Theme Parks Continue Investment, Despite Waning Attendance and Weather

WEBVTT

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Oh, from our studios in Orlando
and Tampa. This is Green Tag Theme

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Park in thirty. I'm Philip and
he's Scott Swinson O, Scott Swinson Creative

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Development. Scott. Uh, you
know what a day? Huh, Philip?

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Is that? Is that what you're
saying? It's been a whole weekend?

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Yeah, there was that. There
was just that sigh. There was

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just that sigh as we started.
Okay, wherever we go, time to

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time to time to get it done. Here's great, we'll kick we'll kick

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it in, get get into gear. Maybe that's what we're gonna do.

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I don't know. I don't know, we'll get started. Well, theme

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parks have been kicking it in,
question mark, Well, so we I

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don't know. So we've been talking
about this whole trend recently about what's going

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on with weather and what's going on
with the tendons and you know, the

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earnings reports and some of the park
chains, you know, talking about how

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their numbers are down and blaming all
sorts of stuff for it, blah blah

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blah blah. So a story that
came out last week that we didn't get

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to talk about because we got sidetracked
with knots, spooky Stokay spooky things.

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Was this story that came out and
it basically it was Ayappa speaking to seeking

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It at a conference and talking about
the state of the theme park industry basically,

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and the article is Florida theme parks
continue growth despite waning attendance. So

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it says in here theme parks in
the United States are anticipated to make a

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one point five billion investment in new
attractions this year despite experiencing a decline in

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attendance numbers. According to the IAPA
CEO, the new CEO and just came

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on this past year. He said
parks are creating rides less focused on being

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the biggest and fastest. Instead,
companies like Dizzy Universal and c World are

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holding in on new technologies and intellectual
property, delivering the same services to the

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same people. Is stagnation that theme
park industry is huge about innovation, It's

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huge. The innovation is huge.
Lord of Governor Roda Santis has questioned whether

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Disney should be put under the microscope
of state inspectors. Of course, DIAPA

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head did not speak on that at
all. I prefer not to comment on

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that individual case between Disney and is
santists, but I can't tell you that

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Disney has an excellent safety record.
Disney has always been on the forefront of

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safety globally. I think the industry
today is better place in terms of safety

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thinks to the efforts of Disney and
many others. I'm not sure how that

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would help. They already excellent safety
records of Disney. Okay, So I

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think we break these into two pieces. One is the political commentary, of

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course, which doesn't have much to
do with the growth, and then the

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other is the growth. And I
don't know, it feels like everything he's

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saying we have talked about in some
way or the other, especially the honing

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in on the IPS to reach a
broader audience, because we've talked about how

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theme parks are big in our world. But theme parks as a percentage of

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entertainment, and even as an entertainment
as a percentage of you in person or

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LB or whatnot, are not a
huge portion. Right There's there's there's a

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way to grow the pie, as
to say, as to find new people

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that could come to theme parks for
the first time. That's still a way

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to do things. So I don't
know, what do you think, Scott

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Well, I think that, you
know, I think that clearly the investments

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are being made because you know,
people who are prognosticating with significantly more information

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than you or I have are seeing
that there is there is still an opportunity

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for growth, and we can't just
say, well, eventually they'll come back

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and we'll be fine. We have
to continue to make it worth their while.

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You know. In addition, one
of the things that I've seen,

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and this is anecdotal, but in
addition to the new technologies and the intellectual

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properties, one of the things that
I've seen too is an attempt to broaden

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their their demographics, in other words, offering more things, because the biggest,

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biggest, and fastest usually only target
a very narrow band of parkgoers.

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And you know, Disney has always
been a bit more diverse in the different

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the different demographics and the different parts
of the family that they want to entertain.

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And but I think other parks are
starting to see that now. You

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know, Disney for the longest time, well, at first, Disney was

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considered to be the sort of the
kid friendly, safe, all all comfy,

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cozy kind of park, and Universal
was the bad boy, and Ceaworld

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was the conservation folks but I think
what's happening now is they're trying to find

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ways to continue to build off of
those brands, but expand the age demographic

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specifically of the folks that are attending. And I think we're seeing this start.

