Editor’s note: This is the latest of a series of features in which one of our writers takes a deliberately controversial stance on a theme park-related topic, to try and stir up some debate.
Marc’s views do not necessarily represent those of Theme Park Tourist!
A few years back, I made my first visit to Cedar Point in nearly a decade. Much of the park was just as I had remembered it, but the new rides caught my eye, and for more reasons than just the obvious.
It was while waiting in line for the relatively recent Maverick (2007) that a sudden and completely unanticipated observation hit me. Yes, its line still consisted of that wonderful thing that amusement park enthusiasts the world over have affectionately labelled Switchback Hell, but its endless rows were also firmly ensconced in the Wild West instead of adhering to the time-tested concrete-laden cattle pens that permeate the rest of the park. Here, behind the railings and just past the overhead fans were facades, signs, and a gift shop that were all part of the same overarching theme. Hell, there was even an elevator shaft that had been converted into a silo.
Maverick’s queue at Cedar Point. Image © Robert Coker.
Maverick wasn’t just a ride – it was a themed experience, not unlike what one would find at Disney’s or Universal’s world-class theme parks (albeit with a lot less money and sophistication).
Even though it wasn’t enough to alleviate my obligatory time in Switchback Hell, and even though its trains don’t carry the theme even in the slightest, it was a pleasant surprise and just effective enough to help get me in the mood for the adventure that was to come. It helped, in other words, to elevate Maverick’s game.
And that’s when it dawned on me: amusement parks were a dying breed, a dinosaur that had been hit by the theming meteor 60 years ago and didn’t realize that its environment was betraying it.
Why will all amusement parks ultimately become theme parks? Let’s count the ways.
1. People crave immersion
The simple, universal desire to extend a favorite moment or story has produced reams of technological innovations – YouTube, cave paintings, the photograph, action figures, the gramophone, and endless amounts of home video equipment are all testament to this basic human yearning.
But it is the theme park (yes, even more so than the newest of the art forms, the videogame) that is its ultimate logical extension; where else can one be completely subsumed by an alternate reality, filling his sense of sight, sound, smell, and touch? To eat at, say, Magic Kingdom’s Be Our Guest restaurant is to actually be in Beast’s castle.
This is why, ultimately, we’ll be seeing more and more rides at Cedar Point, Six Flags, and all the rest of the world’s great amusement parks be inexorably drawn into the theming business (just as we have been seeing with restaurants [just look at Cracker Barrel] and hotels [Las Vegas, anyone?] over the last several decades).
Ah, the splendors of Las Vegas. Image © Luxor Hotel and Casino.
The novelty of swooshing down a rollercoaster’s hill or being soaked on a flume ride, which Cedar Point in particular has been offering, in one form or another, since the 19th century, has long sing worn off; just as Blu-ray, with its crystal-clear resolution, has swept away VHS tapes, the themed ride offers a far denser experience, even if it’s one without an overarching narrative attached to it – much like our good friend Maverick.
Let’s think of it in this way: if rollercoasters were meals, then not only was Maverick filling in its own right, its aroma has long since stayed with me, much more so than has, say, Raptor (although another satisfying dish worthy of seconds).
2. Immersion brings home the bucks
Yes, it may cost more to theme every surface, light source, and audio signal in a given environment, but the more it can transport guests to another time and place, the more the guest will want to retain those memories of being there (like we just talked about). Ride photographs, t-shirts, shot glasses, and other generic forms of merchandise that are strewn about the average amusement park don’t sell particularly well, but it’s no secret that Universal has been making a killing with its Wizarding World of Harry Potter souvenirs, from robes to chocolates to, particularly, wands.
(Yes, being based off of a pre-existing intellectual property certainly doesn’t hurt, but you’d better believe that the company would still be enjoying higher-than-average sales even if Hogsmeade were an original creation.)
And then there’s Butterbeer or LeFou’s Brew, which takes the stakes of the game and raises it one step further by introducing world-exclusive culinary options. Even just 10 years ago, there’s no possible way that dining would be seen as a make-or-break element of a ride experience, but we’ve quickly gotten to the point where the Springfield, USA expansion at Universal Studios Florida was entirely driven by the likes of Flaming Moe’s and Krusty Burgers.
The biggest money-making machine of them all: Butterbeer. Image © NBCUniversal.
Doubt that food and beverages are the wave of the themed future? Consider this: NBCUniversal was able to pay off the approximately $260 million price tag of the first Wizarding World, which it initially thought would take five years, in just four months, and that was primarily due to the sales of $3 Butterbeers (it sells, on average, several hundred thousand a month).
In other words: the more unique experiences you can offer guests, the more unique items you can sell them. And seeing as how park tickets don’t do much in the way of actual profit, you better believe Cedar Fair and all the other operators are eyeing the themed entertainment industry very, very enviously.
The name of the game
The Themed Entertainment Association just recently released its annual report of global attractions attendance, and the numbers aren’t that surprising: Disney theme parks dominate the top ten rankings with the sole exception of Universal Studios Japan, which came in in the number-nine slot (and was just behind Walt Disney World Resort’s Hollywood Studios).
The Non-Disney Boy Who Lived: Universal Studios Japan. Image © NBCUniversal.
You would have to drop down to the next ten spots, numbers 11 through 20, in order to find any amusement park, and though there are five of them that managed to break into this secondary tier, their numbers are woefully lagging behind their theme park brethren, and not one of them is in North America (sorry, Cedar Point). Indeed, the top amusement park (Hong Kong’s Ocean Park…which offers many attractions besides its more basic amusement park-style rides) is one million guests behind the number-ten theme park (Disneyland Resort’s California Adventure) and a whopping 11 million behind the number-one theme park (Disney World’s Magic Kingdom).
Clearly, there is something about themed destinations that make them so much more globally appealing than their “standard” counterparts, and there just as clearly is an insurmountable lead they enjoy – meaning no matter how many more rollercoasters Cedar Point can install or thrill rides it can titillate with, as long as it doesn’t envelope its visitors within a story, it is doomed to be the Neanderthal to Disney and Universal’s Homo sapien.
