This was in our local paper. Don't kill me if it's already been posted...
Threat of war haunts Disney theme parks
By Mike Schneider
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO - Mary Poppins, normally swamped by autograph-seeking children, stood alone at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center, a wide ruby-lipstick smile on her face and a white parasol in her hand.
The worker playing the Disney character waited some more, but no children with autograph books or cameras walked past. When a group of adults finally passed, she shouted a "hello" to get their attention.
"It's just kind of dead," remarked Ginger Bullard, of Cookeville, Tenn., who sat with her husband, Victor, at the entrance of one of the Epcot attractions.
Never fully recovered from the attendance dip that followed the Sept. 11-induced tourism slowdown, Disney's Florida parks now face even smaller crowds with the prospect of war with Iraq so close.
That comes on top of an attendance dip in February blamed on the federal government's decision to raise the terrorist threat to Code Orange and snowstorms that shut down airports in the Northeast.
Industry watchers say there's no light at the end of the tunnel.
"Any other recession or gas problem didn't last this long," said Steve Baker, an Orlando-based theme park consultant. "The problem with this is there are so many uncontrollables. ... It's difficult to make plans or projections since everything is in limbo."
Walt Disney World spokeswoman Rena Callahan said she couldn't comment on attendance figures. But in the year following the Sept. 11 attacks, international visitors to Walt Disney World declined by more than 20 percent. The four parks saw attendance drop to 37.5 million last year from 39.7 million in 2001, according to Amusement Business, a trade magazine.
Threat of war haunts Disney theme parks
By Mike Schneider
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO - Mary Poppins, normally swamped by autograph-seeking children, stood alone at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center, a wide ruby-lipstick smile on her face and a white parasol in her hand.
The worker playing the Disney character waited some more, but no children with autograph books or cameras walked past. When a group of adults finally passed, she shouted a "hello" to get their attention.
"It's just kind of dead," remarked Ginger Bullard, of Cookeville, Tenn., who sat with her husband, Victor, at the entrance of one of the Epcot attractions.
Never fully recovered from the attendance dip that followed the Sept. 11-induced tourism slowdown, Disney's Florida parks now face even smaller crowds with the prospect of war with Iraq so close.
That comes on top of an attendance dip in February blamed on the federal government's decision to raise the terrorist threat to Code Orange and snowstorms that shut down airports in the Northeast.
Industry watchers say there's no light at the end of the tunnel.
"Any other recession or gas problem didn't last this long," said Steve Baker, an Orlando-based theme park consultant. "The problem with this is there are so many uncontrollables. ... It's difficult to make plans or projections since everything is in limbo."
Walt Disney World spokeswoman Rena Callahan said she couldn't comment on attendance figures. But in the year following the Sept. 11 attacks, international visitors to Walt Disney World declined by more than 20 percent. The four parks saw attendance drop to 37.5 million last year from 39.7 million in 2001, according to Amusement Business, a trade magazine.
