The Blog Flume, theme park news from Theme Park Insider

The Super Bowl, theme parks and the lessons of Indianapolis

By Robert Niles
Published: February 6, 2012 at 3:07 PM

Something big happened in Indianapolis over the past week. And it wasn't just the football game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. What Indianapolis did during its Super Bowl week will be getting the attention of many sharp thinkers in the travel and tourism industry, including those running theme parks. Theme park fans who care about the business side of the parks will want to pay attention to the lessons of Indianapolis, too.

Indianapolis is earning raves for its hosting of the Super Bowl, from network commentators, pro athletes, celebrities and newspaper columnists. Let's put that in perspective for a moment. Indy offers no natural advantages over cities that have hosted the National Football League's championship game in the past - it has no beaches, no ocean views, no 70-degree-plus average winter temperatures. There are no mountains or ski slopes that make other cities desirable winter destinations.

So what made last week so special? Indy nailed this Super Bowl because of infrastructure. No, its football stadium isn't the biggest. Its hotels aren't the fanciest nor are its restaurants world-renown. But they are packed together within walking distance of each other in Indianapolis' pedestrian-friendly downtown. Take a 20-minute cab ride from the city's new airport, and you don't have to get in a car again all week. The high density of attractions gave the city a critical mass, turning downtown into a multi-day street party.

Granted, Indy also relied on a strong local organizing committee and thousands of friendly volunteers to make the week come together. But if you're in the tourism business and you're looking for a edge that can help make your destination a preferred choice for conventions and vacationers, believe me, you're paying attention to how Indy won raves for a game played in a city that's never been considered an A-list tourism destination. (FWIW, I went to high school in Indianapolis and love the city. But facts are facts. This ain't Miami, New Orleans or San Diego - the top cities in the Super Bowl rotation.)

It's all about convenience and walkability. People don't want to have spend a big chunk of their vacation in taxis or rental cars, as they did in Dallas at last year's Super Bowl. If you can offer people a destination where hotels, restaurants and attractions are all within easy walking distance, you're going to have an advantage over an alternative that requires people to get into their cars and drive for 10, 20, 30 minutes or more between where they stay, where they eat and where they play.

Walkability's been an emerging issue in urban and attraction development for years. (We talked about this issue with Sam Gennawey in our interview last year.) But Indianapolis just illustrated the value of walkability to everyone in the tourism business, and at the same time. People involved in planning tourism attractions now have to ask themselves: Can I afford to give up the advantage of walkability to my competitors by building an old-fashioned, car-dependent, exurban-style development? Is my attraction really so alluring that I can get away with sticking people with the inconvenience of having to drive everywhere during their visit?

That's why I believe that the future of major theme park developments is something like Universal Studios Singapore. You've got a theme park, one of the world's largest casinos, five luxury hotels and dining and shopping all in one "integrated resort," where people walk from destination to destination. Here in the United States, the Universal Orlando and Disneyland Resorts are establishing an American template for what a walkable multi-attraction vacation destination can be.

I love walking between Disneyland and California Adventure, instead of what I have to go through to move between parks at Walt Disney World - take a tram to my car, get in and drive to another parking lot, where I'll wait for another tram to bring me to the next park's entrance plaza. (And as much of a pain as that it, the driving route is often faster than waiting for Disney World's buses.)

Walt Disney World's theme parks and hotels are good enough that they can overcome the inconvenience of Disney World's car-dependent transportation infrastructure. But looking 20, 30 or 40 years into the future, Disney's going to face a challenge in keeping its quality so far above the competition that it can continue to overcome its transportation disadvantages. Or, it's going to have to shell out the bucks to create a real mass-transit system linking the various Disney World parks and hotels.

Not everyone wants to spend a vacation in an integrated resort, of course. So people will continue to want to the extra space between them and others - to "get away" from everyone else. But theme parks are ultimately a social experience, and far-flung, car-dependent developments are anti-social at their heart.

The model of building a theme park, or a stadium or any other major social attraction and marooning it within a sea of surface parking spaces is dead. Indy just applied the final blow. That creates a design challenge for theme parks, as they'll have to find ways to keep the outside world from intruding upon the themed experiences within their parks. But successful parks won't be able to rely on distance and acres of trees to do that any longer. Walkability is becoming too important an asset for resort destinations.

Update: On the topic of the Super Bowl, here's MVP Eli Manning's visit today to Walt Disney World:

And here's that Universal Studios Hollywood commercial for Transformer 3D The Ride, from the pregame show:

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2012 Best Attraction Tournament: Best Animal Exhibit?

By Robert Niles
Published: February 6, 2012 at 8:45 AM

As the lines between theme park and zoos blur, animal exhibits have become popular attractions at more theme parks. Today's we're honoring five of your favorites, as voted on in the Theme Park Insider attraction listings. Please vote for your favorite from these five, selecting the one that you feel best represents the ideal blend of education, awe... and a faithfully engaging recreation of a native habitat.

Today's category draws from all walk-through animal exhibits in theme parks, and does not include animal exhibits included as part of other attractions, such as narrated rides, roller coaster queues and live shows - which were voted on in other categories.

Voting is open for 24 hours.

Eagle Ridge - at Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Edge of Africa - at Busch Gardens Tampa

Maharajah Jungle Trek - at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Pangani Forest Exploration Trail - at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Turtle Reef - at SeaWorld San Diego

Tomorrow: It's the 4D show showdown.