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I think actually saw we saw at
start in California, because I think

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California has always been a bit more
diverse in its offerings. But I think

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we're starting to see it in the
Florida parks as well, and we're also

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seeing it in some of the other
you know, the other smaller either parks

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or attractions as well. They're trying
to figure out, you know, what

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can we do. As you say, theme parks are important to us,

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but not to the rest of the
world. So how can we show that

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there is something for everybody in the
family so that nobody vetoes the idea of

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going to ABC Park or you know, whatever the theme park happens to be.

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Uh, there has to be something. There has to be something for

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everyone. And I think that ip
IS is certainly the low hanging fruit there.

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You know, if you if you've
seen it and you know it,

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it's much easier to sell it.
And and new technology, it's oh that

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looks fun. I've never done that
before, you know, like like Sea

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World, you know, with the
with the new, the new coaster,

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the new Surf Coaster in in Orlando, you know it. And that's,

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to be completely honest, not really
new technology. It's new packaging, but

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it's uh, but it's it's being
pitched as here's something, here's something brand

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new. It is interesting that here
in Tampa with the new I'll call it

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a swing ride for lack of a
better, lack of a better descriptor,

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they even the billboards do still hang
onto the largest, tallest, fastest ride

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of its kind. Yeah, which
I laugh about it every time we drive

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by, because I'm like, did
you have to put that qualifier on the

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billboard? Ride of its kind?
That's that seems a little silly. But

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at the same time, they're they're
doing an attraction. They're they're adding a

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ride that is not a roller coaster
because there are people who just simply won't

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ride them. It is not a
show because they're people who simply won't go

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to it. It seems as though
it seems as though, and again this

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is anecdotal, This is based on
my observation of both my clients and the

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parks that are ancillary to those that
I'm currently working with that they're trying to

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fill out that middle section. You
know. They they've got they've got the

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the show for the seniors that they
can sit down and watch. They've got

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the super blood curdling roller coaster.
Now they have to fill in the various

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shades of gray, you know that
they I think what they're looking to do

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is to find ways to sort of
flesh out or or make the brand deeper.

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And and I think that this you
know, as you said here,

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the tech, new technology and the
intellectual properties are the how, But the

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what or the why I think is
to to make to because people have people

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have developed a very wide, a
very wide degree of things that they enjoy.

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And you know, there's a there's
a certain level of subtlety now of

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well, I don't like roller coasters, but a giant swing sounds fun.

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You know. It's it's that kind
of thing where everyone wants their own personalized

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experience, and the more you can
offer in that middle range, the more

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personalized you can make it. So
the roller coaster fanatic will go, oh,

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this is a thrill ride that could
be fun, so they you get

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from that end, and the show
person it's like, Oh, it's just

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a big swing. I can ride
that. That'll be fun. So I

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think they're trying to make their again, make their brand deeper, richer,

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and more complex, to appeal to
a broader demographic. Basically, we need

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more people to want to go to
theme parks. Yeah. Yeah, well,

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and and the thing is, you
know, obviously the parks with with

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this kind of investment in Florida especially, they're anticipating it. Yeah, they're

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clearly anticipating it. So let's let's
hope that our friends and i APPA are

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right. You know. As you
know, I'm I spend a lot of

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my time doing work with IYAPPA,
I said on the Entertainment Subcommittee, And

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I also teach seminars and am assme
and several different subject matter experts in several

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different areas. And I will tell
you based on my experience with i APPA

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as a as a volunteer contributor,
they seem to have their finger on the

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pulse. Yeah, and so I
hope they're right here. I hope they're

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right here. Yeah. I mean, basically, they're like the attendance may

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be waning, but there's still profitability, and the parts are still investing,

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and they're investing in kind of broadening
out there their offerings to appeal to different

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people. I mean, that's that's
that's the takeaway. And and as we've

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and as we've heard from Disney,
you know, the parks are what's doing

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the best. Now, it's not
the largest part of the it's not the

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largest part of the industry, or
they're of their of their companies, but

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they're the parts that doing that's doing
the best. So maybe they need to

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continue to at least invest throw some
some money and effort into continue to make

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that profitable because it's it's making money
for them. I want to before we

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move on to the next thing,
I just want to make a point about

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the political comment in there. I
don't I don't actually agree with that statement

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by APPA. I feel like they
were trying to side step it basically,

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which is fine, like it's it's
a successful side step, but I feel

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like, you know, I mean, again, it's we talked about how

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bad stuff like that is for the
industry as a whole, Like there's no

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that, there's there's nothing wrong,
this need is doing nothing wrong there.

