US Theme Parks

With so many theme parks to cram into a trip, how do you
know which ones to recommend to your clients?

US theme parks used to be a bit of a Mickey Mouse affair.
Literally. It was the lure of Disney that saw plane-loads of Brits
begin flying to Florida during the 1980s, all dying to meet
Mickey.

Now, the US theme park market is more sophisticated than ever,
with at least 10 parks to choose from in the Orlando area alone.
Disney is still strong but competition, particularly from Anheuser
Busch and Universal, has upped the stakes considerably.

And the breadth of visitors has expanded too. Of the million or
so Brits who visited US parks this year, a third were travelling
without children.

To help you find which theme park holiday is best for which
client, we’ve outlined a few types you’re likely to
encounter.

To some, the thought of visiting a theme park ranks up there
with pulling their own teeth. That’s fine if you don’t
have kids. But if you do, a visit to a theme park is almost
inevitable.

Disney is a good starting point for theme park virgins as it
ties in all the familiar icons – the Magic Kingdom, Main
Street, Mickey and the gang – together with some first-class
rides. This year, Disney is shaking off its ‘just for
kids’ reputation with Mission Space, which was described by
astronaut Buzz Aldrin as the closest thing to a real Moon
launch.

Walt Disney World Resort in Florida comprises four theme parks
– the Magic Kingdom, home to most of the big sights and
rides; futuristic Epcot; Disney-MGM Studios and the Animal Kingdom
– as well as two water parks, and Downtown Disney, home to
the adults-only Pleasure Island.

How to sell it:
a twin-centre is a good option for theme park virgins, as they can
test the water with one park before heading out and doing something
else. Gold Medal Travel USA contracts manager Ian Matthews said
this type of break was popular with independent-minded travellers.
A 10-night break leads in at £700 per person, including
flights, three nights’ room-only at Disney’s All Star
Resort in Orlando, followed by seven nights’ room-only at the
Dolphin Beach Resort in St Petersburg. Boost your commission by
selling car hire from £19 per day.

Norwegian Cruise Line offers cruise-and-stay breaks out of
Orlando, twinning the theme parks with the Caribbean. The
nine-night Riches of the Western Caribbean trip leads in at
£900 per person, including meals, entertainment and flights.
Seven nights at the Grosvenor Walt Disney World Resort cost from
£250 per person as an add-on.

Best ticket option:
the Walt Disney World Ultimate Park Hopper ticket offers unlimited
access to all of Disney’s Florida sites, and is available
exclusively to those staying at the official on-site hotels. A
five-day pass leads in at £147 for adults and £117 for
kids with Travel 4.

Fans of theme parks are so keen they want to squeeze every major
theme park experience, shopping mall and firework display into
their  two-week break. Orlando is a classic family summer holiday
destination, and this can mean more than one family, kids of all
ages and maybe grandparents too. And, consequently, more commission
for you.

As well as the parks, the shops are a huge attraction, with
outlet centres such as Belz Factory Outlet and Chelsea Premium
Outlet, plus the  high-end stores at the Florida Mall and the Mall
at Millennia.

In the evening, the firework and laser light show at
Disney’s Epcot is a must, and there’s plenty of family
fun to be had on International Drive, such as Crazy Golf and the
Pirates Dinner Adventure.

How to sell it:
clue your clients up to the value and the quality of a private
Florida home. Jetlife offers deluxe homes in the
Kissimmee/Davenport area, about 20 minutes’ drive from
Orlando, from £700 for a three-bed home sleeping eight. Return
Virgin flights to Orlando lead in at £370 per adult and
£250 per child.

If your clients are real theme park devotees, they might want to
bolt on a Disney cruise. Jetlife offers a three-night Bahamas
cruise, visiting Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, from
£325 per adult and £115 per child.

Best ticket option:
with so many people to cater for, value is key on a family break.
The Orlando FlexTicket offers 14 days’ unlimited admission to
Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure, plus
SeaWorld, Wet ‘n’ Wild and Busch Gardens at Tampa Bay.
Keith Prowse sells the FlexTicket at £132 per adult and
£111 per child.