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Theme Park Apprentice Tournament of Champions: The Final

By Robert Niles
Published: February 5, 2012 at 8:31 PM

Thanks to everyone who's been following the Theme Park Apprentice Tournament of Champions, including our contestants and organizer Tim W. It's time to vote on the final contest. As always, please take a look at the entries on the Theme Park Insider Discussion Board before voting.

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2012 Best Attraction Tournament: Best Stunt Show?

By Robert Niles
Published: February 3, 2012 at 9:02 AM

Please do not try duplicating today's 2012 Theme Park Insider Tournament blog post at home - it's for Best Stunt Show, and we must leave that to the professionals, right? :^)

We're looking for a champion in this category that delivers exhilarating stunts, an engaging show and that leaves you marveling about what you saw for hours afterward.

And, by the way, after yesterday, I'm wondering if anyone actually reads what I write between the headline and the first photo in these posts. So if you are reading this, let's have some fun. Please post the word "varmints" to either the site or the Theme Park Insider Facebook page sometime in the next day or two. Bonus points for being extra creative in how you work it in. You will have my undying gratitude.

Now let's cut to the chase. Literally.

High-Dive Theater - at Holiday World

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular - at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Lights! Motors! Action! - at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney Studios Paris

Waterworld - at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore and Universal Studios Japan

On Sunday: Universal's continuing its emerging tradition of debuting theme park commercials on Super Bowl Sunday. This year, Universal's running a 30-second spot (here's a snippet) during the final hour of the Super Bowl pregame show, to promote the upcoming Transformers: The Ride 3D at Universal Studios Hollywood.

On Monday: The Tournament returns, and we'll pick the best animal exhibit.

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D23 offering Disney fans 'off the map' access to Disneyland, for $250

By Robert Niles
Published: February 2, 2012 at 10:46 AM

Remember that $2,500 Disneyland Candlelight Processional special that got you into Walt's Main Street apartment? Well, now Disney's lopped a zero of the end of that price, offering D23 members a chance to get into the apartment, as well as other "behind the scenes" sites at Disneyland, for "just" $250.

The D23 "Disneyland Off the Map" tour event run all day on Tuesday, March 6. Tickets go on sale Feb. 9 at 10am PT (at the link above - theme park admission is not included, but required to get into the event). The event will include tours of the Main Street Apartment, as well as the Dream Suite apartment above New Orleans Square that once was the publicly accessible home of the Disney Gallery. Participants also will get a ride on the Disneyland Railroad's Lilly Belle VIP parlor car. And then, there's this:

We will be meeting at 6 p.m. for a very special dinner (and drinks) inside one of the resort’s most unique restaurants.

For some reason, Disney's not mentioning the name of the restaurant, but the only place in Disneyland where you can get a "drink" - and the only "off the map" restaurant in the park - is Club 33. If dinner at Club 33 is included, does anyone know why Disney wouldn't advertise that? And if the dinner's not at Club 33, do you think it's a bit of a bait and switch to imply that it is?

I'd love to hear you thoughts about this event, and whether or not you think I should spring for the cost and go (and take lots of pictures for publication on the site, of course).

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2012 Best Attraction Tournament: Best 3D Movie?

By Robert Niles
Published: February 2, 2012 at 10:06 AM

Put on your special glasses and remain seated, as we're about to pick the best 3D movie in a theme park.

When I started putting together this year's tournament, I thought it'd be neat to start by matching up rides and shows of the same type to crown the best in each of those categories, before setting them against each other in a head-to-head bracket. Best flume ride? Best animatronic show? Best simulator ride? It'll be fun!

But when I sorted through the Theme Park Insider reader ratings to select the attractions for each vote, I was reminded just how fuzzy the lines between various types of theme park experiences have come. Let's consider today's category, 3D movies, for example.

Pretty easy, huh? If you sit in a theater and wear 3D glasses while watching a movie, that's a 3D movie. But what about 4D attractions, where the seats jiggle and tickle? Okay, we'll make those a different category. But what about 3D movies with live actors, or animatronics? Should they be in with the 3D movies, or the 4D ones? And what about 3D movies where the seats don't move, but you still get stuff sprayed at you? 3D or 4D?

Multiply those decisions by the number of categories in the tournament, and you can see that I had to make more decisions that Judge Judy.

So for today's vote, we've got the top 3D movies that don't include seats that "jiggle or tickle," and that parks haven't labeled as "4D." Those will be in the Best 4D Show category next week. But we do include today a couple of 3D movies that include live actors and/or animatronics. As with all tournament contests, voting is open for 24 hours and campaigning via the comments, Facebook and Twitter is encouraged.

Captain EO - at Disneyland, Epcot, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris

Mickey's PhilharMagic - at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland

MuppetVision 3D - at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney California Adventure

Terminator 2: 3D - at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan

Tomorrow: We'll be voting to pick the best theme park stunt show.

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2012 Best Attraction Tournament: Best Wooden 'Mega' Coaster?

By Robert Niles
Published: February 1, 2012 at 9:06 AM

Today in the 2012 Theme Park Insider Tournament we're honoring those roller coasters that blur the line between traditional wooden coasters and modern steel mega-coasters. These hybrid coasters deliver heights (over 150 feet), speed - and airtime - previously unheard of on woodies, thanks to their blend of materials or construction technique.

Three stand out, according to Theme Park Insider reader ratings - El Toro at Six Flags in New Jersey (prefabricated wood), last year's rebuild of Texas Giant at Six Flags' original park in Arlington (steel track on wood support), and the defending champion in this tournament, The Voyage at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana (wood track on steel support). Voting is open for 24 hours, and campaigning - in the comments, and on Facebook and Twitter - is encouraged.

El Toro - at Six Flags Great Adventure