Most theme parks to close early to prepare for storm
Few industry experts think the 2 storms will hurt tourism in the long run.
By Sean Mussenden and Todd Pack | Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted September 3, 2004
Most of Orlando's major theme parks plan to shut their doors early today to make final preparations for the approach of Hurricane Frances.
Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando plan to close at 3 p.m. and remain shuttered all day Saturday.
"We wanted to take every step possible to keep our guests and employees safe, and this is the best way to do it, given what we know about the storm," Universal Orlando spokesman Tom Schroder said.
Walt Disney World will close two of its parks early: the Magic Kingdom a half-hour early, at 8 p.m., and MGM Studios 2½ hours early, at 6 p.m. Disney said it "anticipates" all of its parks will be closed Saturday, though officials could not say when that decision would be made.
The closures are the second in three weeks for the parks because of a hurricane. But unless Frances brings widespread, catastrophic damage to the Orlando area, most industry experts don't expect the one-two punch to put a major dent in the region's tourism.
"It's not a knockout punch; it's a bit of a body blow," said Raymond Braun, senior vice president of Economics Research Associates in Los Angeles.
For example, a park with 10 million in annual attendance brings in about $1.5 million in revenue a day, Braun estimated. The Magic Kingdom brings in 14 million visitors a year, according to industry estimates, but no other Orlando theme park tops 10 million annually.
Also, though Labor Day weekend usually brings a bump in business, September is historically a slow month for Central Florida tourism, coming after the strong summer-vacation season.
More difficult to gauge is the long-term effect back-to-back hurricanes might have on vacationers' perceptions of the Sunshine State.
"My guess is that for every person who says, 'This makes me think twice about vacationing in Florida,' someone else says, 'They've just had two hurricanes, so maybe it will be a while before the next one,' " said entertainment-industry expert Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University near Pittsburgh. "This is not September 11 redux."
On Thursday, workers at Universal, SeaWorld and Disney World began the process of protecting the parks from high-speed winds and rain, repeating chores they carried out shortly before Hurricane Charley's arrival only three weeks ago.
At Universal's CityWalk, workers removed large vinyl advertising banners. At SeaWorld, crews scoured the park for loose debris that could act as missiles in high winds. At Disney's Animal Kingdom, a flatbed trailer wound through the parking lot, picking up large plastic trash cans.
Much work remains to be done today. Before Hurricane Frances arrives, crews at different parks must strap down food carts, move trash cans indoors, board up windows, remove decorative emblems, lower water levels in lagoons to protect against flooding and move animals to safety.
Hurricane Charley largely spared the parks, though cleanup of the damage it did cause has not yet been fully completed.
At Walt Disney World, uprooted trees and broken limbs were still scattered along the park's highways Thursday, and debris near the monorail station at the Magic Kingdom had been artfully stacked to form a silhouette of Mickey Mouse.
Construction vehicles remained in SeaWorld's water-ski stadium, the roof of which was damaged by Charley.
Richard Verrier of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Sean Mussenden can be reached at
smussenden@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5664. Todd Pack can be reached at 407-420-5407 or
tpack@orlandosentinel.com.
