(Sun-Sentinel) Walt Disney World is slashing the number of blackout dates for its four-park seasonal-pass holders, a move that could boost business as the region's tourism industry heads into what is traditionally the slowest month of the summer.
Starting Friday, pass holders will get an extra three weeks to visit Disney's theme parks this summer. With Disney's seasonal pass -- which for Florida residents is about two-thirds of the cost of a full-time annual pass -- visitors can't go to the parks during peak times such as summer, the December holidays and spring break.
This year's summer-blackout period started June 12 and was scheduled to run until Aug. 19. But pass holders began receiving post cards in the mail this week telling them that the blackout would end Friday and offering them discounts at some Disney resorts. "Like magic, you've just scored three extra weeks!" the headline on the postcard shouts.
Disney's offer comes as Central Florida's tourism industry prepares for August. Some local tourism experts point to a decline in the number of in-state visitors -- as well as those from other key markets in the South -- as children head back to school in early August.
"August drops off when you compare it against June and July, but how much of that is in-state and how much of that is because of school starting is a tricky question," said Kelly Repass, research director with Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Disney officials could not be reached for comment.
Students in the Northeast still have several weeks of vacation in front of them. School doesn't start until Sept. 2 in Pittsburgh and Sept. 13 in New York, for example.
But in Florida and in key Southeast drive markets, summer is practically over.
School begins next week in Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties. Orange, Volusia and Duval county students go back Aug. 9. Elsewhere in the South, Atlanta children are back in the classroom Aug. 9, and Charlotte, N.C., students start Aug. 16. So it makes sense for Disney to do something to entice in-state travelers -- who are most likely to hold seasonal passes -- to come to the parks and hopefully spend money on parking, food and trinkets, said Abe Pizam, a tourism professor at the University of Central Florida.
"Maybe it's going to be a little soft and they want to encourage tourists, especially the Floridians, to come," Pizam said.
Hotel occupancy -- one key measure of the health of the tourism industry -- often dips in August compared to other summer months. Last summer, for example, Central Florida hotels were an average 69 percent full in June, 72 percent in July and 64 percent in August, according to Smith Travel Research.
Still, Pizam and other tourism officials insist that this summer is shaping up to be the strongest since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, dampened the nation's enthusiasm for travel.
Earlier this month, several low-cost airlines slashed late-summer and early-fall fares, a move that some travel experts said could provide a boost to Orlando's attractions and hotels.
Officials at Universal Orlando said Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios have seen double-digit growth so far this summer compared with last year.
"We've had a great summer," said Tom Schroeder, a Universal spokesman.
