SeaWorld and Universal Orlando are mixing deep discounts and old technology to try to persuade more visitors to buy their tickets in advance over the Internet.
As Walt Disney World ties more visitors into longer Disney vacations with the 10-day "Magic Your Way" ticket-discount plan, Universal and SeaWorld hope to get people to buy a day or two for their parks before hitting town.
Most of Universal's best ticket deals, including one offering three free days for a two-day pass, are available only over the Internet. Single-day SeaWorld tickets are available for less than $50 online.
And both parks have reverted to older technology -- bar codes instead of magnetic stripes on the backs of tickets -- to make Internet sales even easier.
People can print those tickets with bar codes on home computer printers. But people can't print tickets with magnetic stripes at home.
"It's an incredible benefit for the consumer, especially when the parks are busy," said Joseph Couceiro, vice president of sales and marketing for Anheuser-Busch Florida Adventure Parks. "You are at home, you print off the ticket, then you walk right into the park."
The parks won't say how many people are now buying tickets over the Internet.
For Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, which attracts a young crowd that tends to be more Internet-savvy, 80 percent of last year's tickets were purchased over the Internet, said Fred Trusty, Universal's director of brand and interactive marketing.
Trusty said he sees the day when most Universal tickets are sold over the Internet.
"We're hoping to get to that," Trusty said. "From a business standpoint, soon can't be soon enough."
That's because Internet sales can be more reliable than walk-ups. And they can be cheaper to process.
"At Kings Island [in Ohio], they used to have 24 ticket booths at the front gate," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services. "They tore those down this year . . . because a huge number of attendees already have their tickets in hand."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...ticketside1006aug10,0,1281171.story?track=rss
As Walt Disney World ties more visitors into longer Disney vacations with the 10-day "Magic Your Way" ticket-discount plan, Universal and SeaWorld hope to get people to buy a day or two for their parks before hitting town.
Most of Universal's best ticket deals, including one offering three free days for a two-day pass, are available only over the Internet. Single-day SeaWorld tickets are available for less than $50 online.
And both parks have reverted to older technology -- bar codes instead of magnetic stripes on the backs of tickets -- to make Internet sales even easier.
People can print those tickets with bar codes on home computer printers. But people can't print tickets with magnetic stripes at home.
"It's an incredible benefit for the consumer, especially when the parks are busy," said Joseph Couceiro, vice president of sales and marketing for Anheuser-Busch Florida Adventure Parks. "You are at home, you print off the ticket, then you walk right into the park."
The parks won't say how many people are now buying tickets over the Internet.
For Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, which attracts a young crowd that tends to be more Internet-savvy, 80 percent of last year's tickets were purchased over the Internet, said Fred Trusty, Universal's director of brand and interactive marketing.
Trusty said he sees the day when most Universal tickets are sold over the Internet.
"We're hoping to get to that," Trusty said. "From a business standpoint, soon can't be soon enough."
That's because Internet sales can be more reliable than walk-ups. And they can be cheaper to process.
"At Kings Island [in Ohio], they used to have 24 ticket booths at the front gate," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services. "They tore those down this year . . . because a huge number of attendees already have their tickets in hand."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...ticketside1006aug10,0,1281171.story?track=rss