Orlando's Ode to China Closes Down
O R L A N D O, Fla. Jan. 16, 2004 -- While Florida Splendid China closed on thelast day of 2003 after struggling for 10 years to find amoneymaking niche, other local theme parks had no such troubles. Acrowded Walt Disney World claimed record attendance over theChristmas holidays, and Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando felthealthy enough to increase ticket prices by $2.
The contrast in fortunes marked the latest in a Darwinianshakeout in central Florida's tourism market, where only the biggestand strongest have survived two years of stagnant growth since theSept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Other properties that have closed their doors recently includethe Hyatt Orlando and decades-old Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven,although a Georgia theme park owner is negotiating to buy CypressGardens. Florida Splendid China's owners hope to find anotherbuyer.
"If the market grows, everybody gets their share," said SteveBaker, a theme park consultant.
A Stagnant Market
The problem for the 76-acre Florida Splendid China was that themarket wasn't growing for the past two years. On good days, thetheme park, indirectly owned by the Chinese government, averaged400 visitors who came to see the park's miniature replicas ofChinese landmarks and watch its acrobatic performers.
By contrast, parks at Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando andSeaWorld Orlando average tens of thousands of people each day.
Visitors to Florida Splendid China on its last day lamented itsclosing but were quick to point out the reasons.
Shinji Motoyama, 26, a financial analyst from Miami, noted thatthe park hadn't been well-maintained. Dirt was encased on Buddhastatues and some speaker boxes offering prerecorded narrations ofthe miniatures weren't working.
"It's not so good, the preservation," said Motoyama, who wasvisiting with his parents. "It seems old and broken in someplaces."
Explosions Trump Culture
Serge Huot, a businessman from Quebec visiting with his parents,said Florida Splendid China offered no breathtaking rides or flashyshows like the other theme parks. "People love more explosions than culture," Huot said. "Thebig problem — it's not against the American people — but culture inthe United States is hard to sell."
Victor Trinh, a computer scientist from Washington who wasvisiting the park while in Orlando for a family reunion, saidFlorida Splendid China most likely outlived its usefulness as apro-China propaganda tool. A holding company of China TravelService, which is a Chinese government travel agency, owns thepark.
Although the park is only indirectly owned by the Chinesegovernment, it was regularly picketed by Tibetan-rights activistswho objected to the inclusion of exhibits on ethnic minorities theysay are oppressed by the Chinese government, such as those fromTibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, which the Muslim minority therecalls Eastern Turkestan.
Alva and Joe Gibney, retirees, noted that the park hardlyadvertised.
"Look how much the others spend on advertising," Alva Gibneysaid.
News of Florida Splendid China's closing caused a boost in attendanceon its last day. The park had about 750 visitors, about three timesits normal attendance.
But that hardly kept up with the larger theme parks at Disney,Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando.
Other Theme Parks See Records
Two Disney parks, the Magic Kingdom, which can hold around50,000 people, and Animal Kingdom, which can hold between 25,000and 30,000 visitors, claimed record attendance over the Christmasholidays. Officials said they had to turn away visitors three timesduring the week between Christmas and New Year's Day because theywere so crowded. Officials at the Florida parks owned by Anheuser-Busch, SeaWorldOrlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa, were so confident about theprospects for 2004 that they rang in the new year by raising ticketprices by $2. A ticket at the parks now costs $57.46 for adults and$47.78 for children, making them the most expensive in Florida forthe time being.
On Jan. 9, Universal Orlando also raised single-day ticketprices by $2, increasing its admission to $57.33 for adults and$47.75 for children.
The price of a Fun Card, which allows Florida residentsunlimited entrances into the Busch parks, will increase $8 to$63.85 for adults and $53.20 for kids.
The price increases were justified because of plans for newshows, shopping and dining in 2004, said Joe Couceiro, vicepresident of marketing.
"The parks have a tremendous amount of options and we're goingto be expanding them," Couceiro said.
When a theme park in Orlando increases ticket prices, the otherparks usually follow. But an official at Walt Disney World wouldn'tsay if the resort planned to increase its prices of $55.38 foradults and $44.73 for children.