Future Development of Theme Parks with the Help of a Comparison between SeaWorld, Orlando and Oceanpark, Hongkong

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Tourism - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,7, Stralsund University of Applied Sciences, course: Specials of Leisure Markets, language: English, abstract: A theme park is an amusement park in which all the settings and attractions have a central theme, such as the world of the future. So the question is how an amusement park is defined. It is a commercially operated park offering various forms of entertainment, such as arcade games, carousels, roller coasters, and performers, as well as food, drink, and souvenirs. Amusement parks differ from circuses, carnivals, and world's fairs (see exposition) in that, parks are permanently located entertainment complexes, open either all year or seasonally every year. In today's theme parks more or less exotic worlds which do not exist in reality are staged on a delimited area as a setting for entertainment (cp. Stemshorn 2000, p.9). A huge number of leisure opportunities are packaged within a theme park and serve as a contrast to everyday life (cp. Opaschowski 1998, p.24 et seq.). They are characterized by following features: # Sophisticated, extensive services for different target groups # Extensive and differentiated gastronomic offers; # all inclusive entertainment range # Continuity and change # Usage of marketing instruments like special prices or special offers, joint venture or special offers for target groups; # Possibilities for overnight stays by integrated or nearby situated hotels; # Perfection and professionalism as quality mark; intensive training of staff; # Attractions: the general range of attractions includes rides with a lot of thrill, nostalgic carousels, clowns, shooting galleries and so on; # Artists, stunt- shows, music- shows, parades, animal- shows, firework and more. (www.kuwi.uni.linz.ac.at/LehreUniLinz.htm) On the following pages theses features and some more characteristics of theme parks will be explained in detail by using the two examples 'Seaworld, Orlando' and 'Oceanpark, HongKong'. Questions like 'Where are the trends goning?' or 'What is special about a modern theme park' will be answered.