Can food help theme parks recover from the pandemic?
Southern California’s theme parks welcomed about 50 million visitors last year, according to the industry’s annual TEA/AECOM Theme Index attendance report. With the parks closed for at least six months now, 2020’s number won’t come close to that level. But even if the parks reopen for a full year in 2021, Disneyland and other local attractions will need to hustle to return to their 2019 attendance numbers.
In an industry driven by new attractions, 2020’s pandemic has wiped out billions of dollars in income that parks were counting on to help pay for new rides, shows and lands in the years to come. Attraction design firms across Southern California have been laying off employees due to the cancellation of orders across the industry.
No one announced any new attractions on August’s National Roller Coaster Day, breaking an industry tradition, especially for the Cedar Fair chain that owns Knott’s Berry Farm. Six Flags skipped its annual pre-Labor Day announcement of new attractions for the next year, despite having local government approval to build a new single-rail roller coaster at Magic Mountain.
Knott’s and Universal Studios Hollywood will have new attractions ready to go when they reopen, and Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure should be ready sometime soon, as well. But what happens after that? Without 2020’s income to pay for major new attractions in 2021 and beyond, what can parks offer to draw back more fans?
How about some new food?
Unique food and drinks are some of the theme park industry’s most powerful attractions. Think about Butterbeer, Dole Whips and Mrs. Knott’s fried chicken. The Ronto Wraps in Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge developed a cult following in less than a year after their debut.
The right food doesn’t just drive sales inside the park. It helps bring people through the front gates. Fortunately for a now-cash-strapped industry, developing and producing new food items costs orders of magnitude less money than designing and building new rides.
That’s why theme parks across the country have leaning in so hard on food events in recent years. Knott’s and SeaWorld San Diego have used food festivals to help recoup some income while the state kept parks officially closed. But more than special events, parks need new food attractions that can win over fans every day when they return. They need the next Butterbeer or Ronto Wrap.
It might help to connect new dishes to an established entertainment franchise, such as Universal did with Harry Potter’s Butterbeer and The Simpsons’ Krusty Burger. (Come on, Disney, give me The Avengers’ Shawarma Shop.) But the enduring popularity of Dole Whips, churros and Instagram-ready milkshakes and cupcakes show that great food attractions don’t need a franchise tie-in.
All they need is a park willing to spend a few bucks to turn its chefs loose to try something more ambitious than the same old burgers, pizzas and chicken strips. Like it or not, food is helping many of us get through this pandemic. Food might be the solution for theme parks to make the most of the coming recovery as well.
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