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To Gate or Not to Gate?
It depends on the facility
by Jim Futrell
TODAY, ONE-TIME ADMISSION CHARGE IS AN ACCEPTED PART of the amusement park experience. Not only does it limit attendance of nonrevenue-producing patrons, but it is a critical revenue source.
For instance, in 2008 gate admission accounted for 57 percent of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company’s corporate revenues, and 52 percent of Six Flags Inc.’s revenues. But while most guests expect to pay to enter a park today, for the industry’s first six decades admission charges were almost unheard of and were nominal, if any; pay-by-the-ride tickets were the norm.
That trend started to change in the 1950s. With the decline of many American cities, most parks started implementing gate charges to discourage loiterers. Furthermore, the increasing dominance of theme parks, where pay-one-price admission charges were the norm, changed the industry paradigm. Patrons soon expected to pay, and this gave traditional amusement parks the opportunity to raise additional revenues for upgrades to remain competitive. Free admission, particularly at larger amusement parks, became rare.
Today, there are few major amusement parks that do not charge gate admission, consisting primarily of facilities operating in or near resort communities. That dwindled in 2009 as two more parks began to charge one daily rate:
- With 5.5 million visitors, Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, United Kingdom, is one of the most heavily attended amusement parks in the world. For its entire 113-year history, the park has not charged admission, but following several seasons of upgrades to its physical plant, the park implemented a £5 (about $7.50) gate charge with the option to buy tickets for additional rides, along with a pay-one-price ticket.
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 The 81-year-old Playland in Rye, New York, implemented a $5 gate admission with the option to purchase ride tickets, along with a $30 pay-one-price ticket. The park is owned by Westchester County, and the fees are expected to reduce the $3 million annual operating subsidy Playland receives from the county. The park attracts approximately 850,000 people annually.
However, making this transition can be a risky move as evidenced by a few parks that have tried it over the past two decades:
- In 1990, Conneaut Lake Park in Pennsylvania began charging admission to increase revenues and enhance safety, but the drop-off in business pushed the park into bankruptcy in 1994. The charge was eliminated in 1996.
- In 2000, Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park in South Carolina implemented a $5 entry fee. At the time, owner Burroughs and Chapin said the charge was intended to reinforce its family atmosphere and regain control over the crowds attending the facility. Unfortunately, attendance never topped its 1999 peak, and despite eliminating the fee in 2003, the park closed in 2006, citing decreased profits.
- In 2005, Pleasureland in Southport, UK, experienced a 76 percent decrease in attendance, from 2.1 million to 500,000 following the introduction of a £2 (about $3) admission charge to support ongoing upgrades to the park. But in the face of increasing costs and the decline in Southport as a resort, the facility closed in 2006.
Despite these examples, many in the industry feel a park can successfully make the conversion to pay-one-price as long as key issues are addressed.
Making Pay-One-Price Work
One of the primary challenges is changing the culture of the facility and how it’s perceived in the market. “You will alienate a certain percentage of your customers. Although typically in the minority, they will be vocal,” says Doug Stewart, principal for Economic Consulting Service (ECS).
These cultural reasons were the primary reason Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey, backed off plans to gate its three-pier facility earlier this decade. “We explored it due to the revenue potential,” says Executive Vice President Jack Morey. The park hired ECS to conduct a feasibility study that projected a revenue increase of 10 percent to 15 percent. One million dollars was budgeted for the conversion, and the change was alluded to in a holiday mailer.
“Then we got cold feet and called it off,” says Morey. “We thought it was culturally wrong,” citing the century-old boardwalk tradition in Wildwood and the piers’ role in that heritage.
 However, Morey does see potential for parks like Pleasure Beach and Playland to successfully implement an admission system, as they are self-contained facilties with their own parking; Morey’s consists of three separate piers served by a public boardwalk. “If people are in town for a different reason, then you better be free,” Morey says, citing the fact that people come to Wildwood for the beach and not necessarily Morey’s Piers.