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This is crazy, And I think
it's making other people other it's definitely making

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other brands, you know, afraid
of you know, their other brands have

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been playing their pride collections and been
limiting this and building that. And I

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just think that, you know,
you company should never be afraid of the

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government like that. So I kind
of feel like there was an opportunity there

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for Iappa to lead by kind of
you know, sidestepping, but with a

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little bit more firm of a response
in terms of saying, you know,

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to that effect that you know,
we're like basically, companies should not be

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afraid of the government and kind of
a thing, and Disney has no reason

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to be afraid because their their record
has been excellent or whatever. You know,

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it's something something that's a little bit
more the firm around that. That's

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my only point, because I think
that's like and I do under I do

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understand that. And and this is
where you know, Philip, just in

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our personalities, this is where you
and I differ. You are much more

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straightforward, and having having worked in
theme park for so darn many years,

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I have a tendency to be to
applaud those who are able to say what

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needed to be said, because what
I took away from this statement was exactly

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the way I feel. So maybe
that's another Maybe that's another reason that I'm

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going to now defend the way it
was handled. Because it's that last it's

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that's last sentence. I'm not sure
how that would help the already excellent safety

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record of Disney. Yeah, in
essence, to me, that one sentence

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exactly exactly. It's saying, yeah, you can, you could do that,

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but it's it's stupid, you know. I think that's exactly what i

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APPA was saying without using the term
stupid towards the governor of Florida. I

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am not i APPA, I am
not, I am not. I am

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like I said, I volunteer my
time with them, but I am not

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employed by them, and I am
not speaking on their behalf in any way,

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shape or form. I'm speaking solely
on my behalf. And that is

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I think it is stupid. And
I think that they were able to say

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that it was stupid without actually saying
it was stupid. And I think that

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was really smart because for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction,

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and they could come out, they
could come out and say, you know,

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DeSantis, this is wrong. You
have no right to do this,

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and this is why and blah blah
blah blah blah. And then his team

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is going to come back and say, yes, but you're defending it because

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you defend theme parks, you have
to. You know, here's here's what

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the real people want. Blah blah
blah blah bla. So it just becomes

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this to all of a sudden,
have them basically say, you know,

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we're not really going to get involved
here because it's dumb. To me,

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it takes all the wind out of
the sails. It makes it so that

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you can't, you know, they
can't come back and say, well,

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no, it's not dumb, it's
it's important and stuff you know, that

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makes it even sound dumber. So
I applaud the way they handled it simply

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because without saying what a stupid thing
to do and why would you want to

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do that, and there's absolutely no
justification for that, they summed it all

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up in one sentence at the end, which I thought, which to me

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resonated I I really I applaud them. I like the fact that they basically

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said, you know, what is
it. Disney has always been on the

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forefront of safety globally, not just
in Florida, by the way, globally,

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this was so In my opinion,
this statement was so well crafted because

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it's like, hello, mister governor
of Florida, Disney is setting some problems

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anywhere globally. Globally, I think
the industry today is a better place.

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The industry, the whole industry is
better in terms of safety thanks to the

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efforts of Disney and many others.
I'm not sure how this would help the

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already excellent safety records of Disney.
And that's even insinuating. If you were

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to put a microscope on Disney and
their safety, it might actually show that

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they are even better at it than
we thought. So it could completely backfire

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if that is the direction that they
want to go. So I think this

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was incredibly well crafted and and crafted
in such a way that the Desantist team

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cannot come back and say, well, no, we're going to fight harder

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because they're basically saying, and using
factual information or inferring to or referring to

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fact information, that this is unnecessary
and if we were to do it,

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it could very well backfire. Yeah, well, so I understand it that

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way. I do understand. I
do understand your point though, is you

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would like to see a good strong
Uh, no, you're wrong, But

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I think they're looking long term,
not short term and short term that no,

