Catching Up and Looking Ahead to Fall
This week we’re following up on trends impacting the day to day and the near future.
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California is reopen and theme parks are open for out of state guests. Disney and Universal on both coasts are relaxing masks and social distancing guidelines.
But getting there might be a problem.
The NY Times reports that “the average price [of rental cars] in May was up 19 percent from April, and up 102 percent over May 2019.” And recommends booking early “Two months ahead is the ideal time frame to rent a car,” he said. “It may take more planning, but it could save you some money.”
Therefore traveling guests will be spending more to get access to your attractions, and, looking to plan more ahead.
Universal is banking guests will plan ahead, as they’ve announced Jack the Clown is returning to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando AND put tickets on sale. The event runs Sept 3 through Oct 31st. Note that Universal didn’t announce a HHN event pass and that their event dates are early this year.
Disney’s bet has paid off big as Boo Bash is selling out, and Disney already added more dates. “Halloween night’s event is already sold out and we’ve just learned that two additional dates in October broke the 80% sold threshold as of Thursday. Those dates are October 5th and October 12th.”
We’re seeing a continuation of the trend to push Halloween into Summer (with Boo Bash on August 10th, HHN on Sept 3rd, and Howl on Sept 10th).
This week Midsummer Scream sprang a surprise on everyone by announcing the pop-up event “Awaken the Spirits!” happening August 14-15 at the Pasadena Convention Center.
And of course, the seasonal staffing issues continue, and they will continue. This week Dorney Park cut summer hours due to worker shortage; They will be open Wednesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. – effective immediately.
Looking Ahead
We’ve discussed how attractions with access to capital have used the time during the pandemic to prepare for this fall demand, and this week Universal confirmed as much.
Blooloop reported that NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell at the virtual Credit Suisse Communications Conference on June 14 said “we really have no capacity constraints there anymore and so the summer is looking pretty strong.”
“We kept building things during the pandemic,” said Shell. “Tomorrow is the day that we can go to full capacity [and] we feel very good about demand” at Universal Studios Hollywood, he shared. Shell also commented that that Epic Universe will open in “a couple of years”. It will be Universal’s biggest US theme park, said Shell.
Shanghai Disney Resort casually dropped that they plan to unveil more attractions, and are addressing the staffing shortage through a school partnership. “The company is also creating a talent pool with the Shanghai Institute of Tourism at Shanghai Normal University, under which students will intern at the resort on a regular basis.”
