by Amer Numan

Created on: April 12, 2009   Last Updated: April 13, 2009

Living in Orlando, Florida gives me no choice but to be plugged into the theme park world around the clock. What I call my hometown is one of the most popular getaways for everyone else - which in turn makes Orlando very much dependent on theme parks for its income, employment, prosperity, and overall life.

Indeed, Disney alone employs a quarter of our population in some way or another - in fields ranging from hospitality, entertainment, finance, catering, transportation, vacation sales, retail, night life, as well as corporate positions. The same goes for Universal Studios, Anheuser Busch, and many other smaller attractions.

One of the most direct impacts the recession has caused in the world of amusement parks is the lack of demand. Vacations that fuel this city are viewed as a luxury many people now need to give up. Obviously, keeping your home, car, education, and basic possessions is far more important that travelling to ride roller coasters and dine out. The real effects, however, are bigger than one would imagine. Corporations running these parks do not just lay employees off, they do it in very large and sudden surges - the most recent ones ranging from 10,000 employees to 60,000.

To guests, the obvious effects are longer lines caused by a smaller staff. Ticketing has less booths open, hotels have smaller management teams, restaurants run slower, and the overall mood is less upbeat or less positive. Apprehension rules around parks and the surrounding locality. Things as simple as characters greeting kids are seen much less frequently, and the "perks" guests get with their tickets or passes are getting cut.

An example I recently experienced is parking. Previously, many parks offered complimentary parking with your tickets. Especially your annual passes. Now, many parks have "rates" depending on the purpose of your visit, duration, and your ticket type. Everybody pays to park before 6pm, in all parks in Orlando. You pay less if you are an annual pass holder, you have a "diner rate" if you are just there to eat, or you pay a flat overpriced fee for unrestricted parking. A very sharp and obvious inconvenience right at the door of all parks these days.

All in all - the parks are reporting profits here, which does not surprise me, considering the big cuts in employment, combined with adding a lot of charges and fees. The continued profit definitely does not reflect the lack of a recession in the industry, not at all - it's just an industry of appearances by definition, and it will always appear to be "the happiest place of Earth" regardless of how harsh the underlying truth is.

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