Holiday tourists jam parks
After a nearly three-year downturn in travel that has taken a toll on Central Florida's tourism economy, Orlando's Big Three theme parks say they had a record holiday.
Officials with Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando credit pent-up demand and easing concerns over the economy for large crowds during the week between Christmas and New Year's.
"We were very pleased by the holiday performance at our parks worldwide, especially at Walt Disney World," Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner said Tuesday.
He spoke at the 14th annual Citigroup Smith Barney Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference, in Phoenix. His remarks were monitored over the Internet.
Disney World set several records over the weeklong holiday, including its highest-ever daily and weekly attendance, Eisner said. Epcot set an all-time daily attendance record on New Year's Eve, he said.
Eisner didn't disclose attendance figures.
Central Florida tourism officials have used 2000's record visitation as a benchmark. Business began to falter in early 2001, then fell sharply after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but tourist traffic has since steadily improved.
Eisner didn't speculate on attendance the rest of the year but said the Central Florida reservations center was exceptionally busy after the Christmas Day broadcast of the Magic Kingdom's holiday parade on ABC, which also is owned by Disney.
"Our reservationists are still working 60-hour weeks to handle the response," he said.
Universal Orlando, which includes Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, also had a record week, spokeswoman Susan Lomax said.
Both parks are still crowded even though school is back in session, she said. "We're certainly optimistic that it's a sign of great things to come in 2004," she said.
SeaWorld Orlando, meanwhile, had four record attendance days in December, including a record New Year's Eve, said Joe Couceiro, vice president of marketing.
"I do think all along that there was a fair amount of pent-up demand, of people waiting for the right opportunity to go on holiday," Couceiro said.
"We started seeing that demand start to pay off in business in the middle of the year, and that led to a fantastic year at SeaWorld," he said.
And it wasn't just the big parks. Gatorland, which bills itself as the area's "best half-day attraction," had far more customers than last year's holiday week.
Although the company doesn't give out attendance figures, president Mark McHugh said, "We had a real nice jump, and we're real pleased with our holiday."
Park employees blanketed the International Drive area with fliers that remind visitors that if they can't get into the big parks, Gatorland is just a short drive away.
"We had people telling us they couldn't get in other parks or they were too crowded," McHugh said of his attraction's turnout. "We are certainly optimistic we are finally seeing a turnaround with this."
Richard O'Donnell, general manager of the Days Suites Old Town on U.S. Highway 192 in Kissimmee, said business at his 600-suite hotel was "really good" over the holidays.
O'Donnell said he did not have occupancy figures and did not break records. He also said it was unclear whether the strong holiday season would translate into a better year for struggling hoteliers on U.S. 192.
The robust holiday was a relief for Central Florida's tourism industry, which has struggled for nearly three years as a weak economy and then terrorism fears kept travelers on the ground and closer to home.
But business started to turn around in mid-2003 as families began to feel better about the economy, officials said. Visitor counts at most of Orlando's parks were flat in 2003 after falling sharply the previous two years.
Tourism's apparent turnaround had been expected, said Abraham Pizam, dean of the University of Central Florida's Rosen School of Hospitality Management.
"It's all tied to the state of the economy," he said. "People are more secure about spending money, and there's been pent-up demand [for travel] for a long time."
to say the least. We had a fab time and saw the New Year in at the UK Pavillion at 7pm, rang home to speak to family, and decided not to stay until Midnight as we thought we would never get out. Our daughter was on crutches following a knee dislocation and in the circumstances it was the right thing to do 
