Business is Booming at Orlando Theme Parks
The nation's economic jitters that contributed to lackluster holiday retail sales in December seemingly failed to make a serious dent in year-end travel to Central Florida as theme parks filled and hotels had few vacancies.Large hotels in Central Florida's core tourist areas say they had no problem filling rooms during the final two weeks of December. Theme park parking lots swelled past capacity, and pedestrian concourses at Walt Disney World, SeaWorld Orlando and Universal Orlando resembled Manhattan sidewalks during rush hour.
The outpouring of tourists belied consumer concerns about an economy facing a significant housing industry slump, tightening credit markets and volatile financial markets. Hoteliers acknowledged the concerns, but those catering to the higher end of the market said they haven't seen a pullback.
Read more of this Orlando Sentinel article here.
5 Comments:
Strangely amusing that we should look for reality in a "fantasy" theme park. Is this escapism like donuts & Shirley Temple in the Great Depression or does it reflect my give-a-damn's busted?
Sooner or later, people get sick of the culture of doom. There seems to be plenty of doom on hand: global warming, the stock market, oil prices, recession fears, housing slump, foreclosures, the credit crunch, international terrorism, meteors hitting planets etc. Is this just an election year or is it a Wall St. shakedown?
Perhaps, at some point, the public starts to say "take a pill". Let us hope that the consumer has the common sense not to listen to the market which has been up & down like a toilet seat at a party lately and instead look at what is happening in reality vs. the fairy tale land of Wall St.
Let us also hope that the market does not shake down the government for an incentive package which will cost billions that the country can ill afford and does not at present need. Reduced growth is still growth. The Bush incentive package is apt to convince consumers to batten down the hatches.
I am inclined to think that the escapist tendencies are at work here. People need a break from the doom and gloom, so they rack up a little more debt...after all Disney advertises for as low as $1600 a family of 4 can visit their park...to feel good for a few minutes. Unfortunately the downward spiral gets a little out of control when we are chasing dreams with debt. Down and down we go...
Bread a circus just like Rome.
Disney World restaurant bans children
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080105/ap_on_fe_st/odd_restaurant_no_children;_ylt=AutML9twwCpeFD8pMEuWGQms0NUE
Probably foreign tourists spending their money and getting more value against the depreciating dollar
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