As a result, Morey feels it is important any facility making the change be viewed as a destination in its own right, not as part of a larger experience: “I think Myrtle Beach Pavilion saw resistance as it was not viewed as a full-day experience.” Stewart of ECS concurs, “A gate makes you a destination in and of yourself—the expectations of the public are different.”
For any park making the transition, it is also important to market the change effectively. Myrtle Beach Pavilion tried to ease the switch by offsetting the admission charge with $5 in tokens good for rides, games, and food in the park, while Conneaut Lake Park added live entertainment.
Robert Owen, head of marketing for Pleasure Beach, says the park sought to ease the transition by announcing the change a year in advance. Information was included on all press releases and all print, broadcast, and Internet advertising during 2009. In addition, customers received special leaflets explaining the changes. Finally, the new gate charge included unlimited access to five family attractions that would otherwise cost £10 ($15) to enjoy.
According to Owen, the park is encouraged by the results through August. Feedback via guest surveys indicates customers are spending more time in the park, customer satisfaction has increased, and more first-time visitors are arriving. In addition, the park has seen an increase in the proportion of visitors in higher-income demographic segments.
Pleasure Beach has also seen increased advertising awareness, along with greater online ticket sales. Unlike most parks, however, it is still too early to judge the full impact as the city’s 66-day Illuminations festival, the park’s busiest time, kicked off in early September.
Meanwhile Playland spent more money on live entertainment and significantly increased its advertising budget. According to Director Dan McBride, the key message was value, emphasizing that parking and unlimited rides for a family of four cost $22 less under the new pricing structure. Still, he projects attendance will drop from the 840,000 in previous years to closer to the 550,000 that actually purchase “ride currency.”
McBride says poor weather and the economy made it difficult to get a true measure of the change, but the park received good feedback. Playland did respond, however, to concerns of locals who liked to stroll through the park and enjoy a few rides by adding a $12 ticket that included admission and four rides. He says resistance wore down as the season progressed, and customers became educated on the new plan. However, adjustments will be made in 2010, “We got a lot of requests for season passes,” says McBride, also adding that they might adjust their evening pricing. “It will take a few seasons.”
“You have to offer something for admission,” says industry marketing consultant William Robinson. “You can counteract the charge by offering promotions. You need to give them something extra.”
Easier for Some Facilities
For some major parks, free admission is such a part of their identities the gating debate never comes up. With 1.3 million visitors annually, Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, advertises itself as the largest free-admission amusement park in America. “It is what we are, what we’ve always been,” says Joe Muscato, public relations manager at the park. “We run into circumstances where first-time visitors have trouble understanding what we are up to [regarding admission].” Helping maintain that identity is a rural location, which tends to limit troublemakers. “No one finds us by accident,” he says.
With revenue growth of at least 10 percent in each of the past five years, Paul Nelson, owner of Waldameer Park and Water World in Erie, Pennsylvania, does not see the need to change his ungated facility: “We are part of the community; churches have Sunday services in our picnic groves.”
With a more urban location than Knoebels, Nelson sees effective security as a key to maintaining his free admission policy. He doesn’t hesitate to remove troublemakers and maintains an excellent relationship with the local police department, including donating a police car. “The first couple of weekends set the pattern,” says Nelson. “Kids test the envelope, but enforcement settles it.”
Should he ever decide to start charging admission, Nelson knows he will have to change his business model. Such a move would be accompanied by making the park more of a destination with more live entertainment, new attractions, and upgraded food offerings. “I would hate to see [free admission] go,” he says. “I could make more money, but it’s not a smart move in the long run.”
Jim Futrell has been historian for the National Amusement Park Historical Association since 1984. He serves on IAAPA’s Hall of Fame and Archives Committee and oversees the association’s Oral History Project. His fourth book, “Amusement Parks of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware,” was released last year.
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