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you're wrong, is just going to
keep the fight going. That's what

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they want. Yeah, well,
yeah, it's baiting. I mean,

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we've seen it happen outside the industry. We've seen it happen with the extreme

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right over and over again. They
just want to bait arguments so that they

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can pull focus away from other things
that are significantly more important. Quite honestly,

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so, I think that I APPA
found a way to kind of say,

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we're not going to talk about it, but you keep talking about it

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if you want to him. That's
I mean, I maybe I don't know,

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Maybe I just read more condescension in
it than you did. Maybe maybe

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well, well, there you go
to two different interpretations of it. Let's

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let's move on to the next story. So the returning back this back onto

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our our theme of what we were
just talking about, and then continued growth

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and whatnot. Of course, a
big part of that continued growth if you're

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going to get new people into their
theme parks, it's like people those people

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are not really used to theme parks. So creature comforts, as Scott usually

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calls them, become a lot more
important because these are people that don't know

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what, you know, as much
what to expect, and they're coming they

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effect one thing, and of course
they're getting into a park and it's very

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hot, and of course, as
we just went through this this weekend,

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we're just still having the after effects
of the hurricane that came through and you

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know, some places were shut down
somewhere, notot and it ended up not

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being that very bad here, but
you know, it's a lot of chaos.

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You know, that type of chaos
can be difficult of course for people

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that are you know, not used
to watching x, Twitter, x whatever

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for updates, you know, on
the closures. So anyway, with all

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that in mind, I think SeaWorld
and Bush Gardens have put out a new

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policy and it's called Whether or Not
under the Weather or Not Assurance. If

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extreme weather impacts the guests experience in
the park or impacts their travel plans,

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the policy will allow them to return
within twelve months at no charge. It

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applies to all C World entertainment brands, including C World, Bush Gardens,

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Does Me Places, Aquatica, and
Discovery Cove whether or not assurance applies when

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one inclement weasure. Inclement weather casts
out of the way to get that weasure

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out of the way. So one
inclement weather causes early closure. Two whether

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negatively impacts the park's operating hours.
Three temperatures reach and heat index of one

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hundred ten degrees or above. Under
intend, it is still pretty high.

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Four Rides are closed for sixty minutes
or more due to weather. Guests must

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be present in the park on the
day of their ticket or fill out an

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online form with their original order number
to be eligible for return visit at no

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charge. Tickets must be used within
twelve months of their originally planned ticket.

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Guests can visit guest services in the
park to complete the form online. Blah

247
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blah blah blah. So yeah,
so four. So when I saw this,

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I actually was shocked because I thought
it was actually really good idea.

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And I actually since we've never since
to my knowledge, we haven't had something

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like this rolling around, and I
think for something that's you know, relatively

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untested basically for testing it, I
think the four terms are pretty good.

252
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Right. If if the park closes, or if the are hours have to

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change, or if the heat index
I really like that one. We just

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talked about how the heat was the
thing and nobody was accounting for it.

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And now here we are heat index
of one hundred and ten or more when

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really you shouldn't be outside if the
index is one hundred and ten or more.

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So that's and then rides are closed
for sixty minutes or more due to

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wed it. I like all of
these. I love these. I love

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this yet I agree. I think
this is I think this is incredibly smart.

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Now the thing I like about it
even even more so, and yes,

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I love I love the way they've
broken it out, which is necessary.

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I love the fact that they do
include heat indecks. I love the

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fact that they include rides close for
sixteen minutes or more due to the weather.

264
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That's that is a very strong caveat
there. Due to the weather.

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It is it's basically theme park insurance. Yes, it's basically theme park insurance,

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so that if you if you show
up, you know, if you're

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concerned that well, I don't want
to really buy my ticket. I don't

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want to really commit because weather and
Florida is unpredictable and we don't know what

269
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it's going to be and blah blah
blah blah blah. But you know this

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gives you. This gives you that
peace of mind. So I love it.

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And what I really love about it
is they're coming forward and making it

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public and defining it because quite honestly, all of this in most parks is

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already in place. If you have
a day where you are really poed about

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what's happened in your your daily experience
because of the weather, and you've gone

275
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to guest relations, guest Relations has
the ability to issue you a return visit.

