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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by rcm267
As someone who is relocating to Washington soon from Theme Park Central (Florida) - weather is not nearly as much of a factor as you may think when people really want to visit a place. From about May to September and sometimes later, like November, depending on what kind of year we are having, it rains in Central Florida EVERY SINGLE DAY in some way, shape or form. That rain is, many times, accompanied by lighting, winds and thunder. It can last a few hours, or it can be an all day event...we have had weeks in July where it has rained heavily for several days. It is rare to get a misty, light rain here - when it rains, it pours. The weather can change on a dime - literally one minute it will be sunny and within a very short time it can turn very ugly. (It is not uncommon for tourists here who do things like parasailing etc to get injured and sometimes even killed because a storm has come in that nobody was expecting and they are stuck out somewhere)
Yet, people flock to parks even though they all have a no refund/rain policy that is clearly posted. When heavy rains/lightning is in the area, a large percentage of rides etc get shut down. Some of the water themed parks close literally EVERYTHING, even the restaurants and gift shops that are outdoors (which almost all of them are). At that point, your choices are to wait around or leave, and the waiting can be tough if you are there with small kids etc.
Oh, and all of this is happening with temperatures of 80-90 degrees any given day, with oppressive humidity.
Not two weeks ago at Busch Gardens (which is in Tampa, about an hour from Orlando) 16 people were stuck on a roller coaster 50 feet in the air for over an hour - in the middle of a rainstorm which started all of a sudden - there was quite a bit of lightning in the area at the time too. I can't even IMAGINE how scary that must have been, especially since they were sitting at a 30 degree angle. By sheer luck, nobody was seriously hurt, thank goodness. Busch Gardens hasn't said a word publicly about why or how it happened, and it was all everyone around the area could talk about for days. Yet, their parking lots were in overflow lots that weekend, and last weekend too. (I live just a few miles from the park so I pass it a few times a day)
That said, I personally will take natural beauty - waterfalls, mountains, etc ANY DAY over a theme park, but there are a lot of people who really enjoy them so maybe if it were the RIGHT one, it could be a economic boon. (I love the idea someone in the thread had about a Northwest themed one...that sounds cool!)
There's the difference. For us, November-March may be below 20F, most days in the mid-high 30s or low 40s. People are more likely to visit an outdoor (especially water) theme park when it's hot and humid than cold and drizzly, or freezing.
As someone who is relocating to Washington soon from Theme Park Central (Florida) - weather is not nearly as much of a factor as you may think when people really want to visit a place. From about May to September and sometimes later, like November, depending on what kind of year we are having, it rains in Central Florida EVERY SINGLE DAY in some way, shape or form. That rain is, many times, accompanied by lighting, winds and thunder. It can last a few hours, or it can be an all day event...we have had weeks in July where it has rained heavily for several days. It is rare to get a misty, light rain here - when it rains, it pours. The weather can change on a dime - literally one minute it will be sunny and within a very short time it can turn very ugly. (It is not uncommon for tourists here who do things like parasailing etc to get injured and sometimes even killed because a storm has come in that nobody was expecting and they are stuck out somewhere)
Yet, people flock to parks even though they all have a no refund/rain policy that is clearly posted. When heavy rains/lightning is in the area, a large percentage of rides etc get shut down. Some of the water themed parks close literally EVERYTHING, even the restaurants and gift shops that are outdoors (which almost all of them are). At that point, your choices are to wait around or leave, and the waiting can be tough if you are there with small kids etc.
Oh, and all of this is happening with temperatures of 80-90 degrees any given day, with oppressive humidity.
Not two weeks ago at Busch Gardens (which is in Tampa, about an hour from Orlando) 16 people were stuck on a roller coaster 50 feet in the air for over an hour - in the middle of a rainstorm which started all of a sudden - there was quite a bit of lightning in the area at the time too. I can't even IMAGINE how scary that must have been, especially since they were sitting at a 30 degree angle. By sheer luck, nobody was seriously hurt, thank goodness. Busch Gardens hasn't said a word publicly about why or how it happened, and it was all everyone around the area could talk about for days. Yet, their parking lots were in overflow lots that weekend, and last weekend too. (I live just a few miles from the park so I pass it a few times a day)
That said, I personally will take natural beauty - waterfalls, mountains, etc ANY DAY over a theme park, but there are a lot of people who really enjoy them so maybe if it were the RIGHT one, it could be a economic boon. (I love the idea someone in the thread had about a Northwest themed one...that sounds cool!)
Well, I agree with your final paragraph, but I guess I don't understand why people keep commenting that the weather will not make a difference.
When those very common lightning-storms happen for a few minutes daily in Florida - all the rides, parades, etc. are shut down until it passes. The vast majority of the time, it passes within 20 minutes, and attendance is not affected. Sure it can last all day - but that's rare, and do you seriously think that the theme park attendance does NOT suffer for that day when all the rides and parades are closed all day? I am not from Florida like you are, but I remember being at Disney World on a rainy day - and I remember there being not much to do and it being not nearly as people-concentrated that day.
