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California Theme Parks

2016 Report

Written By:
Karisa Lopez; Harpreet Mann; Marc McDonald; Krina Moriswala

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Page Number
INTRODUCTION..3
HISTORY OF THEME PARKS3-4
CURRENT STATE OF THEME PARKS.....4-5
ANALYSIS OF THEME PARKS SUCCESS...5-6
LOCAL AUDIENCE/DEMOGRAPHICS.6-7
LOCAL COMPETITION...........7-11
RECCOMMENDATIONS......11

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Introduction
In this report Group F is a consulting firm that specializes in attractions, such as theme
parks. Group F will be consulting with TRC, who is interested in opening a new theme park in
California. California is home to many successful amusement parks. California is a great
destination spot where one can see a new amusement park prosper. The report includes the
history of theme parks, current state of theme parks, local audience, description of the
competition in the area, and recommendations for TRC. This report hopes to provide detailed
research to help TRC have information about amusement parks and to help TRC develop a new
amusement in California.
History of Theme Parks
The origin of theme parks derives from earlier traditions such as the fairs of the Middle
Ages. This eventually expanded entertainment for the public in the form of magic, freak shows,
and competitions for those attending. Further down the line as the idea of an amusement park
kept evolving the first rides were introduced to the world in the mid to late 1800s. This mark the
start of the first generation of fun fairs.
Pleasure Gardens exemplified the potential for further development of amusements parks.
These gardens had many attractions that we still see to this very day. Large crowds gathered to
see the concerts, carnival acts such as tightrope walking and fireworks. While these pleasure
gardens were successful in bringing in crowds they were mostly reserved for the wealthy. As
time passed pleasure gardens became more public and diverse.
The Worlds Columbian Exposition was a revolutionary amusement park. Here they had
an area called the Midway Pleasance. This area was the center of concessions while being
surrounded by rides and attractions. This was a blueprint for amusement parks that is still used to
this day.
Coney Island was an early seaside pleasure resort that led to the modern amusement. It
brought millions of pleasure seekers to the beach. Hotels and restaurants were built around to

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accommodate the many tourists Coney Island brought. The first roller coaster was built there
named Switchback Railway in 1884. The roller coaster opened the amusement park to endless
possibilities for rides and is one of the most important attractions for modern amusement parks to
this very day.
Current State of Theme Parks
According to IAAPA, there are about 400 amusement parks and attractions across the
United States (1). With the 400 amusements park, there are about 375 million guests annually
attending these attractions. During 2013, amusement parks and attractions generated about 55.4
billion direct economic impact. In the United States, amusement parks provide more than
600,000 jobs year around including seasonal employees. Per a survey in 2013, average
attendance was about 369,289 guests annually. The survey also including that the operating time
was about 90% operate year around and average guest stay was 2.7 hours. The survey also
including the demographic to be families with children from 2-18 years old.
Theme parks across the United States have started creating a theme. An example would
be Disneyland. All the ride and attractions are based off Disney characters and movies. Another
example can be water rides. The theme of the attraction parks is water rides, so they would not
have rides that do not deal with water. Theme parks have been generally doing well across the
United States and California. Each amusement park is different in a way that it attractions its
visitors and age group. Disneyland is one of the few amusement parks that attract all ages and
visitors. Its a place where you can be any age and still enjoy what it must offer. Other theme that
an amusement park does is changing up the theme park per the seasons. During fall time, many
amusement parks create thrills by including Halloween into the parks. An example of this is that
Universal Studios opens the park longer at night and creates haunted houses as attractions. Other
trends that have developed over the years is having the fast passes available. These fast passes
allow for guest to skip the lines and can get on a ride faster than they would be waiting in a line.

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Five trends that are predicted to happen in a few years are the use of personal devices and selfservice, everything will be more interactive and multisensory, rides and themes will be darker,
the rides will be greener, and the food will be held to a higher standard.
Analysis of Theme Parks Success
There are many aspects that play a part in making a theme park successful. Many of
which have to do with understanding your target audience and demographic the theme park is
trying to appeal to. When trying to make, a successful theme park the owner must think of
location first. Where do I want to build this theme park that will bring in the most foot traffic of
my targeted demographic. When you get the location of the park you then should think of what
attractions will bring in the people of this area. Do they want a theme like Sea World or
Disneyland? Or do they just want new and exciting rides that have never been done before.
When the park has been built and all the rides have been decided on it is time to hit the media.
The park owner must get his/her park name out there in new and exciting ways to become a
successful owner. The owner is going to need commercials and social media to help grow his/her
park. Depending on the size of the park another great way for the park to get known and become
successful is resorts. Resorts keep the guests in your park longer which allows them to spend
more money which in turn will allow you to expand. Resorts also open many other services to
provide for the public such as: restaurants, golfing areas, kids areas, and themed towns with
shops. There are many aspects that are needed to make a theme park successful, but none of them
will work on their own.
Local Audience/Demographics
In recent years, we have seen an increase in numbers of theme park attendees. There
hundreds of theme parks around the world, but there is one theme park that trumps them all. The
theme parks owned by Disney have had the most number of attendees per year. At Walt Disney
World saw 20.49 million attendees in 2015, followed by 18.29 million at Disneyland in