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This has been part of this has
been part of the arsenal of tools

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that guest Relation has. Guest relations
has forever in pretty much every park,

278
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so they have the ability to do
it. What I like about this is

279
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it's not it's making it so that
guests don't have to be that person in

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quotes to get this. It's rewarding
good behavior, not rewarding bad behavior.

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It's rewarding behavior that is responsible and
responsible, both on the part of the

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guest and on the part of the
park. I agree with all that.

283
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I had a stint, you know, working for Disney, of course in

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the guest relations area, and I'm
just going to add I actually I'm not

285
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sure about the heat part. I
know that we've you know, it was

286
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sop really on the other items,
you know, but the heat, I

287
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mean, of course, you know, back in the day, I don't

288
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know how true it is now,
but you know, back in the day,

289
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of course, if they were upset
enough about anything it was, it

290
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was really like it wouldn't matter,
you know. But I don't know that

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I've ever seen you know, the
heat put out so clearly like this as

292
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as a reason, you know,
for being like, you know, if

293
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it's too hot for you, we'll
let you come back, I mean,

294
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And that's I think that's just important
because people younger people, and we just

295
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talked about this. The kids are
going to be fine, but it's the

296
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rest of the family, you know, the ones that don't like the thrill

297
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rides that are not really handle the
heat well. And I also think it's

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it is very on brand for the
the sea parks because it does talk I

299
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mean, it is inferring climate change. It is uh, it is talking

300
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about the ramifications of conservation foolishness,
you know. And it's also something that

301
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we've already talked about on the show
that has been mentioned in I think it's

302
00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:12.119
two different, two different year end
reports saying attendance is down because of of

303
00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:15.720
heat. Well, then that this
is a direct this is a direct reaction

304
00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:18.920
to that saying, well, if
you're concerned about heat, here's your insurance,

305
00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:25.160
here's your guarantee, and now I
will take it one step further.

306
00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:30.200
So many parks, and for years, the Sea Parks have done this,

307
00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:34.039
and this is not insider information.
This is information that they have actually publicized

308
00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:40.079
quite loudly at sometimes and that is
pay for a day come back all year.

309
00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:47.160
So if you look at it from
a financial standpoint, this is actually

310
00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:52.079
better than that. You know,
it's pay for a day come back again

311
00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:57.680
within the twelve month period. You
know it's it's not going to cost them

312
00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:04.200
that much because it's all ready their
their P and L statements are already set

313
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up to do pay for a day
come back all year. That is a

314
00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:15.720
that is an opportunity there. So
the your ticket will be good for twelve

315
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:19.640
months to come back isn't going to
impact them negatively financially at all. And

316
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so a guest leaves happy. Well, first of all, a guest shows

317
00:23:22.599 --> 00:23:27.960
up because they have confidence that they
they're not gonna get reined out, burned

318
00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:33.480
out, whatever. Secondly, a
guest is going to leave happy because they

319
00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:36.160
know, gosh, you know this
is really nice. They clearly care about

320
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this. And thirdly, the park
is going to still make money because they're

321
00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:41.839
going to come back and buy another
lunch, They're going to have another shot

322
00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:44.519
at souvenirs. And when the guests
come back, they're gonna think, hey,

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00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:47.359
we got in free, let's buy
that. Let's not buy a T

324
00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:52.119
shirt, Let's buy a sweatshirt and
three blankets, you know whatever. So

325
00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:55.200
it's I think it is. I
agree with you, Philip. I love

326
00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:59.079
this. I think this is I
think this is great. And what I

327
00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:03.000
like about it more than its content
is the fact that they are coming forward

328
00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:08.759
and they've created a thing for it. They're they're actually utilizing all of their

329
00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:15.240
existing tools and resources, including their
their ability to amortize the ticket over a

330
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full year, basically and putting it
in front of the guests so the guests

331
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don't have to be the ones who
complained to get it. It's the guest

332
00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:26.160
who just simply go up and say, hey, I've been paying attention to

333
00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:30.240
your marketing and you have that whether
or not policy and I would like to

334
00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:34.000
take advantage of that, so there's
no negativity. It eliminates the negativity.