And also, if those rainstorms started lasting all day on a frequent basis along with drizzle, cloud-cover and cold weather (as happens here), we don't know what would happen to the theme parks in Florida because it happens rarely. Therefore, this data can't be reliably extrapolated from Florida, anyway. But it can be extrapolated from Wild Waves - and, as Inkpoe said, the attendance clearly suffers in bad weather.
EDIT: Not that I've thought about it - the reason that I went to Disney World on a rainy day when there were less people around is because I had purposely traveled across the country to go to the theme parks in Orlando. SO, I guess in that sense - if Washington developed a large theme park that literally drew people from all over the world as an established vacation destination - like Orlando or Las Vegas - then MAYBE the weather would not be a factor. But that is a huge endeavor that would take decades to develop. Still fairly unlikely IMO.
Great Wolf Lodge and other places like the huge mall in Edmonton and the Great Mall in Minnesota show that an indoor water park and amusement park can be pretty successful year round. Climate can be dealt with, but the cost of real estate is what is going to cause problems for any theme park developer.
If cost were no option, then I think the best location for a good-sized theme park would be someplace along the Puyallup River between 167 and 5. It's getting too developed now, but the location would have been ideal adjacent to a few major highways, along the rail line, and with easy access to the whole Puget Sound region. Trains would be able to connect directly to Vancouver, BC. And you don't have to go through the Seattle Metro area to get to it from Portland and points south. It puts it right around two hours from Portland, which is a good distance for day visitors. Access from Yakima and eastern Washington is fairly easy.
But, that area is getting developed so the chances of that happening are slim. But I think that a 200 acre site in that area would be an ideal location and it would be a huge draw for Tacoma and Puyallup.
I could also see something on part of Fort Lewis if they ever downsize that.
When I'm reading places like Theme Park Review and I see some of the great amusement parks that exist around the world I get a little less protective of some of our better parks. I've daydreamed about how I'd design a theme park at Point Defiance or Magnuson Park or Discovery Park. The old airport at Issaquah would have been a great location, too.
EDIT: Not that I've thought about it - the reason that I went to Disney World on a rainy day when there were less people around is because I had purposely traveled across the country to go to the theme parks in Orlando. SO, I guess in that sense - if Washington developed a large theme park that literally drew people from all over the world as an established vacation destination - like Orlando or Las Vegas - then MAYBE the weather would not be a factor. But that is a huge endeavor that would take decades to develop. Still fairly unlikely IMO.
Oops. That should have read "NOW that I've thought about it". Upon proofreading, that first sentence makes no sense. Sorry.
Yeah ^ he knows whats up! I think that there could even be a nature-themed park, with alpine coasters running don mountains. Those types are open year-round and they have many in Colorado. Or what if there were rides that went through the trees, and really encompassed the natural beauty. Even though this would be near impossible, there could be a ski/snowboard area in the vicinity as well. If there were a park to be built I would prefer it to be away from populated areas, but not infringing on the national parks. The North cascades should be increasingly protected as it is one of the last areas in the contiguous U.S. to have Grizzly bears(or brown bears because theyre in the mountains.) Moose, and wolverine. And SASQUATCH! Hey, I think I found out what the park mascot would be
When I'm reading places like Theme Park Review and I see some of the great amusement parks that exist around the world I get a little less protective of some of our better parks. I've daydreamed about how I'd design a theme park at Point Defiance or Magnuson Park or Discovery Park. The old airport at Issaquah would have been a great location, too.
I must admit I have done that a few too may times. Im a huge fan of the larger parks, but the ones that are mainly used for quick access for hiking I could go without. Like Seward Park! Imagine a theme park right on lake Washington! People would get pissed about the noise tho.
Well, I agree with your final paragraph, but I guess I don't understand why people keep commenting that the weather will not make a difference.
When those very common lightning-storms happen for a few minutes daily in Florida - all the rides, parades, etc. are shut down until it passes. The vast majority of the time, it passes within 20 minutes, and attendance is not affected. Sure it can last all day - but that's rare, and do you seriously think that the theme park attendance does NOT suffer for that day when all the rides and parades are closed all day? I am not from Florida like you are, but I remember being at Disney World on a rainy day - and I remember there being not much to do and it being not nearly as people-concentrated that day.
And also, if those rainstorms started lasting all day on a frequent basis along with drizzle, cloud-cover and cold weather (as happens here), we don't know what would happen to the theme parks in Florida because it happens rarely. Therefore, this data can't be reliably extrapolated from Florida, anyway. But it can be extrapolated from Wild Waves - and, as Inkpoe said, the attendance clearly suffers in bad weather.
EDIT: Not that I've thought about it - the reason that I went to Disney World on a rainy day when there were less people around is because I had purposely traveled across the country to go to the theme parks in Orlando. SO, I guess in that sense - if Washington developed a large theme park that literally drew people from all over the world as an established vacation destination - like Orlando or Las Vegas - then MAYBE the weather would not be a factor. But that is a huge endeavor that would take decades to develop. Still fairly unlikely IMO.
