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Busch, SeaWorld tickets break $50
By MARK ALBRIGHT © St. Petersburg Times, published January 4, 2001 Busch Gardens and SeaWorld quietly bumped up their daily admission by 5 percent Wednesday to become the first Florida theme parks to cross the $50-a-day threshold. They probably won't be the priciest theme parks for long. Their big Florida rivals typically increase their admission prices like clockwork each January without advance warning. The three big park operators -- Walt Disney Co., Anheuser-Busch Cos. and Universal Orlando -- also have been pricing their properties at the same daily rate to the penny. Including tax, Busch's two big Central Florida parks now cost $51.18 a day for adults and $41.58 for children ages 3 through 9. Park operators defend the increases as helping pay for new attractions and higher expenses, yet giving visitors a good value given other competition for the entertainment dollar. "We offer a full day's entertainment for less than (NHL) hockey tickets or a Broadway show," said Joe Couceiro, vice president of marketing for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Neither Universal nor Disney would say if they plan to raise rates. "We don't comment on future business plans, so I cannot give any indication if or when our ticket prices will rise," said Diane Ledder, spokeswoman for Disney World, which last raised its daily admission to $48.78 including tax on Jan. 7, 2000. "We review our pricing in January but so far have reached no conclusion," Universal spokesman Jim Hampton said. Busch took some of the sting out of the price increase by bringing back its popular Florida Fun Pass for another year. The pass offers Florida residents unlimited admission to one of the two parks, except for the busy Easter weekend, through Dec. 26 for the price of a single-day admission. The passes will be sold until April 6. Fun cards can be purchased at either park, participating AAA offices or Huntington Bank branches in Florida. In response to widespread customer complaints about long waits to sign up for the card last spring, Busch is set up to handle renewal online or over the telephone. The toll-free number is (866) 353-8622; the Internet address is http://www.buschgardens.com. First-time pass buyers, however, must go to Busch Gardens or a ticket office that is equipped to take the customer's photo for the pass. Busch began the new pricing strategy last year as all theme parks try to wean the majority of their customers off different forms of discounting that eat into profits. Over the past three years, discounting grew rampant as parks scrambled to fill three new theme parks that opened in Central Florida as well as their older ones. "We cut our promotional coupon discounting back dramatically to shift to such programs as the Fun Pass, which is a value-added offer," Couceiro said. "The Florida Fun Pass is the best value-added offer we have, but you will see us come out with more similar value-added offers for the tourist markets this year." Busch has several types of passes. The Florida Fun Pass is considered a "bronze" level pass. There also are silver and gold versions that cost more but have more benefits. Other theme parks have tried their own versions of Busch's Fun Pass. Universal Orlando has been selling a Florida resident pass for $95.31 (less than the price of two days' admission) that is good for unlimited admission to both its Orlando theme parks and City Walk through May 1. Most ticket discounting at Disney World is tied to getting visitors to spend more days in its parks or buy extra services. Theme parks make money even when admission prices are deeply discounted because guests buy food, drinks, merchandise and added new services such as behind-the-scenes tours. The discounted prices help the parks hit higher attendance. Also, Florida residents who hold passes are more likely to bring visiting friends or relatives to the park. The average theme park season ticketholder visits a park four times a year. Thanks largely to the Fun Pass, Busch Gardens set profit and attendance records in 2000, Couceiro said. Attendance rose 28 percent to 5-million. Related site
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From the Times Business report
From the AP
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