335
00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:37.160
It eliminates the guests having to go
in and yell at guest relations and therefore

336
00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:41.839
I can promise you the guest relations
staff will respond much more positively to it.

337
00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:45.279
Yep, yep. So overall,
I actually I hope that this will

338
00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:52.799
start to start the conversation on a
larger sense about moving these guests issues more

339
00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:55.200
like, you know, the creature
comforts need to be put back in the

340
00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:56.680
forefront of parks. I'm sorry,
and they just do. We I've talked

341
00:24:56.680 --> 00:25:00.319
about this, you know. I
know Scott doesn't visit too many anymore,

342
00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:04.680
but I still frequent theme parks very
regularly. And I just talked about the

343
00:25:06.759 --> 00:25:10.039
making sounds so scary last time,
and how you know it's starting in August,

344
00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:12.519
and we just talked about how you
know you're going at length it's less

345
00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:15.319
hot, but you know, you
still need water and they're not refill stations.

346
00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:18.400
And at least Universal has all the
freestyle stations they put in place,

347
00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:22.279
and they all are unlocked to give
you water, so you can get water

348
00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:27.000
anywhere. It's just like these these
creature comforts are, you know, like

349
00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:32.319
if you're not a theme park person
and you don't know to bring your water

350
00:25:32.359 --> 00:25:34.279
bottle, to bring your affillable thing, to bring your sunscreen, to do

351
00:25:34.359 --> 00:25:38.279
this, to do that, all
this whole thing. You know, I

352
00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:41.680
think it's it's not a good experience
for a lot, for a lot of

353
00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:45.599
people. And and just to clarify, you're absolutely right, Philip, I

354
00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:49.119
don't go to as many parks as
a guest. However I do work.

355
00:25:49.559 --> 00:25:53.400
I do work in quite a few
parks and attractions around the country. And

356
00:25:53.720 --> 00:25:56.960
what's interesting to me is, even
though I am not a team member,

357
00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:02.799
I'm an outside contract actor. As
I'm walking around, you know, in

358
00:26:02.839 --> 00:26:04.880
many places, I actually have a
name Tagger and I D and guests will

359
00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:08.319
come up and ask me for these
kinds of things. So it impacts me

360
00:26:08.440 --> 00:26:11.759
not so much as a guest,
but as someone who is trying to provide

361
00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:18.720
the best guest experience. And it's
difficult for me when they don't have those

362
00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:22.160
things, you know, like the
water refill stations, when they don't have

363
00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:26.640
the the the proper amount of shade
structure, the proper amount of seating,

364
00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:32.039
the that so I have had to
deal with that more from an employee standpoint

365
00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:34.799
or perceived employee standpoint than a guest
standpoint. But you're right, I don't

366
00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:41.640
go as a guest nearly as much
as you do. And let's wrap this

367
00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:44.880
into our kind of last thing we're
gonna talk about. We're almost out of

368
00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:49.599
time, which is pulling Horn Nights
has opened in Orlando last so when we're

369
00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:55.680
recording this on Saturday Friday was the
opening night. I was there for media,

370
00:26:56.119 --> 00:27:00.160
so I was there invited by Universal
to cover the event as media.

371
00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:04.759
I didn't see all the event because
this year the media didn't attend the show

372
00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:08.400
or gore into the tribute story.
It was only going through the Haunt houses.

373
00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:11.839
And I can tell you the highlights
from their presentation was really focusing on

374
00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:15.359
exactly what we were talking about,
focusing on the Last of Us and how

375
00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:18.319
it was a two year process to
develop that, and how it is based

376
00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:23.559
on the game and not on the
series, and why because well they didn't

377
00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:26.920
say this, but for us,
we've talked about this because the game hasn't

378
00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:30.799
brought much broader reach than the series, and it all fits right, it

379
00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:34.279
all fits with this from a creature
comfort standpoint. I will just say,

380
00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:41.559
just logistically speaking, there are less
offerings that suck crowds. You know,

381
00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:45.839
we talk about crowd sucks all the
time in the industry, and you know

382
00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:49.279
how the purpose of some attractions is
really just to get people out of the

383
00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:52.720
street, off the street, right, so you know there last year,

