By Asif Parkar, Vice President – Themed Entertainment
November 5, 2021
The financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were acutely felt within the themed entertainment sector. While the industry has experienced economic recessions plenty of times before, guests haven’t been restricted from visiting theme parks and attractions to this extent. Indeed, prior to 2020, the industry had never experienced a situation where parks were completely shut down for months on end. This was hugely impactful, as you can imagine; theme parks aren’t designed to gather dust!
Naturally, these shutdowns restricted the cashflow for paying regular wages and retaining workforces for theme park owners, and at the same time dramatically slowed further investment in new attractions.
As the industry seeks to recover from these challenges, even as they persist in some locations, many are asking what the future looks like for the themed entertainment sector. Although it’s been a rocky year-and-a-half, we have noticed the following positive developments which give us reason to be reservedly optimistic:
- There was an almost immediate increase in inquiries and requests from creative designers and owners when the parks opened, particularly in California
- Universal Studios announced the resumption of their brand-new theme park, Epic Universe in Orlando; this was a much-needed boon for the domestic industry
- Activity from LEGOLAND, including their park in New York, has increased
- In-person industry events have resumed, including the one-of-a-kind IAAPA Expo in Orlando (we will be at both #1851, so come by and see us!)
- Having opened the stunning Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge themed areas in both Disneyland and Disney World, Disney is picking up steam with other projects as well
- Universal Beijing Resort, which was first announced in 2014, recently opened to broad anticipation and excitement, selling out all available opening day tickets within three minutes
- The sheer volume of themed projects being planned in accordance with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 international vision plan is incredible; we previously worked on the Dubai Parks & Resorts development and have seen firsthand the rapid and exciting growth of the theme park community in this region, which has many people hungry for this type of experience but very few world-class destination parks
We are happy to see so many green shoots of recovery sprouting up, and it’s our strong belief that the themed entertainment sector is poised to bounce back better than ever. Still, attendance numbers are what ultimately drive and inform the financial models used to establish budgets and investment targets, and it seems that attendance is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels for another year or two. With this in mind, owners need to remain creative and flexible, and seek to develop projects that will work financially with reduced attendance. The need for good processes to keep a tight leash on design, cost, and economics has never been so critical as it is now.
As we carefully, responsibly, and respectfully move forward from the pandemic, we should stay energized and positive. Adverse events can often lead to enhanced creativity and closer collaboration, ultimately yielding amazing projects that stretch the boundaries of what is possible, whatever the constraints.