Swimming with dolphins at Discovery Cove has been a huge hit
this year and a one-day package costs £140 with Keith Prowse.
The FlexTicket parks and Discovery Cove will take up the best part
of a two-week holiday. Five-day Park Hopper Plus passes cost
£178 with Jetlife, and any unused days can be redeemed on
future trips.

There’s a growing number of big kids out there without
children of their own who still want all the fun of the parks. Not
having kids in tow means they can cover a fair amount of ground in
a short time, so it’s a fair bet they’ll want to see
all the parks. As well as the usual daytime fun, the parks have
more adult-oriented attractions: Universal’s City Walk and
Disney’s Pleasure Island are open to over 21s only, and are
home to all the parks’ bars and nightclubs.

How to sell it:
let them know luxury exists. Going to Orlando doesn’t
necessarily mean staying at a two-star hotel on busy International
Drive. The luxurious Grande Lakes resort is 14 miles from downtown
Orlando but within striking distance of all the parks. A Marriott
and a Ritz-Carlton property share the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and 40
treatment-room spa. Thomas Cook Signature offers seven nights at
the five-star Marriott from £930, including return scheduled
flights and car hire.

If a couple are really in love with the theme park concept, they
might want to marry at one. If so, Jetsave has reintroduced wedding
packages for next year. A wedding package at Disney’s Swan
and Dolphin property in Orlando leads in at £1,050, including
the ceremony, a wedding co-ordinator, minister’s fees,
bouquet and buttonhole, cake and a bottle of champagne. An extra
£750 buys in some special guests for the ceremony: Mickey and
Minnie Mouse.

Best ticket option:
without kids to cater for, couples can splash out on each of the
big multi-park tickets. Booking through Seligo, Disney’s
five-day Park Hopper Plus ticket costs £174. The five-park,
14-night Orlando FlexTicket costs £134.

Not everyone’s after the white-knuckle rides of Universal
or a character breakfast with the cast of Disney. There are plenty
of other attractions in Orlando – and beyond – for
those who either don’t fancy the big ones or have done them
before.

As well as the less ride-oriented attractions such as SeaWorld,
Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove, there are several smaller, less
commercial parks in the Orlando area such as Gatorland and Water
Mania. These two are part of the Florida Attractions Co-operative
that also includes the Pirates Dinner Adventure, Blue Water
Balloons (a hot-air balloon sightseeing trip), Gator Tours (which
runs tours of the Everglades and to the Kennedy Space Centre), the
Florida Mall and the Silver Spurs Rodeo.

Visiting theme parks doesn’t have to mean visiting
Florida. Southern California is home to Disneyland at Anaheim,
Universal Studios in Los Angeles and SeaWorld in San Diego. These
attractions can easily be covered on a self-drive holiday.

How to sell it:
let your clients know there’s life beyond the usual parks,
and, with a product such as the Silver Spurs Rodeo, sell it as a
slice of the real America. Jetsave offers seven nights’
self-catering at the three-star Homewood Suites in Kissimmee from
£490 including flights and car hire. Virgin Holidays offers
seven nights at the four-star Sheraton Anaheim from £550 per
adult and £250 per child, including return scheduled flights
and car hire.

Best ticket option:
the parks in the Florida Attractions Co-operative are sold by a
variety of ticketing specialists including Keith Prowse and Seligo.
This year, a trial voucher deal tying in two days at Gatorland, the
Pirates dinner show and a shopping trip to the Florida Mall was
offered by Keith Prowse for £39 (children £22), and there
are plans in the pipeline for a similar deal next year. For details
of the Florida Attractions Co-operative call UK general sales agent
Kevin Brett on 020-8393 9988.

In California, Premier Holidays offers the two-day Disneyland
Resort Park Hopper ticket at £57 (children £45) and a
three-day Southern California City Pass covering Disney, Knotts
Berry Farm, SeaWorld San Diego and San Diego Zoo for £125
(children £99).