within the company (and yes, Dollywood is technically part of the Dollywood Company, but there's nonetheless a lot of overlap with Herschend) and are largely left to their own devices. Herschend also isn't one to stick with brands or businesses that aren't pulling their weight and regularly jumps ship on or sells divisions/properties that they aren't happy with, so you don't end up with situations you see at other theme park companies where some properties are comparative deadweight and pull the company down.

So shows at Dollywood and Silver Dollar City thrive because of a whole host of factors not easily replicable at most other parks.

All fantastic points!

I hate living in Tennessee and am excited to get out next year when I move, but being a 50 minute drive from Dollywood has always been one of the rare plusses. I’m gonna miss not having such easy access.

 

[BrianLo]

I absolutely love the shows - to which I also lump in parades and night entertainment.

I am not impressed that they are not consistent priority. Hyperion needs to come back.

Admittedly it is a discrepancy with Orlando and California, the shows play much better to the less frequent crowd than annual pass holders. But the dearth of entertainment is also a huge black mark on current IOA and meanwhile a defining feature of Epic.

I also don't think it's a company wide strategy considering how many new or refurbished ones have entered the Orlando market the last two years.

 

[Phroobar]

When I had passes, parades where considered obstacles for traveling between sides of the park. I had to plan to be in one side or the other. I enjoyed the stage shows but they aren't very repeatable when one is there all the time. I'd rather have a simple rock band or this:

At least I can see these artists at Knotts every summer.