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Anaheim, CA. As far as theme parks goes the most foot traffic was seen at Disney parks
followed by Universal Studios Japan that saw 13.9 million park attendees. Disney and Universal
saw a 4.2% increase in attendees in 2014 while the other theme parks saw a 2.8% decline in
attendance. The decline in other theme parks can be due to the change in demographics of
visitors and an increase in ticket prices (2). In 2014 Disney World hiked up its ticket price to
$105.00 making it the first Disney park to pass the $100 threshold (3). With rising ticket prices, it
is making it difficult for middle class families to go theme parks. Per International Association of
Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) 2011 Amusement Park State of the Industry survey
25 percent of Americans that were surveyed visited an amusement park within the last 12
months, with 43 percent of Americans indicating they plan to visit an amusement park within the
next 12 months. Also in the survey 63 percent of Americans reported that their last trip to an
amusement park was a day trip and 27 percent say it was an overnight trip (1).
Increasing ticket prices and the cost of overnight trips contributes to the decline in other
theme parks. Disney and Universal Studios have seen more foot traffic because of their
continuous improvements and competition with each other. Disneyland is world famous, it has a
total of eight theme parks in California and Florida. Disneyland has had a monopoly on theme
parks, but that is soon to change. Universal Studios has recently introduced Harry Potter
attractions at their theme parks in the US and has expanded to Japan. Introduction of the Harry
Potter and the expansion to Japan has greatly benefited Universal Studios; there revenue
increased 53.6% to 375 million dollar. Competition between Disneyland and Universal is not
something new, both theme parks have been competing against each other since the late 1980s.
An example of their competition can be seen with the opening of Cars Land in Disneyland and
the opening of the Transformer ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. Trying to get the upper
hand in the race for the best theme park has been driving force for improvements in both

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Disneyland and Universal Studios. Due to the continuous improvements both these theme parks
continuously see a rise in attendees and profits (9).
Local Competition
California is home to many well-known and iconic Amusement and Theme Parks. Some
of many are Knott's Berry Farm, Californias Great America America's and Santa Cruz Beach
Boardwalk.
Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park was the first Theme Park. This theme park was
established back in 1920. Which started due to the popularity of Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner
Restaurant in 1934. Continuing the tradition of offering fantastic food at affordable prices,
Knotts welcomes the world-famous Pinks Hot Dogs to the Marketplace shopping and dining
area. A part of LA culture for over 70 years, Pinks has long been a destination for hot dog lovers
everywhere. To celebrate the Peanuts 60th Anniversary, Knotts Berry Farm debuts a new
nighttime light show that showcases the Peanuts Gang and reminds us why our heart still belongs
too good ol Charlie Brown. Camp Snoopy comes alive with a continuous light show filled with
Peanuts three dimensional figures, themed music, sound effects, voice-overs and colorful
projections of the Peanuts characters (Liisa). Knotts introduces Knotts Berry Bloom, which is a
new season of fun that celebrates the spring with a variety of new offerings. Easter Beagle
scavenger hunt is a new event that invites kids to scurry across the park to find Snoopy, and
Peanuts Party in the Park. This fun event gets everyone dancing in the streets in a new
interactive live musical. This amusement park has a total of 40 rides, 10 of which are roller
coasters, 2 are water rides and the rest are family rides. This multi-million-dollar park includes a
family coaster named Coast Rider Surfside Gliders, on which riders pilot their own two-person
aircraft for a scenic view of Boardwalk Bay, and the return of the classic Pacific Scrambler. The
Timber Mountain Log Ride, a beloved Knotts attraction is one of the oldest log flume rides in
the country undergoes a massive refurbishment. The restoration upgrades all the ride figurines

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and sets and brings new scenes and characters to the enhanced ride experience, while still
maintaining the original theme and storyline of the attraction. The Calico Mine Ride which is
Knotts Berry Farms first major ride was restored with over 50 new animatronics figurines, new
audio, themed lighting system, plus a few startling new special effects. The enhancements put
new life into the parks landmark attraction. Ghost Rider, the longest, fastest and tallest wooden
roller coaster on the West Coast, returns from a major restoration project with all-new trains that
gallop along over 4,500 feet of new track (6). This park also offers live entertainment some of
which are camp snoopy theatre this is a musical play were snoopy and his friends gather along
sing and dance. Native American dancer is another entertainment they offer and this celebrates
the lore, legends, music, and dance of native American tribes with participatory of all ages.
Finally they have mystery lodge which cross over the rushing waters of mystical thunder falls to
experience the inexplicable magic of mystery lodge (joshua). This park gets about 3 million
visitors a year.
In Northern California, California's Great America is located in Santa Clara. Currently
this park is a 100-acre amusement park. It's a park that has changed over the years. When it first
opened back in 1976, it was introduced as a traditional amusement park and since has added
thrills and a water park. It is currently owned and operated by the Cedar Fair Entertainment
Company and shares its parking lot with the new Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco
49'ers Football team plus other sports and entertainment events. This park has a lot to offer, rides
and attractions, boomerang bay water park, planet snoopy, and live entertainment. There is
currently a total of 58 rides, 8 fast roller coasters one of which goes as fast as 50 mph, and 3
water rides. Boomerang bay water park is also located inside this amusement park, there are 13
waterslides, a heated lagoon, lazy river where you can just rent an inner tube and lie in it while
the river carries you along, and a wave pool. Another fun thing to do inside this park is go to

