Tourism -- back in business
I searched for this article on the forums and couldn't find anything. Hope it's not a dupe!
-Thorphin
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<h2>Tourism -- back in business</h2><h3>Most of the theme parks, and airports in Orlando and Sanford, will reopen today. </h3>
By Todd Pack | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted September 6, 2004
Central Florida's tourism machine will crank up slowly today with limited passenger service resuming from the Orlando and Sanford airports and five of Orlando's seven theme parks opening at least part of the day.
Only Disney-MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom will not open -- and that's because of staffing issues, said Disney spokeswoman Veronica Clemons. Both parks are "show ready," she said.
The return to business comes after the parks were closed for at least two days -- longer than they closed for hurricanes Floyd and Charley and for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The shuttering of the parks along with the closings of restaurants and souvenir shops could cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars during the usually hardy Labor Day weekend.
Hurricane Charley, which tore across the peninsula last month, generally spared the parks, although it felled countless trees and damaged the roof of a stadium at SeaWorld.
Frances caused even less damage, park representatives said.
"We lost 450 trees in the park in Charley," SeaWorld General Manager Jim Atchison said. "We lost about a dozen from Frances."
SeaWorld, along with its upscale day resort Discovery Cove, is scheduled to open at noon today. SeaWorld plans to close at 6 p.m. -- four hours earlier than originally scheduled -- although the park may stay open later if attendance is strong, Atchison said.
Universal Orlando plans to open Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure at 9 a.m. today, spokesman Tom Schroder said. CityWalk also will be open.
Disney's Magic Kingdom and Epcot will open at 10 a.m., an hour later than usual. The Magic Kingdom will close at 8:30 p.m., while Epcot will close at 9 p.m. Downtown Disney will be open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
As Sunday progressed, rain raised the water levels in the numerous canals that drain Disney's swampy property. A few trees fell on roads and golf courses throughout the resort, and rain and wind sprayed brown pine needles and palm fronds across the asphalt. The wind bent a few signs.
By 5 p.m., the cleanup already had begun. Street sweepers brushed off the trees, as utility trucks roamed the property looking for downed tree limbs.
Likewise, there was little damage at Orlando International.
The airport's ticket counters are scheduled to open at 10 a.m. today with the first flights leaving about noon, although some airlines, including Southwest and British Airways won't resume service until Tuesday, said Bill Jennings, executive director of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.
Passengers should call their airlines before going to the airport, he said.
The airport suffered major roof damage from Charley, but Jennings said the temporary roof on its terminal buildings withstood Frances' weaker winds.
Some domestic service also is scheduled to resume today from Orlando Sanford International, spokesman Michael Caires said. International service will resume later, he said.
Orlando Sanford suffered minor damage in the latest storm "but nothing that would prevent us from operating," Caires said.
Ironically, the parks and airports were shuttered even as Central Florida's hotels were packed with out-of-towners. Orlando was a popular destination for coastal residents trying to escape the storm's lashing winds.
Some hotels lost power Sunday during the storm, and there were reports of leaking windows. Strong winds ripped a five-story gash across the façade of the Marriott Orlando Downtown, but there was no structural damage to the building.
Blowing rain entered air-conditioner vents in some rooms at the DoubleTree Club Hotel in Lake Buena Vista, and several guests were moved to another room, but damage to the hotel was minimal.
Other hotels didn't fare as well.
Indu Mehda, manager of the Kissimmee Days Inn on U.S. Highway 192, spent Sunday afternoon fielding complaints from guests who lost electical power at 4 a.m.
Working behind a cluttered front desk lighted by two candles, Mehda said she had only two workers on duty to service 145 occupied rooms. The rest of the staff, including most of the housekeepers, didn't come to work.
"We have 230 rooms and I would fill the rest, but without electricity or clean rooms there is little I can do," said Mehda, whose motel also lost power during Charley. "I'm only hoping the guests will remain patient."
It's unclear what the storm's economic toll on tourism will be. September is generally a slow month for tourism, but there is usually a bump in business over Labor Day weekend.
"It would be safe to say that it's in the hundreds of millions of dollars just in Central Florida," said Abe Pizam, dean of the University of Central Florida's Rosen School of Hospitality Management.
"The hotels are doing pretty well," he said, but the theme parks, restaurants and other businesses that rely on tourists missed out on what much of the country considers the last weekend of summer.
"Whatever they would have made this weekend is lost," Pizam said.
End of quoted article.