How long the weather events last here depends on what month it is. In months like May, they tend to be shorter...but once June, July and August roll around, they tend not to be quick storms - they can and often do last several hours. In the past that was not the case, but as of the last 5-10 years the storms have been more intense and definitely longer lasting. And they are often pretty area concentrated too - it may be pouring rain in one spot but 5 miles away just cloudy or even sunny AND raining at the same time. For several years we held Disney annual passes and would go frequently - there was only ONE time that I can recall where we did not end up leaving because stuff was closed for quite a while - they will not reopen until the weather event has completely left the area most of the time. (Which is actually a good thing...the last place you want to be in a thunder/lightning storm is on a ride)
I agree that most people would much rather go to theme park when it's warm and wet versus cold and wet (though I wouldn't mind - I don't generally visit theme parks here unless it's one of the "cold" months...) so that's what I meant by that it could work if it were the right type of park.
There are many theme parks in cold areas that are successful though - for example, Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ - they close around October and reopen in February/March (depending on what kind of year they have had snow-wise.) When they do reopen initially it is only on weekends...then once May or June arrives and school is out they open every day. There are others in that general area which follow the same model - Sesame Place, HersheyPlace etc. There's a waterpark in PA even (Dorney? I can't remember - I'm originally from NJ and went there as a teenager...) which only opens seasonally and at different times - they have an amusement type part and then the water is adjacent. They have been there forever and keep expanding so they must do OK. They tend to be in more wide open, rural areas that are not really close to the largely populated areas but still close enough that people don't mind making the hour or more drive to go. (You do have to take into account though that there's a population difference and there's not anywhere near the amount of natural beauty in the NJ/NY/PA area that there is in Washington to compete with a man-made attraction, too)
Oops. That should have read "NOW that I've thought about it". Upon proofreading, that first sentence makes no sense. Sorry.
No worries, I knew what you meant
Orlando is a really interesting scenario- prior to Disney arriving in the 70s, there was nothing there to attract anyone LOL. (There are a couple of smaller parks that were in the general vicinity that pre-date Disney - most are gone now with the only exception I can think of being Gatorland) The whole tourism industry there has literally been built around Disney - and as that grew so did the infrastructure to support it - like wider roads, a nicer airport, etc. As Disney grew, other people started coming too - like Universal Studios (which opened in I believe 1989 or something - also started out very small and is now a sprawling metropolis of stuff including a new mini golf, a bunch of hotels etc) Basically it is one huge tourist trap with really terrible traffic 24/7. In the last couple of years they have added more outlet malls to the mix too - I guess for the benefit of capturing the foreign tourist dollars - which has added to the crowdedness and the traffic.
In that regard, I wouldn't want to wish that on Washington LOL. (Seriously, Orlando traffic can be just as bad as the traffic I have experienced in Seattle. Maybe worse, actually)
Are there 6 parks at Disney World? If I want to visit all of them are there any passes of you have to pay separately? How does it work.
There are 4 major parks - Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Then there are 2 water parks: Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. (Both are very, very similar as far as rides, etc - they are just themed differently.)
Until recently they were all the same price so you could get one ticket to visit any one of the parks of your choosing. They raised the price of Magic Kingdom by a few bucks so now you have to buy a ticket for the specific park you are going to if you only plan on spending one day. They also added a tier of ticketing where you can buy a ticket for multiple days at the same park (but you can only go to THAT park). In my opinion, you can do Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in one day each. The Magic Kingdom is larger, more crowded and has more stuff to see, so there's more value in spending the extra cash for a couple of days there.
If you will be there over multiple days, you can get what they call "Park Hopper" passes where you can go between them all over multiple days etc. I believe it is with this option that you can buy an upgrade where you also get tickets to the 2 water parks. (Admission to the water parks, by the way, is actually not that expensive for Disney standards. So you can easily buy those at the last minute if you wanted, etc.)
They also offer packages for the resorts there that include tickets etc. Though I have to say that some of the hotels on Disney property are a bit overrated, especially what for what they charge you. You are sometimes better off staying at one of the hotels which are right on the perimeter of the Disney compound. Almost all of them will shuttle you to the parks for free, even some of the ones which are a little off the compound will. Of all the Disney resorts I have visited I would say the ones at Animal Kingdom are the nicest and most updated, so is Disney Boardwalk. Pop Century is also cool if you have children with you - it happens to be one of the more inexpensive ones too. (But, predictably, fills up quickly)
Right in that area there is also Downtown Disney area which is currently being revamped into something called "Disney Springs". That's in it's early stages still. Currently parking at Downtown Disney is FREE (surprising) and the area is very popular - there's a bunch of shopping (Lego Store, Harley Davidson, etc) and a few themed restaurants like T-Rex and Rainforest Cafe. Also there is Disney Quest (an indoor interactive theme park - more fun than it actually sounds LOL). Generally Disney Quest tickets are not bundled with anything but they are also relatively inexpensive by Disney standards.
Hope that helps
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