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planet snoopy, this is great if you have younger children ages 1-12. In this section of the park the
character come out and dance along with the children, snoopy, Charlie brown, Lucy, and Sally.
Also, there are rides as well for kids of all ages to come and join. Last thing is the live
entertainment; the excitement does not just end with the attractions and boomerang bay. Live
entertainment includes acroflyte which is an acrobatic experience with an all-star cast ready to
flip, spin, bounce and climb new heights. Remixd which is a high-energy mash up performance
that will have you singing and dancing along. Peanuts party in the plaza, all the characters from
planet snoopy come out and dance, this is one of their most popular entertainments for children.
Fireworks at night, this is a great time for families to come out and gather around to join in this
amazing show they put on. There is a total estimate of 2.7 million people that visit these parks a
year (joshua).
A bit smaller, but well known is the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, a traditional
amusement area found along the Pacific Ocean. located on Californias central coast, 40 miles
north of Monterey, 35 miles from San Jose, and 70 miles south of San Francisco. This family
operated amusement park was founded in 1907, it is one of Californias oldest parks. This park
has over 100 years of history behind it. There is a combination of classic/modern rides, a sandy
mile long beach, and a variety of attractions. Some of many rides include the giant dipper roller
coaster which is a historical landmark. More than 60 million visitors have could experience the
Giant Dipper since it was first opened back in 1924. Loof carousel is another ride that is a
historical landmark, is the parks oldest ride and includes a rare working ring machine. This was
opened in 1911, 100 rocking chairs were brought into the hippodrome so that parents could sit
comfortably while watching their children. Overall there is a total of 36 rides at this amusement
park, 9 thrill rides, 16 family, and 11 for the little ones. Some attractions this park includes are, 6
midway games, 2 large video game arcades, an 18-hole indoor mini-golf course, a laser tag

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arena, 31 restaurant and food outlets; 8 beachwear, gift, and specialty shops, and a family
bowling center. Casino Arcade is the largest game arcade in Northern California with the latest
video and redemption games plus a Classics Corner. Once an indoor swimming pool, now a twostory, 18-hole mini-golf course is the main attraction in Neptune's Kingdom. Bowling that you
can enjoy with the family, and rock climbing a 26-foot-tall wall. Not only does this park offer
attractions and rides but also there is a mile-long beach where you can either bring a blanket and
lay on or just walk across it and admire the beautiful view. Most visitors come because there is a
variety of things to do, also in the area is a small roadside attraction called the Mystery Spot,
which is worth a stop if you have a rental car.
As you can see there is a lot of competitions when it comes to any type of amusement
parks because they are all over California and they continue expanding yearly. California is well
known for theme parks and any type of attractions. Overall about nine million people in total
visit these three amusement parks yearly.
Recommendations
On examining many theme parks one can conclude no matter which theme park or group
of theme parks a person chooses to attend they are guarantee to have fun and be satisfied. Our
recommendation is to have competitive ticket prices. For example, during the holidays having
promotions were just by paying $15 extra you can have all you can eat for that day plus an
entrance to winter wonderland. This would attract more people especially families with little
ones. Looking at the current trends having a theme park that appeals to all ages is suggested. By
targeting all ages one can expect to have higher attendance leading to more revenues. Theme
parks such as Disney and Universal are more technologically advanced than the others. Keeping
up with technology is a must. Having a theme park that offers variety of activities and shows are
more successful (1). For example, at Disneyland there are two separate theme parks one park
appeals for every family member and the other appeals for older kids and adults. For future

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theme parks investors, should focus on technology, audience and convenience for their
customers. By doing this not only will it attract more people but also help when building your
revenue, this is how a successful theme park works.

Works Cited:
1. Amusement and Theme Park Attendance Worldwide 201I Statistic. Statista. Np., n.d Web. 15 Nov.
2016.
2. Jaaskelainen, Liisa. Topic: Parks. Www. statista.com. Np., n.d. Wen 15 November 2016.
3. Linshi, Jack. 2 Charts That Show The Least Fun Part of Disneys Magic Kingdom. Time. Time, n.d.
Web 15 Nov. 2016.
4. Andrews, Evan. "6 Early Amusement Parks." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 14 July 2014.
Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
5. "California's Best Theme Park and Amusement Park | Knott's Berry Farm." California's Best Theme
Park and Amusement Park | Knott's Berry Farm. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
6. "GREAT AMERICA Parks: History." GREAT AMERICA Parks: History. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
7. "The History of Theme Park Inventions." About.com Inventors. About.com, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016
8. "Just the Facts." Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
9. Ostrogg, Joshua. Disney vs. Universal: Which Theme Park Reigns Supreme? The Huffington Post.
N.p., 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.