The Future of Amusement Industry Attractions

By Dennis Speigel

During the passed 100 years the amusement park industry has seen many magnificent changes and it has retained many of its unique characteristics.

How has it changed? The industry once dominated by a highly transient somewhat derelict work force is now dominated by a young high school and college workforce. Bringing these young people to the industry, which began in the 1960’s, had a major positive impact on all parks and the way they were to be perceived by the public even today.

The evolution of technology for the rides and attractions has also created a new level of entertainment for the visitors. One of the most significant technology developments was “Mr. Lincoln” created by Disney from the 1964 New York World’s Fair. This first audio animation introduction was unbelievable and left visitors awestruck. From the debut of audio, a whole new form of modern day entertainment was created for theme parks. Animations began with Disney and now can be found in many theme parks worldwide.

Live and theatre entertainment has also played a major force in the theme parks during the last 25 years. The introduction of shows helped create an increased length of stay for visitors, thus yielding a higher per capita spend.

One thing that still remains the same is that most rides and attractions, like their predecessors, still go up and down, out and back, and around and around encompassing a combination of these movements. That was true 100 years ago and still is today.

The greatest challenge I currently see facing our industry worldwide is a shortage of labor. With intense competition from the shopping mall/ retail industry as well as the fast food industry, our industry is losing the “foot hold” we once enjoyed on the young employee market. We must find a way to re-attract this workforce to our industry. The ensuing impact could be disastrous to theme parks worldwide. A major public relations campaign should be undertaken by the industry, in my opinion, to address this potentially fatal problem.

The next 100 years will continue to bring longer, higher and faster attractions. There will be more virtual experiences. I think we will go back to allowing the visitors to control their own experiences in the parks through expanded use of technology - fly it, drive it, start it, stop it, etc. - is going to occur. Communications technology as well will play a major role in the future of our visits. Visual and audio experiences will be heightened. People will be able to communicate with every member of their family or group who visits. The internet will also come into play. The internet will allow you to revisit your experience on the web because the entire visit will be photographically recorded. The future holds so much for our next generation of visitors. Maybe we will be able to come back in 100 years and visit due to some new fantastic way to re-stimulate the mind! One thing for sure, “Coaster will still be King”. Above ground, underground, 1000 feet high, I think the best is yet to come.