384
00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:55.920
of course, they had their Lagoon
show, which got people off the street

385
00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:59.960
because there's Lagoon, not seating,
like lagoon standing for it, and people

386
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:03.079
would stand around lagoon. This year, that Lagoon show is not there,

387
00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:04.960
so it's you know, that's one
less thing to draw people. And then

388
00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:11.480
the food booths look better this year. They are more installation things, but

389
00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:14.839
there are there are less of them
overall, so you know, there are

390
00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:19.759
less so the lines are longer.
And then the demand part. Right about

391
00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:23.279
twenty six thousand people is what I
heard. That's none bersant being confirmed,

392
00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:26.799
but that's kind of what I heard
through the grapevine for Opening night, which

393
00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:30.319
I think is as a good amount. You know, the parking is sold

394
00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:33.279
out immediately. And keep in mind
this was twenty six thousand people and it

395
00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:37.680
was a tropical storm for half of
the night, like this is this is

396
00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:42.640
it was, this was a Philip's
Feet where wet the entire night, and

397
00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:48.599
there were still twenty six thousand people
there. The lines for the express pass

398
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:52.759
got up to fifteen minutes for the
last of us and for Chucky five zero

399
00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:56.799
five zero, not one five five
zero, yeah, five zero. So

400
00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:00.519
clearly the demand is there, right, the demand is there, and there's

401
00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:03.799
lots of people there looking, you
know, there's lots of people, so

402
00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:10.200
yep, yeah, so yeah,
it's it's sorry about that. Yeah.

403
00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:15.440
It's what's interesting is I was not
there, and I feel like it's the

404
00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:22.480
last place Scott would be. I. Yeah, I was not there.

405
00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:25.559
I have not been, and I
will be completely transparent. I have not

406
00:29:25.799 --> 00:29:32.039
been to Halloween Horror Nights in several
years, mainly because, quite honestly,

407
00:29:32.119 --> 00:29:37.079
not because I don't want to go, but mainly because I'm busy. I

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00:29:37.400 --> 00:29:41.079
just don't have I'm this time of
year, you know, I as it

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00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:42.759
stands right now, I am.
Now I've added more. I'm now working

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00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:47.880
on seven different haunted attractions this year, some in larger capacity, some in

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00:29:47.960 --> 00:29:51.440
virtually nothing, but still I have
my fingers in about seven different ones.

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00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:53.519
So the last thing I am able
to do during this time of year is

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00:29:53.519 --> 00:30:00.839
to go and attend a very crowded
theme park Halloween event that I'm not either

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00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:07.599
training or rehearsing or whatever, And
so all I can all I can say

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00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:11.319
is what I have heard on social
media, what I have heard from Philip,

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00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:15.799
and it all seems to be the
same thing. And that is well,

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00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:18.680
again, having not been there,
I don't really I don't really think

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00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:23.920
I can get to I can't get
too demanding or two too vocal about it.

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00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:27.680
But all I can say is make
sure that you're checking out if if

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00:30:29.200 --> 00:30:33.359
you're looking for a certain kind of
experience, make certain that you're checking out

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00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:34.880
social media and what other people are
saying about it, because it all seems

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00:30:34.880 --> 00:30:42.480
to be the same thing. And
that is longlines, difficulty getting the creature

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00:30:42.519 --> 00:30:48.559
comforts, the basics of your of
your evening, and even when you pay

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00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:53.039
the extra money to have that that
front of line experience, you're still not

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00:30:53.119 --> 00:31:00.279
getting the opportunity to experience everything the
attraction has to offer. So again,

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00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:02.440
I think that kind of comes full
circle to where we started, and that

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00:31:02.519 --> 00:31:06.279
is there is clearly an interest,
there is clearly a guest interest, and

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00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:11.880
it is it is coming back and
parks and all attractions should be should be

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00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:14.960
prepared for it. Unfortunately, we
were not prepared to end right on thirty

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00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:17.599
minutes because we've gone over a little
bit. So I'm going to wrap things

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00:31:17.640 --> 00:31:21.000
up and say on behalf of Philip
Fernandez and myself Scott Swenson, this is

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00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:23.440
Green Tag Theme Park in thirty and
we will see you next week