Theme parks spend big in bid to attract thrill-seekers

Los Angeles: In the battle to lure summer tourists, major Southern California theme parks are each offering something new, including a road trip with animated cars, a front-row seat for an epic battle of alien robots and a world-record plunge from a 120 metre tower.

New attractions are key to bolstering attendance, analysts say, and can each cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars.

Although local theme parks declined to disclose construction costs for this year's attractions, industry experts said the investment they made could be the most in about a decade.

"If you don't put in something new every few years, your attendance tends to drop or plateau," said Gene Jeffers, executive director of the Themed Entertainment trade group, which represents designers and creators of attractions for theme parks, museums, zoos and casinos.

Disney California Adventure Park near Los Angeles spent about $1.1 billion (Dh4.03 billion) over the last several years on new attractions, including Cars Land, which opens June 15. Universal Studios Hollywood spent an estimated $100 million for its new high-tech Transformers ride, according to analysts.

And Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia spent as much as $10 million for its drop-tower Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom thrill ride.

This weekend SeaWorld San Diego is launching a roller coaster shaped like a manta ray that industry experts said cost at least $35 million to build. Legoland in Carlsbad is adding a pirate ship attraction that park officials would only describe as a multimillion-dollar investment.

Colleen Mangone, a spokeswoman for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, a Virginia-based trade group for the theme park industry, said: "2012 is going to be a blockbuster year for rides and attractions."

In addition to Cars Land, California Adventure will sport a remodelled park entrance on a theme of 1920s Los Angeles with re-creations of several classic buildings, including the Pan Pacific Auditorium and the Carthay Circle Theatre where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered.

In keeping with the theme, trolleys that resemble the Red Cars from the era will carry visitors into the park. Universal's Transformers: The Ride-3D, which opened on Friday, pays tribute to the series of action movies by Michael Bay. The park had previously used high-definition 3D technology in its King Kong 360 3D attraction that launched in 2010 and is still running.

But the Transformers ride takes the 3D trend a step forward by putting guests in flight-simulator vehicles that roll and buck while riders watch Autobots battle the evil Decepticons in 3D projections. Riders will also feel multi-sensory effects, such as spraying water and hot air and wind.

Universal's annual pass holders who got advance access to the ride seemed impressed by the special effects. "The things they do with the atmosphere was pretty cool," said Vancouver, Canada, resident Gary Nash, who visited the park with his wife, Tania.

Six Flags Magic Mountain is hoping to appeal to adrenaline junkies with its Lex Luthor free-fall ride opening this summer. Riders will be strapped into a set of seats attached to a cable that will pull them to the top of the 120 metre tower before they drop to the ground, reaching a speed of 85 mph. Lex Luthor breaks the record for this category of ride, previously held by the Giant Drop at Dreamworld in Queensland, Australia.

Legoland Water Park set sail Friday with a new ride that places parkgoers into battling pirate ships where they can blast one another with water cannons.

"We are constantly adding to the park," Legoland spokeswoman Julie Estrada said. "We have more than doubled the number of rides since we opened."

Disney bets on cars land

For more than a decade, Disney California Adventure Park has been putt-putting along in the slow lane, trailing its neighbour Disneyland in the race for big attendance numbers.

A new 12-acre expansion called Cars Land, set to be unveiled June 15, is the latest and by far biggest attempt to get the laggard theme park up to speed. Based on the hit animated Cars movies made by Walt Disney Co's Pixar studio, Cars Land will include a racing convertible ride, square-dancing tractors and plenty of opportunities to buy themed merchandise.

It's the crowning effort of a $1.1-billion (Dh4.04 billion), multi-year attempt to turn California Adventure into a park where visitors will want to stay at least an entire day. "I believe the completion will result in a park that will both stand on its own," Disney chief executive Robert A. Iger recently told financial analysts, "but also serve as an important and worthy neighbour to Disneyland."

The investment highlights the importance of theme parks as a powerful revenue engine for Disney. In the first three months of this year, parks and resorts generated nearly $2.9 billion, a 10 per cent increase over the same period in 2011. That strong performance helped Disney overcome a 12 per cent drop in revenue from its movie studio division.

Still, Disney's parks face aggressive competition in the race to create attendance-boosting attractions. California Adventure has been an underperformer almost from the time it opened amid much hype in 2001. Visitors entered under a mock-up of the Golden Gate Bridge to the park that included a boardwalk-style roller coaster, river rafting ride and Ferris wheel, all themed to celebrate the culture and lifestyle of the Golden State.

What was missing, said many park guests as well as analysts, was Disney. There was almost no trace of the studio's hallmark movie characters, such as Mickey, Goofy and Donald. And the high-tech wizardry that awed crowds at other Disney parks was mostly missing.

"The problem was that there was nothing iconic in that park," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, a Cincinnati-based consultant to the industry.

— Los Angeles Times