It’s not just Hollywood celebrities who are willing to spend big bucks for a VIP experience. A growing number of park guests are seeking out opportunities for deluxe theme park adventures.
“VIP packages offer the next level of service, and guests are willing to pay a premium for it,” explains Jason Blake, group events specialist at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. “There is a need and we want to fill it; it’s also very lucrative for us.”
VIP packages might be as simple as wristbands that offer guests a place at the front of the line or as complex as guided tours complete with parking upgrades, front-of-the-line passes, private character meet-and-greets, and behind-the-scenes access to popular attractions. In both scenarios, parks benefit from an additional revenue stream and enhanced guest loyalty.
Creating a VIP Experience
Universal Studios Singapore began offering deluxe VIP packages in 2010; the tours cost $298 per person and include access to the park, a five-hour guided tour, pre-tour VIP access to eight rides, private character meet-and-greets, and photo sessions, as well as meal vouchers and merchandise discounts.
The tours, which are offered in several languages, appeal to first-time visitors, theme park enthusiasts. and international travelers willing to splurge on once-in-a-lifetime vacation experiences.
“Guests receive the red carpet treatment,” says John Hallenbeck, vice president of park operations for Universal Studios Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa. “It guarantees a fuss-free, private experience for guests.”
The goal of the tour, according to Hallenbeck, is to make guests feel like visiting celebrities at the park for a day of superstar pampering.
When Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier launched its VIP pass in 2010, its goals were more modest: Attract a core group of local moms who wanted season-long ride access.
The original pass included an unlimited ride wristband, two additional wristband vouchers, four meal vouchers, $20 in Game Bucks, discounts on food and merchandise purchases, and two ride tickets for the Santa Monica Pier Carousel.
The VIP pass was meant to act as an upscale season pass, explains Jeff Klocke, director of marketing and sales at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier. The passes were popular but not for the reasons Klocke suspected.
“We heard from guests that they wanted a pass with access to rides; the other stuff didn’t resonate,” Klocke explains. “Based on that feedback, we scaled back our passes for 2011.”
The 2010 price of $175 was reduced to $99, and the VIP pass now entitles guests to unlimited ride access for one year. Even though it’s more of a season pass than a VIP package, the park continues calling it a VIP pass.
“Our customers like to think of it as a VIP pass because this is [Los Angeles], and having anything in a limited number makes it important,” Klocke says.
Preparing to Impress
Cedar Point was accustomed to offering VIP tours to celebrities. When noncelebrity guests started calling to inquire about exclusive park experiences, operators decided to make their VIP package available to all guests who were willing to invest in the experience.
To provide guests with a true VIP experience, Cedar Point developed a program that includes a tour guide, VIP access to rides and attractions, and preferred seating at shows for $375 per person. The park sets a strict limit on the number of tours offered each day. “We wanted to make our VIP tours feel exclusive,” says Blake. “It was also a practical decision: We don’t want the ‘Millennium Force’ VIP line to be as long as the regular line; we also didn’t want so many tours running that one VIP tour is waiting behind another for ride access.”
Since VIP packages were introduced in 2006, Cedar Point has tweaked the offerings to ensure guests are getting the biggest bang for their buck. The original package included ride photos and tickets for food and drinks but those extras were eliminated due to lack of interest.
“The guests who purchase VIP packages are affluent and can afford the extras like ride photos if they want them,” he notes. “For them, those extras weren’t an important part of the package.”
According to Blake, the biggest reason guests purchased VIP packages was access to the popular rides without waiting in line—something operators didn’t expect when their VIP packages were created.
Preparing staff to lead VIP tours is also an essential part of providing a superior park experience to guests. Running the VIP program at Universal Studios Singapore requires a team of staff who undergo extensive training. Hallenbeck notes that staff are required to “know virtually every aspect of [the park] from engineering to safety to some of the more popular dishes at our more than 20 restaurants and food carts.”
Experienced and knowledgeable VIP tour guides are priceless to parks: Both Universal Studios Singapore and Cedar Point often have requests for specific tour guides from returning VIP guests.
Marketing to the Masses
When it comes to spreading the word about VIP packages, the best approach depends on the target audience. Pacific Park targets its VIP package to local residents who can take advantage of yearlong access to the park, while Cedar Point sells most of its VIP packages to guests traveling to the park from out of state, including international travelers. “Almost 90 percent [of guests who book VIP tours] come from outside the region,” explains Blake. “They want to come to the park and have a special experience; their thinking is, ‘If we’re going to do it, let’s do it right.’”
Most parks with VIP packages provide information on their websites but few aggressively market the exclusive program. “We’ve been shocked and amazed at how the program has grown,” Blake says. “We don’t advertise or send brochures; all of our marketing has come through word of mouth.”
 Bracing for Challenges
The popularity of VIP tours does present challenges for parks.
For Cedar Point, the main concern is ensuring that providing VIP access to rides and attractions doesn’t interfere with the operation of the park. Limiting the number of daily tours has helped but that presents its own set of challenges.
“It’s hard to turn down $375 per person when we’re getting requests and our tours are at capacity,” Blake notes.
At Alton Towers Resort in the United Kingdom, the difficulties in coordinating VIP packages and behind-thescenes tours led the park to suspend the program. Initially launched in 2007 to give guests an opportunity to climb to the top of roller coaster tracks and go behind the scenes of dark rides, the tours were discontinued in 2010.
“One of the limiting factors [was] the small number of guests that could participate and the large amount of time it took to organize and complete the tours,” explains Wayne Burton, marketing coordinator for Alton Towers Resort.
Like Cedar Point, Alton Towers Resort did not want tours to disrupt park operations. Due to their behind-thescenes nature, the park offered its VIP experiences before the park opened and after it closed, which required additional staffing and long hours.
Despite the challenges, Alton Towers Resort hasn’t ruled out reintroducing the tours in the future. “The tours were highly successful and had some fantastic satisfaction scores [from guests],” Burton notes. “We may look at one day reintroducing such experiences.”
Jodi Helmer is a frequent contributor to Funworld. Contact her at jodi@jodihelmer.com.
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